What I really liked about the Mina setup, other than the sound, is how well they fit in the stock location and, they are fully polished. They look beautiful under there all shinny, which reminds me I need to get under there and clean/shine them up nice like....

 

I've never heard of anyone shining up their mufflers, but if it makes you happy that's what's important. Maybe you should get a chrome drive-shaft

...just playin' man! But I do see that you have the Specter Intake and I have never understood the reasoning for it. The Specter pulls in hot engine compartment air, which we know these engines get very hot in comparison to other V6 engines.

What you want is cool air to the intake because the temperature differential creates a larger potential for response of the combustion engine. To improve performance via air intake, you pull in cooler air from the grill, just like the two stock air pick-ups do. I added a 3rd cool air pick up that goes right to the grill and into the air-box just like the two stock tubes, so I have three cool air pick ups feeding the air box. Couple that with a K&N air filter and I see a little performance boost.

Everyone does their mods for different reasons. That's just my 2 cents! The important thing is that it's a JAG and it rules no matter what you do!

 

I have a "warm air intake" simply because it enhances the sound the engine makes. It's of course completely subjective, but the "rrrRRRRR" in 2000 to 3000 rpm range makes me smile every time.

Regarding performance, isn't the engine bay constantly flushed with massive amounts of cool outside air through the upper & lower front grilles whenever the car is moving?

 

Colder air allows you to run more fuel into the cylinder, leading to more power. But, the warmer air allows the fuel to be vaporized quicker, resulting in more surface area of the fuel, and therefore, more efficient burning of the fuel (ie, more mileage). So, there are pros and cons to both types of intakes. You can also argue that the open intake has less restriction as it is not having to pull the air in from the outside (ie, has less overall tubing). So, the power gained by the cold air intake is offset by the increased resistance of having to pull the air in.

It is all in how you want to look at it and also what makes you happy.

 

Haha, the thing about the Mina mufflers is they can be seen pretty well just looking at the back of the car, and with all the rain we have in FL and dirt getting kicked up on them they get tarnished and don't look as nice. And since they aren't exactly cheap, I like to keep them looking nice. haha
I did the intake just for the sound honestly, that's also why I did the mufflers frankly. Anyone who adds a "cold air intake" and thinks it will add any kind of real HP is fooling themselves. Although the front grill inlets are still there and my filter sits right behind them so I'm sure while I'm moving it gets some "cold" air, not that the air here is cold ha. I might build some kind of heat shield some day, mostly to keep the filter from rubbing on the valve cover though. Or put the battery in the trunk and move the intake there and build a box.. Just for the hell of it.

 

I just wanted to say thanks for so many knowledgeable responses. I learned everything I wanted and more. You guys were very helpful.

 

I don't understand how the power gained is offset by the resistance of having to pull the air in. The JAG engineers added 2 cool air pick-ups at the grill to pull in cool air for a higher temp differential between the combustion and the intake air. This is the same reason people who go to the track to run their cars love cool/cold nights with dry air. They see more performance. Some even remove the air filter just for the race in order to get more cool air in and faster 1/4 miles times. Adding a 3rd will only open up the air box to receive more air and cut resistance if anything.

The 3rd cool air pick up alone does almost nothing. However, that coupled with a K&N air filter, and free flow mufflers does improve performance of the engine. I did these three things together and I noticed the engine sounded better at hi rpms and ran smoother. Horsepower gain? Maybe 8 HP for all three mods, small, but it's something. Next I'd like to install Hi-flow Cats and straight pipe the resonator. Maybe I get another 6 or 8 HP?

As far as cool air from outside washing over the engine while the car is moving, that doesn't happen. The radiator blocks cool air from the front of the car and any air that gets past the radiator is heated
by the radiator.

That said, more HP is not everyone's thing. I can certainly appreciate the other reasons ppl spend time on mods to this car; Looks, style, and sound, etc.

 

Patterson, maybe I wasn't clear enough with my comment about how a cold air intake is offset by the increased resistance. I agree that installing a cold air intake will net an overall power gain. But, it could be more if you could get rid of the extra tubing between the filter and the outside air.

Everything that you said is true about hot rodders loving cool nights. It is great for more power. But, it is coming at a price of efficiency. Kinda like one of the simple mods that you can do to your car is to bypass the coolant channel that runs through the throttlebody to help keep the intake air temp down even further. With you in Arizona, air inlet temp is not a big issue. For those up North, during the winter, air inlet temp is a problem as they need some heat to allow the fuel to atomize better.

Like you said, there are tons of modifications that people have done to their cars. I simply try to put out the pros and cons to any mod.

Granted, what I find funny is that the cold air intakes, larger exhaust, etc really are only a factor when you are nearing wide open throttle. Under low RPM conditions, the gains are negligible since the air flow is so slow (relatively speaking), the resistance seen is very small regardless of the modifications done without getting into the force induction arguement (but that is a completely different monster in itself).

 

And the reason cool (cold) air makes more power is because the oxygen is more dense, and the more oxygen (and fuel/spark) you have in the combustion chamber the more power. So, as Thermo said, since the intake is less restrictive it can suck more air volume and even though it might be a little warmer, since there is more of it you can make a little more power. As I said, any intake you add to any car is only going to truly add a few hp/tq at the most. Personally I feel that the most restrictive part about the x type engine (2.5 or 3.0) are the exhaust manifolds/cats. I have this feeling that if one were to add a set of headers and ditch the cats (or high flows if you have to pass emissions) one would actually see some decent power gains. I'd like to try this some day, but since there isn't a way to tune the ecu I worry about the cel coming on and whatnot.

 

Thanks Thermo, points well taken. The picture below is from Steve Hannes JAG Project blog. He removed the oil cooler with coolant hoses running in and out of the oil filter assy. and replaced with a larger oil filter. He says a larger oil filter has some cooling effect on the oil, and the de-clutter of removing the extra hoses and oil cooler assy. creates more air flow in the engine bay. I don't think he finished this project b/c he never says what he ended up doing about the cats. Maybe they will come after the headers. The headers are off a Mazda that came with a Duratec engine. If you haven't yet, this is a good read.

Jaguar Motor Project: Motor Project # 15 - Oil Filtering

 

Oh, thank you for that link! That is awesome. I'll be reading all that for sure, I plan to one day rebuild a 3.0 and replace my 2.5.

 

Patterson, you can go with aftermarket headers and mount the cats further away from the engine. But, there is some logic as to why they are where they are on this car. The hotter you can run a catalytic converter, the more efficient it is and the more crap that it will remove. I know 3-4 feet down an exhaust pipe not sound like much, but you can possibly be talking about 50 degrees F or so. that is big when it comes to a cat.

 

While that is true, all that does is help with emissions, not performance. If someone is trying to extract the most power out of this, or any of the duratec V6s, headers are one of the best ways to do it. They add decent power on the SVT/cougar/mazda 2.5 cars that don't have cats built into the manifolds so I would think they would add even more power to an X-type, 2.5 or 3.0. Besides, if you are going to get high flow cats to run farther down the system then they should be designed to run efficiently at a cooler temp than the stock cats, since they are designed to be run farther away.

 

I like the direction of this conversation. If these headers are out there, I want them. As far as welding in the Hi-flow cats after the header flange, I’d need to find a muffler shop with a good installer to bend pipe, cut, and weld it together nicely. I'm thinking of the tech that did my Magnaflo install (pic above). He coupled the 2" to 2.5" pipes at the Magnaflo muffs like it was nothing, and got the tips straight and even. They are still perfect 1.5 yrs on. Haven’t talked to him since…..

On that note, if these headers are hard to identify or find; start with a good muffler shop to see if they can source them. I’d really like to pick up where the JAG Motor blog left off and make a comprehensive ‘how to’ for this mod to the X-Type. Go from the headers to the cats, and then implement the O2 sensors properly. Then, change out the oil cooler assy for a larger oil filter, and reroute and shorten the path of the coolant system.
Not the easiest thing to do with the engine sitting in the car, but do-able. The Duratec in the X is a smooth running, good reliable motor if it’s taken care of, and creates more power if you give it some breathing room. If this whole project could be kept under $1,000 in parts, I’d be into it. Where's China when I need them????

Here's the modified 3.0 Duratec compared to stock (Steve Hannes blog):


Stock but it doesn't have the advantage of being all clean. This pic is from 310Jag's Engine removal thread. Everyone should give 310 a JAG Hi-five for breaking down the build of the JAG Duratec V6, in pictures and words in this thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ead-faq-11225/

This is what we have. But we could have the above pic with headers and a fat oil filter. Although, I never use a Fram oil filter because they clog up.

 

I went with Mina. You can a difference. But the real sound difference is when you add a cold air intake. It can be done for a around $70

 

There are actually a few different headers out there for the duratec V6, just nothing Jag specific. OBX makes some, there is also company called nautilus performance that makes headers for contours/cougars/mazdas but they are not that cheap. I actually used to have a set of the nautilus performance headers for a 3.0 build I was going to do on the SVT contour I used to have but that never happened and I sold the car and everything else about 2 years ago. Now I wish I had kept the headers haha.

 

So the headers for the Duratec 2.5 or 3.0L engine are out there. I imagine it is the same header assy that fits both engine blocks that come in the X-Type. 2.5 and 3.0L. Same header fits both engines. Most of the difference btwn 2.5 and 3.0L is the combustible volume and the throw of the pistons. They use the same throttle-body, spark plugs, wires, serpentine belt, and air intake.

Maybe the cams are different.

Here's a picture of my car on crack:

 

There's something about when your rims align perfectly

 

From what I understand about the durtec V6 all the blocks are the same externally (although the timing covers are different depending on what car its in. I cant remember if the 3.0 has a larger bore, or stoke than the 2.5 though. I think the Jag duratecs have a higher compression (although the SVT contour 2.5s might be higher too) and I know the intake manifolds are different (Jag, svt contour, standard contour/cougar and Taurus intakes are all different.)...not sure if they flow more than the Jag though. As far as cams, they might be different in the jag engines, I'm not sure. However, the SVT contours have more aggressive cams than the other ford duratecs to help the SVTs make more power in the top end, and the SVT engines have a higher rev limit. Oh and the heads are a little different between the 2.5 and 3.0 ford engines, but you can put 2.5 heads on a 3.0 with a few modifications. I honestly haven't looked into the Jag specs enough yet to know how they differ from the SVT and regular ford duratecs. I have seen turboed 2.5 and 3.0s in contours make well over 300hp and a few at around 400. Of course they don't have the transfer case to worry about. Also, that company, nautilus performance, sells 3.5 and even 4.0 duratec short blocks...but they want about 5 grand for them. At least that shows you can bore/stroke them out a great deal. If I, or anyone, figures out on day how to get the TC to handle 400+hp/tq I would LOVE to build a 3.5 or 4.0 duratec with high compression, balanced internals and head/valve train/ cams to rev to like 9k rpms and make power up there, and individual throttle bodies and a nice set of headers. This was my dream engine for my SVT Contour, but that's a bit of a pipe dream haha.

 

Justin, the 2.5L and 3.0L motors share the same bore, just the stroke is slightly different.

As for making the transfer case handle more power, there was some talk about the real problem with the transfer case was the fact that the factory put too much pre-load on the transfer case bearings which then lead to early failure. If you were to rebuild a transfer case and do the proper pre-load (there is supposed to be a kit out there to do this), you might be in luck. But, you would also be the guinea pig for this little experiment too. But, there has to be the first.