Has anybody had their X-Types on the track? I took mine to NHMS about two months after purchasing it and it did really good but the stock tires and brakes were really holding me back. There was also quite a bit of body roll, which is the other reason I'm posting here.
Has anybody seen any upgrades for the stock roll bars? I haven't found any in my searches...

 

unfortunately i have not found any aftermarket roll bars

 

Me neither. There are a few companies out there that will fab them for you, no idea on the price yet.

 

Check out EBC for upgraded rotors / pads for the X type. Possibly consider drilled / slotted rotors with Redstuff pads as an upgrade for track days?
Check out the x type quick faq links for details of most of what has been written here on the brake set up for the X type and who's done what and how its performed.

 

Thanks Jim! Got the brakes all sorted out, though. More interested in discussing suspension upgrades.

 

Ok....thats me told then.....lol

Have you trawled through the "useful Jaguar" links in the general tech help section? You may find some useful info there?

>>>>>stands back and waits to be shot down.....AGAIN!

 

LOL! No, I don't shoot anybody down unless they're really ignorant. I'm no internet tough guy. (I'd rather do it in person, long time martial artist trying to get into MMA right now...) Thanks for the info, I appreciate it. Just focusing on suspension and wheel/tire fitment right now.

 

Lol...MMA
I'll have you know I'm a black belt in origami
Don't wanna hijack this thread any more, so good luck with your upgrades

 

Ha ha! No problem. I don't mind. I can see that not many people do any actual REAL spirited driving here. No biggie.
BTW, I know Mexican Judo. "Judo know if I got a gun, judo know if I got a knife, judo know man!"

 

Please do post if you come up with some suspension mods. I'm interested as well!

 

Absolutely.

 

FYI, I got something innthe works for some sway bars, I'll keep you updated.
Feel free to pm me with interest.

 

you should make it look like this one.

 

Very nice! I wonder what size tires he's running with those flares on there... <evil grin>

 

well there probaby really BIG!

 

Well, I had another track event last week with the NAAC (North Atlantic Audi Chapter of the Audi Club of North America) at NHMS (New Hampshire Motor Speedway). I haven't had a chance to update anybody because I've been pretty busy since then with a motorcycle safety course and working on my condo.

Overall, having the new wheels and tires on the car was nice but the brakes, suspension and transmission were really holding me back. I was in the advanced group (only group higher was the instructors) and I was the slowest there. No surprise as most people that have been doing this as long as I have are driving something they've been in awhile and are a little better track-prepped than my car. Cars like GT3's, R5's and stripped, turbo'd AWD A4's were in abundance.

The first day was in the dry and after the first session I removed my Carbotech pads. Pedal feel was horrible and the brake fade was worse. I put on a set of Porterfield R4S's and while the brake fade was greatly reduced the pedal feel wasn't much better. The brakes still got VERY hot. (Interestingly enough the Porterfields seemed to get better with a little heat in them and they are a street pad.) I'm thinking a little more mass on the rotors will help with the heat dissipation and a better caliper will help with the pedal feel. I'm also going to attempt to upgrade the rear rotors in the near future.

Like I said, the first day was dry and I spent most of my time letting faster cars pass me. No biggie, I know my car is stock and limited by suspension and the transmission and I'm a little out of practice. The car had way too much lean in the corners, so much so that I'm worried the sway bars alone will be enough. I might do a sport suspension upgrade or the Mina Gallery once I get a five speed. However, only testing will tell.

Second day was a different story. The first session out was very wet as the rain had just ended. I don't believe I was passed once. I realize the other cars were AWD but they were also on track tires. I was just about the only guy on street tires. My Toyo T1R's made a good showing that day. I caught a GT3 so fast on the front straight he didn't have time to give me a point by, I was simply there and gone. LOL

The second day was also pretty interesting as I spent some time chasing down an A6 2.7 twin turbo - four times. I noticed him up ahead and proceeded to catch him, only to watch him walk away from me on the straights. He did this three times. (I think this is where a five speed would have come in very handy...) After a bit (maybe another 2-3 turns) he realized I was simply faster through the corners and gave me a point by. Unfortunately (or fortunately?) I had a GT3 on my *** so we both pointed the faster car by. I spent another few laps catching the A6 only to have the same thing happen again - twice! Eventually though I chased the A6 down a fourth time and took the pass on the last lap of the session. It was really a fantastic opportunity to compare two very similar cars in a number of ways - I'm just sorry I haven't been able to get a camera on the car yet.

As the track started to dry out I grabbed an instructor to help me get around turn 3 and the turn 9-10 complex as they were just not sinking in for me. He (Scott) drove the car for about 3/4 of the instructor session and then I immediately went out for my session with him riding shotgun. I immediately picked up a bunch of speed through both sections and proceeded to overheat the engine and transmission and run out of gas. LOL This car is a PIG when it's on the track. My temp gauge was about pegged and the red warning light (read gear with exclamation point in the center) popped up on my dash as the engine started to sputter from fuel starvation. LOL End of the event for me, refilled the car and packed up to head home.

Lessons learned:
John needs to pick up a five speed.
John can't wait to get the custom sway bars I'm having built.
John needs to fabricate some sort of better braking system. I'm looking at something around 320-330mm and hopefully at least 25-33mm thick with better calipers, maybe 4 piston for the front and vented rotors for the rear.
John may need a suspension upgrade, not sure yet.
The Audi Club of North America is a great group of people.
John needs to go back to NHMS very soon, with or without the upgrades, he had fun.

 

I was just thinking about the next nearest rival to the Rover 75. The JAGUAR X TYPE, which bows out on tomorrow. Jaguar X-Type is little more than a rebadged Ford Mondeo Mk. 3 sold in the US as the Ford Contour. There is no Jaguar engineering or quality in it, which in itself is not a bad idea because Jaguar was going downhill in the 90s.

 

Really? You know, that isn't a very good way make a first impression. You come on a board for Jaguar fans and dog on it...

Personally, I think the quality in the x-type is just fine.

 

took care of samdrake fellas - a little investigation revealed false registration info and that spam link in his signature sealed his fate.

Proceed with your very interesting thread!

 

LOL Thanks, I was just going to point out how the AWD system was completely designed by Jaguar. At least that's what the Ford rep for the new SHO was telling me. Said he worked with the drivetrain guys while they designed the system. Pretty interesting stuff.
Anyway, I'm still waiting on some info for these swaybars which should be available for purchase any day now.