A colleague of mine has several BMW cars and is a big fan of the Dinan performance chip as an inexpensive horse power upgrade for his cars. He also believes he's getting better fuel economy. Now, I'm reasonably happy with the power in the S-Type, but who wouldn't like just a bit more power; particularly if it comes with improved fuel economy?

However, the few products I've found that claim they're compatible look a bit dodgy (offering 100 additional BHP, for instance) or look a bit too good to be true (https://www.performancechiptuning.co...d2-for-jaguar/).

Is there a trustworthy source for this kind of thing (assuming it's even possible) for the 2004 era (pre-2005 facelift) 3.0 liter V6?

Also, I'm in California, so whatever options must be compliant with our draconian and somewhat contradictory emissions regulations.

Thanks in advance.

 

Hi Rhett, from what you've said you have convinced me 100% not to rechip.
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Can't be done without huge cost - cheaper to buy a V8 (NA or SC).

 

How did I manage that, exactly? I'm still interested in knowing if there's a chip or software upgrade that give a modest performance boost, as long as it won't damage the engine or transmission. I can't see why it would damage the trans, given the transmission is the same unit (more or less) that transmits power from the dual Duratek V6 (aka V12) in the Aston Martin DB9, which puts out exactly double the B.H.P. as in my little V6, but you never know.

A few years ago, we put the Andy Stoddart 5 degree advanced timing bracket in my wife's '95 X300, which yielded 15 or so free B.H.P., giving the car just a bit more "muchness". I was hoping for a modern version of the same for my S-Type, but I recognize it's a different kettle of fish.

Anyway, assuming you're not just trolling, it would be nice to hear your thoughts.

 

As JagV8 stated............... The best performance 'chip' is a V8. The little 3.0 is fairly 'maxed-out' already.

bob

 

Okay. Thanks.

 

My 2 cents.

Chipping is nothing but a major headache. I have tried it on a couple of the non-Jags I owned. The cars never ran right after and I put the original chip back in.

Chipping is only for people who like to hack ECMs and fine tune stuff to match the chip. Its like the tail wagging the dog.

 

Perhaps the title of this thread should have been "Performance Tuning for the Jaguar V6 3.0" instead of "performance chip". I'm not particularly attached to a chip as an option, just that it's what my colleague swears by in his Bimmer.

For 90% of the driving I do with this car, the 235 B.H.P. of the engine paired with my newly (software) updated and adapted ZF transmission is more than I need. Every now and again, I either need to get myself out of a situation or want to be a bit more of a hooligan and a few more horses would be a kindness, but I'm not going to sell my car, just to get a V8 model. I like the weight balance and economy of the V6 and it's the car I have. I'm new to modern-ish Jags, but I'm surprised to hear that there are no performance tuning options available to get a bit more out of the V6 engine, when there are boatloads of options for BMWs, Minis, etc.

Anyway, if it's not possible, that's okay. It's still a delightful car and I'm lucky to have it.

 

You could go nitrous and/or meth.

Everyone else just gets a bigger engine, though

 

If its possible to use SCT and a flash device Don Lasota will know. (He wrote classes on how to tune and teaches as well).

LaSota Racing Ford Tuning & Training

 

The S type has a sensitive electronics system or a very sensitive electronics system depending on what car reviews I've read. I don't think chip upgrades alone are a good idea for improving a cars performance. Compatability can be an issue for any aftermarket chip.
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I assume you are talking about fitting a new chip to the cars ecu and not a reprogram of the ecu. Maybe a remap using a rolling road and laptop might give an allround better result? But dyno time doesn't come cheap.

​​​​​​Rechips seem to be a sold on a pitch of quick power increase, or possibly not in some cases. Is it really worth the risk on an old car?
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​​​​​I'm of the opinion like others that's is cheaper to buy a designed performance car. But power chipping an old cruiser like the s type just seems a bit meaningless and carries a risk which doesn't seem worth it. Replacing other parts would probably bring back some of the power loss that these older cars have lost.

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The Duratec V-6, in Jaguar configuration, puts out almost 80 hp/liter, or 1.3 hp/CID, which is pretty high for a stock factory engine.

I suspect that the law of diminishing returns will come into play pretty rapidly on this one...

JR

 

 

I think it is fairly clear from the excellent responses you have received thus far that you would be wasting your time and money attempting to tweak these Duratec V6 engines any more than Jaguar has already done. The VVT system along with the IMT valves that Jaguar added help to provide these vehicles with both decent power and surprisingly good fuel economy. I kept my 2005 S-Type 3.0 for 9.5 years before selling it nearly 4 months ago because it no longer fit our needs given the other vehicles in our stable. After studying these forums for years, I was convinced that attempting to tweak any more horsepower out of it would be a waste of money. I still believe that today....

 

I've seen the claims of +30% power increase and +20% fuel economy for rechipping the S type. If Jaguar engineers could have achieved that, they would have during the design process. Their engineers are very good.

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I suppose you could just run it very lean and get more power.

Side effect is it destroys the engine, though.

Not what the OP wants!!

 

just my own experience...I bought a 79 dollar tuner that plugs into the obd2 port...I read quite a bit about it and of course the manufacturer was all giddy about it...not anything way out but they claimed 8 to 11 hp at the wheel for my car...they said it was car specific and just re-mapped the the ecm a bit....so I bit...I think what it did was put the car in sport mode full time and jacked around with the sensor voltages...had I known at the time the sophisticated charging system these cars have, and their not liking being messed with, I would have never bought it...long story short...I am convinced the "super chip" fried my alternator....never once had any issues with it nor random codes and the park brake fault going off many times....needless to say I chucked it when I replaced the alternator..and about a month later the battery..thank goodness it did not toast anything else....I am smarter than believing in free or cheap horsepower...but I was weak that day..my heart said yes and head said no..anyway just my own experience....I find that some cataclean once a month and some top grade octane boost like vp racing or lucas once in a while makes a noticeable difference....good luck in your quest

 

I personally tune my own cars (mostly Fords) with SCT pro racer. Have you spoken to Don Lasota?

 

SCT can not / will not do anything with Jags, you'll only be the 82nd person to ask them and be told the same answer.

Which is no.

 

Does anyone have information on remaping software and tuning chip. This is an upgrade performance question? If I blow the engine then I will rebuild it. So no nancy answers sorry...