AU III XR8

[Slurdog]

I am thinking of selling my Sportivo and then buy an AU III XR8. Reason for this is is i have stopped drinking and smoking recently and suddenly have an excess of cash every week, so i figure that i can afford to pay running cost of a V8.

looking to spend up to $20K, is the XR a good choice? or would you suggest another car?

[rthy]

for normal driving or for a fast car?

id rather get a commodore SS (5.7lt)

hell id rather get a lancer evo

[jayrome]

XR6 turbo is quicker...

[linzz82]

Buy a 'BA' xr8 the 'AU's are an ugly car. Or i'd buy a 'VX' SS

[Suprathai]

Go on the hunt for the BA series falcon. Save up a few more G's and I'm sure you'll be able to find a XR6T.

[selyaT]

The AU was the worst Falcon ever (worst of a bad lot :D)

Look for a BA 'cos apparently it rescued the Marque

[Dead]

The funny thing is that the AU Falcon was 100% Australian designed and manufactured. Nothing was sourced from overseas. It was all here.

So essentially the majority of people, and all those Holden die hards, are saying that Australians are **** at making cars

I'll give the AU one thing though, they were effective as a taxi. The were, in all honesty, very reliable if taken care of.

On another note, I'm driving my dad's GENIII powered Calais atm (same motor as SS Commodore). I drove it until it was nearly bone dry and filled it up yesterday. It took 70.11 litres (in a 60 litre tank... lawl) and cost $110.

Pros: Uber in a straight line when you plant your foot down.

Cons: Like I stated previously in another thread, when you come to a corner the car turns into a retard. The steering is clunky and you can't feel the road as well as you can in something like the Stivo. I hate the way it handles personally. It's like a 'DUHHHH I'M TURNING INTO A CORNER!' feeling. That's what happens when you have a big motor up front I guess.

Oh and yeah, then there's the fact that it costs $100 to fill.

[Hiro]

The AU was the worst Falcon ever (worst of a bad lot :D)

Look for a BA 'cos apparently it rescued the Marque

Calling the AU the worst Falcon ever is an insult to the EA. The main problems with the AU were

a) Seating position

B) Standard equipment on base models

c) Looks

d) Sales (relatively speaking), due to looks

e) Resale (although this is a bonus for used cars, as they are cheap as chips but still fairly common), due to looks and sales

And the AU III is the best of them all, so that kinda cancels out the bad stuff. The AU III XR8 had the 220kw V8 from the TE50 and TS50 Tickford models, the best Windsor around before the 5.6 strokers were created

[daviboy]

wats the point of getting a V8 with petrol prices booming? Do you want performance out of a car or just the shear fact that you got a V8?

For 20K maybe abit more ide get an EVO like Rthy Said, sticks to the ground like **** to carpet, probably would beat an AU XR8 and wont hurt your wallet petrol wise.

OR

if you want it for RWD capabilitys get an R33 Skyline, they have dropped in price considerably. Or even an S14 or cheap S15 silvia.

I know what ide do. Even untill today, i get **** from my cuzn for getting the Sportivo, cos his got Evo powered Galant, i couldve got an EVO 6 for what i paid and been king of the road...that was out loud.

[CAP]

You have to be Careful with the V8's and the reason is as follows.

Ford USA stopped building the 5.0L 'Windsor' V8, so Ford AUS bought as many as they could so they could continue to offer it on the AU Falcons. Whilst in Storage for so long, some of these engines developed a little rust is the cylinder linings and the worse ones had to be honed out. Once this was done, these became the better engines! But those that didn't undergo this procedure didn't quite go the same.

So test drive a few and you will no doubt feel quite a difference between a good example and a bad one. Obviously, buy the one with more go.

[Dead]

wats the point of getting a V8 with petrol prices booming? Do you want performance out of a car or just the shear fact that you got a V8?

For 20K maybe abit more ide get an EVO like Rthy Said, sticks to the ground like **** to carpet, probably would beat an AU XR8 and wont hurt your wallet petrol wise.

OR

if you want it for RWD capabilitys get an R33 Skyline, they have dropped in price considerably. Or even an S14 or cheap S15 silvia.

I know what ide do. Even untill today, i get **** from my cuzn for getting the Sportivo, cos his got Evo powered Galant, i couldve got an EVO 6 for what i paid and been king of the road...that was out loud.

At least you know what you bought at the end of the day.

I've known a few people who have gone 'Oh shi...' and spent more than they thought on 2nd hand evo's. It's a shame that such a gorgeous car is flogged sometimes.

[theDefiant1]

The AU III XR8 looks like a salmon. I'd rather drive a Lada - it's a better conversation starter, particularly in winter when the heater doesn't work.

[scotts10kluger]

mate go for BA xr6 turbo bang for buck great have a look at this website www.fordxr6turbo.com.au brother in law has one paid $23.000 for it only had 48.000klm on it put about $2000 into it eg intercooler,injectors, custom tune at blacktrack performance at Newcastle and puts out a comfortable 284rwkw now that's a fun tyre smoking daily driver imo

Edited January 20, 2008 by hot07sportivo

[daviboy]

ya. XR6T is cheap and easy power. But that will also consume as much as a V8 if u put ur foot down.

[Dead]

The only issue with the XR6T's is the amount of weight they carry. Other than that they're quick as.

Having said that though, GTR Skylines are going cheaper these days.