Has anyone fitted the ZF-8HP70 transmission into their XK8 or XKR? Does it just bolt straight up to the engine without any modifications?

 

Not a straight fit. Trans itself would be a bolt-on, but the torque converted will not, custom fabrications will be needed. Then, once the hardware is done, there'll be tons of fun with the software (did that on a few vehicles, XKR is exactly a same story).

 

lm guessing you'd use a ftype torque converter easy enough (unsure if you could use standard 5l prop shaft or custom length required) and stand alone ecu ....that's the difficult component finding the right person to tune / program the software ....have you done something like this before

 

https://roadblastertorqueconverters....rque-converter

Spoke with these guys some time ago, they do custom work. May be they still can?

 

Nope. The F-type uses a diffrent flexplate (like all the others with Bosch PCM), so the f-type tq converter won't fit a Denso flexplate. And you can't fit an f-type flexplate to XKR, because Denso PCM will be unable to get a readings from a crank position sensor
The lenghts of the 6hp and 8hp are identical, so if you'll buy a proper 8hp the propshaft would just fit.
Yes, ive done a bunch of retrofits of the 8hp on a 2.7/3.6 diesel LRs, on a 5.0NA one (none of these had a 8hp option from a factory), on a few 3.0 diesel LRs and X351 5.0SC one (a bit easier than on 2.7 or 3.6). The programming part for the XKR would be exactly a same.

 

How did this perform on the lr 5l n/a did it improve drive ability, also what would happen on dash display does it show its in 7th.and 8th gear...also did you have to adjust Max rpm throughout the gears

 

Well, almost nothing. The drivabiity itself was more or less a same as with remapped 6hp, a bit better milage on a highway, but that's all. If you don't have a free 8hp, if your's 6hp is healthy and if you can't DIY mechanical part of swap - it's not worth it.
On a LR, and X351 the dash is pretty much able to display all the 8 speeds, everything is present there, since the 8hp was a factory option, so it's a matter of loading the latest sw in IPC. XK(R) is a diffrent thing, however still possible to force it into dispaying all the 8 gears.
Yes, the whole shift schedule tables should be altered, since the vehicles with the factory 8hp had a different diff ratio.
Perfomance wise - once again, its not worth it:
-You'll be unable to use 1st gear to make launches (look at a gear ratio and imagine a struggling to get a traction), so you'll end up with a 7hp
-8th gear is useless in terms of max speed (so you'll end up with a 6hp, lol)
-0-100 and 100-200 are just better on a proper mapped 6hp (less shifts involved, less loses)
-6hp28 in a stock form can handle more torque than 8hp70 can.

However, its worth it to swap a 8hp on a diesels, both 2.7 and 3.6 benefits a lot in a milage and acceleration, but that's not a Jaguar story.

 

This is very good information, as I have often wondered how much the drivability of our vehicles would improve if we had a ZF8 fitted.
You have definitely put my curiosity to rest now.

 

If you want a better drivability - remapping a 6hp is the way. 6hp28 can shift as fast as 8hp (or even faster if you don't mind a shift quality/smotthness), can handle way more torque and just easier/cheaper to rebuild when time will come. For a price of swap you can rebuild 6hp28 a few times actually

 

Is it possible to do the TCU remap remotely? How does it work? (Xkr, 6hp)

Thanks

 

Only if you'll be able to find someone with a PCMFlash sw with activated JLR gearbox licenses.
The tune itself would be encrypted for one-time flashing with a pcmflash only and a readout protection would be applied (you'll be unable to load the tune from TCM, however it still will be possible to flash it with whatever stock/nonstock tunes)