Thinking of replacing my 2014 Firesand V6s with a late model R or SVR. What years between 2020 and 2024 would you guys recommend from a looks and sound standpoint?
BTW did JLR start using aluminum cooling pipes in F-Types? If so what year?

 

The all wheel drive 20R over an SVR all day. If you wanted SVR power that is easy to obtain way cheaper with VelocityAP,s pully/tune package 660HP which will bring you up to sleeper SVR level. If you really wanted the sound look at the Supersprint exhaust and 200 Cell cats. In the end all way cheaper than an SVR unless you just have to have the SVR body enhancements as well.

 

2020 was the final model year for the SVR which makes their 5 year/60,000 mile factory warranty period pretty much over if that type of security is important to you. The 2021 and newer R models have the refreshed front ends which I personally prefer but if you don't you'll need to search for a 2020 version and sacrifice the 25 HP boost and the updated infotainment system. Having owned both, the SVR exhaust was louder with a more raspy tone and the 2021 and newer R's still sound great but require more finessing (dynamic or manual mode) unless you remove fuse #15 which is now not recommended especially for extended periods of time. The aluminum cooling pipes are an aftermarket upgrade as far as I know and JLR swapped to the improved seamless plastic Y pipe sometime after 2018? Good luck with your decision!

 

Despite the looks of the newest F-types seeming controversial, I’m another data point that much prefers the newest look. As much as I like the original look, I feel it has been made to look a bit dated in comparison. A good buddy of mine with a 2009 Aston Martin V8 Vantage was with me and saw the new and old at the dealership side by side when I purchased. His words were, “Your 2024 R is how it should have always looked from day 1”. That’s coming from a guy who quite possibly owns one of the most beautiful cars in history (my opinion), so that’s gotta count for something ;-0 To each their own. Anyone who owns any F-type has it made as far as I’m concerned.

As for the fuse 15 thing on the new cars. Yeah, definitely don’t do that based on some info out there. It can be achieved safely without pulling fuse 15 by installing an ASR valve controller. Several of us on the forum have installed one. Excellent product. Very polished product, and it has the advantage of being able to offer the quietest cold starts possible with an F-type (i.e: If you have early morning starts and have upset neighbours you care about). You can start the car and keep the valves closed the entire time with it. If you ever become interested I have put together a reasonably detailed install guide here on the forum. If ya ever need it and can’t find it just reach out to me. I can dig it up for ya.

Another thing to keep in mind with the newest cars…The suspension setup, particularly on the Rs, is superior to a lot of the past F-types. It is a revised/improved version of the same suspension that the SVR had. I prefer the updated interior as well personally.

Cheers

 

I've owned both an R and a SVR. The SVR is so much more than the R. Most people just focus on the 25 HP gain and miss out on all the other things that make the overall package something that would be cost prohibitive to replicate.

 

Yeah, I would have to agree with this. I mean, with the newest R you’re getting the same power and the same suspension improved, but that doesn’t make it an SVR. The packaging on those cars is special for sure. I love the look of all the extra body changes and stuff on those things.

 

Personally I would take the 2016/7 R (pre AWD and pre horizontal vents). If money wasnt an object I would take the new shape R. I wouldnt mod the engine in a car again, I dont have the nous to work on them myself and modding restricts where I can take them, so I would get a car with the grunt I want straight from the factory.

I would say though that the exhaust in my '22 F Pace SVR is very disappointing, not sure whether it is better than the F Type post neutering, but the quietness takes a lot of the fun out of it. Which reminds me to look at a resonator delete for mine as $15K for an aftermarket exhaust is not tempting me, so I suppose I would take the new shape but pre exhaust annihilation R, if that exists.

 

my 17R vert has seamless plastic pipes

 

Another vote for the SVR here for the curb appeal and full package. It's looks amazing. I would go 2017/18 for the louder exhaust. But split opinions on that

Btw - to the post on the F Pace SVR, I have a 2025 and exhaust definitely vastly more tame than my 2017 F Type SVR. But - if you drive the f pace in dynamic you at least get a nice snort on higher rev up shifts. I would like more burble and heavy V8 sound like my F Type has.

 

Yes, it is far better in dynamic (as opposed to the loud button which is also underwhelming), I agree it needs more burble and I think more bark. You can barely hear it when you turn it on in the morning, what's going on with that? If the post '21 F Types are the same it would be an absolute crime

 

It's called "consideration for your neighbours"! Might not be an issue in Oz where you have so much space, but in the UK .....

 

Jaguar did not switch over to the seamless plastic pipes for US cars until late in the 2018 model year. My May 2017 build 2018 has seamed plastic pipes. If you have a UK (or other country) spec car you may have seamless pipes though. Another possibility is a prior owner could have had the pipes changed.

There are photos on here of both the seamed and seamless plastic pipes. Compare those with the pipes on your car.

 

Nope, same situation in the UK.

 

Yep, and just my humble opinion, if you have an early car with the seamless plastic pipes, I would still consider upgrading them to aluminum (or swapping out for a new plastic pipe if you don't like aluminum) a few years from now. Better than the seamed pipes, but these pipes still can fail where they mount to the block. 2018's will be 10 years old in 2 years, 10 year old plastic

 

The only year of a RWD R was 2015. After that, they were all AWD.

 

Thanks for the input guys. What was the model year JLR started to neuter the exhaust sound of the F-type? Was it when exhaust particle filters were introduced?

 

I believe MY17 was the last full year in the original configuration. Starting with MY18 (not all as it happened mid-year) there were some software changes that muted it some (but still raucous). Here in the US, they didn't get the GPFs until MY22. I think in the UK and other markets they had the GPF as early as MY18.

Now there were some software updates (notably H239) that further affected the sound and could be retroactively applied to the older cars (and can't be undone). So you may come across older cars that are quieter if their owner had the software updated at the dealer.

 

I think we may have had them until 2017, see here https://www.redbook.com.au/cars/deta...TM-452811?Cr=3, and we definitely had them in the 2016 MY (built 2015) see eg https://www.carsales.com.au/cars/det...E-AD-19355693/, but my preference is for what we (in Oz) had as the 2016.5 or 2017 model years because I preferred the infotainment that came in the 2016.5 MY. Note though that in the advertisement the owner says that it is the last MY of the RWD. Possibly they were all built in 2015, my car is a 2016.5 but built in the third quarter of 2015, but the Redbook entry is suggesting build dates in 2017

 

And let's not forget the V8 S

 

OP is in the US, so I'm being US centric. In the US, the only year of RWD R was 2015. All 2016 Rs in the US were AWD.