Falcon performance comparisons AU & BA

[jonbays]

There are always lots of how fast does it go questions so with too much time on my hands I thought I would summarise all the Ford Falcon perfromance tests I have in my magazine collection so claims and comparisons can be made or justified.

Acceleration to the speeds we are interested in is purely a function of pwer to weight modified by gearing. I have attached a comprehensive spreadsheet you can download as well but here is the quick and dirty summary.
Model Type Engine Trans FW Kw 0-100 400m ET
BA Falcon GT V8 5.4 A4 290 5.8 14.0
BA XR6 Turbo T 6 4.0 M5 240 5.9 14.1
AUIII TE50 V8 5.6 M5 250 6.0 14.1
BAXR6 Turbo T 6 4.0 M5 240 6.0 14.3
BA XR8 V8 5.4 A4 260 6.1 14.4
BA Pursuit Utility V8 5.4 A4 290 6.0 14.4
AUII XR8 Utility V8 5.0 M5 200 6.5 14.5
AUIII TS50 V8 5.6 M5 250 6.3 14.6
AUII TE50 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.3 14.7
BA XR8 Utility V8 5.4 A4 260 6.8 14.8
BA XR6 T Utility T 6 4.0 M5 240 6.8 14.8
AUII XR8 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.6 14.8
AUI TE50 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.7 14.9
BA XT V8 5.4 A4 220 7.1 15.0
AUII TS50 V8 5.0 A4 220 7.2 15.2
AUI XR8 V8 5.0 M5 185 7.2 15.2
BA Fairmont Ghia V8 5.4 A4 220 7.4 15.3
AU XR6 HP 6 4.0 M5 164 7.9 15.3
BA XT Sedan 6 4.0 M5 182 7.7 15.5
AUII TL50 V8 5.0 A4 220 7.5 15.5
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 A4 172 8.1 15.6
EL XR8 V8 5.0 M5 185 7.8 15.7
AU Fairmont Ghia V8 5.0 A4 175 7.9 15.7
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 M5 172 8.2 15.7
BA XR6 6 4.0 A4 182 8.1 15.8
AU XR6 HP 6 4.0 M5 164 8.2 15.8
AU Falcon S 6 4.0 M5 157 7.9 15.8
AUI TL50 V8 5.0 A4 220 8.1 15.9
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 A4 172 8.0 15.9
BA XT Sedan 6 4.0 A4 182 8.4 16.1
AU Fairlane Ghia V8 5. A4 175 8.3 16.1
AU Fairmont Ghia 6 4.0 A4 168 8.2 16.1
AUII Fairlane Ghia V8 5.0 A4 175 8.1 16.2
AU Fairmont Wagon V8 5.0 A4 175 8.3 16.2
AU Forte 6 4.0 A4 157 8.8 16.3
AU Futura 6 4.0 A4 157 9.0 16.4
AU Fairmont Wagon 6 4.0 A4 157 8.8 16.8
AU Fairmont 6 4.0 A4 157 9.3 16.8
AU Forte Wagon 6 4.0 A4 157 9.8 17.0

[GK]

Originally Posted by jonbays

There are always lots of how fast does it go questions so with too much time on my hands I thought I would summarise all the Ford Falcon perfromance tests I have in my magazine collection so claims and comparisons can be made or justified.

Acceleration to the speeds we are interested in is purely a function of pwer to weight modified by gearing. I have attached a comprehensive spreadsheet you can download as well but here is the quick and dirty summary.
Model Type Engine Trans FW Kw 0-100 400m ET
BA Falcon GT V8 5.4 A4 290 5.8 14.0
BA XR6 Turbo T 6 4.0 M5 240 5.9 14.1
AUIII TE50 V8 5.6 M5 250 6.0 14.1
BAXR6 Turbo T 6 4.0 M5 240 6.0 14.3
BA XR8 V8 5.4 A4 260 6.1 14.4
BA Pursuit Utility V8 5.4 A4 290 6.0 14.4
AUII XR8 Utility V8 5.0 M5 200 6.5 14.5
AUIII TS50 V8 5.6 M5 250 6.3 14.6
AUII TE50 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.3 14.7
BA XR8 Utility V8 5.4 A4 260 6.8 14.8
BA XR6 T Utility T 6 4.0 M5 240 6.8 14.8
AUII XR8 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.6 14.8
AUI TE50 V8 5.0 M5 220 6.7 14.9
BA XT V8 5.4 A4 220 7.1 15.0
AUII TS50 V8 5.0 A4 220 7.2 15.2
AUI XR8 V8 5.0 M5 185 7.2 15.2
BA Fairmont Ghia V8 5.4 A4 220 7.4 15.3
AU XR6 HP 6 4.0 M5 164 7.9 15.3
BA XT Sedan 6 4.0 M5 182 7.7 15.5
AUII TL50 V8 5.0 A4 220 7.5 15.5
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 A4 172 8.1 15.6
EL XR8 V8 5.0 M5 185 7.8 15.7
AU Fairmont Ghia V8 5.0 A4 175 7.9 15.7
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 M5 172 8.2 15.7
BA XR6 6 4.0 A4 182 8.1 15.8
AU XR6 HP 6 4.0 M5 164 8.2 15.8
AU Falcon S 6 4.0 M5 157 7.9 15.8
AUI TL50 V8 5.0 A4 220 8.1 15.9
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 A4 172 8.0 15.9
BA XT Sedan 6 4.0 A4 182 8.4 16.1
AU Fairlane Ghia V8 5. A4 175 8.3 16.1
AU Fairmont Ghia 6 4.0 A4 168 8.2 16.1
AUII Fairlane Ghia V8 5.0 A4 175 8.1 16.2
AU Fairmont Wagon V8 5.0 A4 175 8.3 16.2
AU Forte 6 4.0 A4 157 8.8 16.3
AU Futura 6 4.0 A4 157 9.0 16.4
AU Fairmont Wagon 6 4.0 A4 157 8.8 16.8
AU Fairmont 6 4.0 A4 157 9.3 16.8
AU Forte Wagon 6 4.0 A4 157 9.8 17.0

Very nice work Jonbays, thanks.

George

[gtfpv]

just one thing to say the EL MK1 170kw 5SPD, RAN 7.54 0-100KM PER HR and the VS SS COMMODORE 168kw 5 SPD MAN ran a 6.9 0-100km per hr. the el mk1 was just as fast if not faster than the mk11 because it had a 3.23 diff the mk11 had a 3.45 diff. which made it less economic , slower top speed in everygear, but people bought it because it had 185kw with low gearing.. the motor mags of the day credited it to having more go than the mk1 even though all there figures showed no improvement , something i never could comprehend..

[Stav]

Jonbays....we can look at the bright side..being at the bottom I only need to take 3-4 seconds off to match an xr6t :yeees:

[Casper]

AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 A4 172 8.1 15.6
EL XR8 V8 5.0 M5 185 7.8 15.7
AU Fairmont Ghia V8 5.0 A4 175 7.9 15.7
AU XR6 VCT 6 4.0 M5 172 8.2 15.7

Something wrong there, the manual was the faster of the 2 VCT's, no doubt about it.

[jonbays]

Guys these are not my claims just summaries from my collection of car mags on AU's. There are a lot of numbers to type in and I may have made some mistakes so no one take any offence or worry about it it's just something I thought I would do for fun.

Some of the figures are highly questionable but that's what the mag printed.

As we all know there are some good and bad examples of the same model that perform very differently and in car mag tests they tend to get specially prepared good ones. Different mags use different test procedues too. Some ave two way 400m not best one way and so on.

Casper is right the manual VCT is faster than the Auto. However as casper knows a manual with a bad from factory MAP would not beat a good Auto. Anyway thats what Wheels printed.

Look at the two XR6HP tests I have one runs 15.8 and the other 15.3 for the 400m? Both Manuals. Now between you and me I would be slitting my wrists if I couldn't get my manual XR6HP to do low 15's.

[jonbays]

Useless honest I didn't put the wagons at the bottom of the list it's just some useless Wheels tester who couldn't get the wagon over the 400m very well.

By the way my stock wagon ran a BEST of 16.8 and 17 on a few trys so its not as unbelievable as all that.

[JC]

My wagon does 8.9 with extractors, exhaust and pod filter, so that's not too bad - 0.9s less than stock. Not many cars could lose that much time with only exhasut mods! So I have to say (funnily enough), I'm happy with my 8.9!

[jonbays]

I remember when anything that could get to 60mph (96kmh) in less than 10 seconds was quick.

And I mean the late 70's era!

These days though a lot of normal family cars can do that or better.

Its all relative.

I got a Honda four and realised all cars were slow.

[EFFalcon]

as jonbays said, they're onl magazine tests.
its fair to say you could get better/worse times in those exact cars.

apparently a stock auto EF GLi ran 16.2 ... but i've never seen a car match it :P
i would ahve expected the forte to beat it (engine feels a lot better) but hey...

[RED_EL_XR8]

Why the need for any comparison. I dont see the point the BA is a successor model sold in different years. They are both great cars and the spead of figures across the entire quouted range isn't really that great. Enjoy each model for its good points.

[wildturkey]

awesome thanks for that mate its interesting to see what times the various models are capable of... taken with a grain of salt like all magazine road tests

[Stav]

Originally Posted by jonbays

Useless honest I didn't put the wagons at the bottom of the list it's just some useless Wheels tester who couldn't get the wagon over the 400m very well.

By the way my stock wagon ran a BEST of 16.8 and 17 on a few trys so its not as unbelievable as all that.

Jon..dont stress buddy,the wagon is a big car.No wonder it is not as quick as others. I think it would be funny if one of us wagon ownwners runs a ridiculously quick time.Especially our stocky looking buses. :1syellow1

[JC]

Originally Posted by useless

Jon..dont stress buddy,the wagon is a big car.No wonder it is not as quick as others. I think it would be funny if one of us wagon ownwners runs a ridiculously quick time.Especially our stocky looking buses. :1syellow1

Don't forget my "stocky looking" bus as well!

I gave a VY or VZ Commodore S a run from the lights today, and scared the crap out of him. He took off quickish, but I beat him across the intersection (I don't think he expected me to try), and he was actually try to change into my lane when he noticed I was there. So he dropped it down a cog and took off, but I had already lifted as well, because I was doing the posted speed limit (80). 'Twas pretty funny except that he almost moved over on top of me!

[GK]

Originally Posted by jonbays

I remember when anything that could get to 60mph (96kmh) in less than 10 seconds was quick.

And I mean the late 70's era!

These days though a lot of normal family cars can do that or better.

Its all relative.

I got a Honda four and realised all cars were slow.

I hear you jonbays, I have a 2001 Honda Vfour. If I didn't I reckon I'd probably be spending many dollars getting my family wagon to go faster! LOL

[tquarrell]

really, who cares? The BA brought the turbo six into life, which simply anilates every other falcon six by so much it's almost funny. Can't understand why so many of you put $1,000's of dollars into stock falcon 6's, it's just a waste of money. You want a performance car? buy a performance car!

[Casper]

Originally Posted by tquarrell

really, who cares? The BA brought the turbo six into life, which simply anilates every other falcon six by so much it's almost funny. Can't understand why so many of you put $1,000's of dollars into stock falcon 6's, it's just a waste of money. You want a performance car? buy a performance car!

Maybe because people have the right to their own choices?
Seriously.. what do you consider a performance car? Do you think someone that owns an F40 or F50 would also consider that a performance car?

Dont think that just because you see it that way means everyone else does. Some of these "stock falcon 6's" with a few grand spent on them beat a stock BA XR6T.... and still have money left over to put down a house deposit.

[EFFalcon]

haha, how cool would it be if the whole population was driving BA XR6T's...
yeah that'd be awesome, we'd have such a mad choice.
what a stupid statement.

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by tquarrell

really, who cares? The BA brought the turbo six into life, which simply anilates every other falcon six by so much it's almost funny. Can't understand why so many of you put $1,000's of dollars into stock falcon 6's, it's just a waste of money. You want a performance car? buy a performance car!

14's is plenty enough fun for guy's that want to have a some enjoyment with there cars without breaking the bank balance.
Modding any car is fun, regardless of how many cylinders.

[JC]

Originally Posted by tquarrell

really, who cares? The BA brought the turbo six into life, which simply anilates every other falcon six by so much it's almost funny.

Actually that's not right. Nissan perfected the turbo six - ever heard of a Skyline? Anyway, looks like you have an appropriate user name.

[geckoGT]

Originally Posted by tquarrell

really, who cares? The BA brought the turbo six into life, which simply anilates every other falcon six by so much it's almost funny. Can't understand why so many of you put $1,000's of dollars into stock falcon 6's, it's just a waste of money. You want a performance car? buy a performance car!

Don't fall for such mindless trawling! He is probably only 13 anyway.

[bigred]

Originally Posted by geckoxr8

Don't fall for such mindless trawling! He is probably only 13 anyway.

Hehe, I think he touched a sore point.

He is kinda right though, want a fast car, buy one. You'll be happier.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by bigred

Hehe, I think he touched a sore point.

He is kinda right though, want a fast car, buy one. You'll be happier.

Define fast

[The Monty]

Is my Fairmont slower because it is heavier?

[The Monty]

If everyone liked the same things it would be a boring world. Ever wondered why there is not just 1 car company making just one model of car? Thats because everyone is different. What sort of car does this guy drive anyway? Probably a Drift Lancer thats been riced with no engine mods other than a pod and is pulling 20 down the 1/4 mile and bragging to his mates that he is beating Skylines. Just my 2 cents.

[Racecraft]

it is a valid point, but expressed like a wannabe that has the keys to his mums Corolla for the weekend..

The Barra with a snail is a killer combo BUT not everyone wants a BA, not everyone can afford a 30k car, not everyone likes to take the simple way out, some people like to enhance what they have, some people like to race themselves not everyone else..

[EFFalcon]

i'd be happier with a 13 second EF then i would be with a 12 second BA.

[Casper]

Originally Posted by EFFalcon

i'd be happier with a 13 second EF then i would be with a 12 second BA.

I would agree 100%. Why? Because the work and achievement to do a 13 second EF would FAR outweigh doing a 12 second BA. To be honest, anyone can make a BA XR6T do 12s.. just take it to any number of tuners and pick it up in 2 days. To do the same with an E or A series is a LOT more effort and not just a phonecall away so to speak.

[HP Dude]

That's a very comprehensive list, well done!

Just a point, Wheels made an error regarding the AUI XR8's torque. It's 412nm, not 402nm. The mag made a typo. Also, Motor got a 7.11 (and 15.3 for the quarter) out of an auto AUI XR8, which I was quite surprised about. I think the best they got out of the manual AUI XR8 was 7.2 and 14.9 for the quarter. If an auto did 7.11, I'm guessing the manual would be able to at least do a flat 7? Has anyone taken their own stock AUI XR8 to the drags to find out what it can actually do? I know people who have done 7.6s with stock manual XR6 HPs (whereas the mags could only get a best of 7.88).

As for the modding thing, I agree; to get a 13 second E-series would be a lot more satisfying than a 12 second BA. I'd say there would be a greater sense of achievment involved in the former effort.

[FPVWEPN]

Amen brother