Nizpro and ChipTorque are amongst the most respected names in aftermarket
modification in Australia. So what happens when they get together to produce a
Falcon XR6 Turbo power-up kit? Something that's pretty damn interesting.
From its new custom cast alloy inlet manifold and rocker cover garnish panel,
to the upgraded intercooler, larger injectors, new battery harness and
heat-shielded intake filter, the kit looks well-engineered and thorough. Engine
management mods are by an advanced Xede interceptor.
In this story we watch the step-by-step installation of the kit.
The Installation
The installation process on this car was something that those attending will
never forget. Anxious to have the car ready for a dyno shootout happening the
following day, ChipTorque head honcho Lachlan Riddel and chief technician John
Nash decided to put in some big hours - the install started at 3 pm and final
tuning was being carried out way past 11 pm! Along the way there was a tropical
storm over the Gold Coast workshop; the thunder, lighting and deafening rain
seemed a suitable accompaniment to the quiet but intense effort being made
inside...
But customers shouldn't experience the same drama - the kit will be provided
with a pre-tuned Xede and it's unlikely that other people will be under the same
time pressure.
The first step in the fitting of the intercooler is the removal of the front
bumper cover. This is just a cosmetic piece of plastic and so only a few small
screws need to be undone to allow its removal.
With the bumper cover off, two things can be seen - firstly just how small
the standard intercooler is, and secondly, how it is mostly obscured from direct
airflow by the bumper metalwork.
After the bumper has been removed, the right-hand headlight can come out.
Again, this is straightforward.
Although it is a bit fiddly to extract, after its four rubber mounts have had
their nuts undone and the hoses have been slipped off, the intercooler can be
removed from above.
The original and new intercoolers are shown here. The new design is the same
width and thickness, but over double the height. Note the rubber mounts on the
old intercooler which are used to mount the kit 'cooler.
The installation of the new intercooler requires no metal-cutting, either to
allow clearance for the core or the hoses. Just one hole needs to be drilled for
a mount, although in the case of this car, another hole needed to be elongated
slightly to allow clearance between the 'cooler and the air con condenser.
Compared with the installation of intercoolers in some cars, this was a painless
exercise.
The original power steering cooler is bolted back into place under the new
intercooler.
The new intercooler hose slides beneath the left-hand headlight. The new hose
is a good match in appearance with the original intercooler rubber hoses.
A K&N airfilter goes where the battery previously was, with the battery
replaced by this small sealed lead acid Odyssey unit which is located on the
other side of the engine bay.
A new battery harness is provided as part of the kit - here is also shown the
new breather hose.
The new battery bracket is well-engineered and powder-coated.
The new battery tray/holder in place. It mounts the Odyssey battery at an
angle beneath the new location of the throttle body. Only one hole needs to be
drilled to mount it - two lugs lock into existing openings in the bodywork to
form the lower mounting points.
The new battery loom runs from the fuse box across under the engine to the
battery. Earthing and starter motor cables are also provided. The loom is well
made.
The new battery in place. Access to it is fairly difficult and given that the
battery (according to the manufacture) is suitable only for temps up to 60
degrees C, its longevity may be suspect. We'd have preferred to see it mounted
in the boot.
A large cylindrical K&N filter is provided as part of the kit.
The filter is plumbed to the turbo with this large aluminium casting, which
is powder-coated. The pipe also includes a fitting for a new, large diameter
breather hose.
A large fibreglass heatshield is installed where previously the battery sat.
This is shaped to conform to the standard fittings already in place. The
instructions suggest removing the original battery tray but in this car the tray
was spot-welded into place - to remove it would be more trouble that it was
worth. The heatshield fitted around the battery tray without problem.
Here the location of the new filter can be seen, behind where the headlight
will sit.
The top half of the intake manifold is replaced with this new cast alloy and
powder-coated plenum. The new plenum chamber both aids flow and also mounts the
throttle body in a location that works better with the revised intercooler
plumbing.
Fitting the plenum is the most time-consuming of the jobs. Removal of the
factory plenum chamber requires the removal of the throttle body and several
brackets. Then it's just a case of undoing lots of bolts...
With all the bits undone, the top half of the original intake system can be
lifted away. You can see that John Nash is happy to have that bit finally off!
Note that the turbo engine doesn't have the butterflies that in naturally
aspirated Falcons allow short or long runners to be selected.
Some sensors and plumbing fittings need to be swapped over to the new intake.
This is the combined MAP and intake air temp sensor.
The electronic throttle body bolts straight onto the new plenum chamber.
Before the new plenum can be installed, the thermostat housing needs to be
replaced with the new design provided in the kit. This gives clearance to the
throttle body.
Two of the tapped holes in the lower half of the intake system need to be
drilled out. This requires either a right-angle air-drill or a very short
drill-bit - about the only job in the whole installation that requires
specialist tools.
Some of the bolts that held the two halves of the intake system together are
replaced with threaded studs.
The new plenum can then be bolted into place. This job requires the use of
round-headed Allen keys and a lot of patience - it's fiddly and time-consuming,
especially if the plenum chamber is tightened down evenly in lots of small
increments.
While the top half of the factory intake is off, the new injectors can be
slotted into place. The O-ring fittings at both ends, the physical size of the
body and the electrical connection of the new injectors are all the same as the
originals.
Even the standard fuel rail is retained, so replacing the injectors is a
straightforward task.
The wiring loom for several sensors and the throttle body needs to be
extended to match with their new locations. John used his trusty - but never
rusty - stainless steel crimps to make these connections.
A new cast alloy adaptor is used between the new intercooler hose and the
original throttle body connector hose. One of the intake air temp sensors is
also moved to this position.
The new powder-coated alloy garnish can then be placed over the top of the
rocker cover.
In this car the Xede was already installed, so all that was required to suit
the kit was a program update.
Not shown in these pics include lots of small steps, like re-routing breather
and boost pressure sensing hoses.
The Dyno
The car went straight onto the dyno. In dead standard trim this car on this
dyno developed a peak power of 170kW at the wheels. With just the Xede and a
slight lift in boost pressure to 9 psi, the maximum that had ever before been
seen was 210kW at the wheels.
But with the Nizpro/ChipTorque kit in place and at the same boost pressure,
power immediately jumped to a stonking 240kW at the wheels at 9 psi boost... a
gain over standard of 41 per cent!
With some fine tuning of the ignition and fuel charts, Lachlan Riddel lifted
this peak power to 250kW at the wheels... and then with some further tuning and a
boost increase to 13 psi, an even 300kW ATW was gained on the dyno in shootout
mode.
Cost
The fitted and tuned price of the kit is $8250 - that includes everything
that you have seen in this story.
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Driving?
We've covered the driving of an early version of the kit - tuned by Nizpro -
at
Cobra Kitted XR6T. As we said in the story, that particular car
had some major driving problems. However, for this story we had a brief drive of
ChipTorque's 6-speed equipped sedan - the car shown here. This Falcon drove very
well - strong performance with tractability. However, it still needed more
cranking than a standard car to start.
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