Interested in hearing if anyone with a XF 5.0 (non supercharged) has done an ecu tune.... Im scheduled to have my vehicle done and Id like some feedback on anyone whom has completed this....
Thanks!!

 

Haven't done it. But I am interested to see the result.
From what I understood the real gains came from the sc models.

 

Usually you won't get much from a tune on a NA motor. People normally get a tune when they have modded the car and need to correct the air/fuel/spark. Even after modifying a NA motor you won't get a ton of HP via a tune. On the FI cars (SC/turbo) boost can be raised and the tune is used to dial everything in. I wouldn't be expecting much HP if I were you. For $1k+ it won't be worth it. There would have to be known issues with the stock tune that you'd want corrected (throttle delay, speed limiter, shift points, etc.).

 

Thanks for the feedback. The guys at ECUTUNINGGROUP Vancouver are telling me that the car will end at 425 HP (from 385) but told me the real difference is responsiveness (and the flat spots will be removed - my jag has some bad ones at start and in second gear).
Im in a situation where looking back on this recent purchase I should have bought an XFR but ......................

 

Hi ALL,

Just completed (or maybe not) my second Mod in as many years.

I have a black XF with Chrome trim but frankly the maintenance on the black paint was killing me!

SO SKIP forward to this summer and I purchased a silver on black 2011 XF with chrome trim (BORING..... did I say BORING!)

Id seen another car on this site that was silver with black trim so I thought I woudl do the same. Feedback from my friends (although most were under 30) was to go flat black trim and roof.

Pictures are attached.

So here I am with this flat black trim XF which now that its complete I believe looks "cheap" and like its straight out of Fast and Furious part 7....

The wife wont let me make any changes this fall so it stays this way till next spring...

Here is the question....
1) Do i change the matt black to gloss black with no chrome
2) Do I change the matt black back to chrome?
3) Do i change the matt to gloss black and have a couple items back to chrome (logos etc).

All the new Jag and rover vehicles for 2013 and 2014 have gloss black with subtle chrome accents... The dealer told me there will be a trend for more gloss black trim over the next couple years in their designs...

Please any advice, council, or dialogue on what Ive done would help me get through the coming months with my new car... (or a hair transplant so I can audition with the teenagers down at the track)...

Thanks,
Mark

 

Tuners can definitely fix the laggy throttle issue. I wouldn't take anyone's word on 40hp unless I saw proof but that's just my opinion. It's up to you if that's worth $1k. Maybe if you got a money back guarantee it would be worth the chance.

My opinion on your paint:
-I prefer chrome on the outer trim ring on the front grill. I like the blacked out grill section though.
-I'm not sure on the blacked out window trim. I think there is too much black without the chrome surround. I'd go back to chrome.
-Either chrome the side vent or paint it silver and leave the jag section chrome. The black makes it stand out like you glued it on. Again my opinion...
-As for the roof I'm not a fan of the matt. I'd go gloss black.

It's all what you want to do. Do what you prefer.

 

For the tuning question; I believe that you should insist on seeing a before/after dyno chart for the particular engine. In many cases power gains come mostly at the very top end of the RPM range and, unless you are a racer, you will hardly use the engine in that range. At times, you may actually loose power and torque at the low RPM ranges where most people drive most of the time. So, look at the dyno to decide if it fits you driving practices. If they can not provide a dyno printout, I would not trust their claims.

As far as the cosmetics. I've never been too much of a fan of flat paints on car exteriors. Having said that the pictures indicate that the car looks good. Like the previous poster said, it is your car and it should make you happy, not anyone else.

Albert

 

I think your car looks awesome. I wouldn't change a thing. But what do I know...

 

Arden has a tune for the 2011 XF 5.0 that takes it to about 410-420HP so if ECU Tuning says that they can get 425 then that's well in the same range. That said, I'd still like to see a dyno sheet on both. I used to have a tuned ECU on my Solstice and that certainly smoothed out the throttle responsiveness.

 

I think the blackout looks good. How many HP does it gain? And does it hurt fuel economy?

 

Hi there,
They have told me 40-50 H gain and a great gain in responsiveness.
The fuel economy will naturally be worse..

 

It's the torque curve you notice when driving. Horsepower is irrelevant to anything but top speed capability. Where you are (BC) you can't use top speed over 149 km/hr or it's off to the crusher for your XF. BC is getting to be like a dictatorship. Must be all the seniors moving there.

Were I interested in more something I'd be checking out the torque curve. Even the factory engineers can't find much torque improvement these days. Without a significant torque bump you will be disappointed. Make sure the mod isn't just mostly fitting a noisy air filter intake and noisy exhaust unless that's really what you want. Can ruin a good car.