2016 Ford Falcon FGX XR Sprint Launch, Part 3): Performance testing.
Part 3) FGX Falcon XR6T Sprint and XR8 Sprint Performance testing.
There’s been plenty of banter about the performance potential of the new Sprints since the launch, some good, some not so good.
Given there’s been some significant improvements made over the existing models as a forum we thought we’d find out for ourselves what is or isn’t the case!
Falcon Forums and the Australian Ford Enthusiasts Network has conducted its own performance testing with the XR6T Sprint and auto XR8 Sprint.
I want to be up front here, Im not a skilled race driver, just an average enthusiast. I remember clearly the directives given to us at the launch by Ford about how to best drive the cars off from a standing start. Further discussions recently with David and Justin reconfirmed this process for each car, In the interests of getting a good result quickly I followed those instructions, (these are listed below).
The 3 specific performance criteria we’ve decided to test were chosen because of their relevance to ordinary every day driving, that being 0-60kph, 0-100kph and the 80-120kph overtaking test.
While 400 meter would have been great our private test facility didn’t allow the right distances for that to occur safely, but it’s not that hard to extrapolate an approx. ¼ time from the 0-100 number.
Testing Detail and Method.
We spent 2 days with both cars doing performance testing at the secret private Falcon Forums test facility.
The testing was conducted using a Racelogic Performance Box, an industry accepted standard and highly accurate GPS based timing device.
Both cars were subjected to multiple runs each in groups over the day to gain data.
We ran the cars in both directions to ensure the area used was determined as flat/neutral with the average rest time between runs of between 1-3 mins during which the cars were driven normally to allow them to normalise temperatures.
The Test conditions for the 2 days were between 9 and 14 ‘C and mostly fine.
The cars were tested with OEM recommended tyre pressures, both cars were running Caltex 98. Tank load ranged from full to 2/3 in each car.
The test surface was standard main road type coarse asphalt, it was in good condition, i.e the kind of road conditions and surface type most of us would use every day.
What I will do is provide data for both vehicles, a table of the 4 best runs with an average and the best times achieved in a single run.
I will also give you a table of less than perfect runs with a description of the issues faced to provide balance to the numbers.
Lastly a summary table of data to compare the 2.
So how do you do it if you own one?
Well to be honest it’s not hard.
XR6T Sprint.
The car was launched using a variety of methods, with and without Traction Control/Launch control, in first and second gear all in performance mode.
From the directions given and the data it became obvious the “best” way I found to launch the 6 was TC off, hold 1900rpm and step off the brake while moving straight to WOT. Very simple process, but obviously dependant on tyre and road conditions. In this instance – both good.
Use of TC really didn’t slow the car much at all but a “hero” time was achieved with it off and with exceptional grip. In fact I didn’t really feel any significant wheel spin during the 4.5 second time.
Any time above 4.9 seconds had significant grip issues.
Could it go quicker? Honestly I doubt it, but with the all the stars aligned? Who knows.
Chart 1) XR6T Sprint
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...ps7ndoyoy4.png
XR8A Sprint.
The car was launched using a variety of methods, with and without Traction Control/Launch control, in first and second gear, all in performance mode.
From the directions given and the data it became obvious the “best” way was to launch the 8 was as per Fords instructions with Traction Control/Launch control, 1900rpm with foot flat to the floor and step off the brake while using WOT and drive away.
The 8 in particular was harder to get consistent times from, wheel spin/TC intervention was at times still a bit of an issue and more prevalent than with the 6. Where TC was not needed with the 6 it was necessary in the 8 to get the best from it on the day.
The TC was used during the “hero” time of 4.6 seconds. I couldn’t honestly feel any significant wheel spin during that run but in other runs under 5 seconds it was notable. Anything 5 and above had significant grip issues.
Could it go quicker? Like the 6 honestly I doubt it, maybe? I will say the 8 at times turned the tyres a bit more that the 6, I don’t know how you avoid it. A Manual 8? I’ll leave that for the real experts…
Chart 2) XR8A Sprint
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...psjfpld38j.png
When things didn’t go to plan
In the interests of fairness and context I’ve listed some of the worst runs below to illustrate it’s not going to go perfect every time. Basically anything above the average best times had some form of traction issue. If you did more than 3 runs in a row in a short period of time the cars came away from TOB.
Chart 3) Worst runs
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...psfhbpjc9q.png
Conclusion.
So which one is faster?
Well that’s a very complex question, they are very close. We set out to measure the cars in 3 distinct areas. We wanted owners to know what the true potential is of their cars and equally how best to achieve it.
Based on the best results you’d have to say we have 2 different winners and a draw.
Chart 4) Summary
http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/n...psj2kel9nf.png
Going by the “best” times we found on our test the Sprint 8 and Sprint 6 are equal to 60kph but the Sprint 6 has it covered by 0.1sec to 100kph, then the Sprint 8 claws back its advantage in the 80-120kph bracket thanks to some extra KW’s.
Using the averages though things get more interesting where the Sprint 6 is about 0.1 second quicker than the Sprint 8 from 0-60kph and 0-100kph. But… in the 80-120 roll on test the 8 still demonstrates an acceleration advantage.
And that’s not the whole story. If we look at the tables beyond the top 4 runs its obvious the Sprint 6 is an easier car to leave from a standing start consistently. It certainly felt that way and It doesn’t deviate from best to worst as much as the Sprint 8 does.
And there is a good reason for that, the cars develop and use their power in different ways.
The instant torque and throttle response of the Miami makes the 8 a harder car to launch cleanly, in contrast the “softer” initial throttle response from Turbo 6 helps the Sprint 6 get moving with less fuss, then it’s prodigious midrange kicks in from 2500rpm. Once we get above 5000rpm though the Sprint 8 can exercise the extra KW’s it’s got which shows up in the 80-120 times. The Miami above 5000 RPM is a rocket.
I think I need to be clear here too about a few things. While we all get mesmerised by hero times they are in reality harder to get and require everything to go perfectly, including having a good surface. Looking at averages gives a better perspective of what’s realistic day in day out. Also I found the best times came when the cars were above ¾ of a tank of fuel.
So there you have it, our head to head performance review with enough info and data for you all to decide which one is your winner!
