hello everyone! just registered on here after browsing through this forum for some time now..

I'm currently in the market for a car and the F-Type has my fancy - well, I have been eyeing it for some time now and given the prices of used ones, its all the more enticing.. I'm looking at 2015-16 coupes - base and S models (no R for me).

Theres two things about this car that entices me - the looks and the sound! Looks wise both the base and the S are similar enough to me except for the badges and brake pads, so not a big deal. When it comes to the sound - is there a difference between F-Type base with Active Exhaust vs the S?

I went through this forum on related discussions and I dont think I care too much for LSD or the extra 40hp, if I get the same sound experience with the Active Exhaust option in the base, then that would satisfy my criteria.

This will be a weekend car at best, no tracking, nothing crazy - just a fun car. So any thoughts on base vs S?

- SB

 

no difference for sound from v6 base with active and S

 

Active exhaust has the valves that can/will be opened by the ECU to make the exhaust louder.

It has varied over the years as to whether or not the base car came with active exhaust or not, so there are base cars that do not have active exhaust and base cars that do. I believe all S cars have always had active exhaust.

The other option is 'switchable' active exhaust, which is the addition of a manual switch by the shifter (between the seats) - active exhausts may optionally have the manual switch, which you may want. Looking at car pics online, you should look for the switch (it has 2 exhaust pipes engraved on it) by the shifter - that will tell you the car has switchable active exhaust.

Active exhaust and switchable active exhaust should be the same on the base and S models when fitted.

If you just want a cool f-type and not super concerned about the extra 40hp, adjustable suspension, slightly larger front brakes etc, I reckon the base is a great option, and you could always tune it to over 400hp with a VAP tune relatively inexpensively compared to the price of the 'S' if you ever wanted to...

 

The base model does not have the Limited Slip Differential (LSD), nor the configurable Dynamic options. The base can be tuned to over 400hp however for $750 or so, without the LSD and the 380mm brakes to go with it, it's not going to make it anywhere as good as the S in performance driving.

 

the base have optional 380 mm brakes

 

2016 and 2017 Base/Premium models with manual transmission included switchable active exhaust, but not with the automatic, to the best of my knowledge. Don't know about the 2018s. I've heard them (Base manual w/active exhaust and S) side by side and would say the sound is about the same.

 

From a power prospective, you can very easily get around 420HP simply with an ECU Flash.. We offer that for $735.00 and includes your own handheld device
As pointed out above, unless you have the upgraded brakes, (red calipers or black calipers with the 380mm option), you will probably have good but not excellent braking capacity. The exhaust question has been answered extensively above.

 

It probably wont matter for a weekender, but the ride in the base is a lot harder than the ride in the S, unless the dynamic mode is engaged in the S which makes the ride harder than the base.

The ride does soften over time when the seats become more giving, but personally I would go to the S for that reason - or buy a base with 5,000 miles on it where the seat would have softened up because someone else's **** has taken the punishment.

 

Does this void the warranty? Is it reversible?

 

You can always restore the stock tune.

We represent a tuner that provides insurance against any damage resulting from the tune, and by law, the Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act requires the manufacturer to honor their warranty unless they can prove that the damage was caused directly by the tune.
Any reputable tuner stays well within the acceptable safety margins.

 

Well that's neat and a lot different than the Miata world I came from! I'm assuming the power gain is the same for both the base and the S trims? Still, an extra 40hp isn't anything to scoff at! Will have to consider this for the future...

 

To be fully transparent you should also state that the modification to ECU is detectable even if the stock tune is restored. If a warranty claim is rejected you can challenge it but that would require legal action and associated costs with no guarantee of a win.

 

The burden of proving that the tune is the sole cause of the failure is on the manufacturer and not the consumer. That's why they hardly ever decline a repair based on a proper tuning job. But yes, the remapping stores an OBDII code P137F if I recall it correctly. No matter what tuner does it.

 

Both V6 variants end up with 420hp. The V6 base goes from 340 to 420 and the V6S 380hp turns into 420. The gain on the base model is 80hp and very noticeable.

 

If you don't care about the LSD, get the base model. If you go for it and end up wanting more power, VelocityAP has a great tune that has shown customer generated dyno proven gains of as much as 424BHP in the presence of suitable quality fuels.

This tune has been installed by well over 100 forum members, is fully customize-able to your preferences and includes a number of options such as pops & crackles, eco stop/start off etc.

 

Actually, it depends upon the method that was used to tune the vehicle, not the tuner. For example, the Alientech Powergate 3 units that we use (branded as VTech) and which Viezu uses will store that code.

If you bench flash the computer with KTag, CMD Boot Mode, or Dimsport Trasdata it will not store the code.

Similarly the CMDFlash OBDII 'Shop' tool (we have a handful which we loan out) does not store the code, because it doesn't actually read the ECU. It isn't the flashing that stores the code it's actually the 'read.' Since the CMD does a virtual read and downloads a matching file from a server, it never trips the code. That's also the reason that it can tune the Flexray cars (2017-on RR and 2018-on Jaguar) that use Bosch MED17.8.32 where the Powergate 3 cannot.

Although, that might change, we have had a open request with Alientech for nearly 1 year to get them to develop the Flexray protocols for Jaguar. We just finished testing the 2.0L MED17.9 for them so that one is done. 17.8.32 that's used in the FType may be longer. But once we have tested that one, it will become available for you to use through Viezu.

 

I was a customer of Viezu for several years, although not since around 2011/2012. I'm quite familiar with that insurance policy.

What it actually stated at the time, as was explained to me by them (although it may be different now) is that in order for the insurance policy to pay out, it requires an independent investigation to conclude that the tune was the cause of the engine failure.

So it's not a blanket coverage.

You're 100% correct about the manufacturer warranty and detect-ability as well. Notwithstanding bench flashing or using CMD, but even then the flash counter will not match what SDD says at the dealership.

 

Stuart, can the ECU flash be done by the owner? I am in Oz.

I've done a transmission flash a few times on my daughter's dreadful TCT MiTo (with great results, actually), and that was done through a big USB in the diagnostic port.

 

Absolutely it can. Probably 95%+ of owners are doing this themselves. We actually have a dealer in Australia - City Performance and their distribution company Scuderia Auto Art. If you email me at stuart@velocityap.com I can connect you with them.

 

I have the VAP tune, the ECU flash is very simple; essentially plug and play.