The XKR packs a lot of power to push its relatively heavy weight. During acceleration in 1st and 2nd the car can easily break loose from wheel spin. I haven't had the opportunity to experience my Jaguar XKR much which I just purchased. It is now winter and I have in parked in my garage until the spring. However, on the few occasions when I had the chance to enjoy it I found it doesn't put the power to pavement very well, even with DSC on. I have never driven it with DSC off. I normally drive with dynamic performance on, transmission in "S", and DSC on (default). Could I be trying to control it too much on acceleration which is causing the electronics to not fully execute the DSC. If I had put my foot to the floor and let the DSC completely takeover would the car put the power to pavement better or would it just spin out? Has anyone used any aftermarket upgrades to improve traction?


GTR vs XKR-S:
I think the driver of the XKR-S got stuck in the hole and found the wet surface too much for the Jaguar to handle.



World's Greatest Race:
I thought Jaguar should have done better, but considering the line up it did ok for a GT with rear wheel drive.

 

Pedal to the floor would probably cause a lot of hesitation for the car to try to minimalize wheel spin.

Hard to get a lot of heat in the tires when the temp, surface and tires are not creating friction(heat). Probably could get a better launch if you heat them up first, kinda like a dragster burnout(not that extreme of course). Traction control off and light them up a bit. Not recommending to do on the street of course.

Also, don't know what kind of tires you're on. Performance tires need a lot of heat to make them work(stick) optimally. That's why when you read about them, they say not recommended for use below 32 degree's.

Be careful, it's not worth wading up your car. Wait until it's warmer out...

 

I recently drove a 2012 XKR-S at the Jaguar Drive Alive in Atlanta (with an instructor, of course, in the passenger seat). It was a straight (almost) acceleration course and from a dead stop he told me to leave it in D and "floor it"! All the electronic "nannies" were on, and there was no drama - only a small chirp of wheelspin at the start and then...hang on! No bogging down, no hesitation, no problem hooking up. The shift from 1st to 2nd was noticeable mainly from the change in exhaust note and was without any wheelspin. I'm not sure, but I think I had to stomp on the brakes before I got to 3rd. Note that by the time I drove that car it had been repeatedly been down that strip (at least 25 times) so the tires were probably pretty warm. I think the factory has the traction control programming spot-on, particularly for a "floor it and go" situation in D.

Here's a great video from the May 2012 Jaguar Alive Driving Experience in LA. Check out the reaction of the blonde driving the XKR-S flat out at 1:04 into the video - priceless!
Jaguar ALIVE Driving Experience 2012: Los Angeles, CA - Feel Alive Today - YouTube

Stuart

 

I think it's mostly due to the tire temperatures. Summer tires are meant to be used in warm temperatures. I have the same issue with my '07 and I don't even have as much power as your 2011!

 

For such a great car the traction control is horrible on my 2007 XKR convertible so I understand what you are talking about. I have had the car in for service over and over again. Updated the traction control computer firmware and the main computer firmware like six times now since 2009. It finally will not fall on its face when I punch it to the floor but traction is ridiculous. Tried a set of Pilot PS2 tires over the Dunlop but there was little improvement in dry traction. Just installed a set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS tires to get better cold and wet traction. Has not helped in dry traction. 0-60 in 4.9 seconds as advertised by Jaguar is not achievable. My best 0-60 is 6.64 seconds. My car will break traction at 45mph if you go WOT. The dealer swears that it has more HP that the new XKR's but that it just has software "glitches". I have not put it on a dyno to verify but keep thinking that I should. I am beginning to think that the suspension is not allowing enough weight to transfer to the rear wheels for traction. Good to know the 2012 traction control is finally fixed. What can we do to retrofit it to our older cars? What is different?

 

Turn off the DSC and see if your 0-60 times improve.

 

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If you put it on "TRAC DSC" on the 4.2, it's not nearly as "bad", but still won't allow you to do a flaming burnout (it shouldn't). I don't understand what people are complaining about, unless there truly is a defect. The traction control stops the wheels from slipping! That's what it's designed to do! If you want to have fun, turn it off!!!