Quick, noobish question. The latter 3.0 X-Types have a speed limit of 121 mph, while the first 3.0 X-types have a speed limit of 140mph ... Is it possible to just switch the ECU chips from a 02-04 3.0 X-Type with a 06-07 3.0 X-Type? Just curious ...

and has anyone actually taken their X-types to the limit?

 

different ECM

 

I think have the PCM tuned is better way to go hence remove thespeed limiter .I think you can do that since diesel X Types can be reprogrammable

 

Ya, I would look into the option of a superchip or something of the sort. I'm not sure which ones make a chip for the x-type, but I'm sure you could find one without too much effort. This would also give you gains in other areas like changed shift points for improved performance on an auto, etc. As for getting one primarily for the reason of removing the speed limiter - are you really going to be driving in excess of 121mph anyways? At that point, you are just being wreckless...

 

I used to be able to get my old '02 stock X-Type up to about 131mph before the limiter kicked in and cut the gas. I've had the speedometer maxed out at 150mph after some mods and an ECU flash. Though, I am not certain I was going this fast but thats what the speedo said.

As for ECU chips they are non existant for the X-Type. Arden makes a plug and play system for the 2.0 Diesel but they don't sell them for the other models becaue they like to tune them by hand (the right way if your a respectable tuning company). Though, these types of complete ECU flashes can be very expensive and very risky if you don't have the right person do it. The idea would be to add all your performance mods and then get the ECU flashed and fine tuned around your specific modifications.

Let's say your average mom and pop tuning company might charge a few grand and if your able to ship your car to Arden they will help you out for a small price of about $9,000. Even if there was a over the counter chip available, if you get someone like Arden to reflash the ECU you'll get better results from the hands on tuning.

 

There is a way to disable the speed limiter on the ECU. A member on this site told me they disabled theirs but they did not want to give away the directions for liability reasons... He told me to look at the ECU wiring diagram and pay close attention to the speed sensor. He said it was self explanitory. I haven't taken the time to spend much time looking at it since I am getting ready to replace me ECU and swap my 2.5L for a 3.0L. If someone wanted to post the diagram I'm sure I could figure it out, I just dont have access to JTIS for a few more days.

Another option is to get an ECU from someone overseas. American bound cars are the only ones with a speed limiter. I don't know if it is a direct swap or if there would be error codes. There are no removable parts on the ECU, unless you are good with soldering... I have a electrial engineer friend of mine that is working on a way to re-flash the ECU since I will be running low compression (8.7:1) and high boost (12-14 psi). Trying to do that on the stock ECU would suck.

 

like I said, just curious ... It just sucks knowing that a Volkswagon, Honda, and even Scions can go as fast or faster. Apparently, my Jaguar dealer knows of a tuner in Pennsylvania that has successfully flashed 04-06 X-types, but he's chargedupwards of$7,000.

 

I had contacted Arden about this about two weeks ago. I asked if I could have my ECU mailed to them or something....

They pretty much said that they would require your car at some location in Germany to do it.... :-P guess that doesn't help those of us here in the States.

My eyes got all bright for a second when you said you knew someone in PA who successfully flashed an X-Type ECU.... then I nearly passed-out after you mentioned the $7k price. (lol)

I, too, would really like to get my ECU-flashed. My roomate has a VW GTI and got his flashed about a month ago.... it's now a pocket-rocket with more HP and torque that the Jag. :-P

Let me know if you get any leads...

 

Keep in mind that you wont get a supercar simply with a reflash... Sure, they can adjust things for you to the performance side instead of the economical side - but I wouldn't hope for huge increases on a stock car. It certainly wouldn't be worth $7k!

Now, if you have a custom turbo setup or some other major modification, then tuning can work wonders and would be worth putting some money into.

Regardless, $7k for a tune is absurd. On my last car, I had several hours of dyno and tuning done that turned into a beautiful custom tune for roughly $1k total.

 

ah yes... I should also mention that my roomate's ECU flash for the GTI cost him around $400 only.

 

Yea, dont get me wrong, I dont want to be the next speed racer or anything. I love this car, I just wish it had a bit more power.

It sucks that everything is extra expensive because its a Jaguar.

Unfortunately,that was the only person I've heard of in theEast Coastthat can flash an X-type... so far.
From what the dealer told me, the last X-type he flashed suposedly runs in the mid 13's on the 1/4 and 0-60 in 6, its an 05 automatic.

The only performance mods I see in my near future seems to be getting anew exhaust system. I still hear mixed reviews about the K&N.

 

The motor is not really that bad in them, it's the tranny. That AWD slows the car to a crawl and the auto tranny breaks under normal power, much less anything extra. I'd only look for power boosts for a manual car. Doing it on an auto is tranny suicide.

 

Not without some serious motor work... What does a stock x-type run in the 1/4? I'm not sure, but I would guess high 15's - mid 15's at best. There is no way a tune shaved off 2+ seconds. People that work on cars love to exagerate... On a stock car - or even one with intake, exhaust, and headers, the tune would add maybe 30HP on a good day.

The only instance I know of that a tune can cause some serious gains is in the case of a turbo-deisel. some of those trucks require simply a chip for 100+ HP gains!

The only way those numbers were acheived on an x-type is if the car had some sort of forced induction. If that is the case, they are being a bit mis-leading to you by leading you to believe that your car can do that too. For those numbers, you would probably need roughly 350HP at the crank (AWD causes some serious drivetrain horsepower loss), which would leave you just short of about 300HP at the wheels (assuming a 17% drivetrain loss which is very conservative for AWD). If you are pushing that 350HP through the x-type, be repared to drop an additional $5000 on tranny upgrades along with the several thousand you already put into a turbo/supercharger. It is unreasonable to tell someone a tune can do these things when in addition to the tune you need another $10,000 in work done. lol

That being said, if you can find someone affordable - get the tune. However, get your upgrades done first or the tune will be worthless. Do everything you want to do to the car, then take it in and have them adjust things. You will be happy with the results, as the "butt-dyno" definitely shows the difference - but that dealer is feeding you a line of crap.

If you stumble across a performance chip, that is the cheapest way to go - but not the best. Those can be had for a few hundred. The best would be to take it to a tuner that has an AWD dyno available with a wide band o2. Then they can make modifications specific to your car and read the results on the wide band and dyno to maximize performance. If you have some modifications done, it shouldn't take them anymore than 5 hours of dyno time to get things worked out for you... and that may even be pushing it. My custom turbo setup with direct port nitrous on my last car was tuned in 6 hours start to finish. Expect to pay $200 an hour for the tune.

 

I have a tuned '05 X-Type 3.0 manual with just and exhaust and air intake and I am just at 6 seconds (0-60mph). With a proper tuning and larger diameter exhaust you can potentially get up to 30hp which is pretty significant (not considering what it's going to cost you).

The auto 3.0 is significantly slower than the stick so with just an engine tuning I can guarantee he is not running 13 seconds or 6 seconds (0-60). Even with the J- Gate you have practically no control.

The auto X-Type is slow as hell off the line and there's a longer delay when downshifting so I don't know why anyone who is concerned with performance would buy an auto X.

 

I think I have a lead on a company that can re-flash our ECUs and it only costs a few hundred $$$. The company (who will remain nameless until I confirm they can do it) normally works on Fords and Mazdas, but they have tinkered with the X-type a little. The electronics tech I spoke with was confident he could reflash the ECU if I sent it to him.

It just so happens I had a spare 3.0L ECU to send so I did. Once I get it back I will need someone with a 3.0L car to test it out, since mine is currently a 2.5L until I finish building the 3.0 in my garage. I doubt I will have any problems finding a volunteer

The ECU shipped out today so I will have it back next week sometime, hopefully. The guy who is doing the re-flash is an electronics guru and comes very highly recommended.

 

sounds great Tokay.

I guess the price tag for the tunerin Pennsylvania must include some other upgrades as well. Sorry I have no specifics on exactly what he does or how, I was just told that he has successfully flashed ECU's for the 3.0 X-type. I wouldnt be surprised ifthe numbers were exaggerated,thought that claim was interesting.

 

you can test it on mine. Its my second car so i can afford to have it gone for awhile in the name of performace...