Greets to all.
Been reading tons of threads for the last few weeks ever since i decided to retire my worn out xh xr6 ute that has served me well for the past 3 years. Selling it dereged to a mate for a grand.
Tuesday i pick up a stock and near perfect ba xr6 ute.

I have no more than $2500 to spend on performance upgrades and as an old guy who does like an occasional mild thrash, i have been researching the forums to focus more on economy in me new ute. Economy is the priority over more grunt. The stock motor has adequate grunt to produce a decent grin on me face.

I do have to redo the tinting as the stuff on it is a bit of a mess, and i'm spending a bit on a dash mat, floor mats and seat covers to keep the interior in good nick...( perhaps some vinyl on the bonnet and mirrors if i have enough cash)...but the rest goes on the motor (the motor is on the top of the list)
So, from all i have read so far, here's what i plan to do...and feedback and advice is most appreciative.

- Full exhaust system, pacemaker headers\extractors, hi flow cat, 2 1\2inch single system.
- CIA - make my own or put in one from the Typhoon or something similar, as recommended by many here.
- Underdrive kit

As i said, apart from the occasional thrash, i generally drive in relaxed cruise mode, so economy is my goal, not trying to wring the last drop of extra HP out of it.

What do you guys think, and after all that is done, is a tune recommended?
Any anything i may have missed?

My new mechanic, who's absolutely brilliant, ran a full computer diagnostic when he checked the ute over on saturday and the motor is only very slightly off specs, but i imagine once i do the mods the car will need to be re-calibrated or does the car self diagnose and adjust accordingly.( haven't discussed this with me mechanic yet)

First car with tons of electronics so i am greatly lacking in knowledge, though quickly learning due to this forum.

Oh, K&N air filter. Still 50\50 on this as some recommend them and some say waste of money.
I'm in a farming area and there is a reasonable amount of dust around, and a few dirt roads to traverse every now and then.
If i got one it would be for financial reasons, not performance changes, seeing as they last for yonks and the standard filter is $40, and i average about 15,000Ks a year. Though my mechanic says he's not keen on filters you have to oil. But if i could clean it without the expensive K&N cleaners and run it without oil, i would get one.
Thoughts?

You can't run any of those types of filters without the special oil ... the oil does the filtering otherwise it's useless.
If you are not prepared to clean it and re-oil it as required then don't buy one and continue with the normal paper filters.

I had K&N on a lancer several years ago but pranged the car when an old guy changed lanes in a round-a-bout i was sliding around, so i never got to do the first clean and re-oil.

I like the idea of the filter lasting a long time, though oil plus reasonable amounts of dust my area... doesn't this mean i would be cleaning and oiling the filter frequently that the cost would be more than using standard filters?

The process of cleaning and oiling is not a problem, the issue is cost over a year of doing that compared to a standard filter. I suppose you can't crunch the numbers till you try it for a year.

So anyways, me mate who's buying my old Xh xr6, he's an ex speedway racer, and we got to talking about K&Ns, of which he highly recommends them and gave me some tech info regarding the oil.
I'm sold and will be getting one.
Though this means i have to get one for the CAI kit i install, or does the extra venting go through the original airbox?

Snapped the front pipe off the Cat the other day. 40psi in tyres instead of the previous owner's 32s and harder driving in corners did this

There was a crack already at that spot, heard a slight leak from that area but could not see where when i was testing before purchasing and have been informed by one mechanic it's a design fault of that model where both motor and body roll puts pressure on that spot right at the front of the Cat.

This cost me a few bucks to do a temp weld before i put me Xtractors and 2.5 inch system on, but it hi-lighted another negative about the BA XR ute...sloppy suspension.
It's advertised as having sports suspension...yeah, if the sport is river rafting perhaps.

So i'm now looking into beefing up the suspension, also due to the fact that you cannot load the tub up after the axle. Even 400-500kg between the axle and rear window causes the suspension to nearly bottom out, thus any reasonable weight makes the front end light and the ABS useless and dangerous.

It also could simply be severely worn shockies, as there is a slight tremble in the steering when i hit the brakes hard. But after i finished carting around a week's worth of soil and sand, i noticed how ridiculously long the rear springs are and how they are just about flat along the first 3\5ths with an empty tub.

Sure, a plusher ride, but sports?...nah, nothing resembling strong suspension. I would hate to see what a standard ba ute handles like if the XR has sports suspension.

Anyways, so this friday( good weather permitting), a trip to Lonnie for the window tinting, then Pedders to assess my suspension and see what upgrades i can afford. Autobarn to chat with the staff if they know of any other suspension places in town, or they sell good kits and me mechanic can install them, and perhaps purchase a K&N filter from them.

I will not be running a CIA as that only increases power, not economy.
I recall reading here about how sucking in hot air causes the puta to inject less fuel, and thus i will be removing the grill mounted intake vent and running a pipe to the Xtractor area or somewhere close to the motor.

Tassie runs cold air nearly all year round due to low moisture content, that even in summer days of 30+ degrees, driving at any speed will still produce cold air at the intake, so that makes a CIA in Tassie a bit of a waste of time and cash in my books.

Then me mate who bought me XH reminded me that most of the older cars ran vent pipes from the filter box to the outlet manifold, thus constantly sucking in hot air.

Still got 3\4 tank of fuel so no install of new exhaust system till finished testing fuel consumption.
Then another full tank test after that install before installing Underdrive kit.

And though many state no difference in power or economy after installing a K&N air filter, i will still do my own testing because i prefer to verify claims instead of just believing what others say, considering there are conflicting statements.

Vinyl skin for bonnet and mirrors and green paint on mags will only occur if i have any cash left, as suspension is far more important that visuals.

Current summary of me BA XR6 ute after 2 weeks of driving:

Kickass:
- steering wheel.
- motor.
- body shape.
- huge front discs with ABS - that saved me from plowing into embankment at 80K on other side of road after testing cheap no grip tyres on drizzly day.
- fully adjustable electric seat and adjustable steering column.
- quiet, spacious interior with cruise control.

Dumbass:
- gear lever - super cold in mornings and burning hot when sun hits it, even in current cool spring weather, plus cheap and nasty vinyl cowl over gearstick, already broken.
( a constant theme of newer cars is the quality is less than previous ones, the BA is no exception)
- top of dash - needs dash mat otherwise view is horribly compromised by glare off shiny dash onto windscreen.
- suspension - see above.
- seats - far less quality and sturdiness that the XH seats, right side lip already lost stiffness, and seats too skinny. ( no, i am not a fat a55)
- XR body moldings, - cheap brittle thin plastic.
- needs window guard on doors to stop rain coming in. XH did not need 'em.
- flimsy door covering petrol cap
- winch for spare tyre - either design fault because it's jammed due to dust infection or cable is twisted.

double post.
Thanks admin for fixing the pic glitch

Last edited by Jay17 on Wed Nov 12, 2014 9:37 am, edited 1 time in total.

Regarding the spare tyre winch - stopped working on my cars when i hit me late 30's, for multiple reasons, had a small number of issues with me old mechanic here of 3 years where the last very expensive and unnecessary incident was the last straw, but hi-lighted something that had been in the back of me mind for a while.

Not being as pro active in the repair and maintenance of my cars as i used to be, thus relying and being too dependent on the skill and integrity, or lack or low level there of, of someone else. The good thing about the last and final costly repair on me old ute is it was the catalyst to get me to return to being more involved in my cars.

Going to attempt to repair the spare tyre winch myself, and also look into doing my own servicing.
Stopped doing own servicing after i bought an EF, crazy newer cars with no room in engine bay and having to put car on ramps just to get to oil filter etc.

Also, painting the factory mags green.
Come across these pics the other day. Mags the same color as the body...nice !
pics 9,10,12,13 focusing on 20,35,36,39,40.
So perhaps the rims the same as the ute, gloss white, and the spokes in green.

Pics...
Green mags on white car
The shade of green i'm thinking of

Sent a message to admin\tech regarding the ridiculously large pic that i cannot edit out.

Anyways, did my first full tank economy test, it's a 70 litre tank.
640K using 69L, so that's 9.27K per litre. I'm old so that means nothing to me so converting that = 26 miles per gallon...which is pretty good for the size of the motor.

I recall many moons ago, my HT wagon's 186 red motor averaged around 27 miles per...and that's running about 130bhp\100kw, as opposed to the barra's 244bhp\182kw

So with the pre-mods econ test done, Xtractors and 2.5 in system with Meadows Mufflers and Brakes is being done this thursday, picking it up on friday and getting crappy\worn? suspension assessed. Autobarn hoons and two other trusted sources have recommended K & D Fleming as Lonnie's resident suspension gurus, which helps me avoid going to Pedders. Met them the other week for a quick chat about my suspension issues.

Bought K&N filter, but won't be installing that till after the new standard filter needs replacing, or perhaps after the final econ test after installing new exhaust and underdrive kit.

Regarding suspension. The car handles well up to 90K, but as soon as i hit 100K in the corners, that's when it simply can't handle the pressure. And the collapsed right hand lip and side on me driver's seat does not help when doing lefthanders.

Been a while....
Meadows exhausts and mufflers have done a hi quality install of me Hi-tech headers, hi-flow cat and 2 1\2 in single system, running a single muffler.

Nice low burble at idle and equally nice reasonably loud low frequency growl gunning it even a little, though quiet as a church mouse at any cruising speed, so no constant loudness.

Tint-a-car did the full window tint. Another high quality install.

Freestyle Signs might be doing the vinyl. Going with matt black for the bonnet and mirrors.
Quoted me $333 for all that, but seein' as the mirror surrounds are plastic and they are already half matt black from factory, i'm just going to vinyl the bonnet and spray paint the mirrors myself.
Getting that done either dec or jan.

But....as i'm currently researching parts online, i have another option that may be cheaper.
i could buy a second hand bonnet and just spray the sucker matt black myself, thus retaining the original if i ever sell the ute.

Been doing more research on suspension.
Last option was King Springs coil over kit for $1600. Adjustable front springs plus heavy duty 7 leaf rears, but i think that does not include shockies.
But my gut was telling me i won't be happy with the Kings.

Then through Fulcrum Suspension i came across Tein kits and wholesalesuspension.com.au has a complete coil over kit ready to install, with shocks, bushes the lot, and the option to choose various ride heights, for $2230. Rough estimate of $150-200 freight charges.

Then i found Roger Carter Mechanical in Smithton are a Fulcrum distributor and so i will check with them next week about their price. Not sure of their price yet as i have to work out desired ride height. But definitely going with Tein for my suspension.

Also K & D Fleming in Lonnie is checking if they can get the kit.
If not then the other mob will do the install, and i will still have K & D do my wheel alignment and replace worn rack and pinion. Getting that done when the current crappy tyres wear out and i get me some super grippy GT radials. Plus they are doing shockie upgrades and wheel alignment on me dear ol' mums "handles like a drunk jellyfish" magna wagon.

Did a full tank econ test after i got the new exhaust, but i hooned far more than usual, enjoying the new sound, and ended up chewin' slightly more fuel than with the stock exhaust. Settled down since then and the second full tank will be used up sometime next week, but indications so far is i will gain at least 150K a tank.

Mods left to do after all that is an underdrive kit, paint the mags green, doing that myself, and experimenting with running a pipe from the air intake close to some part of the motor to suck in hot air to increase economy, replace the dumbass gearknob, repair the collapsed right lip on the driver's seat, and there's a mob in Lonnie who will rebuild the cable on the tyre winch, as second hand winches go straight away down here.

The actual design fault in these devices is letting the cable go loose. As long as you keep tension while dropping and raising the spare, the cable will not jam up.
And that's about it for the time being. Money slowly trickles in, so i should have all this done by mid next year at the latest.

Picked up a near perfect bonnet at a wreckers near Devonport for $100, as opposed to the overpriced $250 they want at Lonnie wreckers.
Already got a few cheap cans of black spray paint, so instead of forking out over $200 to vinyl me bonnet, i can spray this one and keep the original one untouched.

Bought a few other things at a good price, so for the cost of fuel for a full day's drive, it was a successful day, and it was most enjoyable to do a long run in me ute through the beautiful countryside of Tassie.

Will install bonnet in the next couple of weeks.
Doing my first service at home this week, and looks like i will have a go at replacing brake pads myself as well, sometime in the near future, as i noticed they were a bit low when i rotated my rears.
Slowly getting back into doing as much work on car as possible, thus saving $$ on mechanics.

Also come across The Tyre Solution in East Devonport for low profile tyres.
$99 fitted for 235\45\17s...but imma considering switching to 18s if i find a nice second hand set of mags that will look good painted green.

Miscalculated somewheres on fuel economy, full tank test only gave me a 50K increase, so i'm doing more tests to confirm.