Ho,

Full of praise as I am of the general build quality and interior feel of the Jaguar, the paddle shifters are near the top of my gripe list.

They feel like they are made of cheap, slippery, hollow plastic, and while the transmission obeys them perfectly, they leave a great deal to be desired from a tactile/quality perspective. It oughta feel like MONEY when you reach out and grab a gear! One of those critical touch points for me.

Here is the stock part:
7 Lever, Gear Shift:
R: C2P3687 $22.85
L: C2P3686 $22.85

Illustration attached...

So my questions are first whether the paddle's quality annoys anyone else, and second what possible options are for an upgrade.

At under $25, buying the factory part to experiment on is cheap enough, that's a good start. But from there I have no expertise.

I take it having them fabricated out of something metal would be cost prohibitive in the low numbers we are talking about. How about getting a set and filling them with something dense, like a heavy epoxy or powdered lead? Would that make them feel more massive and dense? Wouldn't solve the surface texture issue, of course...

Ok, here's my best thought (I think): Buy a set of paddles from Jaguar, then we buy ANOTHER set of cooler paddles from someone else, and then we find a way to Frankenstein them together so as to preserve the stock mounting and instal. Best of both worlds, without complicated custom fabrication. There are some killer adhesives out these days that can go from plastic to metal and be rock solid for life. This seems possible.

As to potential donors for the 'nice' feeling paddles, check out these beauties from the 2011 Aston Vantage. That's what I'm talking about

We'd have to see more of the Aston part obviously but it seems like there ought to be that we can bond the base of the Jag paddle to something more in line with the rest of the XK's build quality and ergonomic standards.

Anyone?

Skeeter

 

My XK is now my third flappy-paddle car, and although I can admit the paddles do not stand out with any flair, I will admit to enjoying illuminated controls over non-illuminated...
(Mind you my entire steering wheel is dark right now thanks to a gremlin, but I'm told the XK paddles are illuminated as they were on my Audi.)
Waiting to get my lighting issues resolved just to have half my buttons visible again.

My Lexus had nice(ish) looking titanium paddles but not lit, and found I actually missed that.

Best of luck on your endeavor, make em cool and make em lit, and I'm right there with ya!

Vince

 

Gotta say I never noticed that my stock paddles are illuminated. I'll check but they are so small you can barely see them to begin with. Having them lit isn't a priority for me and I'm not sure I've seen a paddle shifter with lights. Maybe I don't know what I'm missing

Skeeter

 

Too bad there is no aftermarket extended paddle shifter for the xk like the ones made for the Audi R8s: http://www.macarbon.com/about-us/194...-Shifters.html

 

i went to a small show last year ,there was a xkr there with red metallic paddles ,these must have been factory but my dealer can't find them on a parts list.

 

Those look to attach via adheasiv to the back side?
You can still see the stock (illuminated) paddle in the forfront

Interesting.....

 

I don't know if I would describe these paddles as "small". To me they are large enough to repeatedly activate without intention. I have lost count of the number of times I have accidently downshifted my XK at interstate speeds.

 

tidsytling.com
emailed these folks asking if they had intent on designing for a Jag and got the following response

"Hello Vince, We need genuine shifter for development. If you send it, we can make good shifter. Best regards, Steve TID STYLING"

They are in South Korea if anyone has a few paddles (Dead or alive) to send there....
I like the illuminated aluminum and carbon fiber design!

any takers?

Vince

 

Supposedly on the XF they have the ability to activate the paddle shifters only when in Sport Mode through the dealer reprogramming the ECU. The paddle shifters therefore would not function in Normal mode. I don't know if this capability exists for the XK.

 

you can always buy the stockers, have them input into cad and made on a 5axis. polished, mill finish, or brushed. or reproduce in molded carbon fibre instead of a stick on. I personally like the mentalist paddles

 

Me, too. Nothing shifts faster than telepathic paddles! So where can I buy them?


(Hey, Brutal, I don't mean to be a smartass, but I thought your typo was just too funny! I know you mean metallic. Misteaks happen!)

.

 

Yeah, I'm with Brutal... Metal paddles would be ideal. I wonder if I could get a set of the Aston paddles, and at a reasonable price. Next time I'm in San Francisco I'll stop off at the A.M. dealer and see.

Then it'd a matter of grafting it to a stock Jag set. Most proper performance cars have much larger paddles. I find it difficult to use the paddles when I have the wheel turned over >3/4 of a lock, just hard to locate them.

While on the topic, who agrees with me that the correct design is to put the paddles on the steering column and not the wheel itself? That way no matter what position the steering wheel is in (upside down, 3/4 left or right, etc), you know that the right paddle goes up and the left goes down a gear...

Not something I'm looking to remedy, that'd be a nightmare, but it does seem like the correct thing to do ergonomically. I'll be happy if I can get larger paddles made out of something that feels as god as the rest of the interior.

Skeeter

 

LOL, NO Stuart, you got me, you really got me. I typed what I ment and you got it. Ill give you a courtesy online diagnosis for free next time you need 1. No Charge

And Skeeter, you know the Aston is the close sister to the Jaguar family and those parts may boltup. You would be the first to find out for sure.

 

not sure myself... i always thought the BMW idea (two way paddles pull to up shift and.push to down shift) was a.good idea... Oddly even the BMW crowd dont seem to praise it much.

V

 

I hate the bmw setup. Everytime i get in one a test drive it im hitting those like turn signals, same on benz. But like all things in life, once you know it you know it and its no big deal. Try driving a manual trans car for awhile and then jumping back into an auto. Now that right there is funny

 

If the plastic paddles are hollow ,drill a hole, and just fill them with Gold dust! Then they should feel expensive!!
That's what we do at Boeing for Government toilet seats; that's why we charge so much!!

Cheers, Adrian

 

Brutal, thanks for the offer. Maybe you can help me solve the one problem I have with my XKR - the lack of a spare wheel/tire. My Alcon-equipped '09 XKR Portfolio has the inflator kit, but I'd be more comfortable with a real spare. I ran this by Dan at Nalley before he left, and couldn't come up with a solution. Do you know if the OEM compact spare would fit with a spacer?

See my 8/12/2011 post: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...rtfolio-59026/

Thanks for your help.
Stuart
.

 

yeah you need the black spare from a new XJ(they come red or black). It has a larger offset and will clear the brakes, and fit in the trunk. Been there done that. that was easy. now we're even, you should have given me something harder

 

Skeeter, initially I agreed with you, because I, too, pulled the wrong paddle while the wheel was turned and downshifted when I wanted to upshift. So before jumping on your bandwagon, I did a little research and found an interesting discussion on the Club Lexus forum. Here's the link: http://www.clublexus.com/forums/car-...-shifters.html

After reading that discussion, I now believe the preferable location for the paddles is where Jaguar put them: on the steering wheel. Although there are pros and cons for both locations, to me, the biggest drawback of column-mounted paddles is that they could be blocked by the steering wheel. Paddles mounted on the steering wheel will always be at the same position relative to your hands provided you keep your hands in the same position on the wheel while turning.

There is no industry standard for the location of shift paddles. Some manufacturers put them on the steering column and others put them on the steering wheel.

Stuart

 

Brutal, you made my day! I can't thank you enough!

Stuart


p.s. Since this may be of interest to others, I'll open a new post and give you credit for solving this problem. Thanks again.