You’re bang on Brutal!

This is how I am in this whole adventure, and the good news is that I am very close now to have this DIY kit ready. It will indeed be a DIY, as there is some work you need to do that can't be covered in the parts to make it to fit.

All needed parts are already in 3D CAD drawings, and I have already a CNC'd set now on my car. I would still like to make some final adjustments, so in the next weeks I am able to get it all sorted.

 

If this thread has anyone depressed about the (allegedly) poor performance of the XKR, please take a few moments to watch the following video it will make you feel better:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y9QTNe8X3Z4

It's also worth keeping in mind that an XK8 or an XKR can turn heads faster than even the quickest corvette.

 

lol chaz, I thinks its more a matter of there are always those of us that can NEVER leave well enough alone. every car/truck 4 of em,I own are all heavily modifyed. the Jag the least but still is. I suffer from an addiction, I look at evrything and wonder how I can personalize it, make it faster, corner/brake better. etc... I dont think its a problem with the cars performance, just some use a different yardstick

 

Hey Brutal,
I can certainly understand the urge to improve. A little over a year into my XK8 coupe, I can see things that could be "improved." Having said that, nothing I have ever owned gets the looks that this car does. I have owned two corvettes and four 911s in the past. None gets the attention of the Jag. Gotta love it!

 

During the summer and until the weather turns to rain, there is an informal get together once a month in a Starbucks parking lot in Kaiser OR, a few miles north of Salem. You'll see a ton of Vipers, Vettes, Farrias, a Panos, Mustangs and a few others including a couple of tricked out trucks.

I was the only Jag there and I was surprised how many people were around the Jag and the comments made. I know my XK8 isn't the fastest on the road or on the track but I must say "I" feel it's one of THE sharpest looking cars out there.

 

..okay, thats just down the road from me. I'll be happy to throw another cat into the lineup. When's the next coffee break?

 

In the Los Angeles area, you see Mercedes, BMWs, Porsches basically a dime a dozen. Plenty of Corvettes also. However, the XK8/XKR are much rarer and have a certain prestige about them. This was the second reason I wanted the Jaguar. The primary reason was the beauty of the design. The original XKE to me is still the most beautiful design ever on wheels (looks great even today) and I have similarly considered the XK8/XKR cars to be rolling art. Not being the fastest is not that much of a big deal in Los Angeles--so what if the guy next to me beats me to the next red light.

Doug

 

"Rear end posi lock upgrade with reprogrammed TCU is $5495, ratios are 3:55, 3:77 and 4:10"


The above is an excerpt from an email that Eurotek sent me when I was inquiring about their products and prices. That's for the 5 speed Mercedes gearbox. Don't know if that works with the 6 speed gearbox as well.

 

I'd go for it if that applied to the 6 speed. I suspect it might not, but no harm asking.

 

PS, very helpful. I dropped Eurotek a line. They're only about 1 1/2 hours away. I asked about that, but also about whether a 3.30 2010 rear gear would go in an 05 - and if it would upset the TCU. That is only a 10% variance. The TCU might allow that to allow for different wheel/tire combos people would use.

 

I'll send you a PM when the season restarts.

 

No one commented on the supercharged emblem.
Tacky?
Good idea?
Fits the car?
Out of place?

 

Oh I don't know--maybe somewhere between discreet and tacky? Where did you get the "supercharged" stick-on?

Doug

 

Indifferent for me, with the R, at least someone non-educated in jag performance will always ask 'what's that stand for'. Supercharged is well... full disclosure. I'd rather be more covert...but thats me.

 

http://www.sfxperformance.com/parts/...ERBADGE-X2.htm

There are no Jaguar people around here. Hundreds of late model Vettes, 6 L hemi Challengers, and Mustangs rolling around here. They know nothing about Jaguars.

I've only seen a couple of Jaguar sedans and one 1990s XK8 around here. Jaguars are a very limited production novelty car, particularly the XKRs. Most people don't even recognize it's a Jaguar unless they read the rear deck or front growler emblem. They just know it looked fantastic and it looks fast. That might be different in an upper income urban area.

2/3rds of the emblem is for the impression - I doubt 1 on 500 people know what "R" stands for, maybe 1 in a thousand.
The other thoughts was that if the XKR really was a cut-above performer, I might have opted for the "sleeper" attitude. But it isn't. So instead to overstate it. One way to contend with a costly car that looks faster than it is - for which you dare not actually see who's faster - is to act so superior you won't bother with obviously inferior cars - even if you privately know they're faster.

 

Ya know, I asked for a performance section and got it so WE as a collective could post in it and figure out solutions to these problems like every other enthusiast auto forum.

Instead of sitting around and feeling bad that your car isn't everything you had hoped it would be, maybe you should get off your *** and find out how to make it what you want. ANYTHING is possible with the right amount of tenacity, ***** and income.

Now go help us by helping yourself and find an answer to your problem. No one is going to wrap it up with a pretty little bow.

after reading this it sounds condescending, rest assured it wasn't mean to be. The idea here is motivation. As the great Vince Lombardi once said "it's our job as coaches to get our players to do they don't want to do so they can accomplish what they do want to accomplish"

 

Love our 2000 XKR Convertible even if it is not the fastest thiog on the road it is plenty fast for me and on the plus side not that common.

We have tons of Porsches and Vettes here, so much so that as nice as they are they don't turn my head anymore, at least most of them don't.

And yes most people don't know the "R" means it is the supercharged version and the "R" actually is for Jaguar "Racing".

Cheers,

Mark

 

I really don't think it is a "problem" that the car has "only" 400hp. If it had 450hp there would be those who thought it was a problem that it was not 480hp, and so on. It is always fun to tweak and get a bit more power here or there. Granted, the "tweak" market just does not exist for the Jaguar. Also, keep in mind that even it you had 100 more horsepower, what would this really translate to--maybe a tenth or so shaving off a 1/4-mile drag time? How many here have gone to the strip lately to do the 1/4-mile? The few upgrades that are available for these cars are generally nonsensical in terms of "bang-for-the-buck". The only thing that seems cost-effective is changing out the supercharger pulley for a few hundred dollars. Spending thousands on so-called performance exhausts or more than $5,000 for rear ends or upgraded supercharge units seems a waste for typical daily-use drivers unless you have bucks to burn.

Doug

 

Use your hunger for performance to buy another car. Why spend a ton of money only to end up ruining the very elements the make the XK a smooth quiet GT luxor cruiser. Keep the Jag and get another car. More is better. If you need to, get more garage space too.

There are tons of cars out there that look great, are easy to modify, and respond to upgrades with dramatic results. My twin turbo 300zx has way less than $20 grand invested. It pulls 0-60 in under 4.5 seconds; looks great, and is fun to mod. There are lots of cars like that. Why struggle with a car that will confound your every effort to make it something it does not want to be?

 

Well said! No matter what you have, here in Los Angeles there is always the chance that you will get blown at the red light either by the "celebrity" in their the Lambo, Porsche Turbo, or Ferrari that is sitting next to you or the kid in his souped-up Subaru WXR (or souped up twin-turbo 300ZX)

Doug