Really wanted to love a V8 but...

[grumpynuts]

OP, buy a 996 turbo.

[philmots]

AMGJocky said:

I had no idea they were different boxes between the XK and XF, thanks for the info! I guess I better get on and test one

The ZF6 in the XKR and XFR are the same box and a generation newer than the ZF6 in the older S type (and what I had in my old 550i) the difference is night and day..

In 2012 the XFR got the ZF8 but the XKR kept the ZF6 it always had. It's a great box (it's in my dads m235) but it doesn't feel any quicker at changing than the one in mine and sometimes using paddles there can be too many gears.

[mikearwas]

Smokey32 said:

Did I read that right?

You tried a C63 and you didn't like it? And you used to own a Seat Leon and a Golf. And were talking just the engine here.....

Best troll ever. LMAO.

Yeh kind of agree. Really not sure how you can drive a C63 and not think it's quick. Even coming from a new M5 (which would chew up both of the hatchbacks and spit them out) it's quick.

Anyway, GTR seems to be the obvious solution.

[alec.e]

jamieduff1981 said:

It's slightly higher tune but I'd struggle to tell the difference to be honest and in my family car it at best partially offsets the weight difference of mine against the alloy body XKR

1st gear on mine is hopeless. It'll spin wheels in a straight line in 2nd on warm dry days and you'll be giving other road users something to watch if you push the pedal a long way in 3rd in a straight line (e.g. accelerating away from a d/c roundabout).

It's fine, really, but Jaguar's electronics allow more leeway before intervening than Mercedes typically do so you can make a fool of yourself with everything switched on (which mine always is) if youre lead footed (which I sometimes am). I haven't tried, but I doubt they'd let me spin the car, but it's easy to get far enough sideways to cross over a lane or fall off the road so although a playful setup, it's not for the inexperienced IMHO

Sounds very different to the lightly tuned 4.2 S/C in my x350, you can plant your foot on the throttle most of the time (dry straights)and have very little T/C intervention. Obviously, TC off and floor it from standstill and end up with a one tyre fire
The only times I have ever had any sliding on part throttle is if the roads are greasy.

[philmots]

wormus said:

I think there's a difference between fast, powerful and fun. XFRs are traction limited on all but the driest of roads and they are heavy. In 90% of cases a Golf R will be as fast in the dry and faster in the wet but it will be no fun and sound like a food mixer as it does it. For the best V8 noise I'd say go American.

This differs from my experience, a friend has a Golf R I've driven quite a bit, it's only real party piece for me is it's standing start with dsg, on the road moving it's not in the same league for straight line speed, it doesn't corner any faster, the only point I can see one being quicker is in the wet with a lot of tight slow corners where the Golf will take 100% accelerating away... the XFR isn't really an issue at all in the dry, maybe have to be a bit careful in 2nd gear but it'll take 70% without drama.

[anonymous-user]

philmots said:

This differs from my experience, a friend has a Golf R I've driven quite a bit, it's only real party piece for me is it's standing start with dsg, on the road moving it's not in the same league for straight line speed, it doesn't corner any faster, the only point I can see one being quicker is in the wet with a lot of tight slow corners where the Golf will take 100% accelerating away... the XFR isn't really an issue at all in the dry, maybe have to be a bit careful in 2nd gear but it'll take 70% without drama.

My brother has 13 plate XFR with the 8sp box and it is a lovely car, just my sort of thing. However, he admits it's no faster that the C63 AMG he had a drag race with and in the wet it can be lairy which as we know isn't quick. By comparison I have a Monaro with about 50% more power than his XFR and I don't think it would be any quicker to 100mph because of traction. I once faced similar when a Golf R wanted to race me off a roundabout. By the time I had straightened it up and got the power down it was time to slow down again so on the road you have to be going over 100mph for a seriously quick car to be much faster than a brisk one. Or drive like a dick. At Bruntingthorpe however, I was able to destroy everything as power comes into its own over say 150mph where it just keeps pulling to the red line. A bike is better at accelerating because it's light and doesn't need bags of torque to get it off the line. Much better for the road. Personally, for fun I'd go for a TVR with an LS7 or stroked LS3 conversion. A supercharged MX5 also looks fun but obviously not an 8 cyl.

Edited by anonymous-user on Wednesday 28th September 18:57

[manracer]

Smokey32 said:

Did I read that right?

You tried a C63 and you didn't like it? And you used to own a Seat Leon and a Golf. And were talking just the engine here.....

Best troll ever. LMAO.

I liked it in the sense it sounded great, but it didn't feel a massive step up in terms of acceleration, and in turn how it made me feel, so no, I didn't like it. Now for £40k I expected more.

[manracer]

grumpynuts said:

OP, buy a 996 turbo.

I'd love one, had a passenger ride in a friends dad's years back, felt brutal.

[clarki]

I love my V8.

I came from turbo cars; hot hatches, evos, etc but they're all much of a muchness IMO. Some are a bit faster, some are a bit slower.

I love the theatre.

If you just want to go faster, get a gtr or 997 turbo...or a bike.

More or less everything is turboed these days, it's nice to enjoy something a little bit different.

[philmots]

manracer said:

Smokey32 said:

Did I read that right?

You tried a C63 and you didn't like it? And you used to own a Seat Leon and a Golf. And were talking just the engine here.....

Best troll ever. LMAO.

I liked it in the sense it sounded great, but it didn't feel a massive step up in terms of acceleration, and in turn how it made me feel, so no, I didn't like it. Now for £40k I expected more.

Yeah but in fairness, a 380hp hot hatch will fly.. they weigh quite a lot less than the other cars you're looking at. They're a smaller segment car firstly, and generally have lighter less quality plastics, less luxuries and probably less screws holding them together.

Comparing a say 460hp C63, it may be a good 300kgs heavier, which does blunt cars.

I felt the same when I tried an e46 M3 after my mapped Megane, Megane felt quicker but it wasn't. If you lived with the C63 for a few weeks and drove on roads you're used to you'd appreciate it's different character and you'll soon see how much quicker you're arriving at corners etc.

[AdamIndy]

I must say, I too am not a huge fan of a V8. Actually, the most underwhelming car I have ever driven was an Audi RS4. Yes it was fairly quick and sounded nice but it just felt "flat". No there was nothing wrong with it before anyone says that. I may go as far as to say it was actually quite boring.

Today I had my 2nd drive in a V8 vantage too. Again, the linear power delivery just doesn't excite me. Sounded lovely of course. I will get flamed for this but I would much rather go for a hoon in a high revving 4/6 cylinder car. I like to be able to feel the engine pull harder the more it is revved. I'm sure I will get told to hand in my PH card but if we all liked the same thing, life would be boring.

For me at least, the only good thing about a V8 is the noise.

[Smokey32]

manracer said:

I liked it in the sense it sounded great, but it didn't feel a massive step up in terms of acceleration, and in turn how it made me feel, so no, I didn't like it. Now for £40k I expected more.

Think you need to go back to a VAG 4 Pot turbo then.

[Ozzie Osmond]

AdamIndy said:

For me at least, the only good thing about a V8 is the noise.

Suggest you nip over to the next big dragster meeting at Santa Pod and see how it all works.

[manracer]

I'm glad that my opinion is causing a healthy debate. I once drive a rs6, the v8 twin turbo one and that didn't feel flat in the slightest and I'm guessing two turbos had something to do with that.

It's also nice to see that some people actually agree with me somewhat, though I do concede that perhaps I needed to sample a few more examples of vehicles with a v8 heart.

Id love a gtr but i haven't done much research around reliability.

It would be interesting to drive the new c63 back to back against the new c43 both turbo aided but v8 vs v6.

[anonymous-user]

Lots of nonsense in this thread and I fail to see how cylinder configuration has much bearing on whether an engine feels flat or not. Sounds like you simply prefer the feel of forced induction so as already suggested, buy a V8 with the boost turned up.

[Terzo123]

I enjoy the kick in the back a turbo gives you, but i also enjoy the relentlessness of acceleration a big V8 gives you.

After the initial hit of acceleration my old Impreza felt like it was running out of puff, whereas my Monaro, it didn't have the initial urge but just kept going and going.

Both experiences were fun, just different.

[Smokey32]

If you want a shove in the back, get a Straight 6 derv in a Beamer. That will make you feel godly.

[clarki]

manracer said:

.

It would be interesting to drive the new c63 back to back against the new c43 both turbo aided but v8 vs v6.

I wouldn't bother because then you'll just get into which is best RWD or AWD too.

Oh, nothing goes wrong with a gtr, but it's a bit more of a car than a seat, so budget for some running costs!!

Or, just turn up the boost lol

[Captainawesome]

unpc said:

Fair enough, we don't all like the same things and would be boring if we did. Personally I like a linear power delivery so that rules out turbos for me. I also like to wring an engine out from time to time but there's usually no point in a turbo.

Doesn't stop you being wrong though

Same here. Love the woosh of boost coming on but I absolutely adore hearing an N/A engine screaming up to the redline and building power all the way. They are a very different type of driving experience and they can feel slow after driving turbo'd cars.

My enjoyment of V8ness has been massively improved by milltek manifolds and non res cat back. Most OEM exhausts are faaaaaar too quiet. N/A all the way for me.

Horses for courses dude. If we all liked the same thing what would we argue about at the pub????

[samoht]

I reckon the thrillingest V8 road car would be a Westfield SEight - a Seven-alike with a Rover V8 on carbs.

I think an Audi R8 could be worth a try, just being lower down you should get more of a sense of speed, like your friend's Cayman.