Hey! Hey! Hey!
I'm not talking about an XKR. I have no idea what that sounds like. I do know that my XK8 has two separate pipes with the three resonator setup that was designed to give a very quiet almost unheard sound. By removing the first resonators on each pipe and installing an "H" pipe configuration which even my muffler expert tech said, "Will help remove any POPS from the sound." I have increased the overall sound of the car just slightly. Now when people see it and go, "That's a beautiful car!" They don't finish it with, "But it sounds like a 94 Ford Tempo." Or any other overly quieted non-sports car.
Again, no interfering drone at cruising speeds. Sheesh. Okay, only because I'm seeing a lot of comments regarding how loud or droning or bassy something is let me tell you guys something as a sound guy for 29 years. If the sounds you're hearing are particularly bass or droning sounds most of the time hearing then you should look at having the hairs in your ears shaved out. I'm not joking. As men, as we age the hairs on our ears grows thicker and longer. Those hairs are extremely sensitive to bass frequencies. I know that sounds different, no pun intended, but it is the truth.
Obviously I really do need to get a.VU meter reading to show you guys how loud it is. Let me ask you this, do you all drive your V8 Jags with the interior sound like the Boston Law Library? I know I don't. If I'm alone I have the radio on, or with my wife we are talking. If the sound interferes with either of those then there's a problem. And my modification isn't EVEN close.

 

I know this discussion seems to center on noise the exhaust system generates but I would be interested in any performance gains. I understand you have removed the first center resonator "h pipe" on your XK8 and replaced in with just a regular h-pipe with a "reasonable" increase in exhaust noise. My question is does the car perform any better?

I talked with Mina's gallery and they informed me that their XK8 exhaust system with intake modifications have produced about a ten percent horsepower improvement, dyno confirmed. Are you seeing any comparable performance result?

Take care and good luck on your modification.

 

The XKR stock exhaust is probably just a little bit louder than your XK8; a passer-by would probably think an XK8 or XKR with a modified exhaust would sound like a classy muscle car. The cruising drone that I'm talking about is a constant tone in the 180-HZ range, if the spectrum analysis app on my phone is correct, and it's very annoying, and will definitely disrupt any conversation or radio listening you're doing. This seems to be a problem when the rear mufflers/resonators are deleted with just straight pipes in their place.

 

Hi Guys
Was browsing the forum and saw this thread. Check out this link and you can listen to my exhaust. I genuinely don't think it can be bettered!
I also have other XK8 videos on my channel and am about to start adding lots more so feel free to subscribe and click the Bell icon to get notifications every time i add one.
(Dont Worry its all Free!)

 

That sounds similar to my XKR, but just a tad quieter. Mine has an X-pipe in place of the center resonator, and a delete of the before rear-axle mufflers. The rearmost mufflers, are however, still in place. Mine also has the supercharger whine that yours doesn't.

Makes for an intoxicating sound all around. I love it.

Fun story, my XKR was able to set off the alarm of a Suzuki Vitara that was parked next to it just from the startup. I thought it was hilarious.

 

I love the sound of your XK8 and always brings a smile to my face! I am looking forward to the audio of your day at a track.

 

With your setup, do you have any cruising-speed drone if you slowly accelerate between 1500 and 2000 RPM? Right now I have an X-pipe replacing the center piece but all four boxes after that are still in place; I get a nice roar on WOT but am not very loud at other times, so I'm still trying to finetune the sound.

 

No, I don't have any drone at any speeds. Due to the 6 speed box I have, the cruising RPM in my car is usually below 1900 revs. However, I do hear my exhaust at any speed, but not deafeningly annoying. My friends say they know when I'm arriving because they can hear me coming from a mile away (they may be exaggerating). At idle, I have a deep and muscular burble. but it's not mustanglike. It is a more refined sound. You can try my setup pretty cheaply and if you don't like it, just revert to what you had.

 

I had the Adamesh style delete on my XKR (both the rear and mids) for about 3 months. It was way too loud for my liking and I knew that sounding like an American Hot Rod, but the killer was a road trip. 80mph cruising speed was torture and that was it for me. I only kept the mid resonator Adamesh pipes (so the original pinch for the back pressure is gone and just straight pipe) and it is perfection for me. I think the original Jag mufflers have a unique Jaguar sound to them. One day I will change the front resonator to an X-Pipe and I think that will be icing on the cake.