Ive been looking into a cold air intake,but it seems it will be a waste of time and a pain in the butt from the info i got here.I have heard a lot about a air box modification,can someone post some details and some pics of this if ya have the time...as well any thoughts on a performance chip.

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2004 xtype blacked out door posts, custom exhaust custome painted back bumped and rear cowling,premium stereo upgrade.tinted windows thats it.....oh ya and it's irish racing green in colour lol..A WORK IN PROGRESS

 

Irish, as for the air box mod. THere are 2 different ones that people have done. The first one (seems a bit more popular) is where you remove the lid off of the air box, remove the filter and in the bottom of the box you will find some ribbing in there. The purpose of the ribbing is to make the intake a bit quieter by breaking up any streaming that happens in the air. What people are doing is taking a power sander or knife (or other cutting device) and removing this ribbing. This allows the air to flow easier inside the box. Less restriction, more air can make it to the motor, thereby more power. You are only talking about say 5 hp or so. Nothing dramatic. BUt, if this is used in combination with other stuff, it all starts to add up.

The other air box mod is installing a third opening. If you open the hood, you will see that there are 2 openings that go up and over the radiator and lead to some horns that split the manual hood release lever. What you are doing is removing the air box, adding a third hole to the left of the 2 factory holes and then adding some flexible piping to allow this new hole to suck the cold air from in front of the radiator. LEss restriction, more air flow, more power. But, again, nothing significant.

My feelings on a chip for the X-Type is not cost effective. The new chip is going to run you like $400 (USD). The X-Type is already running premium fuel, so, where the other chips get most of their power gain, jaguar has already used that. Sure there is some improvement that can be made in getting rid of the Jaguar conservatism, but the gains are going to be minimal. So, when you start looking at the cost per horsepower gain, the chip is going to be a very expensive route. I personally would not recommend it unless you are looking to squeeze each and every horsepower gain you can out of the car. Even then, I would tell you to save your money and look to install a turbo or something else like that to get a nice change, not a baby step.

Please keep in mind that the transfer case is the weak link in our cars. All the power from the motor goes through the transfer case. It barely handles the factory power (some would even argue that). You start adding more power, you are going to incur other costs in having to replace the transfer case more often. We all know that if you have the additional power, you are going to use it. Not saying you shouldn't, but also look at long term consequences.

 

I did the first airbox mod cited above (cut the ribbing) - no noticeable power difference, slight fuel economy increase. Added a K&N drop in filter at the same time though, so that is another variable. The amount of intake air is still limited by the throttle plate, so I didn't do the "third opening" mod.

A chip is a waste - you are better off trying to lose some weight from the car ( lighter wheel and tire combo, etc) than boosting power.

 

do you think port polishing is worth it.or is the transfer case still the issue....can i beef that up?.About the tire rim combo,I am only on 16's ever heard of that ?(in canada) and want to go to 18's as in the sports model will this affect handling in a good way?I seem to think bigger feet means more power to the ground and more rubber on road means better handling.I am just thinking it's what the car should be on (18's) and isn't cause someone cheaped out at the dealer.

 

port and polish is never a bad thing. If you can DIY it's a great idea. Not sure how much it would help. If you want something to mess around with an tune, the X type is not really a great choice.

16" wheels were offered as stock. I have OEM 16's I run in the winter. Run 17's rest of the year. Handling would be impacted by running a dedicated summer tire on 18's rather than any type of all-seasons on 18's. The proper compound is where its at, not necessarily the size of the rim/tire.

Some have talked about adding a support brace to the x-fer case, as the problem is twisting of the case itself. Not sure if anyone has done so though.

 

So compound is that important?,Ok so I'll stick to 17x7.5,I'm a little confused on your summer tire evplaination.Are you saying running all seasons on a 17 is better than running summer compound tire's.Is is purely from a composition stand point,because thae rubber is diffrent in a AS tires.Think the OEM recomends perelli nero's .You seem to know your rubber....any good makes in an all season would be helpful

 

I always thought if you replace some body panels ( hood, trunk lid, riockers) with a carbon fiber, or lighter material it would really help????

 

Disco, with the thin metals that are being used these days, the weight savings is going to be in the 5 pounds or less region. For the cost, not worth it in my opinion. You would get more benefit by pulling the spare tire from out of the trunk.

Irish, I think what Chris is trying to get at is if you run a generic Summer tire, it isn't any better than running a decent all season tire. Now, you spend the money and get a good quality summer tire, the gains will be noticeable. Hopefully that will clear up some of the confusion. As for brand A over Brand B over Brand C, can't help you there.

I had talked about welding up a plate to help stiffen up the transfer case. But, I have not seen any good pictures of how the transfer case cracks. Kinda need to know in what direction the case is cracking and where it is cracking to know where to put the necessary support.

 

alright thermo, driopping the spare is benficial, until a tire goes flat and you......wait, wheres the spare lol

 

Sorry I was a little fuzzy on that statement.

What I mean is, running a good summer tire on a 16 or 17 inch rim I believe will give you better performance than running an all-season on an 18 inch rim. What I"m getting at is that size isn't the most important aspect for handling, the tire compound is. A summer tire is going to out perform an all season regardless of the size in dry weather. For that reason I run dedicated summer and winter tires to maximize the performance of the awd system in the car. Plus my summer set up is lighter.

Now that being said, I realize many people prefer to just stick with one set of wheels and tires and choose an all-season, which is fine. 17's or 18's probably grip about the same, but you will have a little more cushion and rim protection with the 17's. A personal choice.

I can't really help for all season tires, since I don't use them on the X. I do run Conti ExtremeContacts on my Saab because they deliver excellent wet and snow traction. It depends on where you live. If you have good weather, get an all season more geared toward dry and wet handling. IF it snows a bunch, get one with a better winter grip. The Tirerack website can help you - they have a rating system for the tires and the type of grip in a particular condition.

 

Our courtesy cars (Ford Fiesta) dont have spare tyres...just a bottle of tyre weld in the trunk which comes from Ford as standard.
Similar stuff can be bought at accessory shops
I think it repairs and inflates tyres but not 100%,probably doesnt save that much weight but every little helps (as the Tesco ad on TV says)

 

I've used the "Slime" products before, mostly on my Jeeps and ATV's. Works pretty good, better than Fix-a-Flat. But if you have a sidewall blowout or something like that, you are screwed without a spare.

 

Those tire repair cans are hell on your tires. Only use them if you intend to replace the tire shortly there after. Also, make sure that you drive the car as soon as you possibly can after adding that stuff. If you don't, you will get an excessive amount of the goo on one side of the tire and it will lead to a very severe imbalance (UGLY imbalance if you get what I mean). Even if you drive the car immediately, things are going to be wobbly due to imbalances.

If I ever buy a car and that is the only option for a spare tire, I am buying me a new wheel and putting it in the trunk. TO me, the tire repair cans are not worth anything.

 

yeah, plus, i don't think taking the spare out is best, not in my location, extra weight in winter is nice, on alberta roads anyways. LIke first major and i mean MAJOR snowfall, I saw a few trucks int he ditch today, and my cars was solid. Except when i wanted to see her go sideways.......

 

I am running a factory standard 2007 X400 3.0 LE that has 225/45 17's on it