Just been for a 45min belt in a brand new 5.0L 510HP XFR



And as the title says, i'm a bit disappointed....

It's mighty quick, the brakes are fantastic, the exhaust rumble off idle is wicked, the cracking & popping as you engine brake is better than i expected, the roar from the pipes under throttle made me grin like an idiot, handling through the twisty backroads was rock-solid.

However....

I found the drivers seat very uncomfortable, the bolstered sides of the cushion dug right into my thighs, much more than my XJR.
Instead of sitting "in" the seat, i was sitting on the bolsters, and no amount of fiddling with the controls could change that.

Then there was the whine from the Supercharger, or rather the complete lack of it!
I've watched this video dozens of times and that's what i was looking forward to.

But no, all i could hear was the exhaust, I could not make out the Supercharger at all...
I drove through several tunnels, through densely wooded roads, with my foot mashed into the carpet, nothing...

From the expectation built up from the video, this can only be described as a let down....

Oh, and that the model I tested costs $155'000 in this country....

 

That car is modified, according to conventinal wisdom on this forum (and possibly the video description!). Cars often sound very different inside and out anyway, so even onboard this car, you might not hear the whine. Anyway, it is called a whine because it is a whining sound - i.e. annoying! Who would want to hear that regularly? I am of the opinion that the non SC 5.0 XF sounds better...

As for the seats - common complaint but mostly by the US guys. Its a performance car - it should come with sports seats! I love the XFR seats - just right for me (5'11"/190lbs) and it was the seats that convinced me to step beyond a (pre 2012) XF SC due to their awfully flat and unsupportive seats.

 

My stock '05 XJR has a much more audible whine than the '13 XFR I drove today.

You only hear the whine when you're giving it some beans. Regular street driving, part throttle, you don't hear it. With this new XFR i didn't hear it at all, that was the disappointment.

Hey i've complained about the seats in my XJR too...it's just that the seats in the XFR were even tighter....

 

I have a 5.0 SC and can tell you that I have yet to discernibly hear the supercharger. When it is cold....and I mean for the first departure from a startup I can hear it a tiny bit. Beyond that nadda.

 

Here is my 2 cents : That top speed record holding XFR is actually an 09 S/C model that had the new 10 XFR powertrain put into it. They did the pulley, exhaust, some aero parts and modded the air boxes to an almost fully free flowing open snorkel that allows the whine to be present.

I experimented to get some whine and I did get some. I removed the plastic engine cover, open air boxes and remove filters. Make sure airboxes and such are clean and go for a short ride and listen to it scream.
I would love to keep that sound but I do not want rig it up like that.

 

The whine disappeared when they went to the higher flow Eaton SC used on the 5L apparently. I considered an XFR before buying the XKR and didn't think I could live with the seat design. XKR seat offers superb lateral support, even around a race track, without the side bolsters being intrusive. Makes all the right performance sounds too...but no whine if that's your thing.

 

Even the base model 2012 NA 5L had bolsters that were a bit too tight for me and I'm a skinny guy. I'll take my soft SC 09 seats over those.

To the original poster. I wouldn't worry about sound. If it bothers you that much you can tweak a few things like others have suggested to get more whine.

 

Hey Cambo351,

I have own 3 pervious blown/SC cars in the past.
On all 3 cars, I notice that they use baffles to quite the SC down. Plus the newer Eatons blowers are made to run with less noise.

Manufactures build cars for general public and sad to say they try to appeal to large market. They worry about complaints, This is the reason why they got rid of the paddle shifts while in standard Drive.

To many people, mainly here in the states complained. I removed the baffles out of my airbox on my 03 Thunderbird SC, I also changed the pulley size, and that thing would scream.
In fact you could hear the whine at idle.. This is something that wasn't for everybody.

This goes for the exhaust and almost every part of the car and its functionality. If enough people complain about the feel of the seats, That would probably change to. With the XF, they offer different levels, So if you want the more comfortable seats, They would try to guide you to a SC model which is only 40 HP different.

My brothers BMW M5 is awesome but rides like a truck and if I'm not mistaken, Slower then a XFR for more money, At least his was by the time he was finished with the option list. I guess it depends on what you want and what your willing to live with.

 

Quiet power is better than noisy power. Noisy engines are for kids.

 

What about noisy exhausts Jagular? In that case the XFR already falls into your kids category since it's damn loud...

 

An extreme view for an auto enthusiast!

I for one like to hear engines of all types....many of the good ones and the right kind of noise are capable of giving me goose bumps. For me its a key part of enjoying cars.

You need to go down to Reno for the air races and listen to some Merlins and Wasp Radials to juice the engine sound mojo.

 

All other things being equal quiet engines are better than noisy engines.

If you drive 3,000 miles at a stretch you desire a quiet but powerful car.

Race cars ( or any racing engine) can be loud but good road cars should be quiet.

 

I think it comes down to each their own. I guess thats why they make quite as well as louder cars. Myself, I rather have a car that sounds like power. I've heard many engine and some sound like a full, fine tuned, engineered band and other like finger nails across a black board... The former always gives me goose bumps...LOL...

 

I think the XFR under throttle is actually quieter than the NA 5.0L. I just had my XFR in for the service and detailing and I got a '12 XF as a loaner. Beautiful car. The exhaust under full acceleration on that car is definitely louder than my XFR (2011).

I guess they figure a louder exhaust will let you feel like you have more power, whereas the XFR actually does.

I'll echo the seat sentiments, though. For track driving, like that I did at the R Performance Academy, you definitely appreciate those seats, but for everyday driving, those '12 seats were wonderful (though I would miss my ventilated option terribly down here in FL).

 

Some newer cars, including Jaguar, actually pipe induction noise into the cabin to satisfy customers desire to hear the power. K&N air filters exploit this idea to convince buyers that more power is being created. Actually, it's just noise and the engine would be as powerful if made quieter.

I am irritated by this artificial noise making. All that counts for me is the actual performance. Noise is just noise.

 

I agree that the piping is bothersome. Let it happen naturally is my view.

 

I'm quite sure the XFR has this for the exhaust noise, in addition to those valves in the rear mufflers to make it louder under throttle.

But it is clearly obvious that they do not do anything artificial with the induction noise (i.e. blower whine) except strangle it.

Maybe I didn't make it clear before, my XJR has a quiet exhaust, and a quiet blower too. However when you've got your right foot mashed into the carpet you do hear a very nice satisfying blower whine.

With the XFR you get overloaded with exhaust rumble, and no blower whine.

Aural experience in old XJR = like
Aural experience in new XFR = don't like

Bear in mind this was a brand new 2013 model in Europe, might not be the same experience with a 2012 North American one...

 

@Bigcat09

Thanks for the vid, yes you can hear the gear/rotor whine a bit better there, but the induction sound (suction) is a bit too much for my liking...

Now, what's the story with all that beeping before startup??? would drive me nuts!!!

 

^ That is my Valentine 1 radar powering up and going through itts test cycle. I dont always have it set that loud.

 

I think the newer jaguars use a better and more modern design of supercharger which is quieter. Noise is actually wasted power in a supercharger.

There is indeed induction noise piping in the XF. There is no exhaust noise ducting though I believe the supercharged engines have final muffler bypass valves as for Corvettes and other ridiculously noisy cars. These don't make much extra power but they do fool a lot of people into thinking that they do. Mostly just noise without substance.