Gotta add mine 2 as well, I suspect you can always squeeze a nit more HP out of anything 'stock' be it a Jag, Motorcycle or lawn mower. When I raced bikes small HP increases (thread above is talking maybe 10%) meant nothing, since it's the Driver skills that make so much more difference and how any HP is applied. For the general driver (beside you racers and track times) there won't be much real life change. I won't get into having to manually shift to keep RPM in powerband etc..

 

Love it, want one. Looks expensive. Thanks Rich

 

Jag did an excellent job of making their own cold air intake system. My only problem with their design is the snorkel that goes from the air filter box, to the fresh air inside of the fender well. For some reason, they decided that they needed to restrict air flow, by a third, by shrinking down the end of the intake horn.

I cut the end of my intake horn off, just as it entered the inner fender, and it bumped up my highway fuel mileage a full gallon.(unless I had something else wrong before that, that I didn't realize)

All cars are designed for a certain customer dynamic, and I think the majority of XK8/R folks like a little noise, when they put their foot down. My MGBs were slow as snails, but they sounded like I was driving at Lemans. Do what floats your boat.......Be cool.....Mike

 

Can't we all just get along? I think we all can agree on the following:


-The Jaguar XK demographic, back in 2000 when my car was made, were affluent and often older people that wanted a driving experience that isolated them, from what they considered, extraneous engine noise. Mission accomplished!


-Many of the members of this forum (myself included) want to be reminded that we have a V8 under the hood, and wish to enhance its performance.


-The OEM Jaguar exhaust system (and arguably its air box) were both somewhat restrictive in order to satisfy their customer base (see above).


-My approach to the situation was to install a MINA performance exhuast sytem, and air box and intake tube to allow the engine to breathe a bit more efficiently. My butt dynomometer tells me that the car is a bit more responsive after those modifications. I have no idea what the HP increase might be, and frankly don't care. It runs great and puts a smile on my face when I punch it.


To ZIDJAN, who questioned whether I installed the MINA air box upsidedown. The answer is no; I fabricated some sheet aluminum to better isolate the air box from any engine heat that the existing rubber seals might let through.


Finally, I'm not associated with MINA Gallery in any way. Just found that they made good products, and that Chris, the owner, was always available to walk me through installation problems.


HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

 

In regards to the intakes that added 25-30 hp. A MAF sensor takes air readings at only a small area near the center of the cross sectional diameter of the intake housing. It then takes the calculation of air in that small surface and multiplies it for what the entire cross sectional area allows. If the MAF housing diameter is not stock on the 3" and 3.5" intake tubes it is gaining hp due to the fact that the computer is accounting for less air than what is actually going into the engine(because the ECU/MAF assumed that the diameter of the pipe is the smaller stock diameter) causing a leaner than stock AFR. If the 3" and 3.5" tubes used the stock MAF housing or a stock diameter custom housing then this intake is amazing and simply allows much more air into the engine. If the MAF housing uses the same 3" or 3.5" diameter as the tubing, this intake system will manipulate the ECU air readings and not work with tuned vehicles; however, it could be a cheaper alternative to a custom tune that yields acceptable results.

I see that the Mina Gallery intake uses the stock MAF housing, so it will work with tuned vehicles.

 

Of course we can all get along, and there's no reason why this cannot includes healthy discussion on issues where we disagree and can also bring forward information that we can all learn from. This obviously excludes sophomoric personal attacks like 'You are a big JOKE'.

My posts above were specifically to address the performance effects of the tube modification. We don't all agree on what it did for your car in that department but the smile factor is undeniable and that's what counts.

 

The explanation by 2003XKR about the MAF makes sense. I believe that with the modern computer controlled engines there are all kinds of things that you can to to fool the computer. I recall with my last car that there were kits that moved the intake air temperature sensor away from the engine to fool the computer into thinking the air was cooler and causing a richer(?) mixture. There were also companies that made performance MAF sensors that could be tweaked.

But I wanted to mention that this intake tube intrigued me, if only for the better looks in the engine compartment. So I visited Chris at Mina today while arranging to get brakes done with his dad, next door. Chris had seen me drive in and was admiring my car. I asked about the intake tube and he showed me one. It does look like a nice quality piece and it comes with the various tubing and clamps to replace the stock tube. I will have him put one in when I have the car there for the brakes.

As a bonus I asked if he could install the remote convertible top gizmo that I won and he said no problem. If I plan things right it could be quite a fun holiday season with these goodies.

Doug

 

I still hate you Doug, for winning the convertible top "gizmo", but I will get over that in a few years, so no worries.

I have also seen folks put little cones on their MAF sensors, to richen up the fuel, when hitting the highway. If ya like how your car runs, and sounds, that should be the only discussion.

Some folks think I have ruined a perfectly good XK8, with all my mods. They aren't driving her, and I am certainly not swapping bodily fluids with them, so in short.......screw em........

Life is too short to worry about what the average SOB thinks. I will know when I have done too many mods to my car, when the phone numbers stop appearing on the seat, at car shows......

Have a great Holiday, and concentrate on what is most important to you.......other than your Jags......Friends and Family.

I wish nothing but the best for all of you.......Be cool.....Mike

 

A final (hopefully) post to this thread. As previously stated, I made some minor modifcations to both the intake and exhaust systems which started a long discussion on whether the benefits were real or imagined. In a different thread, I read that disconnecting the battery overnight and reconnecting the following day cause the various ECU's revert back to the factory default settings. I did that two days ago and the car seems to run better for it. Very happy with the results (as subjective and unproven as they may be). Thanks to all of you the chimed in to offer their opinions; that's why I love this forum. Always learning something new.


Max

 

Just ordered mine, Bling. Christmas present to myself. Might wrap it. Thanks Rich

 

Nice mod, Max, part of the fun of ownership is making your own modifications and repairs. I do it all the time, not always an improvement, but a learning experience just the same. Repairing/maintaining my own cars has saved me thousands of $ over the past 49 years. Satisfaction with a successful modification or a difficult repair job is the best.