Hi, i am considering a 2003 BA v8 Farimont Ghia, Can anyone tell me how fast they are? Also, what are the power and torque figures for it?

How does the car handle for a big sedan?

I am thinking of this or maybe an older v8 bmw

Thanks.

hey mate,

my mums got one of these, and power is good, quite nice and always there. Torque is amazing. And handling is awesome for a big sedan like you say. I was amazed at the handling. The only concern from here is when the breaks heat up they shudder sometimes, but apart from that awesome cars.. I love it! and so does my mum.


Cheers

drive one see how you llke it.

Slower than an ELXR6 :p.
They are good for 15.0-15.5 down the quarter, they're a very heavy car.
They're pretty floaty too, I don't much like the feel of driving them.

220kW @ 4750 rpm
470Nm @ 3250 rpm
kerb weight approx 1700kg.

The "Drive" section in the Herald recently had
a good write up on the Fairmont 6, and VE Calais.
Good reading for general research....

look at the speedo - there's a needle that tells you that!

gday mate
I can't comment really on the power of the BA v8, but as for the rest of the car, I had a BA ghia 4L and they are BEAUTIFUL cars to drive. Handling is very good for what they are - with the 'sports-control-blade' as standard they're a good compromise between the softness of standard suspension and the firmness of the xr's. It handled much better than my EF (which was lowered with king's and monore gt gas's) as well as being a much better ride. I had the EF for a few weeks after we got the BA, and after getting used to the Ghia, the EF really felt rough and uncomfortable and VERY old...
not long before i sold the BA i was looking for other cars to buy instead, and i looked at 5 series bmw's... the only ones that will come anywhere close to the BA for features would be a 98-on E39 and a decent V8 E39 will cost you a lot more than a ghia and guaranteed it will be less comfortable - those fords are awesome value as second hand cars. Features you don't get on many other cars like the adjustable pedals, electric seat and mirrors all keyed individually to each remote control is great if you share the car with anyone else - no more adjusting the seat every time you get in...
i sold it for financial reasons - was depreciating too quickly (lost over $10K in just over a year that we had it). ended up buying a mazda 6 for the Mrs which she loves and then sold the mini and got myself the V8 which is good too, but i really miss that BA... one of the most comfortable cars i've ever been in

while i cant comment on the fairmont as i havnt been in one i can about the engine as i have one in my ute. they are a great motor! has a bit of power when you want, nice to cruise round with and fun to play with lots of torque down low, and go well with mods (better then the boss)

I find it hard to believe its slower than an el xr6

couldn't find specs on an el xr6 but these are the results of an auto el gli:

0 - 100km/h 9.2 sec
0 - 400 mtrs 16.7 sec

I doubt the extra 7kw (even with 3.45 gears) the xr6 has is gonna be able to knock off over a second of the quarter mile and 2 seconds off its 0-100 to beat the BA v8.

before you winge about manual, these results are based on an auto just as an auto barra 220 is capable of low/mid 15 sec passes and 0-100 in low/mid 7 seconds.

Why is that?? I reckon they are almost dead even in the standard tests.

Motor tested the EL in August 1996 & recorded 7.86 & 15.37 for the 0-100kph & 400m respectively.

The 220 is a standard truck motor, as was the 165kw windsor. Just cos it's a V8 don't make it real quick. Great for towing though.

The XR6 was meant to go quick. Mild cam, exhaust, shorter diff & ECU map to suit.

BA is over 1700kg.

EL is around 1500kg.

Where is the surprise?

Well, mate, I'd probably know what with the fact I had one that ran a 15.2 stock, yes that is manual, but it's still an EL XR. if you made it manual vs manual the EL would still win, the 3 valver is quite an average engine, as has been said, it's a truck engine pulling a car of about 1750kg.

mate you cant beat a fairmont for class comfortand luxury you wanna put low profiles on em the suspensions nice and soft to compromise, so they lack a bit of power thats easily fixed theyre a good base to start off with all the tits and knobs

well, the fairmont has a better power to weigt ratio despite its fat a** (even though that doesn't represent the average power which is rather important). I just heard the barra v8's were pretty powerful. if you could find an el xr6 performance sheet on the net, it would be interesting to see. I would think a manual fairmont v8 wouldbe able to bag a high 14/low 15.

There are some guys in Victoria running mid 12's with that "average" engine with only bolt ons and a custom tune.

If thats average, then what is the 4.0L inline six?