AU series 1, 2, or 3?

[XRTickfordNZ]

2 in the driveway now.
AUII XR6, Liquid silver and leather
AUII XR8 220, Congo green and leather

Cheers,

Brendon

[Clintobear]

Series 2
XR8 220, Liquid silver, leather, manual

[ozeford]

Have a October 1999 wagon in amoretta color (goldish color?) my first au series

[Andrew S]

1998 series 1 Fairmont Wagon

[Mr G8]

Series 1 Fairmont, Gold in color.

[Dinoquad]

Series II One tonner.
Poverty pack. Steel tray. Mechanical windows. Column Auto.
White.

[valiant81]

series 1 big standard and with only 48,000 Kms. I kid you not !!

[Maka]

Go the mighty series one AU, my Futura has 317,xxx on it now & its still a super reliable & fuel efficient daily. I replace things that need replacing straightaway & service it on time, plus run it on Vortex 95, this guarantee's my Au's dependability & reliability. I love em!

cheers, Maka

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by valiant81

series 1 big standard and with only 48,000 Kms. I kid you not !!

Actually there is no doubt that the Series 1 is the best. I have a Black XR8 in the shed that has only 16,400 Kms on it. The car still has the new smell. I keep it under a specially made cover, and every couple of months fire the beast up. It has some modifications such as modified exhaust (it is loud) plus the rest of the changes are under the bonnet, such as bigger air intake scoop, K & H Air filter, plus a few other go fast add ons, but the engine itself has not been touched. What sort of performance boost if any would I get if I put a J3 S2 chip in it.
I should add that I got sick a year after I bought the car and had to retire early, hence the the low Kms.

[TheInterceptor]

Hey Interceptor!! Nice name

Sounds like a wicked car..

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by valiant81

series 1 big standard and with only 48,000 Kms. I kid you not !!

Originally Posted by The_Interceptor

Actually there is no doubt that the Series 1 is the best. I have a Black XR8 in the shed that has only 16,400 Kms on it. The car still has the new smell. I keep it under a specially made cover, and every couple of months fire the beast up. It has some modifications such as modified exhaust (it is loud) plus the rest of the changes are under the bonnet, such as bigger air intake scoop, K & H Air filter, plus a few other go fast add ons, but the engine itself has not been touched. What sort of performance boost if any would I get if I put a J3 S2 chip in it.
I should add that I got sick a year after I bought the car and had to retire early, hence the the low Kms.

Pics or it doesn't exist! I want to see these!

[Maka]

Originally Posted by The_Interceptor

Actually there is no doubt that the Series 1 is the best.

Love it, i have two of them!

cheer's, Maka

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFalcon

Pics or it doesn't exist! I want to see these!

Hi OffRoadFalcon,
I can supply some pics if you wish. Once the rain stops here (probably one more day) I will get the car out of the shed and take some current pictures, especially one showing the Kms. However my original query was regarding the add on J3 S2 chip. The company who provides them says that I may get an extra 5Kw of power. Does anyone know about these chips and what power gain one might expect, as 5Kw hardly seems worth the trouble and the money?

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by The_Interceptor

Hi OffRoadFalcon,
I can supply some pics if you wish. Once the rain stops here (probably one more day) I will get the car out of the shed and take some current pictures, especially one showing the Kms. However my original query was regarding the add on J3 S2 chip. The company who provides them says that I may get an extra 5Kw of power. Does anyone know about these chips and what power gain one might expect, as 5Kw hardly seems worth the trouble and the money?

I'd love to see some pics, and I'm sure I'm not the only one around here who'd like to drool at pictures of it.

5kw doesn't sound like much of a gain to me either.

[The_Interceptor]

Hi OffRoadFalcon plus others who are interested.
Here are some pictures of my Black XR8 Tickford Redback which has done only 16,000kms. The car is unmarked, the photos may show a little bit of light dust which has made its way through the cover, otherwise all other things in the paint are reflections of what is in the shed.
IPHOTO16.JPG

PHOTO2.JPG

PHOTO8.JPG

PHOTO9.JPG

PHOTO3.JPG

PHOTO5.JPG

PHOTO7.JPG

PHOTO1.JPG

PHOTO11.JPG

PHOTO6.JPG trust you like them.

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFalcon

I'd love to see some pics, and I'm sure I'm not the only one around here who'd like to drool at pictures of it.

5kw doesn't sound like much of a gain to me either.

Hi OffRoadFalcon,
I have added some pics in the AU1, 2 or 3 Forum.

Regards
Hope you like them.

[Maka]

Wow, never heard of a Redback Au XR8! Any more info on your very nice looking & interesting Tickford?

cheer's, Maka

[Polyal]

Was it a herrod thing or a dealer? I vaguely remember it, hard to forget that red topped spoiler.

Will make the FG GT R spec guys feel a little less special...nothing is new!

Those tail lights gotta go through, should be able to pick up some S1's for next to nothing.

[Grippy]

Yeah must be a performance pack a dealer offered back in the day. 16,000km is seriously low mileage for an AU, looks in great nick.

[Grippy]

I see an SVO sticker/badge on the air box intake, maybe a Mick Webb/SVO package?

[Polyal]

Originally Posted by Grippy

I see an SVO sticker/badge on the air box intake, maybe a Mick Webb/SVO package?

Yeap having some dejavu here, I think your right.

Has it had ESS fitted aswell?

[OffRoadFalcon]

Wow that is cool! Even more interesting as you guys have mentioned too.
Didn't think I'd ever see 16,000km on an AU again!
I agree standard AU1 taillights would look 100x better!

Looks like an awesome beast The_Interceptor!

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by OffRoadFalcon

Wow that is cool! Even more interesting as you guys have mentioned too.
Didn't think I'd ever see 16,000km on an AU again!
I agree standard AU1 taillights would look 100x better!

Looks like an awesome beast The_Interceptor!

Hi OffRoadFalcon.
I actually like the Altezza rear lights, but the original lights are carefully packed in a box. The car always seemed to have too much red at the back, so that is the reason for the clear tail lights.
I have only seen one other red back, but when the AU1 was released Ford had some higher performance packs available. As far as I know the Red back was purely an AU1 thing, but it came out of the Tickford complex. As to who same up with the idea, you could be right when you say some dealers. They would have had to get Ford to approve it though, but I remember it being listed in the high spec section of the dealers cars that were available for special order.It was only after I saw a picture did I say that I had to have one. I do know that Tickford only made around 100 of them. As to the car itself, it has an extremely light kerb weight, so the power to weight ratio would be high. It is not a car to be driven in the wet as there is a secondary module under the bonnet that allows the car to have a reasonable highway fuel usage, but if you are in race mode then the thing kicks in at about 2500 rpm and give a boost like my WRX used to. If it is wet and it does that, it loses the rear wheel traction. It does have 1 claim to fame though. I had a mate who bought a BA GT with the 290Kw engine. Because those 5.4 litre GT's weighed at least half a ton more, I knocked off the GT twice out of 2 runs at Tocumwal airstrip. He kept saying I must have cheated, hence the second run. You may note that I said I had a mate, because he still thinks I cheated.
So there is a bit about it. They were all black, came out of Tickford as a special order, and were tricked up to go fast.. Thanks for showing interest, but you did say "pic's or it doesn't exist".

[red_hotxr6]

Originally Posted by The_Interceptor

Hi OffRoadFalcon.
I actually like the Altezza rear lights, but the original lights are carefully packed in a box. The car always seemed to have too much red at the back, so that is the reason for the clear tail lights.
I have only seen one other red back, but when the AU1 was released Ford had some higher performance packs available. As far as I know the Red back was purely an AU1 thing, but it came out of the Tickford complex. As to who same up with the idea, you could be right when you say some dealers. They would have had to get Ford to approve it though, but I remember it being listed in the high spec section of the dealers cars that were available for special order.It was only after I saw a picture did I say that I had to have one. I do know that Tickford only made around 100 of them. As to the car itself, it has an extremely light kerb weight, so the power to weight ratio would be high. It is not a car to be driven in the wet as there is a secondary module under the bonnet that allows the car to have a reasonable highway fuel usage, but if you are in race mode then the thing kicks in at about 2500 rpm and give a boost like my WRX used to. If it is wet and it does that, it loses the rear wheel traction. It does have 1 claim to fame though. I had a mate who bought a BA GT with the 290Kw engine. Because those 5.4 litre GT's weighed at least half a ton more, I knocked off the GT twice out of 2 runs at Tocumwal airstrip. He kept saying I must have cheated, hence the second run. You may note that I said I had a mate, because he still thinks I cheated.
So there is a bit about it. They were all black, came out of Tickford as a special order, and were tricked up to go fast.. Thanks for showing interest, but you did say "pic's or it doesn't exist".

Where are the pictures?????????????

[Polyal]

Ah the old "tricked up" line.

Not that I dont believe you but dealers can do just about what they want to their stock once its released from factory.

What mods were done? As I said it seems to have ESS unless its just the steering wheel. Do you have pictures of the auto selector and ESS button?

We are just hungry for info mate.

[OffRoadFalcon]

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

Where are the pictures?????????????

Post #405

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Ah the old "tricked up" line.

Not that I dont believe you but dealers can do just about what they want to their stock once its released from factory.

What mods were done? As I said it seems to have ESS unless its just the steering wheel. Do you have pictures of the auto selector and ESS button?

We are just hungry for info mate.

Well keep in mind that the car was ordered through a local dealer who had to look up the price book to give me a price. He wasn't aware of the model either, but then mine is an early one. The car was approximately $8500.00 more than a basic XR8 and also had red leather seats. Mine was ordered without the seats, and came up on a truck direct from Ford.
The module under the bonnet was supplied by Cosworth in England. I know that much because I have had to replace it since the car ran out of warranty. And it cost nearly $1000.00, which brought terror to my bank account.
I realise you think that I could be telling BS but what is the point. The car is not for sale, my original question on this forum was regarding the J3 chip that plugs into the computer, but it appears if I fit that, then the other module has to be removed. So I have lost my keen ness.

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Grippy

I see an SVO sticker/badge on the air box intake, maybe a Mick Webb/SVO package?

The SVO sticker came with the K & N air filter, I put the sticker there to dress it a little. You may notice that the Power Steering tank plus the Oil Filler have nice chrome Tickford Lids. It doesn't make the car go faster, but they look nice.

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by Polyal

Ah the old "tricked up" line.

Not that I dont believe you but dealers can do just about what they want to their stock once its released from factory.

What mods were done? As I said it seems to have ESS unless its just the steering wheel. Do you have pictures of the auto selector and ESS button?

We are just hungry for info mate.

I forgot to mention that it is a five speed manual. The buttons on the wheel were if you bought an auto.

[The_Interceptor]

Originally Posted by red_hotxr6

Where are the pictures?????????????

The pics are down the forum a bit. I put them on a couple of nights ago.