In these early days of XR6 Turbo modification, most people are opting to go
for off-the-shelf kits. But, as Ian Schmidt of Queensland proves, there’s no
reason why you can’t take a mix-and-match route.
With 269kW at the back wheels, it’s hard to suggest otherwise!
Ian is a dedicated Ford man, having previously owned an AU XR6 with some
basic exhaust, air intake and ECU mods. But when the BA XR6T hit the market, it
was the perfect opportunity to stick it up the Holden V8 brigade.
“Mine is the first XR6 Turbo automatic on the Gold Coast and as soon as I got
it I loved it,” says Ian.
“It goes great without any modification but it doesn’t take long
to get used to it and you start wanting more. The chassis is great and it’s a
great platform for modifications,” he says.
Ian’s first mod was the installation of a SS inductions ‘Big Mouth’ air
intake snorkel into the factory airbox. Ian explains his was one of SS
Induction’s test and development cars, and the pre-airbox snorkel was reputedly
good for around 10kW at the wheels.
Next came the exhaust. The factory twin pipe arrangement is pretty good as
far as factory efforts go, but Ian was aware of the improvement an upgrade
exhaust can make in the case of a turbo car. The car was dropped off at local
exhaust specialist, Hinterland Exhaust, where the guys played around finding the
right set-up. Again, this was the first time they’d seen a XR6T. The final
incarnation is a 3 ½ inch turbo-back system with a high-flow cat and two
hand-made straight-through mufflers. The resulting exhaust note is remarkably
quiet – perfect since Ian still wanted to use the car as a family hauler.
With these mods Ian took the car to ChipTorque on the Gold Coast. There, the
car was run on their in-house Dyno Dynamics chassis dyno and recorded around
197kW at the wheels – about 23kW (nearly 10 percent) more than stock. At this
stage, Ian temporarily called it quits for engine mods – he wanted to see what
became available in the following months.
Not one to shy away from a challenge, Ian next went for a full-blown sound
system upgrade – something that many experts said couldn’t be done due to the
integration of the factory head unit.
Well, the staff at Autobahn in Bundall was more than willing to give it a go
– and the result is sensational. The audio/sound system is now headed by a
pro-level Clarion flip-out DVD unit with 5.1 digital surround sound, which
replaces the factory head unit. The kids also enjoy a pair of Nesa LCD screens
built into the front seat headrests.
Clarion is also the brand label on the 6 inch front and rear shelf splits,
the centre stage speaker (for 5.1 operation) and 10 inch high power sub in the
boot. Ian did a great job installing the front splits – a pair of clear plastic
tubes run in front of each woofer and a blue LED sends a light pulse for great
visual effect. But you can’t go past the boot.
Ahh, yes the boot...
The 10 inch sub and its associated 400W 2 channel amp and capacitor are built
into an enclosure in the right side of the boot, while a 400W 4 channel amp (for
the splits) and a 200W 2 channel amp (for the centre stage speaker) can be found
opposite. Both sides of the boot are trimmed with an attractive mesh and –
even more impressively – there’s still plenty of useable boot space.
And they said it couldn’t be done - pffftt...
In addition to the collection of audio/visual gear, the cabin of Ian’s XR6T
is decked out in factory leather with colour-coded steering wheel, gear knob and
handbrake grips. The interior door grips are also painted silver. A boost gauge
and air-fuel ratio meter are also contained in a dashboard pod from SS
Inductions.
About this time, ChipTorque had finished developing their Xede interceptor
module and Ian decided to be one of the first players on the block to give it a
go. The Xede lives in an enclosure under the bonnet and allowed tuning for a
sharper throttle response and a boost increase – but only to 8 psi initially
because the stock injectors were maxing out. Still, this tune achieved 217kW at
the back treads. Note that a SS Inductions 75mm throttle body was also fitted at
about this time.
After a bit of research, a drop-in set of replacement injectors was sourced.
Interestingly enough, these come from a rival camp – Holden supercharged V6
injectors! Gotta be happy with that. Once installed, the bigger squirters
allowed boost to be bumped up to 12 psi and power shot up to 269kW at the
wheels. Oh, and Ian also fitted firmer XR8 valve springs to solve the
shortcomings of the original parts common in early XR6Ts (Ian’s being a late ‘02
example). The only other mechanical mod is the replacement pre-turbo and
intercooler pipes, which were fabricated by Ian and a mate. These apparently
improve response.
Note that the 269kW output is achieved with the factory air-to-air
intercooler. If Ian goes any further with mechanical mods it will certainly
involve an aftermarket ‘cooler, along with maybe a larger cat converter. There
are no mods planned for the auto transmission at this stage – it’s holding up
fine.
Note that the engine has recently had to be removed from the vehicle – but
not for the reasons you’re probably assuming... Amazingly, Ian went to these
lengths in order to colour-code the block, turbo compressor housing and various
other components to match the body. Dedication, yes - the sort of dedication
that has lead to Ian netting a swag of trophies at recent car shows.
By now you’d be aware of the level of detail that Ian goes to with his car.
So it should be no surprise to find the immaculate body is equipped
with a couple of extra bits’n’pieces. The bonnet vent? Well, it’s a replica EL
Falcon GT item, which is a nice retro touch.
The rims are hard-to-find Lowenhart 18s that look like they’re allergic to
dust, such is their spotlessness. The low-dust QFM pads probably help in this
regard – in addition to eliminating the shudder that Ian says is inherent in the
standard vehicle. The body is also tastefully lowered using King springs. Other
than that, there’s silver mesh in the frontal cooling apertures, window tint and
a genuine Ford rear sunshade to keep the kids from getting sunburn.
So there’s your proof. It’s not essential to lay down a wad of money for a
‘kit’ upgrade of your XR6T.
Why not get a bunch of different hands involved in the build?
Ian thanks Autobarn at Bundall, ChipTorque, Hinterland Exhausts,
Kevin from SS Inductions, his wife Anita and mate Brendan.
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