1. I don't have a lift so I took to local shop that does "performance work" on various car. Mine was the second F-Type they worked on, but not VAP pulley work. This part might not be normal, however they allowed me to help/monitor. I was able to be under the car with them, etc. I did however let the "kid" do the manual work :-) It was under $400 for the work with the Dyno runs.

2. Tune without pulley ok, I would assume most would agree with me, no on the pulley only without tune. May not hurt but will not have positive impact. Others can provide more details on that.

3. Mine has been to the dealer for normal maintenance etc. and they have never mentioned a thing. Also note, I also revert to stock ECU maps first. I think that is must, but others can chime in.

 

So you're driving the car with the "stock" tune and VAP pulley to and from the dealership during this time. I am assuming that as long as you are driving it normal and not ripping on it, that there is no issue doing this yeah?

 

Yes; to and fro the dealer. And yes, I drive like my wife whilst in the tuneless state. Hum, don't tell her I said that. :-)

I also will say I rather dislike driving it that way, and upon retrieving the car the last time it was in (canister recall), I remapped right there in the parking lot.

 

 

ok, so let me get this straight...

If you do the tune and pulley and decide to load the stock tune before servicing at JLR without reverting to the stock pulley you are putting your vehicle at risk? What if the dealer needs to take the car on a spirited ride to diagnose something and you have the stock tune and VAP pulley???

 

Speaking only for myself, no, I'm not saying that at all, nor did I mean to imply that.

Reverting back to the stock ECU mapping is just so the dealer does not brick your ECU with an SW update.

Leaving the pulley on has no negative impact, its just wasted increase in boost. Perhaps think about it this way, without the VAP ECU maps the car ignores the pulley's impact on the SC.

I'm certain someone else can confirm my statements.

 

OK, that makes sense and eases my mind some. I, likely incorrectly, interpreted the prior post as if you revert to base tune and keep the pulley on you better drive conservatively or it could screw something up.

I do get why to revert to the base tune when getting serviced so they don't brick the ECU unknowingly.

 

I don't think it was unreasonable to have had inferred that calm driving was required with the pulley and base tune from the posts.

There is just less joy behind the wheel when in that state.

 

Major engine work? That's a little worrying. Any idea what the cause was? I'm not implying it's the tune or pulley, perhaps a coincidence, but as a new member on the lookout for V6S, it would be good to know.

Also very interested to hear from those of you above who mentioned the springs. Did it improve both the ride and handling?

 

I got charged 1.5 hours for the lower pulley. The tune is needed for the lower pulley because the tables on the Oem tune do not accommodate boosts in the 18-20 psi range and the ECU will throw a code. Either tune or pulley alone will threaten your warranty.

 

 

Did I read somewhere that the AJ126 engine was/is designed and/or built by Ford?

I also recall reading JLR was going to stop having Ford build them circa 2020, or perhaps it was just not at the current plant.

Or is there some chance the V6/8 will go away for that I4 only model. That actually felt odd just typing it.

Don't want to go off on much of a tangent.... but that is what thought surfaced.

 

I'm having the lower pulley done at a shop on the 15th of this month, so nine days from now. Like you I would have a go at this myself if I had a hoist, but without one I suspect it would be a bit too difficult for my aged bones to handle. I will then drive the car back home, about 30 km along suburban roads, with the Stage 1 tune (not the lower pulley tune) that I have had on it for the past 12 months, then once I get home I will apply the "with pulley" tune. I don't expect any problems driving 30 km with the pulley but without the pulley tune, but I'll be taking it real easy just to be sure. But I wouldn't recommend driving for an extended distance or time with the pulley but no tune, you really should do both at once.
I can't comment on question 3, other than to say that my warranty expires on the same day I'm having the pulley fitted so it won't make any difference to me if JLR did notice the pulley, and I don't intend to ever take the car back to a JLR dealership anyway.

 

I also didn't have the lift or the inclination so my local performance shop boys did it. About an hour's labour charge as I recall.

I think Chris from VAP told me that with the lower pulley fitted but the stock tune (like when driving to the dealer for service) spirited driving may throw a CEL briefly but should clear when the tune is restored as the OEM tune gets puzzled by the extra boost.

 

good info guys...I assume the pully installation aligning to the last day of warranty is not a coincidence? I'm interested to hear how the incremental performance increase is.

unhinged - you are one of the closer experts geographically, I may be taking a drive to MD to leverage your performance contacts and buy you lunch when I finally pull the trigger on the tune and pulley. I'm a nervous nelle so wont be doing that work until Im closer to the end of my CPO.

 

Yep, I deliberately put off having the pulley installed to the last day of warranty, at the same time as the same shop does the 3 year service (3 year warranty is all we get here in Oz). That way I kill two birds with one stone (service & pulley install) and save a bit on labour cost and travel time. It's just a little coincidence that the best day the shop could fit me in is the exact day the warranty expires.
The other reason I have explained before - if something major were to go wrong with the engine, unconnected to any tune or pulley install, while it was still under warranty, then the obvious presence of the larger pulley would probably cause JLR to reject any warranty claim, so better to delay the pulley install until after the warranty has expired (which was only a two month wait in my case so no biggie).
Last but not least, I will remove the under-trays (and refit them later) before taking the car in to have the pulley installed which should save a bit in labour cost.

 

Yes... a lot of folks wait to get the tune/pulley done until after the warranty expiration. I just didn't want to wait 5 years. The tune/pulley is not an incremental increase, but a massive increase. For the V6S , it's 70 more horses and 90 more lb-ft of torque. It changes the entire character of the car.
Looking forward to meeting up with you.

 

my incremental comment was purely based upon the fact that he already had the tune and is now adding the pulley. So I assumed approx half of the 70 horses seemed a little more incremental than the whole shebang. Meaning, he is probably used to the tunes boost in performance by now and Im wondering how adding the pulley after being accustom to the tune will feel.

Combined 70hp is huge and I cant wait to do it myself....but my wife did ask me a fair question last night, "what roads around here can you even use the horsepower/speed the car has now"

Speaking of wasted power, I changed insurance carriers and they recommended these plug in driving recorders for better rates. Anyone used them in their Ftypes or any other cars?

 

Dont do it! Its a trap.

 

ha, maybe I will do it for all cars except the jag....what can possibly go wrong! I am hoping its for like the first 6 months only....if thats the case it will be in the garage most of that time anyway