What are the top 3 mods or must-dos for every F-Type?
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From: Gold Coast, Oz
Agree with bfrank, Of all of the things I have done to my car some of which made it prettier, some louder, some faster, I think that the one that I would miss the most if it went is the forged rims and michelin tyres. It handles soooo much better on the lighter rims, and the ride on forged 21's is as good or better than OEM 19" rims with the p zeros on them. But it is an expensive mod, and I think I was lucky that the Vorsteiner rims that I chose solely for looks are also super light. Other than that , having had dramas with the failed pipe I would get that sorted, I was told by my newer mechanic that every time the SC has to come off the coupler should be replaced (I think that's what he said, apparently it is a cheap part anyway). I very much enjoy the added performance from having the pulley and tune done as well, though it comes with some limitations on who will work on your car afterwards.
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VAP does a transmission tune, although I've never thought the stock tune doesn't do what I'd do if it was manual.
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
I guess the other way to phrase it is what’s the rush for preemptive replacement? Sure, it might save you from that particular breakdown on the road, but there are lots of possible breakdown failure modes, so it doesn’t remove all risk.
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
Yes, I’ve seen that, but not looked into the details on how it’s executed yet. I’ve only got the ZF8HP experience in Alfas, both the turbo 4cyl and biturbo 6cyl Quadrifoglio, but they’re uniformly crisper/faster shifting than the F, so it seems there’s clearly room for improvement there.
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Does the F not have coolant malfunction indicator light? I’m just not sure I’m following the obsession with the coolant pipes. If there’s catastrophic pipe failure, we should know for sure, either by the tons of steam or the MIL. If the leak is slow, it should still trigger the MIL before getting to an overheat scenario. I mean, you’d have to drive through a coolant MIL to overheat damage the engine, right? Who would do that?!
I guess the other way to phrase it is what’s the rush for preemptive replacement? Sure, it might save you from that particular breakdown on the road, but there are lots of possible breakdown failure modes, so it doesn’t remove all risk.
I guess the other way to phrase it is what’s the rush for preemptive replacement? Sure, it might save you from that particular breakdown on the road, but there are lots of possible breakdown failure modes, so it doesn’t remove all risk.
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From: Exit 30 in NorthWest NJ
Originally Posted by chaadster
Here in MI, doing even 100mph could land you a Reckless Driving charge, which is a misdemeanor criminal charge.
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Yup probably most times there is steam, but if it is raining or foggy you may not always see it. Temp gauge is there but is slow to react, it will go from normal to pegged super quickly. Thing is, these pipes can fail catastrophically, i.e. split at the seam or really crumble at the flange and evacuate most of your coolant in minutes. That means you have minutes to notice and shut it down before you completely roast your motor - these motors are not tolerant of overheating. So nothing necessarily to be completely scared of but just something to keep in mind - main thing is pay attention to how your car smells, and watch your coolant level periodically. Often you may have a slow leak, and sometimes that slow leak is indicative of a bigger failure coming with the major pipes. If your pipes are older, go ahead and plan to have them changed, relatively cheap insurance. Btw if you do have a major failure and see steam, pull over wherever you are immediately - dont try to make it that 1/2 mile to the next exit
For the past 40 years or so, I've considered overheating an engine a willful act by a driver ignoring the literal warning signs. In other words, a blown hose or pipe does not instantly create overheating damage, you just stop driving. I'm not wrong about that, right?
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You're presuming the "get it out of your system" method works for me, but I don't think it does! Haha!
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Yeah, for sure there's the temp gauge, but I was asking is there not a coolant level MIL, too? A sensible driver will check the temp gauge of course, but I'd assume that any modern car would also alert when the coolant level is low, well before there's any actual abnormally high temps or actual overheating.
For the past 40 years or so, I've considered overheating an engine a willful act by a driver ignoring the literal warning signs. In other words, a blown hose or pipe does not instantly create overheating damage, you just stop driving. I'm not wrong about that, right?
For the past 40 years or so, I've considered overheating an engine a willful act by a driver ignoring the literal warning signs. In other words, a blown hose or pipe does not instantly create overheating damage, you just stop driving. I'm not wrong about that, right?
This guy sells F-Types for a living and did a short video about this some time ago:
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
Spot on. No F-Type overheats out of the blue in a split second. And yes the car has a low coolant warning. There's way too much drama around those pipes. Just be aware of the signs of that something is wrong and stop driving if there's an issue with the coolant.
This guy sells F-Types for a living and did a short video about this some time ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ODc0vBk9M
This guy sells F-Types for a living and did a short video about this some time ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q5ODc0vBk9M
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From: Ann Arbor, MI
Lots of good maintenance tips here. I wouldn't worry about the coolant pipes. When it comes to initial basic mods there are too many to mention so the top three will depend on your preferences. The car comes with a bunch of 20+ year old pieces which have been carried over from older Jags, which are easy to replace if you want to update the looks a bit. Some suggestions:
- Disable the symposer. Kills the weird howling drone that the symposer feeds into the cabin and lets you hear more of the exhaust noise. Not relevant for the last model years which had some software based thingy which you couldn't disable but yours should still have the old physical symposer
- Install magnetic paddle shifters which greatly improve the shift feel if you like using the paddles
- As mentioned - tires. MPS4S is simply the best you can get
- Sound deaden the doors to get more out of the stereo
- Add a wireless adapter to make the OEM CarPlay/AA wireless
Then some basic cosmetic stuff depending on taste
- Replace the weird old weak incandescent bulbs in the foot wells and door puddle lights with proper LED lights
- Replace the kind of old school indicator lights in the rear view mirrors with stronger swiping LEDs
- Debadge the rear. I personally prefer the style that Jaguar finally implemented in the very last model year. Leaper and Jaguar lettering on the trunk hatch but nothing on the bumper
- Mod the R-Dynamic badges. I for one never liked the whole R-Dynamic badging concept which is just a Jag version of the kind of lame M Sport / S-Line / AMG Line concepts from the Germans. Mine doesn't have any R-Dynamic badges on the sidevents and only one in the grille and I painted that badge matte black
- Disable the symposer. Kills the weird howling drone that the symposer feeds into the cabin and lets you hear more of the exhaust noise. Not relevant for the last model years which had some software based thingy which you couldn't disable but yours should still have the old physical symposer
- Install magnetic paddle shifters which greatly improve the shift feel if you like using the paddles
- As mentioned - tires. MPS4S is simply the best you can get
- Sound deaden the doors to get more out of the stereo
- Add a wireless adapter to make the OEM CarPlay/AA wireless
Then some basic cosmetic stuff depending on taste
- Replace the weird old weak incandescent bulbs in the foot wells and door puddle lights with proper LED lights
- Replace the kind of old school indicator lights in the rear view mirrors with stronger swiping LEDs
- Debadge the rear. I personally prefer the style that Jaguar finally implemented in the very last model year. Leaper and Jaguar lettering on the trunk hatch but nothing on the bumper
- Mod the R-Dynamic badges. I for one never liked the whole R-Dynamic badging concept which is just a Jag version of the kind of lame M Sport / S-Line / AMG Line concepts from the Germans. Mine doesn't have any R-Dynamic badges on the sidevents and only one in the grille and I painted that badge matte black
Can you elaborate on the rearview indicator lights and "swiping LEDs" upgrade? It sounds like you're talking about blind spot monitoring, no?
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From: Canada
Great list!
I have a 2024 75 AWD Coupe in Fuji White with the blackout package and tan windsor interior. Perfect spec for me...
My list this year..
I have a 2024 75 AWD Coupe in Fuji White with the blackout package and tan windsor interior. Perfect spec for me...
My list this year..
- Defeat the start/stop
- Magnetic paddle shifters
- Jaguar puddle lights
- VAP Stage 1
- Fuse 15 possibly? -- do North American cars have the GPF?
- Something cosmetic but subtle - no idea what though!
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From: Chapel Hill, NC
Three easy ones:
1) For an applicable 'vert, get a Smart Top module - it gives you remote operation of the top/windows, and automatically applies custom settings, such as exhaust and start/stop.
2) Swap the brakes to Porterfields when the time comes. Do it early enough to retain the discs.
3) Move off of the Pirelli's. Again, when the time comes (which won't be lone). My vote goes with the Michelins. (I do like the Pirelli Scorpions on the F-Pace.)
I'd agree that the coolant pipes are at least a watch point on earlier models, even if the risk of catastrophic damage is overstated. FWIW, my MY14 is still running the original pipes, but I have a set of the aluminum ones when the need arises (or I'm in there for something else). My MY17 pipes started to leak within the 5-year warranty period. In my case, there was warning (coolant smell and a bit of stream), but no drama.
1) For an applicable 'vert, get a Smart Top module - it gives you remote operation of the top/windows, and automatically applies custom settings, such as exhaust and start/stop.
2) Swap the brakes to Porterfields when the time comes. Do it early enough to retain the discs.
3) Move off of the Pirelli's. Again, when the time comes (which won't be lone). My vote goes with the Michelins. (I do like the Pirelli Scorpions on the F-Pace.)
I'd agree that the coolant pipes are at least a watch point on earlier models, even if the risk of catastrophic damage is overstated. FWIW, my MY14 is still running the original pipes, but I have a set of the aluminum ones when the need arises (or I'm in there for something else). My MY17 pipes started to leak within the 5-year warranty period. In my case, there was warning (coolant smell and a bit of stream), but no drama.
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From: Westport, CT
This case was not a coolant hose failure but would manifest similarly (actually much more abruptly). Watch how long it takes him to notice. I was driving up to lime rock here in CT having some fun around the corners in my 3rd gen 4runner (yes that's right), and my thermostat started sticking, car temp gauge was pegged when I finally noticed it, because I was paying attention to other things. Luckily, that thing is bomb proof. These Jag motors are fragile.
Anyways proceed as you will, just some friendly advice, PM on these cars goes a long way vs. waiting until something fails. Plus it sucks being stuck on the side of the road.
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From: Granite Bay, CA
Brake disks, too. Huge unsprung weight saving there, too.
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From: Gold Coast, Oz
1. I gunned the car hard which I think must have rocked the engine and caused the failure of already brittle bits;
2. within a minute my wife was saying she could smell something sweet;
3. within 2 minutes the low coolant light came on then went off, then came back on again;
4. within 3 - 4 minutes I had the overheating warning came on and smoke (which was actually steam) was pouring out of the bonnet;
5. I pulled over and my wife was out of the car before it stopped lol. When I opened the bonnet there was liquid everywhere on the front right hand side (facing the away from the car, so your passenger side) which I thought was either coolant or oil, but it ended up being coolant.
It was pretty dramatic although my wife's exit from the car was hilarious.
Last edited by BruceTheQuail; Mar 26, 2026 at 02:34 PM.
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I think he's talking about indicators that don't all illuminate at once but "creep" across the light area in the direction you're turning - sequential lights I think they're known as. I hate them - think they look tacky, but hey! What do I know?