I have always thought my 01 XK8 felt like it was dragging itself along. On the freeway if I try to accelerate into a gap I have time to make a grilled cheese sandwich before much happens. It just doesnt seem very sporty! Quite sluggish.

There are no codes present or stored and it just passed smog with vitually zero emissions and it only has 37k miles on it.

In comparison, I just bought a 2004 XJ8 and I know it has a slightly larger motor and better tranny but it is a beast! When I touch the gas it lurches forward like it was just freed from its cage and if I floor it I get pressed back in my seat. Seems like that is what a Jaguar is supposed to do.

Can my car be hooked up to a computer on a rolling road by an indie shop to see if it's "within spec" or should I let my indie mechanic just drive it to see what he says? Would appreciate your feedback about these 4.0 XK8s.

Alan

 

Hard to diagnose given the symptoms. Is it sluggish in sport mode as well? Have you checked the throttle cable? They stretch and can cause sluggish behavior.

Also check that your throttle butterfly is opening all the way. Until I adjusted the cable and cleaned the throttle body, mine was only opening about 60%.

Correcting these issues on the blue cat took about 20 minutes and made a huge difference.

 

My 2004 was a slug when I got it. Adjusting the throttle cable was a BIG improvement. You should see an improvement after to do that.

However my 05 VDP always felt faster. It was an awesome car (and still is I think!). I would not race my XK8 against it for pinks.

 

Thanks guys I will definitely have the throttle cable and butterfly looked at. I did think that there is a bit of a gap in the flap when it is supposedly closed. Not sure what effect that would have but it's not right is it?