After living with my 2012 XK for a year, I find that it's almost exactly what I want in a 2nd car (at my age of 58). Classic looks, wonderful ride, a package shelf in back (seat? Not really), quality interior, great engine with a nice exhaust and reasonably fast. However, I find that the car is just too "lazy" for my taste in "drive" with a noticeable lag in response to a jab on the throttle. As a result, I normally drive in Dynamic + Sport + traction control off. However, I find this mode a little too aggressive in shift points (at least initially) and oddly, if I'm in traffic for a few minutes, the car seems to revert to "drive" mode, shifting sluggishly until I manually select drive and then back to sport, at which point it starts shifting aggressively again. Please, no suggestions to get an XKR... 385 HP is more than enough… This car is not making the best use of its power and the paddle shifters are a generation behind their time and too tedious to bother with. Consequently, I'm looking for a tune that addresses throttle response and shifting, with no expectation of big HP gains from a non-turbo engine. Has anyone had good experience with such a tune that is available in the U.S.? Many thanks!

 

You can get a really good 'tune' by selling your XK and buying an XKR. That way you can choose which mode you like best and still have the power to do it all.
OR, two guys I know have tunes for at least the 4.2, and I suppose both have tunes for the 5.0.
Best to speak with those two guys.
I'm sure they will both post here soon.
Me, I'd go for the XKR.

 

Well, he already stated an XKR is off the table so... yes a tune could help with throttle response also might consider resetting ECU adaptations by disconnecting the battery for a bit. The TCU could be reset as well but that requires Jaguar service software. If you are happy with the power as is, likely no need to do much else but if you want more power as well, a tune plus modifications to the car could provide more power.

 

Not sure if "Race Chip" is the answer, but you should do some research on it. Search the forums here first.

 

NA cars still have plenty of torque locked up in low to mid RPMs as well as hp on top. Well worth it!

 

I think you are expecting to much from a beautiful car like the xk . I would be more than happy with your present car . The looks alone nail it be happy. Or buy a non deplom Audi BMW or merc that are churned out by the millions that no one even looks at

 

Based I what I inferred from the OP's comments on responsiveness, I reckon he is looking for better throttle response, not necessarily more power. And throttle response CAN be adjusted in the map, in fact it is often a "trick" employed by some tuners to make the user "think" there is more power. I also suggested resetting adaptations as these can some times impact the way the PCM responds.

 

OP, am trying to figure out why your XK is trying to pass itself off as an R with its quad pipes??

OK you're never going to get the performance of an R but some things I did to my R a year ago have really transformed it

Throttle Control Unit and Pedalbox plus

https://www.diesel-performance.co.uk...5000-ccm-2/#go

TUV approved and works wonders on my car, throttle response is much improved with the pedalbox and the 'fast' pedal works in a far more responsive way

The TCU+ Gearbox flash is however just a (as far as I can tell) a hard reset of the TCU, it did however banish that 1-2 hesitation.I was experiencing permenantly

A remap of an NA engine won't give you that much more as a % compared to an SC'd or Turbo'd engine, but remember only take advice from those that have actually done it to their cars, namely a NA 5.0...lots of of forum warriors out there comparing apples with pears.

 

Pedal Commander will do the trick nicely.

 

Waste of money ..
Proper tune will actually gain you power And torque not just gas pedal rate...
To original poster, I can tune your Xk , you will be pleasantly surprised at what's possible. Pm me if interested

 

Pretty high tech donk with variable timing on inlet and exhaust cams, also variable camshaft profile which is exclusive to the n/a

With a decent tune and a X pipe wouldn't be surprised to see it dip into the 12s .

 

Thanks for the tech input. that might be exactly what I'm looking for. This car's not slow, just not as efficient as I've been used to with newer 6-8 speed transmissions. Sorry, but I can't resist not responding to your comment about passing my car off as an "R" ... Please... Having quad-tip exhaust is hardly trying to pass my car off as an "R"... Now if I bought R badges and fake hood vents, that'd be different... The big oval tips look feminine to me. Quad tips are cool and they're my generation.... I initially had them painted orange inside like Ansa exhaust from the 70s. I think they looked good, but the wife didn't like it...

 

Marky that's nonsense just because you have black wheels on your white xkr I'm sure your not trying to palm it off as a xkr-s or xkrs gt

That's a real low blow toward the OP

 

Agreed. I put the XKR back box on my XK for both better sound and looks, but no one is going to mistake it for an ‘R’.

 

I put imitation XFR quads on my XFS for no other reason than that they looked a helluva lot better than the stock single hole "trapezoid" exhaust tips.
No way was I trying to pretend it was an XFR and I fixed that itch by getting an XFR a few months later anyway!

 

Sluggish shifting may be the result of old transmission fluid. I would start by performing transmission fluid and filter change. Also, as others suggested - adaptations can be wiped to force the car to better/sooner adapt to your driving style.

 

We agree to disagree

The wheels are stock from factory and NOT black

But we should remember that black wheels also matter!

 

If I were in your position, I'd go for a full Larini exhaust and center section first and then a tune. Should sharpen the throttle and make the whole experience more lively and special.

https://www.larinisystems.com/collection/jaguar/xk-5.0

 

I do remember a post from someone that had a few problems with the Larini system, and he only lived 25 miles from their HQ, thankfully they were able to rectify.

 

My local AM - Lotus dealer is a Larini reseller so they'd have to own the issue if it didn't go as planned. They're known to be top notch stuff and had the exhaust on my Evora. They don't stock much, so the less popular sellers are made on demand.