Ford Sierra XR4i......30 years on.
Discussion
T66ORA said:
s m said:
I've got some of the original test articles on the Turbo ones if you're interested and want me to scan them in chap?
What ones have you got?I have Autocar, Fast lane, Whatcar, mags covering the TT 200,
Motor TT 230,
Motor,CCC,Motor Sport,on Janspeed
Plus XR4x4T boring stuff
If you have anything different i would like a copy cheers.
Always remember 4 of us going camping in he lakes in my mates colleagues XR4i when it was only a few months old.
It fitted all our gear in and he had an indicated 135 on the clock on the M6 with an XJ on our tail.
It was a revelation to an 18 year old who had passed his test in an Allegro and who's Dad owned a Marina!
It fitted all our gear in and he had an indicated 135 on the clock on the M6 with an XJ on our tail.
It was a revelation to an 18 year old who had passed his test in an Allegro and who's Dad owned a Marina!
SIERRA XR4i Turbo.
Those of you who have tried to conventionally tune a Cologne 2.8 V6, will know you that you are "flogging a dead horse" when it comes to decent power increases.
The engine it replaced the Essex V6 found in Capri/Grananda was a bit better, this engine powered the Ford X-Pack 3 Ltr S Capris of the late 70s.
When tuned the power went from a standard 138 bhp and 174lb ft of torque to an impressive 175bhp/194lb ft,torque was always a Essex strong suit, the Cologne, especially lower down the rev range was far inferior.
Performance Car Magazine back in 1984,set about tuning a standard XR4i reg no A401 MHK, that magazines engine guru, the much respected Gerald Sauer, and the equally talented Dave Martin from Swaymar Engineering, produced, what is said to be, the most powerful naturally aspirated road friendly 2.8i engine ever produced.That engine had dyno proven 180.2bhp To get to that figure, the pair extensively modified the engine, it included, a Kent cam to RS2600 spec, 3 into 1 exhaust manifolds, free flowing exhaust, and for the first time on a road going Cologne V6 specially fabricated 6 port cylinder heads, the originals are Siamesed plus a 10.5:1 compression ratio and other tweeks! Unfortunately no torque figures were quoted for this spec, but 200lb ft was estimated.
The down side? Cost, to build a engine to this spec would have cost ££££ and the uptake low, no, the easiest and most cost effective way to more power would be forced induction.
( As a footnote Ford claimed 200bhp for the Rally NA 2.8i XR4x4 in Group A spec in 86/87)
First out of the blocks were "The go-faster masters" Janspeed, as early as September 83 they had a prototype ready for the motoring press.
Janspeed had been making Exhaust manifolds and systems for years, at the start of the 80s Turbocharging was the way forward and the Salisbury company were one of the first with after market conversions.
OWS 33Y was fitted with a American Rotomaster RM60 Turbo blowing intercooled air at 8psi to produce 200bhp @5000 rpm, this hastily prepared demo never performed as well as Janspeed expected and failed to break the 7sec 0-60mph mph dash.The cost of the engine conversion? £1750 plus the vodka an tonic, including fitting.
New kids on the block were Northampton company Turbo Technics,founded by ex-Garrett engineer Geoff Kershaw in 1981, his first project was consulting with Ford Motorsport on the Escort XR3 Turbo project, a lot of that development went into the SVE conceived RS Turbo.
TT not surprisingly went down the Garrett route with there XR4i conversion, a single, much used T3,the boost was slightly lower than the Janspeed at 6.5psi, again the charge was intercooled and the standard compression ratio was retained, to give the same 200bhp at a higher 5500 rpm and 252 lb ft of torque 3800 rpm, standard gearing restricted maximum speed, so Kershaw offered a higher final drive as a option, but if you wanted acceleration, you kept the 3.62 diff.
The late 1984 price was just £1550 plus vat.
By the spring of 1985 TT had developed its ultimate 2 wheel drive single Turbo offering, called the 230TT, this conversation went a step further by fitting the engine with upgraded internals and a lower compression ratio to enable a higher 9.5psi of boost, it also had a switch able boost facility, low gave the standard 200 brake, high gave, as its named suggested, 230 bhp and 272 torques! It was all a little bit to much for the RWD chassis, what this power needed was 4WD, especially in the damp and wet, and petrolheads didn`t need to wait to long, the XR4x4 was weeks away, and by the end of the year TT would offer you 280bhp with twin turbos!
PERFORMANCE FIGURES
............XR4i.....PC180.....JANSPEED.....TT.....230TT
MAX...... 128......134..........140.5.......140.....140.7
0-60.......7.7......7.2...........7.3.........6.4......6.2
0-100.....22.1.....21.0.........19.5......16.0......16.7
As a benchmark Autocar tested a Sierra RS Cosworth in August 1986
The figures? 145 max,6.2 and 16.1 0-60/100 respectively.
Another interesting stat, in the same Autocar edition as the XR4iTT, the newly announced BMW M535i AKA the M5(well a bit like an M5)
with 218bhp/229 lb ft was put through its paces.Results 143 max 0-60 7.4 0-100 19.5, the price just short of £18500.
Or have your 4iTT for transporting your family around and have an XR2 for your shopping trips and stick a grand away for fuel
Those of you who have tried to conventionally tune a Cologne 2.8 V6, will know you that you are "flogging a dead horse" when it comes to decent power increases.
The engine it replaced the Essex V6 found in Capri/Grananda was a bit better, this engine powered the Ford X-Pack 3 Ltr S Capris of the late 70s.
When tuned the power went from a standard 138 bhp and 174lb ft of torque to an impressive 175bhp/194lb ft,torque was always a Essex strong suit, the Cologne, especially lower down the rev range was far inferior.
Performance Car Magazine back in 1984,set about tuning a standard XR4i reg no A401 MHK, that magazines engine guru, the much respected Gerald Sauer, and the equally talented Dave Martin from Swaymar Engineering, produced, what is said to be, the most powerful naturally aspirated road friendly 2.8i engine ever produced.That engine had dyno proven 180.2bhp To get to that figure, the pair extensively modified the engine, it included, a Kent cam to RS2600 spec, 3 into 1 exhaust manifolds, free flowing exhaust, and for the first time on a road going Cologne V6 specially fabricated 6 port cylinder heads, the originals are Siamesed plus a 10.5:1 compression ratio and other tweeks! Unfortunately no torque figures were quoted for this spec, but 200lb ft was estimated.
The down side? Cost, to build a engine to this spec would have cost ££££ and the uptake low, no, the easiest and most cost effective way to more power would be forced induction.
( As a footnote Ford claimed 200bhp for the Rally NA 2.8i XR4x4 in Group A spec in 86/87)
First out of the blocks were "The go-faster masters" Janspeed, as early as September 83 they had a prototype ready for the motoring press.
Janspeed had been making Exhaust manifolds and systems for years, at the start of the 80s Turbocharging was the way forward and the Salisbury company were one of the first with after market conversions.
OWS 33Y was fitted with a American Rotomaster RM60 Turbo blowing intercooled air at 8psi to produce 200bhp @5000 rpm, this hastily prepared demo never performed as well as Janspeed expected and failed to break the 7sec 0-60mph mph dash.The cost of the engine conversion? £1750 plus the vodka an tonic, including fitting.
New kids on the block were Northampton company Turbo Technics,founded by ex-Garrett engineer Geoff Kershaw in 1981, his first project was consulting with Ford Motorsport on the Escort XR3 Turbo project, a lot of that development went into the SVE conceived RS Turbo.
TT not surprisingly went down the Garrett route with there XR4i conversion, a single, much used T3,the boost was slightly lower than the Janspeed at 6.5psi, again the charge was intercooled and the standard compression ratio was retained, to give the same 200bhp at a higher 5500 rpm and 252 lb ft of torque 3800 rpm, standard gearing restricted maximum speed, so Kershaw offered a higher final drive as a option, but if you wanted acceleration, you kept the 3.62 diff.
The late 1984 price was just £1550 plus vat.
By the spring of 1985 TT had developed its ultimate 2 wheel drive single Turbo offering, called the 230TT, this conversation went a step further by fitting the engine with upgraded internals and a lower compression ratio to enable a higher 9.5psi of boost, it also had a switch able boost facility, low gave the standard 200 brake, high gave, as its named suggested, 230 bhp and 272 torques! It was all a little bit to much for the RWD chassis, what this power needed was 4WD, especially in the damp and wet, and petrolheads didn`t need to wait to long, the XR4x4 was weeks away, and by the end of the year TT would offer you 280bhp with twin turbos!
PERFORMANCE FIGURES
............XR4i.....PC180.....JANSPEED.....TT.....230TT
MAX...... 128......134..........140.5.......140.....140.7
0-60.......7.7......7.2...........7.3.........6.4......6.2
0-100.....22.1.....21.0.........19.5......16.0......16.7
As a benchmark Autocar tested a Sierra RS Cosworth in August 1986
The figures? 145 max,6.2 and 16.1 0-60/100 respectively.
Another interesting stat, in the same Autocar edition as the XR4iTT, the newly announced BMW M535i AKA the M5(well a bit like an M5)
with 218bhp/229 lb ft was put through its paces.Results 143 max 0-60 7.4 0-100 19.5, the price just short of £18500.Or have your 4iTT for transporting your family around and have an XR2 for your shopping trips and stick a grand away for fuel
Edited by T66ORA on Tuesday 12th March 22:25
'Everyone's got a mate called Dave'
how about
'Everyone and/or their dad had a Sierra'
My dad had a 1988 (F) 2.0 Pinto GLSi in maroon (hatch) complete with rubber spoiler and Ghia pepperpots
and i've wanted one ever since, will get one eventually before they all disappear!
Thanks for the post I thoroughly enjoyed the read!
how about
'Everyone and/or their dad had a Sierra'
My dad had a 1988 (F) 2.0 Pinto GLSi in maroon (hatch) complete with rubber spoiler and Ghia pepperpots
and i've wanted one ever since, will get one eventually before they all disappear!
Thanks for the post I thoroughly enjoyed the read!
Great write up, also makes me feel nostalgic having been born in 1981
I have a lot of Sierra memories. My dad brought one home in 1987 as a company car (E839 VWF), it was an L. I always wished they had given him the LX as it had sportier wheeltrims!
My mum bought one in about 1993 (E88 SNE) nickname Ebbsne. This was an estate and broke down quite a lot!
Finally a guy at uni had an XR4x4 that he couldn't afford to run I suspect. It sat in the carpark gathering mould and rust. 4 flat tyres to boot as well, a sad sight!
The OP's car is mint, I really love how you have had it for such a long time and will never get rid!
I have a lot of Sierra memories. My dad brought one home in 1987 as a company car (E839 VWF), it was an L. I always wished they had given him the LX as it had sportier wheeltrims!
My mum bought one in about 1993 (E88 SNE) nickname Ebbsne. This was an estate and broke down quite a lot!
Finally a guy at uni had an XR4x4 that he couldn't afford to run I suspect. It sat in the carpark gathering mould and rust. 4 flat tyres to boot as well, a sad sight!
The OP's car is mint, I really love how you have had it for such a long time and will never get rid!
T66ORA said:
SIERRA XR4i Turbo.
Those of you who have tried to conventionally tune a Cologne 2.8 V6, will know you that you are "flogging a dead horse" when it comes to decent power increases.
The engine it replaced the Essex V6 found in Capri/Grananda was a bit better, this engine powered the Ford X-Pack 3 Ltr S Capris of the late 70s.
When tuned the power went from a standard 138 bhp and 174lb ft of torque to an impressive 175bhp/194lb ft,torque was always a Essex strong suit, the Cologne, especially lower down the rev range was far inferior.
Performance Car Magazine back in 1984,set about tuning a standard XR4i reg no A401 MHK, that magazines engine guru, the much respected Gerald Sauer, and the equally talented Dave Martin from Swaymar Engineering, produced, what is said to be, the most powerful naturally aspirated road friendly 2.8i engine ever produced.That engine had dyno proven 180.2bhp To get to that figure, the pair extensively modified the engine, it included, a Kent cam to RS2600 spec, 3 into 1 exhaust manifolds, free flowing exhaust, and for the first time on a road going Cologne V6 specially fabricated 6 port cylinder heads, the originals are Siamesed plus a 10.5:1 compression ratio and other tweeks! Unfortunately no torque figures were quoted for this spec, but 200lb ft was estimated.
The down side? Cost, to build a engine to this spec would have cost ££££ and the uptake low, no, the easiest and most cost effective way to more power would be forced induction.
( As a footnote Ford claimed 200bhp for the Rally NA 2.8i XR4x4 in Group A spec in 86/87)
All that engine/induction work only knocked 1.5 seconds off their test time on the Millbrook handling track as well. Seemingly better value was the the Koni suspension kit, improved lateral support for the Arb mounts and other little suspension tweaks along with the Compomotive wheels which took off 4.5 seconds.Those of you who have tried to conventionally tune a Cologne 2.8 V6, will know you that you are "flogging a dead horse" when it comes to decent power increases.
The engine it replaced the Essex V6 found in Capri/Grananda was a bit better, this engine powered the Ford X-Pack 3 Ltr S Capris of the late 70s.
When tuned the power went from a standard 138 bhp and 174lb ft of torque to an impressive 175bhp/194lb ft,torque was always a Essex strong suit, the Cologne, especially lower down the rev range was far inferior.
Performance Car Magazine back in 1984,set about tuning a standard XR4i reg no A401 MHK, that magazines engine guru, the much respected Gerald Sauer, and the equally talented Dave Martin from Swaymar Engineering, produced, what is said to be, the most powerful naturally aspirated road friendly 2.8i engine ever produced.That engine had dyno proven 180.2bhp To get to that figure, the pair extensively modified the engine, it included, a Kent cam to RS2600 spec, 3 into 1 exhaust manifolds, free flowing exhaust, and for the first time on a road going Cologne V6 specially fabricated 6 port cylinder heads, the originals are Siamesed plus a 10.5:1 compression ratio and other tweeks! Unfortunately no torque figures were quoted for this spec, but 200lb ft was estimated.
The down side? Cost, to build a engine to this spec would have cost ££££ and the uptake low, no, the easiest and most cost effective way to more power would be forced induction.
( As a footnote Ford claimed 200bhp for the Rally NA 2.8i XR4x4 in Group A spec in 86/87)
An XR4x4 rear end is a worthwhile mod giving you rear discs and a LSD
H8omb said:
'Everyone's got a mate called Dave'
how about
'Everyone and/or their dad had a Sierra'
My dad had a 1988 (F) 2.0 Pinto GLSi in maroon (hatch) complete with rubber spoiler and Ghia pepperpots
and i've wanted one ever since, will get one eventually before they all disappear!
Thanks for the post I thoroughly enjoyed the read!
My best mate is called Dave. He had an XR4i .... and then a few years later he had a 2.0 Ghia auto.how about
'Everyone and/or their dad had a Sierra'
My dad had a 1988 (F) 2.0 Pinto GLSi in maroon (hatch) complete with rubber spoiler and Ghia pepperpots
and i've wanted one ever since, will get one eventually before they all disappear!
Thanks for the post I thoroughly enjoyed the read!
The XR4i was fantastic, I remember being let loose on it for a motorway run back from somewhere. I had never experienced such a heavy clutch, but it was a damn good car.
His 2.0 Ghia was the total opposite. An utterly horrible experience. Massively undertyred (155 - same as I had on my Astra 1200S), alternated between understeer and oversteer. He worked at a car tuning place doing PC work for a while and got it on the rolling road. They figured something was wrong with the engine, as it came out at around 50bhp ... he couldn't be bothered and got a rather nice '85 BMW 325.
clonmult said:
My best mate is called Dave. He had an XR4i .... and then a few years later he had a 2.0 Ghia auto.
The XR4i was fantastic, I remember being let loose on it for a motorway run back from somewhere. I had never experienced such a heavy clutch, but it was a damn good car.
His 2.0 Ghia was the total opposite. An utterly horrible experience. Massively undertyred (155 - same as I had on my Astra 1200S), alternated between understeer and oversteer.
A 2.0 Ghia should have had at least 185/70s from the factoryThe XR4i was fantastic, I remember being let loose on it for a motorway run back from somewhere. I had never experienced such a heavy clutch, but it was a damn good car.
His 2.0 Ghia was the total opposite. An utterly horrible experience. Massively undertyred (155 - same as I had on my Astra 1200S), alternated between understeer and oversteer.
T66ORA said:
For those of you interested in the Turbo Conversions, i will do a write up on the Janspeed and Turbo Technics conversions, including performance figs, later on.
On a side note.I used to work with a guy in Northern California who had one. Except out there they where XR4Ti from the factory.
He loved the European Ford in America thing
.I'm not sure I'd swallow the Lutz 'Super Sierra' bit. Is it marketing 'copy'?
As the later prototype drawing shows the 3 door with the 4 pillars and 3 side glasses was drawn before or at the same time as the Probe concept car that presaged the Sierra was doing the rounds. So it was already on the drawing board as it were.
If the Sierra was to be the successor of the Cortina then it would seem probable that it would have a Coupe or Sporty version, just as the Capri was the sporty, coupe Cortina. Look at the US stuff of the 70s that had Mustang badges on them? Was that a Pinto or a Mustang in Charlie's Angels? That puny looking fastback hatch thing?
Plus a 'Super Sierra' would be a halo model to give a glow of desiraility to the the rest of the range rather like the 1600E, Lotus Cortinas and S 3 litre Capris. Plus you'd also have to factor in having an 'XR' version along with the XR2 and XR3 and what the Golf GTi was doing to sports cars and pointing towards a market for sporty hatches.
Perhaps it was the looks that meant the Cossies were developed on the 2 side glass three door Sierra and not the XR4i 3 side glass shell?
My XR4i factoids?
I think three trawlermen from Brixham died in one in a crash. The fuel pump kept running squirting fuel into the fire. I'm not sure if that was why fuel pump knock out sensors were introduced.
Devon and Cornwall police had some, or assessed some. They were withdrawn from service I think before they were all written off, possibly due to oversteer.
Rereading that, the XR4i would seem to have been the Sierra Capri? The 2 side glass 3 door that gave us the Cossie looked bit anaemic without the Cosworth homologation bits didn't it? Not a patch on the 3 door fastback Cavalier or Manta.
As the later prototype drawing shows the 3 door with the 4 pillars and 3 side glasses was drawn before or at the same time as the Probe concept car that presaged the Sierra was doing the rounds. So it was already on the drawing board as it were.
If the Sierra was to be the successor of the Cortina then it would seem probable that it would have a Coupe or Sporty version, just as the Capri was the sporty, coupe Cortina. Look at the US stuff of the 70s that had Mustang badges on them? Was that a Pinto or a Mustang in Charlie's Angels? That puny looking fastback hatch thing?
Plus a 'Super Sierra' would be a halo model to give a glow of desiraility to the the rest of the range rather like the 1600E, Lotus Cortinas and S 3 litre Capris. Plus you'd also have to factor in having an 'XR' version along with the XR2 and XR3 and what the Golf GTi was doing to sports cars and pointing towards a market for sporty hatches.
Perhaps it was the looks that meant the Cossies were developed on the 2 side glass three door Sierra and not the XR4i 3 side glass shell?
My XR4i factoids?
I think three trawlermen from Brixham died in one in a crash. The fuel pump kept running squirting fuel into the fire. I'm not sure if that was why fuel pump knock out sensors were introduced.
Devon and Cornwall police had some, or assessed some. They were withdrawn from service I think before they were all written off, possibly due to oversteer.
Rereading that, the XR4i would seem to have been the Sierra Capri? The 2 side glass 3 door that gave us the Cossie looked bit anaemic without the Cosworth homologation bits didn't it? Not a patch on the 3 door fastback Cavalier or Manta.
Edited by carinaman on Wednesday 13th March 13:15
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