Ford Sierra XR4i......30 years on.
Discussion
cerb4.5lee said:
carinaman said:
The 4 litre in the Explorer and Mustang is a Cologne.
You learn something new everyday, my dad still owns a Granada cosworth 24v & an Explorer & I knew the Scorpio had a cologne engine but didn't realise the explorer was one too! 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cologne_V6_engin...
I've read the 24V Cossie Cologne isn't cheap to overhaul and wondered if dropping in a 4 litre Cologne into 280S and Tasmins could be a way to go.
You know what the Americans say about cubic capacity.
Edited by carinaman on Wednesday 5th June 22:16
carinaman said:
cerb4.5lee said:
carinaman said:
The 4 litre in the Explorer and Mustang is a Cologne.
You learn something new everyday, my dad still owns a Granada cosworth 24v & an Explorer & I knew the Scorpio had a cologne engine but didn't realise the explorer was one too! http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ford_Cologne_V6_engin...
I've read the 24V Cossie Cologne isn't cheap to overhaul and wondered if dropping in a 4 litre Cologne into 280S and Tasmins could be a way to go.
You know what the Americans say about cubic capacity.
Edited by carinaman on Wednesday 5th June 22:16
I agree you can't argue with cubic capacity the Americans have got it right. T66ORA said:
s m said:
I hope you'll be doing some updates 
Are you doing any other updates alongside the engine work?
Trying to keep it as OEM as possible, i know the T9 gearbox is a bit weak so will see how that goes.Are you doing any other updates alongside the engine work?
GC8 said:
aeropilot said:
GC8 said:
The truth though, was that even the XR2 was more boring in every dynamic way than the RS2000.
EFAThe XR2 was no 205GTI, but it didnt have to be a class leader to be greatly superior to the earlier cars.
Edited by GC8 on Sunday 17th March 19:25
The Lotus Sunbeam ( next to the black XR2 ) was a different matter though, even when it was in standard 150bhp tune.
The XRs were a lot stiffer suspension wise though I'll concede, the Mk2 Xr2 was like a little roller skate through an island, never as much fun as the old Escorts though.
E.t.a. The road tests of the time had the MK2 RS2000 and Mk2 XR2 fairly pegged up to 100, and in gear, the Escort actually posted the faster times up to 100, standing 1/4 and km - nothing in it for practical purposes as I remember though
blade7 said:
cerb4.5lee said:
Cheers I agree you can't argue with cubic capacity the Americans have got it right.
If it's got an alloy block/heads maybe, but a turbo trumps CC I agree you can't argue with cubic capacity the Americans have got it right. .MarsellusWallace said:
My brother had an xr4i in the mid 80's-a white one with a similar reg no to yours.If my memory serves me right the reg was A924 POO.I was 17 so had only just passed my test and used to borrow it sometimes-it felt a properly quick car for its time.
Just to let you know Will. It's still looking and driving well 25 years on. Arthur.Cool thread!
A local electrician had a white XR4i with TSW Omega? (dished 5 spokes)and my boss at the Ford dealership I worked at had a few XR4x4s, During the 90s I had a red XR4x4 one of the last 2.8 with k-jet, bought it from a nurse in Cambridge. Great car back in the day, until I went over a big hump in the road on the A1073 nr Crowland and bottomed out flattening the exhaust and cracked the front diff casing. :realtears:
Always found the later EFI 2.9s to be less responsive than the early cars and the gearchange on the later MT75 'boxes a very vague/slow action.
A local electrician had a white XR4i with TSW Omega? (dished 5 spokes)and my boss at the Ford dealership I worked at had a few XR4x4s, During the 90s I had a red XR4x4 one of the last 2.8 with k-jet, bought it from a nurse in Cambridge. Great car back in the day, until I went over a big hump in the road on the A1073 nr Crowland and bottomed out flattening the exhaust and cracked the front diff casing. :realtears:
Always found the later EFI 2.9s to be less responsive than the early cars and the gearchange on the later MT75 'boxes a very vague/slow action.
Edited by GVK on Thursday 18th July 22:27
GVK said:
Cool thread!
A local electrician had a white XR4i with TSW Omega? (dished 5 spokes)and my boss at the Ford dealership I worked at had a few XR4x4s, During the 90s I had a red XR4x4 one of the last 2.8 with k-jet, bought it from a nurse in Cambridge. Great car back in the day, until I went over a big hump in the road on the A1073 nr Crowland and bottomed out flattening the exhaust and cracked the front diff casing. :realtears:
Always found the later EFI 2.9s to be less responsive than the early cars and the gearchange on the later MT75 'boxes a very vague/slow action.
I prefered the 2.9 as it had 6 exhaust ports instead of the poorly designed 4 ports for the 2.8 & I also thought the MT75 was a good gearbox aswell but I loved the two 2.9 XR4X4's I owned, but I will also never forget the drive I had of my uncles XR4i as that was the business too.A local electrician had a white XR4i with TSW Omega? (dished 5 spokes)and my boss at the Ford dealership I worked at had a few XR4x4s, During the 90s I had a red XR4x4 one of the last 2.8 with k-jet, bought it from a nurse in Cambridge. Great car back in the day, until I went over a big hump in the road on the A1073 nr Crowland and bottomed out flattening the exhaust and cracked the front diff casing. :realtears:
Always found the later EFI 2.9s to be less responsive than the early cars and the gearchange on the later MT75 'boxes a very vague/slow action.
Edited by GVK on Thursday 18th July 22:27
This thread just brings brilliant memories back & i can't believe it's 20 years ago that I had my first XR4X4.
I thought i would bring this back to the top as my XR4i is 30 yrs old today.
It been an eventful 15 months for the car, the full story can be found over on readers cars.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
It been an eventful 15 months for the car, the full story can be found over on readers cars.
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Lowtimer said:
Lovely looking car.
Now step away from the salt water...
Agree'd, stunning car, now for fNow step away from the salt water...
ks sake get it away from that salt water.
I had one of these, it was a dog but I had a bad example, ten years old and worn out, I paid 600 quid for it and kept it six months, that's when it failed its MOT big time, I remember running over a Labrador in Cirencester in it.
My Old Man had a succession of 2.0l Cortinas in the 70s, followed by an early 2.0l Sierra. Enough to keep this young petrolhead happy, as a passenger anyway. I accompanied him on a business trip to Birmingham when I was 13 or so, and my eyes popped out of my head when we were picked-up in an XR4i. It was the Millennium Falcon to Dad's run-of-the-mill Fords. I remember (probably imagined) being pushed back in my seat with acceleration along Brum's motorways...
A mate had a 2.0i Sierra Sapphire as a gash car about 15 years ago. With Chung Kwo (tm) tyres it was comically easy to oversteer, and was a real hoot to drive within it's rather low limits. It eventually died on track after a conrod failed and punched quite spectacularly through the side of the block.
A mate had a 2.0i Sierra Sapphire as a gash car about 15 years ago. With Chung Kwo (tm) tyres it was comically easy to oversteer, and was a real hoot to drive within it's rather low limits. It eventually died on track after a conrod failed and punched quite spectacularly through the side of the block.
Thank you T66ORA for this great thread about your beloved XR4i.
I have a 1983 issue of "Car" magazine which I bought in Tasmania (could I get further from the UK?) as a 16 year old with the red XR4i on the cover and tag line "Ford's Sierra Life Support Machine". Reading the article again this morning and the anticipated sales figures prompted an internet search and discovery of this thread.
It is easy to forget in today's context how forward thinking and advanced the design of these Sierras were.
To clarify some earlier posts, in Australia Ford has continued with the "XR" name, with several of our large Falcon sedans being XR6, XR6 Turbo (270kW stock) or XR8 (yes the V8 version). The supercharged 335kW V8 version is known as the GT. The recently superceded Fiesta was also available here as an XR4. The new model Focus and Fiesta have both reverted to "ST" badges.
Personally I drive a 2010 LV Focus XR5 Turbo which you all know as the ST of course but here, with that awesome Volvo T5 engine, it is the XR5 Turbo. A sweet car and spiritual successor to the Sierra XR4i.
I have a 1983 issue of "Car" magazine which I bought in Tasmania (could I get further from the UK?) as a 16 year old with the red XR4i on the cover and tag line "Ford's Sierra Life Support Machine". Reading the article again this morning and the anticipated sales figures prompted an internet search and discovery of this thread.
It is easy to forget in today's context how forward thinking and advanced the design of these Sierras were.
To clarify some earlier posts, in Australia Ford has continued with the "XR" name, with several of our large Falcon sedans being XR6, XR6 Turbo (270kW stock) or XR8 (yes the V8 version). The supercharged 335kW V8 version is known as the GT. The recently superceded Fiesta was also available here as an XR4. The new model Focus and Fiesta have both reverted to "ST" badges.
Personally I drive a 2010 LV Focus XR5 Turbo which you all know as the ST of course but here, with that awesome Volvo T5 engine, it is the XR5 Turbo. A sweet car and spiritual successor to the Sierra XR4i.
Edited by AussieMattP on Wednesday 23 October 02:58
The Cologne V6 was alive and well in the USA up until the 2011 facelift of the Mustang. Various Capri enthusiasts have looked at putting the 4.0 V6 in the Capri but it's considered too tall.
Back in the eighties Devon & Cornwall Police took delivery of four XR4i Sierras and managed to crash three within a very short space of time - apparently some high speed stability problem that led to the arrival of the XR4x4.
In the nineties I had a job in Honiton, Devon and regularly met a chap with a Silver / Grey Sierra XR6, I think it was on a 'G' plate, with an 3.0 Essex V6 courtesy of Ford of South Africa.
Back in the eighties Devon & Cornwall Police took delivery of four XR4i Sierras and managed to crash three within a very short space of time - apparently some high speed stability problem that led to the arrival of the XR4x4.
In the nineties I had a job in Honiton, Devon and regularly met a chap with a Silver / Grey Sierra XR6, I think it was on a 'G' plate, with an 3.0 Essex V6 courtesy of Ford of South Africa.
Art69 said:
MarsellusWallace said:
My brother had an xr4i in the mid 80's-a white one with a similar reg no to yours.If my memory serves me right the reg was A924 POO.I was 17 so had only just passed my test and used to borrow it sometimes-it felt a properly quick car for its time.
Just to let you know Will. It's still looking and driving well 25 years on. Arthur.25 years.Wow! Can't believe you still have it after so long.I will tell Rob next time I see him.All the best.
Art69 said:
MarsellusWallace said:
My brother had an xr4i in the mid 80's-a white one with a similar reg no to yours.If my memory serves me right the reg was A924 POO.I was 17 so had only just passed my test and used to borrow it sometimes-it felt a properly quick car for its time.
Just to let you know Will. It's still looking and driving well 25 years on. Arthur.25 years.Wow! Can't believe you still have it after so long.I will tell Rob next time I see him.All the best.
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