Moe.....I PM ya a possible solution.

 

Moe, sorry to hear your car is too loud. It may be the aftermarket exhaust + cats is only for the true hooligans. I found the the cats with the stock exhaust are good match. I tried removing the active exhaust fuse for a while but put it back after a while. I still have a roar at WOT and when jumping on it to pass people but pretty quiet at cruise.

When I first added the cats I ran around town punching the throttle at every light and curve like a kid with a new toy.. ironically, now that I'm over the toy phase, I drive slower on my daily commute because it sounds faster. I used to drive 90 all the time on the freeway because the car was quiet and seemed to settle in at that speed.. Now I'm usually at 80 or less because it sounds right at that speed.

Perhaps there is a way to suppress the Mina exhaust note a bit. Do you have a full exhaust system? Does it have mid pipe silencers like the factory exhaust?

 

I have the middle silencer in place. I thought about putting the stock rear box on the car but it's a dual set up and I like the quad set up better. In addition I figure I will be canceling out any increase in performance that I may have gained. Don't get me wrong, some people have stopped me in traffic to tell me how they think the car sounds great. However the noise and vibrations are a bit too much for me.

 

@ghostrider & GN4HIR-how would you comoare the sound of your XKR to that of the XKR-S in this video?

Jaguar XKR-S video review | Videos | Auto Express

 

Moe....XKR-S sounds good! It seems mine has more of a deeper burble while the XKR-S sounds more refined......but again it's hard to tell without hearing them in person (sometimes poor video mics).

Moe...your car should be fine .....just think the AMV12V is probably even louder than ours and it has stock exhausts or the ZR1s when they open of the butterfly valvs. Keep us updated with the new cats.

YouTube - ‪Aston Martin V12 Vantage sound - brutal accelerations; 1080p HD‬‏

YouTube - ‪Aston Martin V12 Vantage Engine Start and Rev‬‏

 

As the saying goes, "there's no replacement for displacement"! I am still waiting to hear back in regard to my options but I think I will probably buy a 2012 XKR later this year. My 2007 XK will be 5 years old. I knew I should have gone for the supercharged before but I won't make that mistake again.

That V12 Aston does sound nasty!

 

Sweet! Another 2012 soon to be owner... Let us know what happens.

 

I have an engine light on now! Any advice?

 

Sweet, the 12 should be quite nice, can't wait for mine

The 5.0 forced induction XKR will give the Aston's a run for their money, q/m trap speeds actually favor the XKR; the V12 Aston's do sound sweet indeed...

 

@moe-she-sa,

It could very well be related to the sports catalysts, so I would definitely contact Nameless.

I have seen with Arden sports catalysts on an Stype, the owner is now trying the next product (to be fitted on the lower O2 sensors):
O2 Simulator Mini Cat Cel Fix

Not sure if it will help, but it is cheap enough to try.

 

Moe: Possibly check your 02 Sensors as the code can also be due to a bad 02? Either way.....definitely contact Nameless per Avos suggestion. I've had mine on for 3 months now and no problem but.......I probably don't drive it as much as you do. I've put less than 400 miles in the 3 months.

Let us know what you find!

 

I took my car by the shop this morning so that they could check for leaks or loose heat shielding. They tightened everything and found nothing loose that could potentially make any unwanted noise. As is normally the case I was unable to reproduce the noise once the car got to the shop. It was noisy as hell on the drive to the shop. After I left the shop I ran the car through the car wash and the sound came back. Lucky for me my car wash is around the corner from my shop so I took the car back and my tech went for a ride with me. He finally heard the sound! He did not think that it was the cats but rather the rear muffler. He told me that it sounds like the baffling went bad!

Any thoughts?

 

Is the P0420 solved? If you still have it, its up to nameless to sort it out.

Just to let you know that the "mini cat cell" has worked on the Stype, the P0420 is gone.

 

The P0420 Code has not been address as of yet. Jason over at Nameless has made some suggestions. I need to first determine if there were any leaks in the system.

 

Moe...what did you and Jason end of doing? Hopefully everything was rectified?

 

I have talked to Jason in the past about a set of his Cats for my 2007 XKR. He said he was going to be fitting them to a test car very soon. I thought he meant a test car in the vicinity of his shop. It appears they were shipped to test cars elsewhere and you guys were the tests! I had already installed a Millterk Exhaust system (they sound great, but pricy since the dollar is down). I also had a set of Milltek Cats ordered but the productioin run will be in mid- September. I was hoping Nameless would beat their schedule, but now I think I'll just wait for the tried and true Milltek Cats. Sorry you guys had to be the test platforms.

 

You can't go wrong with Milltek. I've had their exhaust for 2 years now and love it. Therefore I'm sure their cats will be built very well.

As for Nameless Performance....I'm pretty sure they had a test car with their protype cats. I think with the first batch of cats (including mine and GN4HIR) were made.....there could always be a potential fitment issues.

I've had no problems with the Nameless Performance cats for 5 months now since the replacements arrived. Not to mention real dyno HP gains (from GN4HIR) and a great price. I have talked to Jason and read his posts with the subie guys and I can tell you he's a very knowledagable and technical and a real stand up guy. I've had no check engine light come on or any rattling. Unfortunately, Moe-she-sa's car has a code but I'm sure Jason will take care of it.......if the code is due to the cats....if not already. Possibly GN4HIR can chime in also to see if he's had any problems with the cats. There are also happy customers with the pre-2006 XK8/XKR guys with Nameless Performance exhaust and cats.

Don't get me wrong...I'm sure the Milltek cats are going to be awesome built and quality but those who are looking for cats should also checkout Nameless.

 

I'm still enjoying the sound of the exhaust and the performance but I have started getting engine codes more frequently. I actually got a code reader that connects to my iPhone so I can clear them as needed. I need to check with Brutal to see if there is any damage that can result from ignoring the problem. As long as I can clear the codes and pass emission inspection I will be Ok if there is no damage being caused.

 

I just had a complete exhaust system installed by SOLO PERFORMANCE here in Canada....owner has a shop in the USA too....
The price will be a fraction of all others and the sound and performance is breath taking...everything is stainless...including x-pipe..tried an h-pipe.

The companies owner has done alot of work on V8-mustangs and Camaro's he jumped at the opportunity to test his system on a luxury performance car.
.......videos-before and after are being developed...

... no codes to date...we decided to put a solo resonator in after the tests... as it was 'scary' loud...... aggressive growl..super car like( the blips are orgasmic...sorry.....lol...quiet cruising....

i had bypass pipes on my 911 and lasted 2 months...i lasted 2 weeks before we tweaked the xkr .......it is absolutley awesome now..can't wait to share more

stew

 

I sent Jason at NamelessPerformance an email about the codes. His reply seems spot on, I hadn't considered the cooler weather as partial cause for the codes but he is right.

Quote from Jason:

"Yeah it's a simple fix, just a pair of O2 sensor spacers put between the secondary (downstream) O2 sensors and the bungs in the downpipes. This is probably associated with the cooler temperatures you're experiencing as winter comes on. These later model cars can be a little finicky as it relates to the variance between the primary and secondary O2 sensor signals. The factory ECU is dialed in to a very finite range of performance and anything outside of that (which is often caused, not by the catalyst efficiency itself, but by the flow rate of exhaust with the less restrictive catalyst element) can flag the code. I can get a pair of the spacers made up for you shortly and ship them out free of charge. In the mean time, this should not cause any change in engine management or vehicle behavior, it's just an indicator for service reference."

From other discussions about these codes I'd found someone that makes spacers for the O2 sensor but it was great of Jason to offer to send me a set.