I would like to do a few performance upgrades one at a time and in a logical order. Some of the information that I have read, mention about the short falls of the factory intercooler and it's capacity. So I thought that maybe I would tackle this first,,, if truly worth it. I would assume that it would add some performance and engine life.

SO..

Who has done this and what type of performance increase did you see?

Was it a bolt in with no modifications?

Which intercooler is recommend here and why?

Did you upgrade the hoses as well?

And since the front of the engine is apart (maybe) to do this,,,is there anything that should be done at this stage?

Again if the year matters mine is an 05

Thanks in advance,

Da Count

 

Forget the intercooler, it wont give you much for what it costs, go for a Killer Chiller, along with a pulley change will give you best bang for your buck

 

Thanks XKRacer- I read thru the Killer Chiller Info,,, I like that concept but, A question came up. Can you cool or Chill your SuperCharger Too Much? A poster stated this...

"Very interesting indeed until you get into the fine print of the system. The heat exchanger is actually "tuned" for the application.

with an engine this expensive I'm not going to be the cowboy and start playing HE sizes I'd rather go the path that's proven."

So have we seen any input on that level??? I Live in South Florida but spend my spring and summer in the Mountains of NC where the ambient air temp is dryer and cooler. The reason I state this is I did not see any type of temp regulator/on off switch/value,,,, Incase you want to run the A/C because maybe its boarderline outside (raining) but cold and You Do Not Want To Over Chill Your SuperCharger?

Would like to know the effects and any input readers might have....

Thanks,

Da Count

 

Whats the plan, I mean where do you want to go in performance improvements? Once cleared, more can give you better advice.

 

A lot of this is going to be down to how much you want to spend..... for my money I would have one of avos's kenne bell twin screws and go from there. You need to speak to jaxkr, he has a twin screw and a killer chiller, and probably has gone as far as anyone has ever gone with modifying a supercharged AJV8 in a road car, when you get into this area of upgrades you are talking big $$$$

 

I am more inclined to do subtle minor upgrades to this vehicle being it is the wifes... I would like to explore the areas of upgraded cold air intake (functional air intake), more efficient SuperCharger cooling (pulleys and belt have already been upgraded), Less restricted exhaust (the wife likes the Mina exhaust sound). Just slighty more responsive and efficient then stock (cool running well lubricated engines last for ever) ... I am from the School of "Do It Once Do It Right" so in regards to money the best value is what I am looking for,,, Remember we own Jaguars... Money is Relative to VALUE...

I am already on the look out for a similiar vehicle for me and that will be the one that I really tweak. I am selling the XJ6 and the Lexus or Avalon for another Coupe...

Thanks,

Da Count

 

Assuming you have done just a upper pulley change, then I would not go that far anymore with her car (it needs to be reliable also and everything should work when it needs to right?). An option would be an ECU tune as last step, one that also helps the responsiveness. You already have a cold air intake, and putting in a K&N panel filter will also help a little. Personally I like my sports catalysts (but that is with stock exhaust), they give a little more power and more sound.

PS If you want to do it once and right, send me a mail ;-)

 

Do you mean the aftermarket smaller pulley or the upgraded Jaguar pulley (same diameter)?

 

The previous owner had Jaguar upgrade the pulleys and the belt after complaining about the chirping... He mentioned that the parts were an upgrade - from the factory original parts. Never thought to ask him if they were a factory upgrade Or an after market performance upgrade...

Thanks,

Da Count

 

Avos- Is the K&N panel filter an Oil soaked or Dry filter? I have a fear of running oil soaked filters over a long period of time. From what I have been told the particulates will build up on the MAS and other sensors shorten the life span of these components... Don't mind changing a dry filter more often... I am an advocate of proper maintenance, I change the oil in all my vehicles Every 2500 miles...

Here's my OCD the XKR is @ 25,163 miles at 4:00 I am having the oil changed and from then on it will be changed at 27,250, 30,000, 32,250, 35,000 ETC. Makes it easy to remember and no nasty sticker...

Previous owner had the 30,000 mile maintenance and 40,000 mile done Only because of time Not miles,,,,

Thanks,

Da Count

 

That is a Jaguar TSB upgrade...no performance improvement (well, unless the supercharger belt was slipping).

 

I don't know man,put this guy on and two fans with relay, I can see your IAT's dropping so good, you will be happy.I did the same to a Ford Cobra, it kept the same hp and timing cold as it did hot. I could see this being an excellent addition to a ported blower/steigmeyer AND ECU tune, instead of buying a whipple or whatever and pick up over 40RWHP 40 rwtrq !

So you will be at 430 HP 430 TRQ instead of 370 HP and 370 Torque. I would not really push the car past that, unless you upgrade the tranny. ALSO YOU NEED THE BOSCH INTER COOLER PUMP UPGRADE

 

Stiegemeier Porting Service » Jaguar
A ported blower does not work hard,it just moves more air,he also lightens rotors, so you can overspin the eaton if u want to over 18-20psi with tune

 

Pushed it to more than 530hp and the transmission is fine.

Ford 6R80 is just a ZF 6HP26 built under licence and the Mustang guys go to over 1000hp without issue. As for the Mercedes 5spd box, good luck breaking that tank.

 

your talkin to a xk8 guy lol,i totally 4 got that

 

also, the stock exhaust is junk, get a custom cat back at Car X that runs UNDER THE REAR AXLE.
The DOHC 4.0 and 4.2 has a hard time fighting backpressure of the stock exhaust shop. You can see where it almost crushes flat going over the rear axle.

Thats not what a 400+HP monster wants.

 

Front cheat exchanger upgrade was discussed many times here and this kind of upgrade is rather recommended.

I think the main problem is that front bumper inlet has small effective area due to a big bumper beam which doesn't cover even the half of factory radiator core. Solving this problem would be a great improvement. It would also chill engine compartment temps which are high.

 

@aode06

Before there is any misunderstanding, you do NOT gain power on our cars by increasing the intercooling capacity, you can only reduce the power loss. I guess it shows that the intercooling setup on the Cobra was not sufficient in the 1st place.

I have discussed already the way to thick intercooler unit you promote as it works actually counterproductive in cooling on our setup.

I’ve made already more than 520 rwhp with the stock exhaust, so it isn’t that restrictive as some may think…

As CCfulton has already mentioned the zf (and also the MB) gearbox is more than strong enough.

 

One more thing, I have never seen any proof that a ported eaton delivers more power on our cars, more noise yes. I couldn't even find a dyno sheet on Stiegemeyres website, he had 1, but there it it showed reltivy small gains and it was with 2 others mods as well, so hard to say what the role was of the porting...


Attached is a bumper beam I use (from XKracer, but opened up more for better airflow). This helps with higher speed driving, for low speed driving the engine fans are more important.