Fellow enthusiasts -

One of my later-in-life passions has been to take sport cars to HPDE events. The tracks in the northern CA area are just a blast to drive at speed. I would love to hear from Coupe R owners about their experience with the car on track. I am looking to move away from a Porsche convertible for safety reasons and would like to hear how well the Coupe R performs and any specific issues or maintenance items like excessive tire and brake wear.

I would be considering a roll bar, 5-point harnesses, race pads and maybe different rotors. Just not sure what others are doing and where their experience has led them.

Thanks,
Phil

 

I would think that a Porsche Carrera S would be a better track machine than the jaguar simply because the weight difference is a lot. Also check out the Motortrend Ignition Head 2 Head between the 911 Carrera S and the V8 R. Should pretty much echo what I said. The video is available on YouTube.

 

Trackguy, I posted my impressions of the Type R on the track last month:

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...ssions-117829/

It's a fun car on the track and performs very well, but if you are serious enough about tracking that you are considering installing a roll bar and harnesses, you probably have better options. The Type R is an incredible, very performance oriented GT but it's natural home isn't the track. It is a special car with great character, but it's home is the street.

If you want a car that you use at the track regularly but also want to drive on the street occasionally, I'd go with a C7 Corvette. It's a lot less money and will outperform Porsche's and other cars costing much more and be much cheaper in terms of maintenance (brakes, tuning, etc). I'm not a Corvette fan boy but they did a great job with that car. I run a highly modified GTR as dedicated track car and it is amazing, but if I were to start over again, I'd start with the C7 as a platform for regular use at the track.

 

digitalrurouni - I checked out the video. It is an interesting comparison. Porsche always seems to set the performance bar quite high albeit at a more expensive price point. The GT3 is a model I would consider but with their recent engine issues and necessary replacements I am hesitant to put that as my first choice but rightfully so it should still be on my list. The lines and design of the Coupe R is very stylish and I think more unique than the Porsche. I also thought that a front engine car would be a fun change. But I hear yah on the weight front which is very important. Thanks for the insight, Phil

 

ftypegtr - thanks for sending the link to your on track critique. Good observations especially from someone with GTR track experience. I have been following the C7 fairly closely. I have also driven the Z51 on track several times. It is a heck of a lot of car for the money. But it is a mass produced car that has had some issues (transmission temps, all the do's and dont's if you track it, dealerships that are not set up to do the track alignment for the rear caster, need to run the stock rubber which are runflats, etc). So I agree it maybe the best place to start and let these issues work themselves out since it is the first year of the new model. A dealership near me has a Coupe R on the showroom floor but won't let me test drive it. Instead they have offered me a convertible. Not exactly the same but it should give me some idea of what to expect. I will report back with my findings. Thanks again, Phil