This was it:

The word 'undewhelmed' stood out to me

https://www.jaguarforum.com/showthre...ghlight=Larini

 

I have the full Larini Club Sport exhaust. I can tell you that you will loose low end torque and will need a tune to get the full power benefits of the exhaust. I also recommend getting 200 cell cats.

 

Aaaaand, a perfect example of why one of my pet peeves is the fact that so many posters cannot spell "lose". In this case loose means pretty much the opposite of lose.
Unless of course you meant loose as in "loose the hounds" ie set those hounds (or horses) free, in which case I apologise profusely!

 

I'm probably the only one that finds it hilarious as an Australian is giving an American an English lesson!

On topic as I've no back box was recommended NOT to run with sports cats as the noise would REALLY pee off my neighbours....hmmmm perhaps sommat to consider!!?? (insert devil emoji).

 

Interesting read on the Larini. I had Magnaflow mufflers installed on my XK and made it a dog down low like they describe the Larini. I took them off and went back to OEM. Larini sounds so good on Ferrari, AM, and Lotus.

 

We speak Strine down here which is still a helluva lot closer to the Queen's English that wot those Muricans speak!
Ya gotta read "Let Stalk Strine" by Afferbeck Lauder, first published in 1965 and one of the greatest books evah.
But back to my real point, I reckon over 90% of posters on t'internet type "loose" when they really mean "lose".
Why is that?
Ignorance?
Stupidity?
Laziness?
Can't spell?
I reckon it's a mix of all of them.

 

Check out "Sprint Booster". This product has been at market now for several years. I have it on my Porsche Panamera; and it changed the entire driving experience.. What it does is to boost the signal from the accelerator pedal. Most cars now have some sort of torque management in lower gears to lessen drive line strain (warranty claims). Sprint Booster doesn't increase hp per se, but it brings it on much quicker. I don't have it on my '13 XK simply because this car is driven mostly by my wife who is not into "performance."

 

Wouldn't that be the same basic idea as "Pedal Master"? Supposedly better throttle response due to 'faster' signals to the throttle body. Yeah, I don't think so. Since the car learns the driver's driving style, the car would soon realize that a mashed throttle would mean "Gimmie everything ya got" and would comply.
A throttle control modifier box may give the appearance of improved performance because it would create a non-linear signal to the TB, so open quicker with less actual throttle pedal input. That would also make driving at a low speed just a bit less even at a low throttle input, while leaving full-throttle input at exactly the same spot as stock.

 

Having spent a lot of time stateside I found particularly in Southern states (KY/IN/AL/TN) at a supermarket when checking out the conversation would go:

Me: Thank you
Cashier: Gee don't you have a cute accent
Me: (with a smile) But I don't have one
Cashier: Sorry??
Me: What language do you speak?
Cashier Eeenglish
Me: I think you'll find that I speak English and you're the one with the accent?
Cashier: Gee I guess your right, but I could just listen to your voice allll night

Appreciate that I sound like a cross between the UK speaking clock and Mr Bond after a few too many martini's (hic) so make an extra special effort not to do charm as it simply wouldn't be fair on the female of the species...clearly it didn't work as still got offered loads of phone numbers ...them were the days!!

'Use vs used' really sticks in my craw*

* Just to prove I'm multilingual

Back on topic if I had an N/A car I would run 200 cell cats but probs not on anything with FI, I ran cat bypasses on my old X100 until 2014 and that sounded biblical, stateside your a little restricted by your state differential emission laws😆

PS: All the cashiers were female btw

 

Jag you are = acceptable
Jagwhar = acceptable
Jagwire = no - just no

 

I can get you a real tune probably for a little more than the spintbooseter, tune will actually make your car faster as well as more responsive.
And tune is a must with an exhaust or a pulley upgrade
I see no point in such devices unless there is no tune available forthe car

 

When I had my 12 N A vert I replaced the back box and got an ETG tune. I didn't have a dyno on the car before the tune and exhaust change but I did have it done afterwords. I have tried to attach the results, but have had no luck in doing so. PM me with your email and I wil send you a PDF of the Dyno run.

 

I would like to see it as well truesownow@gmail.com

 

Email sent

 

Got it! Looks like 332-343 wheel hp on Dynojet. I can post the graph if you want.
My opinion without seeing what these cars Dyno stock , is your pretty much near factory power levels maybe a little above. From my research Dynojet are around 12% to crank conversion Mustang Dyno are around 19%.
Using 12% would put you between 372-384 hp mark.
I see you did the Dyno in South CA, you near San Diego ? I could take a crack at it and see what can be improved

 

I hate to bring this conversation about the eccentricities of the english language and the subtle yet significant difference between appearance upgrades and trying to pose a car as an R version back around to the original post, BUT....

Honestly aside from the fact that I am 54 instead of 58 I could have written this post. I feel exactly the same way you do, I drive my XK exactly with the same settings and I notice that exact behavior where it feels like the car sort of relaxes after a short time and I kind of have to be aggressive with it for several seconds for it to "wake up" again. I call it getting the car angry. Much like the original post I am not going to seriously consider an XKR. I have been shopping around for an NA tune for the reasons stated by the OP but at the same time I am looking for a little extra power if possible. I am very aware that there isn't as much on the table to pick up with an NA motor but from back in my drag racing days I know there there is some slack to be picked up there in terms of raw engine power. The two online tuners that I have looked at are both promising 412HP although I'm convinced this engine should be turning out closer to 420. In any event this was a fascinating post to me since it mirrors me so closely and I wanted to jump in since I WILL be getting a tune sometime in the next 30 days, and I'll keep everyone appraised of the differences if anyone is so inclined to read it.

A word about those paddle shifters (I am sure that this has been addressed elsewhere but still): Why are they attached to the steering wheel? Even the F Type SVR I was looking at the other day had the paddles on the wheel. Why would you mount an essential engine control in a place that moves? You never really know exactly where they are, especially in a turn, and that moment of processing time that it takes to make sure you are shifting UP and not DOWN in many ways negates the advantage of the paddles themselves. They should be mounted to the steering post. Located where they are is really only good as a selling point, or if you are in a straight line drive.

 

Having driven both type of paddle shifter mounts, I find that although the column mounted ones are always where you left them, the wheel mounted ones are always where your hands are. Other than parking or pulling out of a drive or on a tight corner at slow speed, my hands are ALWAYS at the paddle position and I never have to let go of the wheel to shift. Truly, how often do you have the need to shift while pulling out of a parking stall at the Costco? Conversely, how many turns do you do that dictate removing your hands from the 9-3 position? Nearly never??? The column mounted shifters dictated I had to let go of the wheel more often than not, and it was deplorable. I'd NOT buy a car specifically because the shifters were column mounted.

 

I am at a disadvantage as I have never driven a car with the paddles attached to the column, so my attitude towards them is more of a mental exercise than a practiced one. But to answer your question: It happens all the time. I come to a stop at a red light and I want to turn right and keep in the right lane, if I keep my hands at 9 and 3 I'll either not be able to make the turn or I'll have to take at least one hand off the wheel. Left turns coming onto a one way street are the same. Given that first gear on my XK seems to be a stump puller, I really need to be hitting 2nd before I'm out of the turn so generally I'll just bump the transmission back into automatic shifting then take over once the turn is done. BUT... to satisfy your point that isn't exactly a performance situation and I can see where when the car is at speed I'm not likely to be cranking the wheel that aggressively. Which I am aware is restating the things that you said but I'm old and my brain is hard and it hurts when I think so I have to spell it all out on my own.

So now thanks to you I can see it both ways. Of course I'm someone that liked the J Shifter because I could tell what gear the car was in simply by where my hand was without looking at any kind of display so maybe I'm just an angry curmudgeon.

 

I'm not the original poster, but I have sent you a PM.

 

Why don't you just pull away in 2nd then? The car has got more than enough torque to do it and if you don't manually change in to first as you come to a halt it will only drop as far as second anyway.