Me too, it's a piece of cake Bruce!
Just a little bit of running back and forth from your car to your PC and vice versa.
The main thing is to make sure you have a nice powerful battery charger/maintainer hooked up, mine is 15 amps and I had no problems but Cambo recommends 30 amps.

 

Of course that would not be the case with the KESS and bench tuning but we both use the Powergate 3 and that generates the code. It's a bit cumbersome to ask the client to drive the car in or more expensive for us to send a mobile unit to him. Additionally, if the client wants to use different tunes (we also offer eco, max perf, track etc) he has the ability to do it at his leisure.

 

That's great! we did 33 F-Type in the last 30 days alone. All raving reviews you can join the facebook group "Official F-Type Owners Club North America" and see for yourself. We just joined JaguarForums

 

 

Not exactly accurate. For my first tune on Sinful1 I trusted Arden because it was a engine pull and bored out / deck honed along with other modifications spanning from head work, water alcohol injection etc (I run 20psi on 3.4L) and they used the KESS Master. Never had a code It was nice as we gave them remote login to the laptop and we assisted with Dyno controls. Anyway, this was a year ago.

 

Really? I can join? Because you told me before I couldn't join, when owners were looking for clarification on our products, as I didn't own an FType.

Can I join now? Just asking since you are the Admin and founder of the group.

 

Here in Taiwan is crazy to pay additional USD:30,000+ to go from base V6 to S.

 

Stuart, you were declined by one of the other admins first and foremost and the reason was, you owned a Volvo and NOT an F-Type. The group is called Jaguar F-Type Owners Club because OWNERS is important. I belong in there because I drive an F-Type that I own and test everything on, every day. Nobody was looking for any clarification on the group.
I am indeed one of the admins and one to the founder of the Club and I organize rallies and much more for other F-Type owners that share in the passion for the F-Type. STP Tuning also sponsors 7-8 F-Type events every year so the money is put right back in the group.

 

Thank you everyone for the responses on my base vs S question - my hunt is on!

 

The pricing structures in some countries are nuts. Singapore is the same, as is China. We have done a lot of tuning in the Chinese market because it can be orders of magnitude less to upgrade aftermarket than pay for the more powerful model.

 

Greetings all!

First of all, I apologize in advance if I am asking questions that have already been answered. I too am looking at purchasing a used manual transmission F-type coupe. I live in the Detroit area and intend to use this car as a daily driver (I know I am crazy); I would swap to snow tires and wheels during the winter season. My question concerns the differences between the base model and the S model. Detroit has awful, pothole ridden roads: is the S model's active suspension necessary to ensure decent ride quality? Or do the larger wheels on the S type mitigate this ride advantage? Any recommendations as to which of the two manual transmission variants is the better daily driver?

I prefer the content and look of the S model but it's more important that I can live with the car on a daily basis. Any insights from owners would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks so much!

Peter

 

Hi Peter. I have the S with 19's and the ride is very good. I have driven the base on 20's and the ride was a lot harder, in fact I couldnt bear it. The active suspension has a softer normal setting to the base setting, but harder than the base for dynamic. I think that is why I see quite a few low km used base models for sale especially with 20's on them, I'd guess that they are people who thought to save a bit on the way in (which makes sense) but then found it all a bit of a trial.


I have had mine for 2 year plus as a daily driver, I'm liking it more and more and so is my missus who initially had preferred the more comfortable XKR.



But seat quality also has a lot to do with it. If you are buying very low km prepare yourself for a sore **** for a while, and a sore back where the seam in the one-piece seats sticks out. It all gets nicer by about 5,000km or so when the leather softens up. I have 20,000km on mine now and it is lovely to sit in.

 

Other differences which may or may not have been mentioned before (I'm too lazy to check!) include:
The S has a limited slip diff, the base doesn't.
The S has a shorter final drive ratio than the base = slightly better acceleration.
Almost every S will have "configurable dynamics" AKA Dynamic-I, and even if it doesn't it's possible to turn get it turned on by someone in the know with the right SDD equipment. Configurable Dynamics allows you to choose between Dynamic and Normal settings for each of four things when you use Dynamic mode: throttle response, transmission response, active suspension and steering response. For example I have mine set for Dynamic everything except suspension. You cannot do this on the base as it does not have the dynamic suspension.
Oh, forgot to add, you also get nifty S badges front and rear and an S logo on the dash!

 

To my new Australian friends - thank you kindly for the detailed response and advice! It would seem that the S model (if available used - they are hard to find) is indeed the way to go. Have these cars been relatively trouble free?

 

Cheers! - mine (2016 model with the new infotainment, though a late 2015 build) has been perfectly trouble free. There was a "campaign" on the infotainment unit (which I think is a sexy way to say a recall that can wait for you to being it in for a service), but whatever the problem was, I wasnt aware of it.



The best car I've ever owned, which is saying something given my last car was an XKR.

 

S: active exhaust standard, switchable active exhaust optional
Base: both optional

Not sure if that’s still true.

 

I have a base and added a VAP tune and swapped for an active exhaust. Things I miss are LSD, adjustable lumbar support and power lift gate. Otherwise the car is great and I saved a bunch of money.

 

The whole suspension and ride quality question comes down to your preference. As a manual base coupe owner in the same type of climate, I like a firm but not punishing ride and the base coupe with the 18s was, and still is, the way to go - for me. The firmness/comfort trade-off is perfect and I think even if I had an S, I would have adjusted it exactly the same way and left it there. In a milder climate I might have gone with 19s, but my first drive was a base with 19s in New Hampshire in March and it was just a bit harsh. Lower chance of damage from pot holes, better curb rash avoidance, and lower weight are other reasons you might want to consider 18s on a base model.

That said, if you want to swap to snows in winter, you have to go with 19s because there is no dedicated 18" snow tire for the F-type. There are several good 18" all-season options however.

Also, the only feature of the S package I valued was the LSD and to me it wasn't worth the price delta just for that. After two years I can count on one hand the number of times I might have missed having it.

The 2016 and 2017 manual base premium models came with active exhaust and dynamic mode and I think later ones as well.

-Jim

 

Hi Jim,

Thanks for the information; your post is really helpful. I test drove a base model and was really pleased with the ride; I was just wondering if the active suspension is even better still and perhaps necessary/ideal for daily usage. Maybe it is not. I don't plan on tracking the car (much), so the LSD doesn't matter too much. I like the look of the "S" with the 19" wheels and I might miss the 40 hp but I have to be able to live with the car. Your post is having me re-think that position - the base may be more suitable for me. The base model is more plentiful than the S too (not that there are many F-types) - so that's another factor - I can more easily find one. My preference is to obtain a CPO model.

Thanks again - and my search continues!

 

From my experience there is a world of difference between 18" and 19" wheels. I ordered a 2013 XF with 18" wheels after test driving cars with 18", 19" and 20" ones. There was a significant difference in ride comfort across the sizes.
As a result I bought a 2018 base couple with 18" wheels and am very pleased with the balance between sportiness and comfort. Inasmuch as I don't have the requisite break-in miles racked up as yet I can't speak to whether I may regret not having the extra 40 HP, but if I want more power later, I may just opt for a tune and pulley change.