When Tickford joined forces with Ford Australia in the early 1990’s to create the EB XR6 and XR8 Falcon’s, in my opinion it was a return to form for the company. For nine long years a V8 engine wasn’t offered in the Falcon range, leaving many Ford enthusiasts unsatisfied. As a ten year old, I remember reading a copy of Wheels magazine that featured the then new EB Falcon S XR8 with the 5.0 litre V8 Windsor engine. I really liked the understated styling combined with the V8 and 5 speed manual gearbox. After seeing the EB XR8 as a young fella, I wanted to own an XR Falcon at some point in my life. I always liked the Ford Falcon EL XR6’s and was excited to learn that it was just as fast as the early series EL XR8’s. It had less power and torque than the XR8 but at 1527kg it was 40kg lighter.
In 2005, I decided to purchase a dark blue 1997 EL XR6 with the five speed manual gearbox and it had the optional 16 inch Tickford alloys that really enhanced the look of the car. The XR6 had the Tickford enhanced 4.0 litre inline 6 cylinder engine that produced 164kW of power and 366Nm of torque. The engine featured an alloy cylinder head, single overhead camshaft and two valves per cylinder. Tickford cars had a more aggressive camshaft and a free flowing exhaust resulting in power and torque increases over the standard models. It certainly wasn’t a high revving engine but had plenty of torque and was best through 3rd and 4th gear higher speed corners. The big rear wheel drive sedan had a limited slip differential and put its power down quite well, particularly when a set of Bridgestone Potenza Adrenalin’s were fitted. Back in 1997, it was a fast as the XR8 with a 0-100km/h time of 7.6 seconds and a quarter mile time of 15.5 seconds.
Steering feedback was a real highlight and you could tell that it had been tuned well for Australian conditions. The EL range had recalibrated suspension and steering systems and was much more surefooted than the earlier EF’s. It was a great car for long highway drives but due to it being quite heavy suffered from body roll and wasn’t too composed when asked to change direction suddenly. It was a fun car to drive on dirt roads and absorbed bumps particularly well.
I liked the exterior look of the car with the quad headlights but although they looked good didn’t offer great lighting. The car I bought didn’t have the optional body kit but that wasn’t much of a concern. The interior featured a nice Momo sports steering wheel and gear knob along with the basic cloth interior. Other positives were that it was a very practical car with a large boot, it sat five people comfortably and servicing and parts were cheap. Unfortunately interior trim wasn’t particularly durable and roof lining was prone to falling off. I also felt that you sat too high and the position of the gear level wasn’t ideal.
I found that the brakes were never up to scratch for such a heavy car and machining and replacing rotors was common. Vibration through the steering wheel under braking was also unsettling. The throttle cable was a weak point where it went through the firewall and my car required reinforcement in this area.
I enjoyed this car for seven years before selling it in 2012. It’s such a shame that in 2014 the Falcon XR6 and XR8 range was discontinued. In my opinion, they were the pick of Ford’s lineup for many years and I’m sure they will be missed among Australian motoring enthusiasts. Falcon EL XR6’s are now quite cheap to buy and they marked an important part in Ford Australia’s history.
Here you can find some eLearning programs that I’m promoting through edUPay and Udemy, mostly in the fields of photography, software and design.
Please find the link below to access edUPay eLearning Programs.
Please find the links below to access Udemy eLearning Programs:
Photography courses:
Photography Masterclass: A Complete Guide to Photography
Canon DSLR Photography: Getting Started with Your DSLR
iPhone Photography | Take Professional Photos On Your iPhone
Software courses:
Microsoft Excel – Excel from Beginner to Advanced
WordPress for Beginners – Master WordPress Quickly
YouTube Masterclass – Your Complete Guide to YouTube
Design courses:
Adobe Photoshop CC: Your Complete Beginner to Advanced Class
The Ultimate Drawing Course – Beginner to Advanced
Other courses:
Become a SuperLearner® 2: Learn Speed Reading & Boost Memory
SEO 2020: Complete SEO Training + SEO for WordPress Websites
Please check out the following Amazon Affiliate and Clickbank products. Let me know if you place an order and I’ll email you a copy of my e-book ‘Stories from the motoring world’ for free!
I recently did an oil change on my Nissan 300ZX and this adjustable oil filter wrench really came in handy. It can be adjusted for all different oil filter sizes ranging from 54mm to 116mm. This tool is highly recommended and makes an oil change so much easier.
Seagate Portable External Hard Drive
This portable external 2TB hard drive has been a handy back-up for storing all my photos, videos and articles.
Motul RBF 660 Dot-4 Racing Brake Fluid 500 mL
I use this racing brake fluid for my Nissan 300ZX for track days. It’s a DOT 4 fluid that has a very high boiling point. The car now has less brake fade and this brake fluid gives me more confidence to brake later on the track.
A handy torque wrench, it’s very easy to use and features an easy to read LED display with a choice of measurements (kg-cm, N-m, in-lb. ft-lb), LED flashing and a buzzer alarm when the torque is reached.
This program is great for those wanting to learn photography and get paid as a freelancer.
New battery reconditioning course
This course is an easy to follow, step-by-step system to recondition all kinds of old batteries, with just simple supplies you probably already have in your home.
Are you looking for easy woodworking plans? Check out these 16,000 projects, featuring step by step instructions, cutting and materials list, detailed schematics and views from all angles. These projects are suitable for both beginners and professionals.
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