Hi, long time member from the XK8/XKR X100 community. I have been drooling over the F-types since the C-X16 concept car, but at the time was a college student in my bachelors degree. In the not too distant future I will be finishing my residency training and would like to gift myself an F-type as a weekend toy. I see that depreciation is starting to make these cars affordable. Reliability is NOT a concern because I am capable of DIY'ing pretty much anything. Them's the perks of learning how to wrench on an XK8 and an XKR during my young adult years.

The purpose of the F-type is to have maximum fun but without making the sacrifices a Lotus Exige or an Alfa Romeo 4C would require. I want to get into proper sports car ownership but don't want to go that hard-core yet. The F-type is like a sexy middle-ground. I prefer the coupe's lines. My experience in PR with a convertible were great when I was 18 and 19, but by 21 I had grown over it. The year-long climate here is way too hot and humid here for it to be enjoyable. At some point I got tired of lathering in sun-screen before driving. I got tired of feeling like my skin was becoming one with the leather. And I was tired of having my backside drenched in sweat even after a short drive. I ended up using the car most often with the top up except at nights.

There are some things I want to clear up before I begin my search for my dream F-type:

• My current 2004 RWD XKR coupe, which has an open differential (I have been hemming and hawing over fitting an LSD), is a tail-happy car yet when the tail does let go, it has a tendency to want to fish-tail. Does the F-type come with an LSD? Is it electronic or a mechanical LSD? If it's mechanical, is that LSD a gear or a clutch type LSD?
• V6 vs V8. As I have read, the V6 is basically the V8 with two cylinders blanked off. Is the V8 noticeably nose-heavier than the V6? I would like to have the best handling F-type possible but I would also like to have as much power as possible. Because of that, the 4-cyl is out of the question. I test drove one and it felt no more fun than my XKR, which is a 20 year old cruiser that I drive like if it were a much sportier car. In fact, it felt slower despite the newer transmission. I also test-drove one of the newer P450. It felt decently powerful but not much faster than my XKR, except off-the line, where the X100's gearing is less than ideal. The gearshift on the P450 were very quick. That was surprising. That being said...
• My ideal F-type would have the 5.0 supercharged V8 with the V6 manual's transmission. I believe the V8 was never offered with a manual. Has anyone attempted to do a manual swap on the V8? Is it possible?
• If I do stumble upon a manual V6, I think I would choose it over an F-type R because I really want to shift my own gears, but again, it's not a deal breaker to have an automatic. I would then look into modifying the V6. What's the most power anyone has ever safely gotten out of the V6? How much power can that manual transmission take? What about the SC V8, what's the most power anyone has ever gotten out of it? I'm considering supercharger and ecu-tuning upgrades.
• I know the RWD F-types like to oversteer and drift easily. Is this still possible with the AWD? The most powerful car I've driven is my XKR, and that is RWD with 400 HP and 400 lb-ft of torque (crank). I haven't wrapped it around a tree yet when driving it like stink on backroads. Is the F-type R RWD that much harder to control that you would suggest I start off with the AWD? Does the 80 kg weight gain of the AWD make the handling less precise?
• Do all F-types have hydraulic steering or do they have electric steering after a specific model year? I'd like to avoid electrically assisted steering if possible.
• I have a prosthetic multifocal lens on my left eye, which, while it gives me great short, medium, and long distance vision, it does mean my night time vision is compromised. For that reason, when my stock low beam HID projectors and high beam halogen reflectors became cloudy, I upgraded my XKR's headlights with Morimoto Bi-Xenon Projectors (4TL-R but, will swap to Micro D2S 5.0 when my ballasts fail), and Morimoto Mini HB High beam LED projector where the halogens were. The improved light output really improved my night time vision. Sorry about being long winded about the headlights, but as far as I know, there are three different headlight designs on the F-types. Early cars have what I assume is a Bi-xenon projector. Later it seems they swapped to LEDs, and then the squinty eyed F-types presumably also have LEDs. The squinty-eyed F-types are out of the question for me. I don't like that style. So, from the first two headlight types, is the light output and beam pattern good on both of them? Which headlight provides the best night-time illumination out of the two?

I know it will be quite a while before I find my perfect F-type, even more so if I limit myself to those in PR. I will probably have to import one from the US. What I want with this thread is to narrow down my search and possibly make it harder for me to find the F-type of my dreams.

 

As one physician to another, the nighttime aberrations created by your multifocal implant should be partially adaptive, and all other things being equal, the lighting on the '18 F-types going forward should be superior. Much of how patients do with multifocal implants has to do with low illumination pupil size, so this can be a serious consideration when choosing implant design. But, like everything, it's nice to have a full range of focusing ability, as well [especially when your other eye is phakic].

In any case, these are great cars in almost any iteration. If you get the 6 to save weight, you can add HP via tune and work on the suspension, too. Many people here love their 6's, but the 8's seem to be the favorites among the harder core. Just the same, it's hard to lose any way you slice it! And good luck going forward with your career!

 

Best advice is to test drive V6 and V8 and decide how the handling and feel appeals to you. Your experience with the x100 XKR is not really representative of the power availabe in the latest V8s - they're a step on from the x150 XKRs which were very tail-happy! I was surprised just how planted my R AWD feels after that 2010 XKR. And the latest ZF boxes are very good, they seem to have ESP and mine shifts when I think it should, whethr I'm pootling about or presing on - it adapts wonderfully. You can always resort to the paddles while if the stick appeals you can use the stick in S as a sequential gearbox - back to shift up, forward to shift down.

 

Thank you, but I must humbly clear up that I am not a physician. I am a dentist studying in a periodontology residency.

To expand on my eye issue. The reason I had a multifocal implant at the young age of 26 was because when I was 20, I suffered an injury while I was sparring in judo with a much heavier but less experienced and less skilled opponent. The result was that as I threw him, his weight pulled me with him and I landed, with my left eye, onto his ankle. Immediately my vision on my left eye was blurry. An ophthalmologist confirmed that I acquired a traumatic cataract. Six years later I had the surgery. I had to wait until both the cataract had grown enough to be eligible for surgery, as well as I had to have a justification for the surgery because my insurance just didn't want to cover it for someone my age. They claimed it was unnecessary. Meanwhile, I was basically a cyclops, legally blind on my left eye and somehow still making it through dental school without screwing up anyone's teeth. The bigger problem is that the injury also damaged my cornea leaving me with an astigmatism on my left eye that is so slight, I decided not to correct it. I do take 0.5% pilocarpine eye drops on my left eye BID to keep the pupil constricted and improve my focus through the intraocular lens. I'm not sure if that is normal, an side-effect of miscalculation when the Dr. chose the lens, or something else. But it seems to be a fact of life for me. As a result, I cannot see well in the dark. Between the rays of light that impede my vision whenever an oncoming car's headlights shine at me, and my diminished ability to see in the dark, night time driving for me is slightly complicated. I've found that good headlights help quite a bit with the bad eyesight in the dark. I may need a contact lens for the astigmatism but I hate putting stuff in my eyes.

Is there much of a weight difference between the V6 and the V8?

Yes, I expect a V8-R to be much faster than my XKR. However, the I-4 felt slow and the P450 didn't feel that much quicker, if at all. My XKR is definitely a much softer, mushier, and slower shifting older car. It's definitely more comfort oriented than the F-types. I was impressed when I test drove the I-4 and the P450 by how quick the transmissions are. Sadly, there aren't any F-types available for sale at the dealership at the moment that I can use to test drive. In fact, right now, the Jaguar dealership in PR seems to have been removed. It's currently only a Land Rover dealership. My search on the used market in PR revealed a couple old listings, but when I called, the cars have already been sold. For the time being, there's nothing I can test-drive.

WIth regards to the tail-happiness... I'm not sure if I want a more stable car or a car that I can slide easily. Perhaps both?

 

I’ve lost track of the current nomenclature, but for the earlier models…
Base V6 - 340HP, open diff
V6S - 380HP, mechanical LSD, adaptive suspension, bigger brakes standard
V8R - 550HP, electronic LSD, adaptive suspension, even bigger brakes standard

Many of us are running a tune on the V6 for around 415HP, or a tune and large SC crank pulley for around 450HP. Forum sponsor Velocity AP (VAP) is a favorite here as they’re active on the forum and one of the few companies to support the F-type.

A member posted recently about his desire to sell his manual V6, you might want to search for his thread. Not many of them for sale out there. There can be issue with early clutches, there are threads here about that. The ZF 8-speed automatic is very good and shifts quickly. The 6-speed manual transmission isn’t rated for the torque of the V8, haven’t heard of anyone attempting that.

V6 is somewhat lighter than the V8, but V8 can be tuned for 600HP+.

The F-type switched to electric steering sometime around 2017ish. Someone can clarify.

You can view F-type brochures from over the years to see what options were available, styling changes, etc.
https://www.auto-brochures.com/jaguar.html

 

I came from a couple Porsche 911's and will say I wouldn't consider a 6 cylinder in this car-thats just me. The R has power but its just a different animal than what you referenced; Lotus or Alfa. Those are balanced cars like the Porsche. Again the Jaguar, at least to me, is just different all together. Not better, not worse-just different. Drive them and see but I imagine even if a 6 banger is more balanced for you, I would think the power would be off.

 

We picked up an F-Type recently. One unexpected joy of the V8 is the long gearing. For just getting around, the car is typically around 1000-1500 rpm. It's fuel efficient in these conditions as well. All that torque is great. I also like that this lowers surface wear for all the rotating parts. Of course, throw it in dynamic mode and the transmission to sport, and it's a beast. Best of both worlds.

 

The problem is necessarily the multifocal implant, instead, it's the fact that your other eye is normal! Your brain prefers normal and is going to deal with the "abnormal eye" the best it can. Just be glad that you are not an engineer, as they are the most unadaptable of all patients! Dentists are right up there [because of your perfectionist tendencies]. In retrospect, using a monofocal lens might have been the way to go, but then you would have needed a spectacle over-correction to make up for the pseudo-presbyopia and perhaps any uncorrected asigmatism].

If you find your current arrangement difficult, then you might eventually consider implant substitution surgery. Being on Pilo indefinitely is not a wonderful solution. Keep in mind that if you're are getting significant medical pupil constriction, this could be part of your issue with night driving [elimination of peripheral aberrations being a +, with a significant overall decrease in light transmittance being a - ]. When Pilo was used as one of the only glaucoma meds back in the day, this was exactly one of the biggest issues [particularly with early nuclear cataracts].

You might want to consider only using the Pilo when you need to drive at night. I am not sure how long it has been since you procedure, but maybe you need to give it more time. It's amazing what people get used to! Like I say, what might give you your best long term result would be an aspheric single vision implant with spectacle over-correction. This will give you your best distance vision with minimal distortion and correct any residual astigmatism and pseudo-presbyopia. With the type of meticulous work you are going to spending the next decades doing, consider integrating all of the above into a nice pair of safety glasses which should solve all of your problems!

The v8 is heavier but allow some of the others here to explain why. I love the car I have but I am sure that if I had the v8 I would say the same.

 

Yeah Jaguars tend to be schizophrenic - ***** cat when pootling about, but a snarling beast when roused!

 

Thank you for the brochure.

From that, I would avoid the base V6 outright and go for the V6S or better because of the LSD. Is the electronic LSD reliable? Does it overheat and stop working if you are given it hell? Can it be swapped for a mechanical LSD?

450 for the V6 is a healthy number. I could live with that, but 600+HP is very enticing for sure.

I'll go check his listing. Is that in this forum's market place? Do you know what his username is?

Bummer for the electric steering, I was hoping that was only on the facelifted cars.

Yes, I expect the Alfa, Porsche and Lotus to be better handling cars than the Jag for sure. However, the Porsches, used and new are way out of my budget. The ones on the used market, regardless of the year, seem to cost just as much as a new 911 unless you're looking at a first gen boxster, which is ugly in my eyes. The Lotus and Alfas are uber rare in Puerto Rico. There are currently none for sale, used or new in the market at the present time here.

With regard to the power, in your opionion, are you saying the F-type feels underwhelming with the V6 and that the V8 is the more appropriate engine choice?

All the torque of the V8 available from very early is surely the reason they were able to give it such gearing and achieve those results. The V8 in my XKR is similar in that respect. It never feels stressed and if you want to wring it out, you enjoy a lovely wail before it has to shift. Does the V8 have a delicious supercharger whine that can be heard of from the cabin? That and the modified exhaust are some of my favorite things in the XKR.

What are the redline rev-limit for the V8 and the V6?

Thank you for making sense of my vision problems. I actually enjoy the multifocal lens in the daytime. Yes, my right eye is definitely dominant and does compensate for my left eye. It has been tested at 15/20 vision vs my left eye that is currently at 25/20. Most of the time, I don't notice the astigmatism, only when driving. The procedure was done in December 2020. It's been about 3 years now. I truly detest wearing glasses and also using contacts. I used glasses briefly when I was initially diagnosed with the cataract and I could never get used to them. I would always misplace them, forget to use them, my eyes would dry out from using them, and hated having something on my face. I would rather have the slight astigmatism that only affects me in night-time driving than having single vision that affects me most of the time. Yes, I know Pilo is not the best solution. My ophthalmologist initially started me on Brimonidine but we quickly found out that I am allergic to it. Ideally I wouldn't need the eye-drops but, it is what it is. I sometimes forget to take them and haven't really noticed much of a difference when that happens. Although, at some point I did run out of them and was unable to get a prescription for a few weeks and did slightly worse on the vision exam as a result. Getting me back on the pilo improved my scores quickly.

 

He’s in Georgia.
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...-value-276944/

 

I had owned nothing but manual transmission sports cars since 1982 prior to buying my F Type R in 2021. Thinking back, if a 6 speed manual had been an option at that time I probably would have gone for it.
However, after owning my car for almost 3 years, I have to say that the ZF 8 speed auto is outstanding and I have no regrets at all. You can configure it in such a way as to act very much like a manual transmission or let the well designed computer control along with the ratios of the 8 gears take care of the shifting while just cruising or even having a semi-spirted drive.

I can't comment on the type of LSD it has except that I notice no issues. And the AWD which uses a very sophisticated electronic active differential along with the adaptive dynamics suspension system and torque vectoring braking makes the car handle very, very well. I have owned a number of sports cars including a Mazda RX-7, Toyota MR2 and Nissan 370Z and none of them had anywhere near the power of a V6 or V8 Jag. Driving the F Type is different, coming out of a corner and applying the throttle means you can really feel the AWD pulling and applying power like crazy compared to lighter and less powerful sports cars. I love it.

You haven't told us what your budget is, but if you can afford it I think the newest model year you can find with either the V6 that you can mod, or a V8 and an auto transmission and you'll be quite pleased. No need to obsess over the small details. The newer model years are quite well sorted out as our British friends would say.

 

The one thing that I'll add is that early V8's were rear wheel drive. You have to be a bit careful with the throttle (especially with a VAP tune) unless you want to spend large sums on tires. In the wrong hands (like mine) it is definitely a tail happy hooligan.

 

Even some of the later ones were available in RWD. The telltale on the pre-facelifts is the position of the hood vents - on the RWD they're close together near the windshield, on the AWD they're wider apart and more towards the front of the car. Not sure about the facelift cars but I believe you can configure the lower power version with RWD.

 

Well, it sounds if you might have/had other issues going on which necessitated the brimonidine initially [IOP spike?]. Obviously, without access to your complete history/records, it's difficult to comment further, but the good news is that you seem to have a good handle on it. And don't eliminate that potential option that just might make the most sense. Simple solutions are generally the most efficacious! Good luck!!

 

Thank you!

That's great to read about the transmission. Glad it can act like a manual transmission if wanted, minus the clutch which is part of the fun.
With the AWD, I'm conflicted. I don't want a system that makes the car too easy to drive. I want the challenge of having apply throttle control around the corner and the possibility of kicking out the tail if I wanted to. However, I haven't driven a car with more than 400 HP and the last thing I want to do is to slide sideways into a tree.

Re, the budget, I could put about a $15k deposit right now and I could easily be approved up to $50k and the payment would still be within my budget, but that would be a little irresponsible. I'm looking to buy the car after I graduate residency in a couple years. By next year, the Mini would be paid off. My house is also paid off. My girlfriend and I have no kids and no plans of having kids. From my expenses, the only thing that could be an issue is that my girlfriend and I are planning a trip to Argentina and Antarctica for when I graduate. There's also the possibility that she may change her mind and desire a big wedding, but at the moment she says she would rather do a court wedding.

For when I graduate, I have two standing job offers: the first is from my residency program director as a faculty member of the residency; that offer is for $120k for part time (2 - 3 days a week for a couple hours). The other is a job offer from one of my attendings who is offering 60% of the production in his clinic for full time work for the first three years and, then he sells the practice to me when he retires after that. His net income is nearly $600k. I'm probably looking at somewhere around $300k for the first three years if I go to work for him. Still, since that's still 2 years from now, I can't count on that for sure.

Are Michelin Pilot PS4 summer tires all that's required to tame it or do you suggest semi-slicks?

Great, good to know. I don't like the facelift's squinty horizontal headlights. I like the original look. So that narrows it down anything before 2021 I believe?

As far as I can remember, IOP was always within normal limits. But, I don't recall if he mentioned any other issues.

 

No slicks are needed, but you could easily turn a pair of new tires into slicks if you are not judicious with the throttle.

Seriously, as long as you drive like you have half a brain it is easy to control. If you floor it off the line, the electronic nannies will keep it under control. Now if you turn them off, be prepared. The first time I did it, I damn near put it in a ditch.

This thing is great fun especially if you live near mountain roads.

 

I have never tuned off the Dynamic Stability Control in my F Type. There is also a TracDSC setting for that feature. But perhaps playing around with those settings would allow some drifting in the corners if that's what you really want to do. I know there are some members here who track their Jags on actual race circuits and can comment regarding how those features affect the handling. I'd sure be careful about switching them on or off and going for a fast drive on a public highway before I had tried them out on a safe track somewhere.

I live in the Southern California mountains and I have to agree that the F Type is exhilarating to drive on mountain roads. However, the State highway sections that I travel have many sections without guardrails or have granite walls on the inside of the corners. Running out of talent may result in going over a cliff or hitting the wall. Literally. So I drive in a spirited manner at times but not fast enough to hear the tires squeal. One of the features in the Dynamic setup screen is the ability to record the G forces that the car encounters while driving. I have not yet tried it but I can tell you when driving fairly hard the G forces are enough that you are glad for the sport seats, and the car doesn't seem anywhere near the limits of adhesion.

I think you would get all the enjoyment you need driving the car hard but not so hard that you are wearing the tread off by a considerable amount. It's that good.

 

[QUOTE=Dwight Frye;2721616]I have never tuned off the Dynamic Stability Control in my F Type. There is also a TracDSC setting for that feature. But perhaps playing around with those settings would allow some drifting in the corners if that's what you really want to do. I know there are some members here who track their Jags on actual race circuits and can comment regarding how those features affect the handling. I'd sure be careful about switching them on or off and going for a fast drive on a public highway before I had tried them out on a safe track somewhere.


The best advice I ever heard about turning off the nannies, at the track or anywhere, is "Don't do it until you know exactly what they feel like and do, and can reliably predict when they are about to kick in". I'd say that is especially valid for RWD and any tuned F.

 

I have a 2015 proper rear wheel drive F Type R going up for sale in the near future. 23K miles, immaculate. Black with ivory seats. Perfect. (notice I parked the wild kitty in the pet area)