I have never been happy with the look of the vents on the XKR. I'm not keen on the Adamesh replacements, but these stainless grills from Paragon Design fit the bill for me. They fit under the OEM vents and match the grill on my 05 MY.
What do you think? Sorry about the reflections!

 

+1 Nice improvement. Subtle and classy.

 

very smart.may do this to mine

 

Nice touch. Improves the looks IMHO, both open and closed.

 

I like the look but 100pounds seems a pretty stiff price. I remember some of the guys over at the Corvette Forum would fashion these types of undervent grills for a few bucks by buying screening/mesh from places like Home Depot.

Doug

 

Nice upgrade...I think they look great!

 

Yes very nice mod!!!

(Adds to list of things to do...)

 

Yes, they are very nice looking.

But should not the fins of the new vents be turned around 180 degrees around so they
scoop and force fresh air into the engine compartment to help dissapate heat from the supercharger under the hood?

It would seem the air would be pushed in an upward flow as the car moves through the air and not get into the engine compartment as easily.
While they look great, I question the functionality of them.


I am curious for any knowledgeable answers from forum members.

The vents are on the XKR because of excessive heat produced by supercharger,
that is why XK8 does not have them.

I am in Arizona and summers get hot, I look for any way to rid the engine of excessive heat as the extra heat can actually reduce the cars voltage. Heat = resistance and resistance reduces voltage. Ohm's Law.
While no expert I believe this is a fair statement.

Guess I got into a real tangent, sorry!

For visual effect they are second to none.

Happy Holidays and
Happy Motoring...

 

By the literature from Jaguar it's to relieve heat and air pressure under the hood at high speeds. There was a thread awhile ago about it.

 

Though I not an aerodynamicist, I recall from my way back drag racing days that there is a boundary layer of air close to the surface of a car.

For instance, the cool air inlets on the muscle cars were frequently at the base of the windshield where there was a higher pressure than there was on the hood itself.

If those louvers were faced forward, the boundary layer would prevent the air from being forced into them, and, instead there is probably a low pressure area above and behind them that actually draws air OUT of the engine compartment that is coming in from the grill area rather than trying to force it INTO the engine compartment from the top of the hood.

http://ateupwithmotor.com/technology...od-scoops.html





"The grille on the top of the hood of this Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution IX is an air extractor for the intercooler, which cools the intake charge of the Evo's highly boosted turbocharged engine. It's highly effective: the intercooled turbo allows the 2.0 liter engine produce more than 276 horsepower (280 ps, 206 kW)."

 

Thanks for the encouraging comments. I'm really pleased with the grills, they finish the car off nicely.
As to the cost, well they were the equivalent of a tank full of gas here in the expensive UK !

 

I will do mine this way.its for sale on ebay

 

Here is the thread, you will need to read most of it to get all the opinions, post #34 could be a good place to start if you don't want to read it all.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...s-62299/page2/

 

Where are these on ebay--are you talking about the UK ebay?

I might be interested at the right price. On a slight tangent another "cosmetic" add-on I have been interested in are the billet strut covers. I explored these once but the cost was just a bit more than I wanted to pay.

Does anyone have the connections here to get group purchases going for theset types of items?

Doug

 

Ooh, I like those - very, dare I say it, E-Type.

 

I love that look. I also like the color of your car. Same color as the member with the LT1 powered coupe.

 

Looks good and I am glad you are happy with them..... As to the price I do not think it is out of the way..... It is not like it is just a piece of mesh.... It has a stainless surround and every part of the mesh is welded to it so none of it can fall apart like if it was just left, then they are electro polished, retaining clips are also supplied so the grille can not fall out when you shut the bonnet.

I have seen other people try to copy the idea using expanded mesh and other types and it just does not look right. The mesh I use is identicle to the mesh used in Jaguar main grilles so you have some continuity. Also you need to think how it looks with the bonnet/hood up, it has too look neat otherwise it is just untidy and messy

Like all bespoke items, these are made in small numbers.

 

Hi XKRacer. I'm more than happy with them and I have no problem with the price, you get what you pay for !

 

I'd be interested in doing this with some cheap mesh off eBay, but how are they fixed to the underside of the OE louvres?

 

Cheap mesh, on your beautiful XKR !!!!