My 05 Jag XJ8L (4.2 N/A non-supercharged) came with a straight pipe set up when I had bought it (along with a large variety of unrelated problems), catless of course, had an O2 sensor (maybe two, cant recall) just chilling in the glove department. Other than that, I haven't dove too much into looking around down there and seeing how its all set up or why that had been removed, with the wisdom gathered in here I was able to get a little bit of a grip on it. Really the exhaust and engine has been just fine performance wise for the most part - it is VERY loud. I'm sure theres different set ups to acquire the noise level and performance balance you're looking for though. I enjoy it personally and normally I'm not a fan of excessive loud noises surrounding me, but there is a strange kind of peace that I derive from hearing the beautiful unrestricted tunes of that Jag 4.2 V8 engine. I have not driven a non-straight piped 4.2 to be able to compare unfortunately, but I have driven a 4.0 V8 S type (stock exhaust) . I would say that just by feel and not at all expertise in the subject, the S type seems to launch off the line a bit smoother (also has half the mileage of the XJ) but past the 20-30mph mark I notice a big power difference in the straight piped XJ 4.2. One of these days I need to grab a stopwatch and compare the twos times. Sucks I don't have another 4.2 at my disposal but could still make for a fun experiment

 

My brother, I think you accidentally posted in the wrong thread. For one, this is the XK8 forum, and two, this was a headgasket thread.

For what it's worth, this was a fun and hysterical thread to read.

 

Never did here what happened after the tear down being performed by the Indy mechanic.

 

😂😂 Ah my apologies I’m glad you enjoyed it though. I don’t think I intended to put that in here. For some reason on my phone it glitches out a bit and I get thrown into random threads.