I'm on the exact opposite of this.

If all you're going to do is putt around and drive 5mph below the speed limit, you're driving the wrong car.

Seriously, that's what gives Jaguar the grandpa's car stereotype. You should probably be in the XJ forum talking about golf clubs and your latest plaid beret acquisition.

To me, from my childhood to my mid 40's where I am now, Jaguar has always been a performance brand and the whole old people's status luxury car is an abomination.

 

I think the point is that an xk8 is not an xkr. Truth is they are both kinda slow by todays standards of performance cars. That doesn't mean they are complete dogs by any stretch of the imagination. That torque, I love it.
Now, do you really think us Jag driving "grandpas" drive around 5 miles under the speed limit? You think we spend all our free time on the golf course? You think we all own berets?
If that's what you imagine, imagine again!!! I personally, still love to drive, fast if possible, but I have reached an age where I don't have anything to prove and, I value my drivers license.
Imagine not being able to drive that Jag of yours.
Hang in there. Maturity will come eventually. I can't say I felt any different when I was mid forty's.
Rant over. Take care.

 

Tee hee

Here's a group of maniacs who *really* know how to wring the maxium out of a Jaguar. This proves how much punishment the Jag V12 can tolerate....not to mention the suspension. The drivers are obviously in tune with, and trying to uphold, Jaguar's performance heritage :-)

The cars DO look very elegant, though. No doubt about it !

Jaguar XJS handling - YouTube

Cheers
DD

 

That looked like a lot of fun, maybe we should organise a get together and set up a course?

 

That was amazing! I think that they all had matching berets!

Here is the next phase!

Little Fast Shriner Cars! - YouTube

THIS has an element of danger. Someone could get T Boned!

I'm not sure, but I think that my XK8 could "take" one of these little Mustangs, but not in those tight turns!

 

+1
nothing seems to be able to keep up with me on this side of the Atlantic, I effortlessly glide passed everyone of the motorway. Even the police have difficulty keeping up with me!
Anyway the XK8 is more of a cruiser than anything

 

like it!..do the same myself hope a coppers about..never is

 

I don't know, aren't superchargers hard on engines in general? XKR coupes are hard to find, the convertibles are just too "chopped" up looking to me. Yeah I like not driving just another BMW,Mercedes, Porsche, Corvette or Mustang. These are rare cars and most people think they're new and exotic since they've never seen one. They intimidate most people on looks alone!

 

Just "knowing" that my XKR can outrun most other cars out there puts a big smile on my face - I don't need to prove anything.

Having said that, I still like to see how fast it will go when the conditions are right.

 

Fact of the matter is - Use the J-Gate... Makes up for hesitation in down shifts, does no harm to your tranny and well used smart - Propels even a paltry 300hp old xk8.

 

To me stop light drags where our XK8's or XKR's are sometimes challenged by much newer go fast toys is like lifting weights wearing a tux. Just sitting in a Jag sets you apart if stroking ones ego is important (no smoky burnouts needed)
Compared to other cars of its vintage XK's were not toads. As our neighbors from across the pond might exclaim, the XK's could "proceed with vigor". Want it both ways? Start saving for the new F-Type R Coupe. It goes like stink and looks good at the same time. You don't even need to be a seasoned driver to hit the numbers it's capable of churning out.
When I had my 427 AC Cobra (yea, a real CSX car) the most fun you could have on the street with it at a stop light was looking over at some pimpled faced kid driving a go fast mussel car and just offering a sly smile. Race won and you didn't even have the car in gear! I have fond memories of being one of those kids but many years later I discovered comfort was pretty cool too [for street driven cars]. I bought a trailer for the track toys and also learned that I couldn't eat all those trophies I won. I don't drive as fast as I used to but I see a great deal more.
RB

 

For the Record...Leave always early for work...No hurry...Dad taught me.....Anyway, there are Honda Odyssey's ( A Mom with Kids on Board) who pull off the line with such ease whereby in my xk8 I need to be motivated for that acceleration. It is a question of quality/essence of the experience.... And will tell all --- that the classic xk8/xkr SEEMS LIKE Tenured Professor on the road......Simply nothing to Prove. And when the driver of our cars aggressive the Mass say WHY? No Need! Precisely....

 

I would suggest you do a few things to improve performance.

1.Fuel Injection and combustion cleaning services.

2.5w30 oil and filter change.

3.K and N air filter.

4.93 OCTANE gas to reduce spark knock, which retards timing.

5.sp-np21 Nitrode YTTRIUM Plugs.

6.Increase tire pressure to reduce drag.

7.Have your rear differential fluid flushed, and tranny drained and filled with tranny filter changed.

8.Get straight piping, where the exhaust bends over the rear axle almost flat!-such a constriction!!.

9.Don't forget to turn traction control off.

10.I would say change the rear gears, but I think that causes a traction control computer issue, which is weird, because the previous owner had 22in tires that caused no issues,hmm maybe some one will chime in?


These little 4.0's can MOVE FAST, with me personally watching a xk8 pick up 21 More Hp with the above mods. and 11 lbs of torque.

 

i live in London and i don't come across many cars i don't feel i could outrun on a red light situ or most other situations - i feel it handles very good too for a larger sports car - there are a lot of fast cars here but i don't think these guys race much - more for the posing value. I like the weight feeling makes you know it's powerful somehow.
The XK's are just so beautiful but it's fun to flex their muscles a bit i find.
I think some people here are more likely to wind u up by driving to close to your rear end out of jealousy - even dweebs in works vans do it ... i like to let them past and then a little later if u see them ahead and you have the opportunity just open it up and fly past them like they have stopped ... then ... let them by again - if they dare ... it's amusing seeing them hesitating to try it again .. then i just make my way with them getting smaller in the rear view ...

 

A stock XK8 will take just about any stock car built in the 1980s except maybe a Gran National or an exotic like a Ferrari F40. Newer than that not much though, at least if you are looking at performance cars.

Most modern sports cars have a lot more power and most sports cars from the turn of the milenium have just about as much power and are lighter with better gearing and better torque.

 

Well the XKR I bought 3 weeks ago has 2 golf ***** stuck under the passengers seat (I would have to pull the seat to get them out) and every time I open the spare tire well I find a handful of tees that have rolled out from under the tire/jack. So it safe to say the previous owner spent time racing to the golf course.

To me, from my childhood to my mid 40's where I am now, Jaguar has always been a performance brand and the whole old people's status luxury car is an abomination.
I am not very brand conscious, I love all cars and I am in my 40s too but I always saw it the other way; as far as a brand when I was growing up in NJ Jaguar = Buick ... mostly a luxury car with a select few awesome performance vehicles in their history.

My uncle owned an E-type when I was growing up in the 80s (still does) and I thought it was the coolest car in the world but it was an outlier among a bunch of stodgy sedans and coupes that were on the Jag dealer lot at the time. That and the lack of a substantial racing pedigree meant I never really thought of Jag as a performance brand.

I will say that the XK8 is the best looking car built this millenium and one of the best ever (along with the aforementioned E-Type).

 

My XK8 Barks Tires every gear shift. Its by no means slow. Ive driven other xk8s and they are super slow for whatever various reasons and conditions.


The main 2 important factors,

1. the exhaust where it bends almost flat.Jag did that for a super quiet exhaust, however it really takes a lot of steam out of the 4.0, and reduces fuel mileage.

2. 93 octane to reduce detonation, which retards timing.

That's the most 2 important upgrades in my opinion.

3.If you could change the rear gears, the car would be a whole different car! Like about .4-.5 seconds faster!

 

It's not always how fast you go.....but how you go fast. Go too fast and the only one who will talk to about your ride is the Officer that pulls you over !

 

I have three cars a modified XKR, F-type, and blown FX-35. The truck is often the most fun because it has almost the same horsepower and weight as an XKR and with 4 wheel drive it puts it all down from the start (I dusted a very surprised new Stingray driver a couple of days ago largely because he wasn't expecting the power). The F-Type is a beast (near 500 HP V8S) what is kind of funny, but eventually gets old, is almost everyone wants to race it except for folks that have similar class cars. It just seems stupid to race some guy driving a Toyota (though I dusted a motorcycle the other day and that was kind of fun). I don't push the XKR that hard, it is an older car and I find folks seem to have fun just looking at it.


In my old XK8 I chased a bunch of exotics through the hills and it kept up nicely, I only got into trouble with tight twisty turns chasing two Lotus roadsters (tranny got too hot and dropped into restricted performance likely because the transmission fluid generally wasn't where it needed to be. The Porsche drivers wanted to know what I'd done to the car and basically it was just sound, wheels and tires. That was a '99 and it was incredibly tight right from the factory.


So it is all about why you want to go fast. The XK will never be the quickest but it is often as quick as it needs to be.

 

I lost the desire to street race a long time ago. Mainly because after taking the advanced driving test and going on to become an advanced instructor i learned so much more about potential "what if" situations and accident avoidance. I do not drive slowly, quite quickly in fact where considered safe to do so, but always within speed limits. I used to teach boy racers whom would drive at 60 in a 30 mph zone and think it funny. I would end up after tutoring with a fast but safe driver that respected speed limits but was a good driver and could read the road ahead and respected other road users. The Jaguar XK8 will always have other cars trying to see what it can to, but I believe the better driver will know when its safe and appropriate to flex the XK8s muscles. I agree that a lot of modern sports cars and grand tourers may be quicker but will they get you from a to b in such poise, luxury and such a head turning beautiful shape as well? I think not for the money.