Below can be found some ideas for tuning and styling the Sierra 4x4. Obviously everybody will have a different idea as to what looks good and what doesn't but I have tried to include the most popular conversions. As the youngest version of the car is now roughly ten years old the amount of bits available brand new is slowly getting less. For a lot of bits your only hope of finding them is through the second hand market and places like auto jumbles. The XR Owners Club site has a classified section where bits and pieces do come up for sale but you have to be quick to grab a bargain ! You can also place wanted ads within the section. Another good source of parts can be E-Bay. I have listed some sample prices within the Parts section of this website.

The only limit to tuning the V6 engines is basically your budget and your imagination ! There are many things that can done from enlargening the engine capacity (to a maximum of 3.7 litres) through to single turbo, twin turbo and supercharger conversions. There are many specialists around for each of these applications including the likes of Turbo Technics, Power Engineering, Vulcan Engineering and Specialised Engines. Most of these companies have websites, and are listed within the Contacts page and Links page of this website. It would be pointless of me to start detailing the many various bits and pieces from these companies as they are covered adequately on their own websites.

The first point of tuning for most people with these cars are the replacement of the air filter and exhaust system.

By far the most popular mod over the last few years has been to fit the 24v Cosworth engine from the Scorpio. This gives an extra 50bhp roughly before any mods. For more info about this contact Top Boss Performance or goto www.maddoldbugger.co.uk for a nifty do it yourself guide by Tony.

For the 2.9 engine the panel replacement is available but by far the most popular route is the induction kit. K&N produce the 57i kit with Pipercross producing a similar kit. This kit basically replaces the air box with a twin cone filter system which offers a vast improvement to breathing over the standard filter. The cost of the induction kits are in the region of £100-120.

Many replacement exhaust systems exist for both engine types, the most popular being the stainless steel systems from the likes of Magnex, Janspeed and Mongoose. These can be pricey but all offer a lifetime replacement guarantee for the original purchaser. It is worth mentioning that Magnex have now discontinued there stainless range for the Sierra due to a lack of demand so bargains are possible but you would have to be quick as this is only while stocks last.

There are also many replacement mild steel systems from the likes of Janspeed, PCS and Ashley. Most of these come with a larger bore so some extra power maybe should be attained. All come with chrome tips in a variety of styles. These are roughly half the cost of a stainless item.

The most popular styling kit for the XR4x4 has to be the Ford RS bodykit. This consists of of a deeper front spoiler/bumper, deeper rear bumper apron and side skirts. Being a genuine Ford item means that the kit fits on easily and without the need for trimming like a lot of after market kits. Ford can still supply the side skirts and front bumper but they are now very expensive as they are not stock items. The rear bumper apron is no longer available. The small ads in car magazines and local papers may turn up a full kit but more than likely you will have to be patient and build the kit up bit by bit. The later Ford RS Cosworth Sapphire skirts will also fit and these are more readily available second hand. The pictures below show an XR4x4 fitted with the full kit (bar the rear apron).

Other popular body kits are the PSG Combat kit (pictures can be seen on the Parts page), MC Rallying also do side skirts, roof spoilers etc. Cosworth vented bonnets coupled with Cosworth front grilles are another popular enhancement. Zender, who actually are responsible for the RS items, also did replacement bumpers/spoilers but these would have to be sourced from Germany now if they are even still available. Kat Designs produced a body kit for the Mark One, with similar overtones to the Tickford Capri bodykits, during the Eighties but these would only be available second hand now, again if at all.

Another popular conversion is the fitting of Morrette twin headlights. These are direct replacements for the standard rectangular lamps and should fit to the original fixing points. Lots of owners fit these in conjunction with the RS Cosworth Sapphire vented bonnet and front grille but as can be seen from the picture below will fit with the standard bonnet.

These are the fitting diagrams supplied with the kit.

Strut braces can be purchased for both the 2.8 and 2.9 models. The 2.8 version should fit straight on with no need for adaptation. Burton Power list an aluminium item for about £80. Demon Tweeks list an OMP item for the 2.8 at about £68.

The pictures above and below show an OMP strut brace fitted to a 2.9 model. This had to be adapted to fit as the end plates did not sit flat on the turrets, and did not clear the plenum chamber.To adapt it the ends were cut off and rewelded at the correct angle. This sorted both problems.

Adjustable shock absorbers are available from the likes of Spax and Koni. Also no adjustable uprated shocks from the same companies plus Bilstein & System 2 amongst others. Replacement uprated springs are available from Chassis Dynamics and PI. Complete kits including four shocks and springs are available from all the companies mentioned. All of these will improve handling no end.

These can be complemented with replacement polyurethane bushes which provide a tauter feel to the car from the likes of Powerflex and Superflex. Ford also do uprated Group N bushes.