Is ecu worth it?
 

I've seen quite a few pages on this my question is with doing an ecu on my car

Does it decrease life of the car?
Does it void the warranty?
Does gas mileage get better or worse?

And if I wanted to get tha done and change out pulley where would I go to get this done. ( I live in indiana)

Though research I noticed it costs about 2k is that correct?

Some Jaguar dealers seem to be lenient than others. I personally wouldn't do it as I think it would affect the warranty.

Search this Jaguar board (for XFR) for BigCat09's detailed posts on this topic. See, e.g., https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...options-97314/

I believe he is a big fan of the tune and pulley swap he did with a tuner named EcuTuningGroup.

Others have used the same tuner for their 5.0 supercharged engines in other cars. There's a thread on that on the XJ board as well.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...upgrade-64589/

And on the XK board....

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...upgrade-64594/

Yup $2K large for pulley and tune. I was so against for so long and looked at all the others but none of them made it so easy and promised the end result ETG did.

Let me add to this for all of you. I have only heard of 1 issue and it is pulley related. I spoke to a guy with a new 2012 XFR who did a pulley change and first he said the pulley backed off and shredded a belt. Then he put a new pulley on and then he said soon after the blower shaft got pushed in. No idea how that can happen at all but sounds like there is a blower set pin/shaft issue that might not be related to the pulley at all. This is the only story I have heard out of al the folks who have done pulley changes on the 5.0L motor.

I did the ECU Group pulley and tune as well. Got the car back on its feet last night. Also did the H&R springs and spacers.

Will report my impressions after I've had more time to form them, probably on the XK board. In the very short term, as far as the engine is concerned, I detect nothing worse about its operation under normal driving conditions. Throttle tip-in may be a little sharper, but there is no bogging or flat spot in that part of the rpm band I could test at night :)

That is cause most tuners now with cars with drive by wire make it more sensitive to give the more responsive "FEEL" to it. I hate that feeling and wish they did not.
Remember to give it a small beating for the first 112 miles for the adaptics to learn and lock in the initial programming. When you flash it everything is reset from scratch.

I know what you mean. The great thing about this car, though, is that even with a quick tip in, it doesn't fall off after--just keeps pulling like a freight train.

Bruce if you end up doing this please let me know how it works out

Will do. The tune, pulley, springs and spacers are all done. But I'm going to drive the car quite a bit first, so I know what I'm talking about when I give a report.

If you do a dyno pull, I'll like to see the results.

New member here looking at a 2010 XFR. Nicely done and reported Bruce. If its not obvious from my Login I have played around with turbo Saab tuning and its a blast. Hoping to learn what these cars car do as I look to buy... sounds like quite a few happy drivers with tuned cars....

What's the verdict on the pulley/tune upgrade? Do you have a dyno results?

Dyno is not exactly spot on, but it shows the power gains at least a good amount. If your not using a 4 Wheel Linked Dyno you wont get spot on numbers from these new 5.0L SC motors. The TCU keeps pulling it away even though the ECU says yes.

Can anyone give a report on the ETG ECU tune/pulley upgrade. I seriously considered having this done on my old 2011 XKR175 until I sold it. However, with no reports I could not pull the trigger. Does the remap/pulley afford noticeable performance improvements? Reports please...

There are a few members who have done the ECU remap/pulley upgrade on the 5L. However, no one cares to give a report. Consequently, I can only assume these people are disappointed with the new tune. Most people would boast about the improvement and fun they are experiencing.

I kind of agree with what DGL is alluding too. I'm just not sure how many have done it that are active on the forum, so maybe that is why it is hard to find reviews and information about the XKR tune. I noticed on the ETG facebook page they tuned an XKR-S to around 620HP. After that I called and talked to a guy named "Jags" I think it was...and he told me the XKR-S responds well to the tune and it makes the car so fast it is like a blur, like warp speed style.

I asked him about reliability for that kind of power in this drivetrain and he said it would be completely fine, no problems. My thinking was why didn't Jaguar step up the XKR-S GT a bit if it is so safe? They changed a lot on that car but kept the power the same.

So then he was going to find a local shop to do the pulley install on my car but he never got back to me. I believe he said they send out a custom pulley puller and a laptop, and he tunes the car remotely with a pre-made file.

I have also read a lot of good things and a lot of bad things about Jags and his former company. I am just not sure if it is even worth the risk anymore. The car is fast enough and I'm not getting any younger. A few years ago I'd be all over it...but, I have more experience now with modding cars and sometimes its just not worth it and sometimes it is. I am honestly unsure with this one, but I am leaning on the safe side and just not doing it. I guess I'm just not "sold" yet.

Doesn't make sense. Your in the tune business but don't have any dynos of your handy work? Hum............ if it were my business I'd have dozens or more dyno sheets available to help me sell my product.

I could go on a lot on this topic but to be super short on it here it is. For the good or bad ETG-JAGS does not go out of his way to post dyno sheets among other things since his clientele is mostly wealthy people who just want it done and will take his word on it. I have even worked on many cars Jags has tuned by chance as I know some of these people from work and events . I and a few others have posted before and after dyno sheets to show proof of the gains and I for one thought as all of you did exactly until I took the plunge and risked my $$$. It works!!!


Now about the power being made as in matt above is asking about. Jag has these all built the same way with software tweaks being the only difference and the new one with the 8 speed tranny. The XKR 175 and GT don't really need the more power as the chassis and SW has been tweaked in a different way and the results Jag wanted to see was enough. I would love to have a GT or even the 175 just to feel how they drive and not for the power as we know you can buy the cheapest 2010 XF/XK/XJ Supercharged version and make all the same power as all models. And when TaTa motors took over Jag and then implicated the new 5.0L version they wanted to be conservative just a lil bit to see how the product does in the real world and not in the factory. Also Jag was informed by ZF that the 6 speed tranny breaking threshold was XXX as they found out in the BMW X6M ETC was failing. The new 8 Speed ZF is better but will only hold a small amount more power so they left it alone and tweaked the chassis and shift points more.

And on a final note I leave you all with this video of the XKR175. Please watch the whole thing as there is some funny quotes dropped about the passenger seat positions and the tire burning.

3:41 and 4:55

I have watched that video before several time...it is great for sure.

The 6-Speed ZF is one of the concerns I had, as far as HP increases and how they could affect the transmission. I would love to know what the magic number is that may cause failure in the ZF.

If Jags would have got back with me I would have probably gone for it. I was encouraged after speaking with him.