AU series 1 Falcon - Introduction:

Just when you thought Falcon suspension couldn't get any stronger, along comes the AU Falcon with it's drop forged upper and lower wishbones! Using a well proven design (considering it's history in F1 as well as use by Mercedes Benz I'd call it well proven), the lower control arm featured double inboard suspension pivots replacing the single pivot plus tension rod of the earlier Falcons for much more rigid tyre & wheel control. Aiding the AU's handling was a 30 percent stiffer anti-roll bar compared to EL and twin cross members with the second aluminium cross member being cast and machined by Ford Asia Pacific's New Zealand aluminium plant.

Unfortunately that brand new aluminium cross member wasn't all good news - great for weight reduction - but no good for thumping over rough bush tracks being susceptible to stone damage where a steel cross member would dint rather than chipping. Having found this out the hard way, I can thoroughly recommend anybody planning an outback trip fit Ford's O.E. sump guard / bash plate - a very worth while investment for protecting this weak link in an otherwise bullet proof front suspension. Yet to be fair, 90% of all AU drivers will never have to worry about this point. Still, when testing on remote Outback tracks Ford's product engineering staff were reputed to have given free comment on how exceptionally well the AU handled the rough conditions - far better than any model before it.

The upper and lower ball joints had been repositioned for AU to sharpen the front end response by placing them so that cornering forces act more directly through the upper & lower wishbones to whom they connect, raising the upper ball joints by a full 24mm compared to the wheel centre. The lower wishbone's inner pivot bushes were also changed to be stiff laterally but compliant fore-aft. The Falcon's trademark long spindles were now twice as stiff for AU yet 500gm lighter via a new stronger cross section profile. This further preserved critical negative camber and toe settings during harsh cornering and over rough roads, adding to the precise feel of the steering and maximizing tyre life in such conditions. Camber, castor & toe-in was now fully adjustable in direct contrast to the EA.

The AU Falcon received for the first time the option (standard in Fairmont Ghia, XR6 VCT & XR8) of independent rear suspension (IRS) although exceedingly disappointingly not available in wagon format. A feature the magazine writers had been predicting for every new Falcon since and including EA, the significance of it's inclusion cannot be emphasised enough. The IRS used in the Falcon consisted of a far more complicated design included in that of the Commodore, exhibiting none of the cheaper IRS's tyre wearing qualities or mid corner bush distorting - keeping the rear end of the Falcon firmly planted far beyond what any Commodore driver would dare take.

With a level of geometry control well beyond the capability of simpler designs (read: Commodore's Opel based design) which at the time didn't have upper arms or toe links, the Falcon IRS brought with it a new world of mid-corner bump suppression and grip. New state-of-the-art laser sensing technology was installed to ensure total accuracy when installing and setting up the new IRS avoiding many of the problems engineered at birth into many a VT Commodore.

However there was one major disadvantage with the Falcon's sophisticated and more technologically advanced IRS unit - and that was weight - up a full 70kg over it's live axle'd counterpart. - A simple fact that meant the more powerful VCT equipped XR6 (172 kW) was barely quicker than it's live axle'd HP engined (164 kW) counterpart. Indeed, it was the HP live axle'd version and not the VCT IRS equipped XR that racers took to in hoards - with Daryl Coon winning back to back GTP championships in his AU1 XR6 HP (see our Visitors Cars page for more details).

There is no doubt that part of the weight is due to Ford's decision to go with hollow cast (iron) upper & lower control arms - super tough for the Australian outback where it was decided that the Mustang's forged aluminium lower control arms would suffer most. During the development of both vehicles it was rumoured that both would be sharing the same IRS - but in reality nothing could be further from the truth - with the Mustang featuring different mounting points for the control arms and springing - along with that now famous drop forged aluminium lower wish bone set up (don't worry - I thought of that too with the alloy units being the ultimate way to lighten up the AU's overly heavy unit - but no, they won't fit!).

The rear wheel bearings on the AU IRS are of a cartridge design with the intention of being sealed for life and requiring no scheduled maintenance. The AU IRS also came with differential and control arms attached to a welded steel tubular sub-frame mounted to the body by means of isolation bushes in the frame. The difference between IRS and live axil was never more apparent than between the HP & VCT XR6's - with the IRS offering a more compliant ride yet less body roll and no tendency to skip on mid corner bumps. Straight line traction was also improved with greater ability to load up the rear tyres correctly.

The Forte, Futura, XR6 HP, Classic and Fairmont all came with the Falcon's traditional four link coil sprung and watts link attached live axil giving acceptable levels of grip with only minor trade offs to the more sophisticated IRS equipped vehicles when pushed to the edge. The wagon and utility came with no such option retaining the original leaf sprung live rear axil with outboard shock absorbers for better handling than you'd think possible with this type of suspension! As usual, there were sports suspension options for all variants giving that ultimate handling experience no matter what your budgetary requirements.

The ride height of the Falcon was reduced 1" from April 1999 (in the 'AU Update') in an effort to meet public perception that it looked too high - more a result of overly large wheel arches than anything else.

The AU Falcon Introduction: