X300 shape XJR Supercharged Manual Straight six engine
Discussion
IIRC there was only 103 X300 supercharged manuals made - so they're pretty rare.
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
Jaguar steve said:
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural.
You don't "get" the manual thing. And the Getrag gearboxes are great, by the way.
Jaguar steve said:
Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Seriously? NVH at "high RPM"? That's an issue in everyday driving?Manual XJR's very rare. Hope you find one.
I disagree with Steve too. The manual was superb IMO. Although we never owned one. We did have an XJ40 3.6 manual. Which had the same opinion thrown at it. But it was frankly brilliant. I think the people that throw hate at them have likely never been in one. Either that or have never been in any other cars. As they drove and changed gear as well as any other manual car on the market.
I disagree with Steve too. The manual was superb IMO. Although we never owned one. We did have an XJ40 3.6 manual. Which had the same opinion thrown at it. But it was frankly brilliant. I think the people that throw hate at them have likely never been in one. Either that or have never been in any other cars. As they drove and changed gear as well as any other manual car on the market.
I think the main people who had a downer on the manual X300s were the salesmen. When I was looking for mine back in period all the sales guys I spoke to advised against buying a manual saying they were very difficult to sell on, they would only take manuals in as part exchange whereas they'd actively try and buy in autos. Second hand manuals were loads cheaper than autos back in period.
This probably became self perpetuating. If that's what the sales guys are saying, people aren't going to want one, so they become even harder to move on, so the sales guys hate them more ... and so on.
This probably became self perpetuating. If that's what the sales guys are saying, people aren't going to want one, so they become even harder to move on, so the sales guys hate them more ... and so on.
Sebring440 said:
Jaguar steve said:
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural.
You don't "get" the manual thing. And the Getrag gearboxes are great, by the way.
Jaguar steve said:
Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Seriously? NVH at "high RPM"? That's an issue in everyday driving?Owning a poverty spec. manual Series 3 with the ghastly Rover 77 'box myself for several years as well as driving a number of customers AJ6 powered XJ and XJS with Getrag 245 and 265 'boxes has convinced me the driving experience of a heavy clutch with a offsett pedal lacking over centre feel coupled with a crude and sometimes baulky gearchange in complete contrast with the light control input effort and soft feel of the rest of car sits very uncomfortably.
Heavy stop start traffic used to muller my left knee in the XJ after a few hours yet I've never experienced problems driving anything else. And no, there wasn't anything wrong with it. I had the 'box out twice, once for a complete strip and reuild with "improved" synchro springs and new bearings and I deliberately shimmed it as loose as possible on reassembly which made absolutely no difference and on both occasions fitted complete new clutch kits too. I ended up running it filled with Dexron 3 ATF - a common bodge back in the day - in a last ditch attempt to get it to work properly.
And NVH? Yes, very seriously. Presumably anybody will buy an XJR to drive hard and readily exploit the extra performance - otherwise why pay the fuel and expense premium for one? Hard driving or sustained high RPM with redline gearchanges is exactly where the AJ16 engine becomes tediously noisy and harsh. Again that's very much not in keeping IMO.
On the flip side of course, automatic Jaguars from the same eras were fitted with very unsophisticated 3 and 4 speed gearboxes from BW and ZF both of which featured huge amounts of torque convertor slip to soften changes and dampen vibration and partly because of this and partly the availability of more appropriate gear ratios for varying loads and speeds the manual versions offered useful gains in both performance and economy. My lightly modified Series 3 for example would nudge 23-25 MPG driven reasonably sensibly on a long trip whereas the automatic equivalent would struggle to make late teens. A manual n/a X300 under favorable conditions will better 30MPG whereas the best I ever got really trying hard out of my auto X300 was 28.
In long term ownership and tens of thousands of miles and if that's important then there's a awful lot of petrol money to be saved.
a8hex said:
The thing I liked with the X300 XJR was the torque. I'd imagine the times when you hit the red line on the road might be few and far between. I really can't think when I last hit the rev limiter on my XKR, you've just run out of road before you get there. 
Torque rather than power is a thing you can use everywhere all day long.I just wish I'd known that when spending several weeks wages at a time on building and destroying stupidly powerful Ford x-flow engines in my Yoof.
I'm afraid I agree entirely with JS on this one - I had a 3.6 manual XJ-S Cabriolet for 24 years, admittedly with the AJ6 engine, rather than the 16 and the Getrag box was was slow and the clutch heavy. We did quite a few trips to Mainland Europe with that car and when using the full performance on the Autobahns it really was tiresome and positively wearing in heavy traffic. I now have a Daimler Super V8 (a gentleman's XJR!) and it's a magic carpet ride in comparison - oodles of torque and a very fine Merc 5 speed auto box. I know which I prefer but the choice is, as ever, your own,
Ian
Ian
I have driven both. I own a 95 X300 XJR with the GM 4L80-E gearbox, which can be manually shifted. The gearbox is well matched to the engine and, in my humble opinion, a lot nicer than the Getrag, which also does not have a great reputation for longevity or reliability unlike the GM, which is generally bomb-proof (and easily upgraded/replaced).
If sourcing a manual is impossible, the OP might wish to consider an upgrade kit for a flappy paddle conversion. The GM 4L80-E is an electronic gearbox and it is not a difficult job. About $1500 IIRC.
Peter
If sourcing a manual is impossible, the OP might wish to consider an upgrade kit for a flappy paddle conversion. The GM 4L80-E is an electronic gearbox and it is not a difficult job. About $1500 IIRC.
Peter
Had my manual XJR 4 litre for 9 years after falling in love with a manual X300 3.2 XJ over 6 years which I took to 164K and sold still going fine
Can rely on 25mpg from X300 XJR on a motoway run against 30 mpg from 3.2. Such a delight going from 20 mph to 168mph in the same 5th gear ( they say) without changing the cogs. You can get 30 mpg in the XJR if you drive like a granny on the flat with a feather go-foot. I enjoy the torque and easy acceleration, very rarely red line it...no need.
Think they built 103 XJR manuals RHD and I understand about 35 left on the road. Several owners I've met have two as they are so much loved.
Getrag 290 manual box is fine...could do with a higher 5th gear....gives 30.5mph per 1000 revs IIRC.
Very good suspension set up- almost no roll on corners but still supple. My modern Renault in comparison v stiff but you feel all the bumps on some UK A and B roads. Clarkson's road and track test report in 1995 pitted AMG Merc v BMW M5 v Jaguar XJR Manual. The Jag reached 60 in 5.7 secs, the BMW in something like 5.6 secs but he reported something like: 'the XJR crucified the BMW on in-gear performance due to superior torque'
The standard XJR manual launched in Oct 1994 was about £46,000 list price without extras-
The Jaguar owners/enthusiasts clubs meets sometimes have groups of XJR manual owners parked together to chat for those interested. There is an informal group of 5 gear manual owners who exchange user info.
Can rely on 25mpg from X300 XJR on a motoway run against 30 mpg from 3.2. Such a delight going from 20 mph to 168mph in the same 5th gear ( they say) without changing the cogs. You can get 30 mpg in the XJR if you drive like a granny on the flat with a feather go-foot. I enjoy the torque and easy acceleration, very rarely red line it...no need.
Think they built 103 XJR manuals RHD and I understand about 35 left on the road. Several owners I've met have two as they are so much loved.
Getrag 290 manual box is fine...could do with a higher 5th gear....gives 30.5mph per 1000 revs IIRC.
Very good suspension set up- almost no roll on corners but still supple. My modern Renault in comparison v stiff but you feel all the bumps on some UK A and B roads. Clarkson's road and track test report in 1995 pitted AMG Merc v BMW M5 v Jaguar XJR Manual. The Jag reached 60 in 5.7 secs, the BMW in something like 5.6 secs but he reported something like: 'the XJR crucified the BMW on in-gear performance due to superior torque'
The standard XJR manual launched in Oct 1994 was about £46,000 list price without extras-
The Jaguar owners/enthusiasts clubs meets sometimes have groups of XJR manual owners parked together to chat for those interested. There is an informal group of 5 gear manual owners who exchange user info.
romneycoddy said:
Clarkson's road and track test report in 1995 pitted AMG Merc v BMW M5 v Jaguar XJR Manual. The Jag reached 60 in 5.7 secs, the BMW in something like 5.6 secs but he reported something like: 'the XJR crucified the BMW on in-gear performance due to superior torque'
They did the comparison for both the TV program and the mag as I recall.On the show they had a discussion about how well the BMW and Merc handled bumps in the road while JC was saying "What bumps, I drove down that road (in the Jaaaaag" and there weren't any".
In the mag the other thing I remember from that comparison was that they commented that after they'd finished it started to rain hard and they XJ just disappeared off into the distance and the others couldn't keep up in those conditions. Not sure what types the others were running, I wasn't ever overly impressed with the wet weather performance of the Pirrellis on my 3.2 Sport.
There was always a school of thought that a manual gear change on a Jaguar Sporting Models apart was simply defeating the object of owning a luxury saloon . In other words it destroyed the ambience and like owning a Jaguar in the colour white you would pay for it come resale time . Personally its been many years since I last drove a manual Jaguar almost certainly a Mk 2 , its an interesting thought that most current Jaguar Owners wouldn't even know of their existence .
Jaguar steve said:
IIRC there was only 103 X300 supercharged manuals made - so they're pretty rare.
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
I think the X350 XJR is a far better drive Steve and available almost at bargain bucket prices , in fact for me they render the earlier steel cars almost pointless especially if there are restoration costs to be considered .Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
reddiesel said:
Jaguar steve said:
IIRC there was only 103 X300 supercharged manuals made - so they're pretty rare.
Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
I think the X350 XJR is a far better drive Steve and available almost at bargain bucket prices , in fact for me they render the earlier steel cars almost pointless especially if there are restoration costs to be considered .Have you ever driven a manual X300? Clutch action is very heavy and the Getrag gearboxes are unbelievably agricultural. Another downside of the manuals is there's obviously no torque converter to absorb some of the AJ16 engines coarse NVH at high RPM.
Finding one actually for sale that hasn't rotted badly or isn't absolutely shagged will be almost impossible, but I'd start looking in the owners clubs or on classic car classifieds. Expect to pay top - perhaps way over the top - money if you do find a good one.
IMO the later auto only XJR V8 is a much better car, but again finding a good one now that hasn't been thrashed to death will be almost a equal challenge.
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