No, not fish and chips, ECU chips. I know that some ECU chips are the real deal, and do improve the performance of a vehicle significantly. My question is, beyond the knee jerk reaction of, "The XK8 is fast enough and does not need any improvement, don't even think about it." does anyone have any experience with any ECU chips, and/or do any Jag techs or other knowledgeable people have any experience with or info about the potential benefits or problems associated with ECU chips for the XK8? Some of them claim a 10% increase in HP and torque and improved gas mileage. (overrated, I am sure) If, for a couple of hundred bucks, I could install a chip that would give me 15-20 more HP, more torque and better gas mileage with no downside, then, I would do it, as I suspect most people would. Does anyone have any experience or expertise on this subject? Thanks.

 

Kevin, I would like to say that you look like the prettiest Kevin I have ever seen, judging from the photo you posted.

I am also curious about ECU remapping. My local Jag techs think I am a bit crazy, but I would also be game for some enhancements. I know that Jaguar World Monthly sent their project XK8 to a shop in England for a reprogram. I think you can take your ECU out and ship it to them for some work.

I'm more excited right now about splurging for a Quicksilver Exhaust system - the Super Sports model is the one I have picked out.

Cheers,

Tony Cottrell
1997 XK8
2005 XJ8 L
...And test driving a 510 HP XF R tomorrow!

 

Well Tony, I know people who have put chips in their vehicles that have given them significant performance upgrades, so I know that it is not all hokum. I have read magazine articles about putting chips in vehicles to improve performance. I certainly would not do it if there were a chance of any damage. I was wondering if anyone had done it or had some real insight into what it might do in an XK8. Clearly, that photo is not me, it is Laura. I replaced the photo of my Jag temporarily with that photo in jest regarding a previous exchange with another member. When I get a chance I will put the Jag pic back.

Here is a link to one of the ECU units I found, FYI. I was also hoping that maybe someone may have tried one and could recommend one.

http://www.yourhotcar.com/prod/Surge..._Combo/544396/

 

I was going to get a chip installed in my Vette but after listening to others that did telling me that the chips they installed didn't do that much. These are canned programs much the same as an OEM program is. "One size fits all".

I went to Wongs Performance Engineering where the tuner installed a wide band O2 sensor in the exhaust then plugged this into his laptop and also his laptop into my ECU. The car was strapped down to a Mustang Dyno and the tuner then did his magic and modified the OEM program.

He burnt that onto a new chip and swapped out my OEM chip and installed his chip back into my ECU. I was given both the OEM program and the modified program on CD for backup and my OEM chip.

My HP increased, my MPG increased and my butt dyno noticed a big difference. The difference was almost like driving an XK8 in Drive then pressing the magic (S)port button.

I'd like to be able to find a tuner for my Jaguar and have the same thing done.

 

I bought a black 2001 XK8 coupe 2 months ago I loved everything about it except it is such a hot looking car where ever I went every fast car came after me 290 hp on such a heavy vehicle just cant compete in LA first thing I did was to put a cold air filter system and Borla racing exhaust had the heads scooped and polished the cost was about $1500 put it on the dyno 332HP! very nice improvement but I needed more last week I took the JAG over to this Austrian guys house in Venice California I was told this guy was the Mechanic for several celebrities that live in Malibu who are into fast cars really fast cars turns out this guy his name is Mathias Pillar used to be the chief engine designer for Mercedes formula1 racing I told him that I wanted the most bang for my buck and I wasn't intrested in swapping out the engine or transmission Mathias suggested an Engine and transmission remap It is the same as what chipping is and required a Tuner he had my car from Tuesday until This past Friday night almost four days apparently there is a chance that the computer can crash and it did you have to let the car sit for 24hours before you can start over and the transmission has to learn the new settings go figure! I got the car back last night I couldn't believe the difference! My Jag is now a rocket a smooth sexy rocket! apparently he added an extra 98 HP taking it up to about 430HP! the cost was a little over $700 I was informed by Mathias that he could take it to 900hp but that would require a new transmission and break system I thanked him and was on the highway for the next 12 hours straight just waiting for a race. suddenly I am not being approached maybe its because no one can catch me!

 

My car is chipped, I am still waiting for what sort of numbers it's got.
Will report as soon as I know...

I know that on my former 850, there was a chip that you could install that gave 40 hp more. It had been tested on a dyno by several customers. That car has similar power, at around 300 hp.

My car seems to running extremely well, so I am a happy camper.

Cheers, Jarle

 

Having had great success with this on my diesel pickup I'm interested in "improving" the 97 XK8 as well. I feel it certainly can get an improvement on the 22 mpg freeway I'm seeing in my first 1800 miles. What I am concerned about is passing emissions test every two years. Didn't have to worry about that with my pickup as the GVW is above the testing cut-off. I know some will keep their original chip just for swapping out to pass emissions.

So my question to vettinrnd is: Did your tuner guy say anything about passing DEQ when the time comes?

Green Jewel, have you had a chance to go through Oregon DEQ since your reflash?

Sincerely,
Mike

 

Two things: (1) How about a little punctuation now and then? (2) I have serious doubts that $700 of tinkering would result in 98 HP.

Doug

 

I have my doubts about it actually being possible to tune a normally aspirated engine 98bhp, without major headwork and different cams. I'd say that a good exhaust system, intake changes and proper chip tuning could perhaps give you half that.

Cheers, Jarle

 

If you are lucky, especially when you are already getting quite a bit of power out of a relatively small displacement engine! To get any decent increase in power you really have to start getting inside the engine, or go nitrous or stick on a Paxton supercharger, etc.

Doug

 

I don't live in a DEQ area. I've never had it on their dyno. I was told that it would pass.

 

OK Folks.

I need a bit of an education here.

I know that many cars can have their horsepower and handling performance increased by installing better (more expensive) parts from the aftermarket. The reason that the designers did not put these parts on was to keep the price point at a certain market level.

What I cannot understand is why the engineers (and we can assume they are quite knowledgable) wouldn't know to tune a chip for an extra 40 hp or so since it costs no more and that would make the car more saleable at the same price point. Could it be that to do so would shorten the life of the engine or cause some other negative effect?

Seems to me that nothing but air in this life is free. Manufacturers want to post the highest numbers they can for their vehicles at the lowest manufacturing cost. I would be very suspicious of any "improvements" and "free horsepower" just lurking around in my engine that the manufacturer just sort of missed!

What do you folks think?

 

I am no expert but I suspect it is several things. For one, it is unlikely you could gain horsepower without giving up something (e.g., less reliability, drop in gas mileage). Also, I have always noticed that the manufacturers will add a few horsepower from year to year so that they have something to point to in improvement over the previous model year.

 

I have been doing quite a bit of ECU mapping myself, so I do know a bit of why aftermarket tuners can cram more power out of the car than the factory engineers.

1) Cars straight from the factory, are tuned with the worst sort of fuel in mind. The ignition is retarded so much, there is almost no chance that the engine can predetonate\ping. The aftermarket tuners often require that you run the best fuel available ONLY. This issue alone will lower the power of the engine by 10%.

2) Like someone else mentioned, the factories likes to leave a few hp behind, to make a selling point for the sportier versions.

3) No engines are the same. Some engines produce more power than the others. The factory ECU mapping is usually based on the engines in the lower scales. When you install an aftermarket chip, you often get a rolling road session with it, and also some fine tuning to get whatever your engine has left. Fine tuning each and every car is something most manufacturers cannot afford to do, perhaps except Ferrari and Lamborghini.

If your primary concern is reliability, I say don't do it. If you still want to chip it, get it done at a trustable place that can double check the results for you. My car has been done at one of the better shops available in Norway, so I trust the results 100%. Fuel quality in Norway is also amongst the best so that is not a worry here.

Cheers, Jarle

 

Two good answers. Thanks Folks.

 

1) It's not the same thing. It's far different. Having your ECU tuned is quite a bit different than chipping a car.

2) And you must be gullible. You're not going to get an extra 98HP from a ECU tune, especially on a vehicle that is already a performance car. You'll be lucky to get 5%.

The cars that benefit most from chipping are usually economy cars and cars designed for high gas mileage.