Ford 'Behind the Scenes Tour'

[russellw]

Good afternoon

Have just got back from another interesting and enjoyable day at the Ford proving ground.

It's been a few years since I last visited the facility and since then it has continued to grow in size and capability with the addition of an Environmental Wind Tunnel and an anechoic chamber to go along with the already impressive list of capabilities which include an Emissions Lab; an Evaporative Emissions lab; a heat soak area, 4 post hydraulic rig and associated dyno and climate simulation facilities.

The wind tunnel and 4 post rig were of the most interest to me.

The wind tunnel:

- can produce a top wind speed of 250 km/h
- can vary temperature between -40 and +55 degrees
- can vary humidity from 10% to 95% relative humidity
- can simulate solar cycles between 600-1200W/square metre
- has a 48" 450kW 4WD dyno that can handle up to 300kW on the front and 600 kW on the rear rollers and 4500 kg per axle.

The four post rig (familiar equipment to Nascar enthusiasts) uses hydraulics to simulate a range of road conditions that allows accelerated suspension and damper testing. It simulates the torture tests that vehicles are subjected to on the test track with washboards, gutters, cobblestones and other tests designed to simulate the worst punishment we can dish out.

The second part of the day was dedicated to driving a range of current models around the ride and handling loop - a reasonably short track but with a good mix of sharp, dual apex and constant radius corners.

For me, there was a few surprises both good and bad.

On the good side:

..the Ranger Wildtrack was a much better performing and handling vehicle than I would have given it credit for being. Nice turn in, decent torque and it responded well to driver inputs. That it then went through the wading pond (600mm deep although it is capable of 800mm) without missing a beat was equally impressive;

.. likewise, the Focus diesel was an eye-opener. I expected it to handle really well (which it does) but I didn't expect it to have as much get up and go as it did as it is a really lively and enjoyable drive;

.. the Territory continued to remind me why it as good a vehicle as it is - the handling is impressive, the performance from the diesel better than I expected and it was the one that left me with the best impression as an all-rounder;

.. the Transit handled surprisingly well for what it is. Performance from the manual is reasonable but it is actually a solid handler despite the high centre of gravity and the fact that it isn't supposed to be a performance car;

.. all of the ecoboost equipped cars showed why this a great engine. In some of the cases today they weren't blessed with a transmission that allowed them to really shine (but maybe power-shift requires some familiarisation).

The real disappointment was the Kuga. It wallowed and floated around the circuit and didn't seem to have any real cohesion between the front and rear ends neither of which seemed connected to the steering. Performance was ok but it only meant that you were going to arrive at the limit of its dynamic capability that much quicker. In short, we should have waited for the new one.

The penultimate session for the day was a repeat of the Ecoboost challenge. Three Falcons powered by I6, EcoLPi and Ecoboost but with their identity masked so we didn't know which we were in. Each was run over a 0-100 km/h sprint and the times recorded using a vBox. Unfortunately, one of the v-Boxes had gone walkabout so the EcoLPi car had no times recorded but the fastest car on the day was the Ecoboost with a 7.00 flat.

The day concluded with rides around the high speed bowl (sorry constant radius circuit as it is apparently now called) in either a GT-P or Focus ST and rides around the ride and handling loop in another pair of the same vehicles.

All in all a nice way to spend the day. Thanks to all the team at Ford Media for making us feel we4lcome, Bob Graziano for taking the time out of a busy schedule to spend time with us and all the staff at the proving ground for taking the time to answer our silly question with a smile.

Cheers
Russ

[05_ENFORCER]

You are certainly a lucky bugger Russ.

Good onya, nice write up


.

[RHR]

Would kill for a day out like that. Thanks for the info and Ford, great so see the doors opening up

[Auslandau]

Glad it was a good day .... amazing who they let in!

[GT]

Spooly is looking so good!!! Man you have lost some weight mate! Glad you loved the day and I am a proud wife tonight with Russell winning the 0-100 competition. Nice prize too!

[05_ENFORCER]

Cheeky bugger ............





.

[Nikked]

So...who got to take the R-spec for a spin...?

[SpoolMan]

Originally Posted by Nikked

So...who got to take the R-spec for a spin...?

Both the GT Rspec and STI Focus were only driven by professional drivers.
There was a manual turbo Falcon some off the Facebook winners were giving it a good work out.

Originally Posted by GT

Glad you loved the day and I am a proud wife tonight with Russell winning the 0-100 competition. Nice prize too!

Protest I think on the grounds there were 14 other people who wanted that prize.

[Buntz]

Totally jealous. But happy others enjoyed it. I'm so proud of the EcoBoost Falcon, could be a lifeline for the big car.

[sxckevo]

I'm pretty privelged to be able to experience the day today too. Reading the read ups from you guys has just made me all the more excited.

[russellw]

For those wanting some more information on the YYPG facilities there is an article in the Tech Portal.

Images of various late model vehicles undergoing durability testing can be found in the gallery HERE

Cheers
Russ

[SJFALK]

Was an awesome day...good to meet you Russ.

Cot damn that GT R Spec fast lap was good.

[Buntz]

Nice. I hope the day was able to give you insight into what the future holds for Ford.

EDIT: Really pro job of those snaps too. Damn the Territory is a fine looking vehicle.

[SpoolMan]

Awesome awesome day, I hope more people get to do this one day, its massive facility over 9 square kilometers, its huge ongoing investment for a world class facility.
Its something I have never really put a lot of thought into the car that I/we all drive and how much work and costs that goes on behind the scenes to get our Aussie made Fords to where they are today.
One thing that we all noticed through out the whole day is everyone who works at the proving ground is proud and passionate about the Blue Oval, you really do feel this.

I got to drive many cars, 1st Ecoboost Falcon around the track very hard to tell the difference between this and the N/A 6, after lunch we did a timing test 0 to 100 everyone had one turn LPI, N/A6 and Ecoboost 7.00 sec was the quickest time and won by the Ecoboost driven by our Russellw.

The Kuga soon as you get you see and feel the quality, suspension is very soft and a bit bouncy for my liking, great comfort car for the family though.

Diesel Focus was my pick of the day, I love the Focus we own a sport and today was my 1st drive of the diesel variant the low down torque is fantastic it gets straight on the money and the Focus sits on the road so well I love there handling.
Same KW output as the petrol model but the diesel has double the torque.

Ranger XLT looks like a big truck, goes and drives like a car, turbo diesel is sufficient enough to keep anybody happy, the power response and handling impressed me you can see why this vehicle is in high demand the XLT ultimate big toy.

Transit Van, well its a van it shifted smoothly through the gears and these new vans are a real step up from the older type that struggled for power and handling, massive load space.

Now to the professorial drivers and me as a passenger, first up has the Ranger driving though 600mm deep water it was like driving through a river felt weird driving though and watching it make a wave of water, the Ranger can go though up to 800mm of water safely.
Next Focus STI around the track, this was the most impressive track drive of the day these cars go and go, the confidence the driver had in this car with factory spec tyres was very impressive, this car at $39k is going to please many.

Next GT Rspec went hard and with a professional driver you can really see how well these cars are engineered, I believe with an Rspec tyre this car as package would improve a lot more, hard corning a big car like this with an professional driver needed more grip.

Next was the Focus STI around the 5klm banked oval track, had no trouble hitting 190klm around the bank with 3 big men, it was quiet, quick and refined for a mid sized car.

Next GT around the 5klm banked oval track, opened up the big V8 just roared and without any effort 160/180klm around the bank, the driver says the car practically steers itself around the bank, GT a little more road noise inside compared to the Focus STI which surprised me this may be the difference in tyres, the STI has the new Eagle F1 which are supposed to be one of the best true road tyres going around.

Also pleasing to see Ford's CEO Bob Graziano make the time to meet and have lunch with the average John Smith who supports the brand.

Ford made many top engineers and personal available we could chat with over lunch, the manger of the proving grounds was with us the whole day and was wealth of information.
Before anyone asks we have no personal pictures all phone had to be left at the gate and the prototype cars were securely locked away in a barbed wire fence compound out of site.
Big thanks to Ford for a great day.

[madmelon]

I'm sitting in the domestic terminal at Sydney at the moment waiting for my flight to this. So keen! it sounds like it'll be an awesome day.

[superfly]

Great writeup! Sounds like it was a top day.

[warpsp33d]

Originally Posted by russellw

The penultimate session for the day was a repeat of the Ecoboost challenge. Three Falcons powered by I6, EcoLPi and Ecoboost but with their identity masked so we didn't know which we were in. Each was run over a 0-100 km/h sprint and the times recorded using a vBox. Unfortunately, one of the v-Boxes had gone walkabout so the EcoLPi car had no times recorded but the fastest car on the day was the Ecoboost with a 7.00 flat.

Nice writeup. Sounds like a great day.

Pitty about the missing vBox on the EcoLPI. It'd be really interesting to see the times of each car. I suspect the EcoLPI would give the EcoBoost a run for it's money.

I've driven an EcoLPI and was extremely impressed by it, so much so, I bought one myself.

It'd be great if Ford did something similar to this exercise at perhaps local tracks near each capital city for audiences in each state. I think it'd be a valuable exercise for both Ford management and for Ford customers. Having some face time with senior folks from Ford, where they can get real and direct feedback from customers on various cars, whilst also enabling those customers to try out different cars, seems like a win for both parties.

Ford say that they want to improve their customer experience and service. This would be a serious step in the right direction.

[music189]

Yes its a great place especially for anyone with a technical background.
I was lucky enough to win a spot in the Falcon turns 50 tour. the Ford drivers sure know their way around the tracks .Ford do look after their guests too.

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by russellw

Good afternoon

Have just got back from another interesting and enjoyable day at the Ford proving ground.

It's been a few years since I last visited the facility and since then it has continued to grow in size and capability with the addition of an Environmental Wind Tunnel and an anechoic chamber to go along with the already impressive list of capabilities which include an Emissions Lab; an Evaporative Emissions lab; a heat soak area, 4 post hydraulic rig and associated dyno and climate simulation facilities.

The wind tunnel and 4 post rig were of the most interest to me.

The wind tunnel:

- can produce a top wind speed of 250 km/h
- can vary temperature between -40 and +55 degrees
- can vary humidity from 10% to 95% relative humidity
- can simulate solar cycles between 600-1200W/square metre
- has a 48" 450kW 4WD dyno that can handle up to 300kW on the front and 600 kW on the rear rollers and 4500 kg per axle.

The four post rig (familiar equipment to Nascar enthusiasts) uses hydraulics to simulate a range of road conditions that allows accelerated suspension and damper testing. It simulates the torture tests that vehicles are subjected to on the test track with washboards, gutters, cobblestones and other tests designed to simulate the worst punishment we can dish out.

The second part of the day was dedicated to driving a range of current models around the ride and handling loop - a reasonably short track but with a good mix of sharp, dual apex and constant radius corners.

For me, there was a few surprises both good and bad.

On the good side:

..the Ranger Wildtrack was a much better performing and handling vehicle than I would have given it credit for being. Nice turn in, decent torque and it responded well to driver inputs. That it then went through the wading pond (600mm deep although it is capable of 800mm) without missing a beat was equally impressive;

.. likewise, the Focus diesel was an eye-opener. I expected it to handle really well (which it does) but I didn't expect it to have as much get up and go as it did as it is a really lively and enjoyable drive;

.. the Territory continued to remind me why it as good a vehicle as it is - the handling is impressive, the performance from the diesel better than I expected and it was the one that left me with the best impression as an all-rounder;

.. the Transit handled surprisingly well for what it is. Performance from the manual is reasonable but it is actually a solid handler despite the high centre of gravity and the fact that it isn't supposed to be a performance car;

.. all of the ecoboost equipped cars showed why this a great engine. In some of the cases today they weren't blessed with a transmission that allowed them to really shine (but maybe power-shift requires some familiarisation).

The real disappointment was the Kuga. It wallowed and floated around the circuit and didn't seem to have any real cohesion between the front and rear ends neither of which seemed connected to the steering. Performance was ok but it only meant that you were going to arrive at the limit of its dynamic capability that much quicker. In short, we should have waited for the new one.

The penultimate session for the day was a repeat of the Ecoboost challenge. Three Falcons powered by I6, EcoLPi and Ecoboost but with their identity masked so we didn't know which we were in. Each was run over a 0-100 km/h sprint and the times recorded using a vBox. Unfortunately, one of the v-Boxes had gone walkabout so the EcoLPi car had no times recorded but the fastest car on the day was the Ecoboost with a 7.00 flat.

The day concluded with rides around the high speed bowl (sorry constant radius circuit as it is apparently now called) in either a GT-P or Focus ST and rides around the ride and handling loop in another pair of the same vehicles.

All in all a nice way to spend the day. Thanks to all the team at Ford Media for making us feel we4lcome, Bob Graziano for taking the time out of a busy schedule to spend time with us and all the staff at the proving ground for taking the time to answer our silly question with a smile.

Cheers
Russ

I was one of the few that had this same experience yesterday - and rather than repeating exactly what Russ said - I'll just quote him!

The day was brilliant - more than I could have expected. The activities and events that I experienced yesterday will be a story I will continue to tell for many years to come.

I've not really been a huge fan of modern muscle - but after riding shotgun in the GT R-Spec yesterday, sliding through corners at 180km/h + and really 'feeling' what it could do - I am staggered.

To those who think that Ford is lying down or sitting on their hands - you are surely mistaken. They are doing more now than they've ever done with development, testing, and refinement of their cars.

And for what my opinion is worth - they're getting it right.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by loftie

To those who think that Ford is lying down or sitting on their hands - you are surely mistaken. They are doing more now than they've ever done with development, testing, and refinement of their cars.

And for what my opinion is worth - they're getting it right.

Good to know. Thanks loftie.

[Utefever]

Glad you folks enjoyed the day at YYPG.
It's an honour to be able to give something back to the "True Believers".

Andrew

[johnsmith]

Thanks for the interesting write-up Russel.

Wow, is the ecoboost really faster than the I6 from 0-100? I know it weighs a little less, but it has considerably less power and torque. Was there a difference in tire condition or something else between the cars?

Any published 80-120 km/h accelertion figures comparing the I6 to the ecoboost?

Also, all the car magazines seem to rave about how the ecoboost is smoother / quieter than the I6.. how true is this from your experience?

[russellw]

Originally Posted by johnsmith

Thanks for the interesting write-up Russel.

Wow, is the ecoboost really faster than the I6 from 0-100? I know it weighs a little less, but it has considerably less power and torque. Was there a difference in tire condition or something else between the cars?

Any published 80-120 km/h accelertion figures comparing the I6 to the ecoboost?

Also, all the car magazines seem to rave about how the ecoboost is smoother / quieter than the I6.. how true is this from your experience?

It certainly was under those conditions (about 19 deg and reasonably low humidity) - my time in the I6 was a 7.36 although I suspect the EcoLPI was very close to beating the Ecoboost.

It was also more refined - the object of the exercise was to show that they were almost impossible to pick apart and that was clearly the case. I picked the Ecoboost but only because it just kept going hard where the I6's were tapering off toward the end of the available running area.

Cheers
Russ

[madmelon]

The ecoboost definitely felt better off the line. I noticed it rev match downshifted and it was, overall, suprisingly smooth.

[RedHotGT]

Yeah after driving the EcoBoost (and doing 0-100km/h testing as well) I was suitably impressed with the 4cyl Falcon. It even has an (albeit slight) turbo whistle - which I'm sure the tuners will exploit in the future.

We talked to the engineers and testers, who explained that they've done load-towing comparisons of the Eco vs I6 and there is NOTHING that the Eco can't do the same or better than the I6.

Not sure how to get the word out there - but the mentality that a 4cyl Falcon is a waste of time - is simply un-grounded and un-educated. If you're looking at a large sedan in the future - then go and test drive one.

My favorite drive all day was the All-Black Fiesta Manual 2-door hatch - thing ZOOMED!
I drove it 150km/h+ up the back straight, and it steered and braked well too! I'm not in the market for something like that (family with 4 kids here) but if you wanted something that was light on the pocket, fun to drive, sporty and unique, then the little Fiesta was a winner (I never thought i'd say that!)

Was also very happy with my 0-100km/h time (7.10) while our winner for the day was Kev (7.02) it was actually JP who got a 6.92 time (the V-Box had issues and not everyone could post a time).

I said this yesterday to some of the guests - if Groundhog day happened yesterday, I'd be pretty happy with that!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Bossxr8]

[QUOTE=loftie;4542215]

We talked to the engineers and testers, who explained that they've done load-towing comparisons of the Eco vs I6 and there is NOTHING that the Eco can't do the same or better than the I6.



[QUOTE]

If thats the case why is the max tow weight of the Ecoboost at 1600kg when the I6 can tow 2300? Seems a bit odd.

[GTP534]

180kmh in an R-Spec thru corners??? What did that feel like?

[RedHotGT]

Originally Posted by GTP534

180kmh in an R-Spec thru corners??? What did that feel like?

It LOOKED like this: NOTICE USE OF JESUS BARS

[NX74205]

Originally Posted by loftie

Yeah after driving the EcoBoost (and doing 0-100km/h testing as well) I was suitably impressed with the 4cyl Falcon. It even has an (albeit slight) turbo whistle - which I'm sure the tuners will exploit in the future.

We talked to the engineers and testers, who explained that they've done load-towing comparisons of the Eco vs I6 and there is NOTHING that the Eco can't do the same or better than the I6.

Not sure how to get the word out there - but the mentality that a 4cyl Falcon is a waste of time - is simply un-grounded and un-educated. If you're looking at a large sedan in the future - then go and test drive one.

I coudn't have put it better myself.

Originally Posted by loftie

It LOOKED like this: NOTICE USE OF JESUS BARS

Yet the driver looks as calm as if he was going for a sunday drive to the shops! Amazing.

Wish I could've been there.

[Buntz]

Originally Posted by NX74205

Yet the driver looks as calm as if he was going for a sunday drive to the shops! Amazing.

Wish I could've been there.

I noticed that too. Like he's some sort of Aussie Stig?