Falcon GT vs. HSV GTS-R - Wheels Review

[AWD Chaser]

Hey guys. Found this and thought it might be worth a read - great pics too

Ford Falcon GT (EL 1997) vs. HSV GTS-R (VT 1997)

Link 1 - The comparison review
Link 2 - Building the EL GT

If you want Hi-Res links, just PM me your email address and I'll send them over to you (About 2Mb per page - JPG)

[Steffo]

Wow... they did 8.08 to 100 and 15.76 down the 1/4 in a car that should be doing 6.9/14.9. :

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Wow... they did 8.08 to 100 and 15.76 down the 1/4 in a car that should be doing 6.9/14.9. :

Motor got 14.9 out of the EL GT.

[T3ts50]

Wheels are pretty useless when it comes to acceleration times. GTS-R also got 14.2 from Motor.

[Rob]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Wow... they did 8.08 to 100 and 15.76 down the 1/4 in a car that should be doing 6.9/14.9. :

They did state that they were aware that the car performed better with around 20,000km under its belt... perhaps the car was brand spanking?

Figures are only a guide, remember, not to be taken as gospel.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by T3ts50

Wheels are pretty useless when it comes to acceleration times. GTS-R also got 14.2 from Motor.

Wheels always test with a passenger and half a tank of fuel, so an extra 100kg's + over what Motor test with which means they'll always have slower times than Motor.

[MAGPIE]

Who thinks one car has aged substantially better than the other

[T3ts50]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Who thinks one car has aged substantially better than the other

I like both of them and wouldnt mind either in the garage.

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Who thinks one car has aged substantially better than the other

The GTSR still looks as crap now as it did when it was released to me. The ultimate bogan dream car.

[DBourne]

i love reading parafanalia(spelling?) regarding the EL falcon from back in 96-98. makes me all warm in the tummy that i own one... though id have a much better feeling if i had an el GT *drool*

[Disciple]

Originally Posted by MAGPIE

Who thinks one car has aged substantially better than the other

They both look like old buckets of crap.

[Rev28K]

And the GTS-R's exclusive XU-3 yellow paint was actually the shade of yellow that Holden used for the Victorian taxis – the HSVs went through the paint booth at the same time as the taxis.

[4Vman]

Originally Posted by Rev28K

And the GTS-R's exclusive XU-3 yellow paint was actually the shade of yellow that Holden used for the Victorian taxis – the HSVs went through the paint booth at the same time as the taxis.

Maybe that's where the "taxi" comment originated from about FPV's/HSV's...? :

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by 4Vman

Wheels always test with a passenger and half a tank of fuel, so an extra 100kg's + over what Motor test with which means they'll always have slower times than Motor.

Yeah but 0.8 sec over the 1/4 and 1.1 sec to 100km/h from 100kg extra? Methinks there was some bad driving on their behalf.

[Polyal]

As much as I cant stand VN-VS, I dont mind the GTS-R for some reason. Id also gladly take an EL GT.

[ELGT4me]

Originally Posted by Steffo

Yeah but 0.8 sec over the 1/4 and 1.1 sec to 100km/h from 100kg extra? Methinks there was some bad driving on their behalf.

A hot, humid day & a FULL tank of fuel & a passenger might account for their "bad" driving. Both cars were way off manufacturers claimed performance times. :

[ELGT4me]

Originally Posted by Disciple

They both look like old buckets of crap.

Shouldn't you be @ dinner with 12 of your friends? :

[Hally]

The thing that really stands out for me reading those articles, is how much better value cars are for the money these days.

Taking into consideration that in 97/98 the GT was $70k, look what you get for that amount these days from FVP or HSV, which not only smashes them in performance, but also includes lots of extra safety and equipment. That doesn't even take into consideration increases in the average weekly wage over the last ten years.

Out of curiousity, what would have an XR8 of the same year cost brand new?

[Steffo]

Originally Posted by ELGT4me

A hot, humid day & a FULL tank of fuel & a passenger might account for their "bad" driving. Both cars were way off manufacturers claimed performance times. :

Their bad driving is consistant though. Wheels were the guys that were doing 14.6 in the F6 Typhoon, 15.0 in the BA GT and various other super bad times...

[ELGT4me]

Originally Posted by Hally

The thing that really stands out for me reading those articles, is how much better value cars are for the money these days.

Taking into consideration that in 97/98 the GT was $70k, look what you get for that amount these days from FVP or HSV, which not only smashes them in performance, but also includes lots of extra safety and equipment. That doesn't even take into consideration increases in the average weekly wage over the last ten years.

Out of curiousity, what would have an XR8 of the same year cost brand new?

Fair comment, option up leather interior ,270 Build numbers exclusive body kit & for its day premium Yokohama tyre package. Remember the only options were transmission, tow package, sunroof & phone kit. (I think when your phone rang, it came through the premium audio system) Why would you want that? :

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by Hally

The thing that really stands out for me reading those articles, is how much better value cars are for the money these days.

Taking into consideration that in 97/98 the GT was $70k, look what you get for that amount these days from FVP or HSV, which not only smashes them in performance, but also includes lots of extra safety and equipment. That doesn't even take into consideration increases in the average weekly wage over the last ten years.

Out of curiousity, what would have an XR8 of the same year cost brand new?

2 reasons. The limited build numbers compared to todays FPV's and the amount of work they did to the EL GT. There's a lot more difference between an EL GT and an EL XR8 than their is between a BF GT and a BF XR8.

[Disciple]

Originally Posted by ELGT4me

Shouldn't you be @ dinner with 12 of your friends? :

Almost funny. They still look like old buckets of crap unfortunately.

[[Tonko]]

Originally Posted by Disciple

Almost funny. They still look like old buckets of crap unfortunately.

To an 8 year old such as yourself maybe....

[Disciple]

Originally Posted by [Tonko]

To an 8 year old such as yourself maybe....

It's my opinion. You can choose to disagree, but if you do, you are wrong. :

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by Bossxr8

2 reasons. The limited build numbers compared to todays FPV's and the amount of work they did to the EL GT. There's a lot more difference between an EL GT and an EL XR8 than their is between a BF GT and a BF XR8.

100% agreed

The EL GT, while a bit of an "aquired taste" in the looks department, carried a lot of firsts(and onlys) for Ford in a performance car:

Twin piston brakes (first)
Hydratrack (first and only)
Carbon wrapped tailshaft (first and only)
5 Mode adaptive auto trans programming (first)
Functional (and integrated hot air extraction bonnet scoop - EB GT was a gimmick) (first and only)
Proper extractors (first in the "modern era" and first for ceramic coating)

Thats before we even look at the quality interior, that in my eyes, rivals even my personal favorite in a Ford: T1/T2 TS+TL50

Daniel

[Falcon Freak]

I remember HSV had dozens of the yellow GTS-Rs in their Clayton holding yard for many months as the car wasn't selling very well at that time.

FF

[ELGT4me]

Originally Posted by Disciple

Almost funny. They still look like old buckets of crap unfortunately.

Judas , good to see you are spreading the usual misinformation again!!! :

[Bossxr8]

Originally Posted by CAT600

100% agreed

The EL GT, while a bit of an "aquired taste" in the looks department, carried a lot of firsts(and onlys) for Ford in a performance car:

Twin piston brakes (first)
Hydratrack (first and only)
Carbon wrapped tailshaft (first and only)
5 Mode adaptive auto trans programming (first)
Functional (and integrated hot air extraction bonnet scoop - EB GT was a gimmick) (first and only)
Proper extractors (first in the "modern era" and first for ceramic coating)

Thats before we even look at the quality interior, that in my eyes, rivals even my personal favorite in a Ford: T1/T2 TS+TL50

Daniel

I think the best part of the EL GT was the work Tickford did to the suspension. They changed the springs, shocks, bushes, sway bars and then matched it all to the tyres. Plus the hydratrack LSD. If only FPV would go to those lengths to improve handling, rather than just some shocks and springs. Motor got it right when they said the EL GT was the best handling live axled car they had ever driven.

[Powdered Toast Man]

Even the interior of the GTS-R has yellow highlights, god awful. And that wing!

Give me a Senator fitted with the 215Kw stroker (I know it's less powerful) rather than B1. But I'm not a big fan of the interior of the VN-VS, looks to disjointed and 80's, and even the outside of the VR/VS is dating faster than the EF/EL.

Holden did a great job with the interior of the VT IMO compared to them.

I'd take the EL GT over a commy anyway, but I prefer the look of the EB GT. I went for a ride in an EL GT back in about 1999. My uncle's boss had borrowed his company 4WD for the weekend so my uncle had his bosses car, a blue manual EL GT. Very nice car!!

[elgt146]

Having owned one of these I would say they are a big disappointment

I went from an EF XR8 to an EL GT and the result was complete disappointment.

It was all show and no go. The XR8 seemed to outperform it, out cornered it and just seemed to feel like it was more a street car with cred.

The GT felt like I was going to church and i drove it hard. I lived on top of a mountain and it got driven very hard up and down that hill.

Nobody even knew what kind of car it was. People thought it was a falcon with spoliers. It is an acquired taste and even I couldn't get used to it.

I sold it without even blinking an eye.

Yes they will become collectors items, they had alot of firsts and will look nice sitting in the shed but take one out on the road and I wouldn't be racing anyone because you will get beaten.