Saw this car today, 2007 plate like mine, think it is a portfolio edition, foldable mirrors, cremona rims and alcon brakes, my car has the standard jaguar brakes, smaller in size in disc and caliper. Why did the alcon brakes come as standard on the xkr model. By the way this car was a rough example on further inspection, not very impressed.

 

You're in Ireland and I'm in the USA, and Jaguar has different marketing and models for different parts of the world. For example, you had the 2008 XKR-S, which had Alcons but was not available here. It was also equipped with Vortex wheels, which were not available here.

As for the US market, I believe the Alcon Performance Brake Package first became available on 2008 models and was discontinued beginning with the 5.0L models. Alcons were standard equipment on the 2008 XKR Portfolio but became a $5,000 option on the 2009 XKR Portfolio. They were optional on other X150s in 2008 and 2009.

Jaguar didn't include Alcons as standard equipment because of their high cost.

 

seems they came out on the portfolio in 2007

From wikipedia, XKR Portfolio (2007)

XKR Portfolio
A version of XKR developed by Jaguar's Special Vehicles team and Alcon. It included 400 mm diameter front and 350 mm rear discs, six-piston front callipers and four-piston rear callipers, 20-inch five-spoke Cremona wheels, Power Vents, Celestial Black body (optional Liquid Silver for UK and Switzerland models), Engine-Spun aluminium veneer or optional Satin American Walnut veneer, alloy and leather gearshift selector, soft-grab door handles, contrast stitching throughout the cabin, leather-edged mats with a Jaguar logo, Portfolio tread plates on the door sills, 525 W Premium Audio system with Dolby Pro Logic II surround sound system by Bowers & Wilkins.

 

Yes and No. That depends on what you consider to be the first model year of the X150. In the UK, it's 2006, but in the USA it's 2007. As to be expected, this has led to considerable confusion.

According to Wikipedia, " A facelifted XK was launched in 2009 with a new 5.0-litre V8." In the USA, the 5.0L began with the 2010 model year. 4.2L models went from 2006-2008 in the UK and from 2007-2009 in the USA.

Wikipedia described the 2007 XKR Portfolio as having a "...Celestial Black body (optional Liquid Silver for UK and Switzerland models)..." That description fits the USA 2008 XKR Portfolio, which was available only in Celestial Black, an exclusive, one-year only color. For 2009, the USA XKR Portfolio was available only in Shadow Gray, also an exclusive color for the Portfolio.

Cheers!

 

Very little benefit, at large extra cost. Especially down the road costs.

Unless you're racing, the difference is primarily better pedal feel and style.

 

It may be the Alcons have better balanced breaking, but not sure. I do feel my XK leaves a lot of braking grip on the table compared to the compound of tire I'm running. Its probably just setup to be very biased towards one side to help the ABS function, and may be no different with the Alcons.

 

My stock '07 XKR simply out brakes anything else on the road. I haven't felt them begin to fade or give me the slightest question other than it'll stop quicker than I need it to. The Alcons may be better than stocker's above 150 mph but I don't run there.

 

I had the stock XKR brakes until this year. There is no comparison to the Alcons. The Alcons are smoother, quieter and faster whether around town or on the freeway or even at high speeds from 130mph to 160mph.

The downside is even after just a drive around town you can't see the wheels behind the pad dust.

 

I think you're the only one on this Forum who has experienced both brake systems on the same car. That makes you uniquely qualified to make an objective assessment of the Alcons and their performance and value.

The excessive dust is why they stop so well, and is a small price to pay for great looks with the huge unique rotors and the 6-piston front and 4-piston rear calipers. My solution to the brake dust is to use my power washer on the lowest setting to rinse the wheels off, which takes less than 5 minutes. Works great.

 

I've had the stock brakes on an 07 XKR with 20in Senta with Dunlop SP Max and currently have an 08 XKR with the same wheels & tyres and Alcons. I have only my subjective experience that I feel the Alcons seem to not have any fade characteristics and are very smooth.

The real downside of Alcons is that a spare wheel is superfluous so either run flats or using the gunk and pump system for a flat tyre is needed

 

I completely forgot about the spare...there's an additional benefit, more weight saving! Anyone wish to buy a new spare?

 

[QUOTE=Stuart S;1661150]I think you're the only one on this Forum who has experienced both brake systems on the same car. That makes you uniquely qualified to make an objective assessment of the Alcons and their performance and value.

The excessive dust is why they stop so well, and is a small price to pay for great looks with the huge unique rotors and the 6-piston front and 4-piston rear calipers. My solution to the brake dust is to use my power washer on the lowest setting to rinse the wheels off, which takes less than 5 minutes. Works great.

The dust is in the pads and not the calipers. Don't they make different pad compounds which have lower dust components.

 

The reason for no spare was because at that time the OEM compact spare didn't fit with the Alcon system, so the factory provided the emergency inflator kit as an alternative. It's interesting how many cars today have no spare to reduce weight and help meet CAFE requirements.

If you want to add a spare to your Alcon brake equipped X150, see my old thread: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-brakes-67260/

 

Several aftermarket vendors offer a variety of ceramic brake pads for Alcon-equipped X150s that claim to reduce the amount of brake dust compared to the OEM pads. Friction stops cars, so what's worse - wear to brake pads or wear to rotors? Pads are cheaper than rotors.

I'll stay with the OEM pads despite the dust. They're quiet and have been trouble free. I'm on my second set of pads with the original rotors that have never been resurfaced. I attribute that to the soft pad compound that was designed specifically for those rotors. No potential squeaks and squeals from hard compound pads for me. I'd rather wash my wheels.