2012 challenge Jaguar xjs V12

Okay so I woke up at 2 am to tell you my idea, what about using an electronictronic 4l60e and messing with it to make it paddleshiftes, I mean even I could fabricate a set of cheap paddleshifter like things to mound behind a steering wheel. Just an idea, personally I don't like paddles but they are cheap and give you manual shifting control

mguar, this is EXACTLY what I had in mind.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aUwj3Mp4c90&feature=related

mmmmm that snarl...

Not sure if you guys read my posting on the other page but they did make a few 4 speed XJS's.Mguar,Whats your take on those?Theres on on ebay and one in Columbia South Carolina for sale.There a little more price but still well under 10K.As for shifting my auto I installed a shift kit and a B&M hammer shifter.You can ratchet it back and forth thru 1-3 and shifts as soon as you grab it with the shift kit.I like it better than a manual at this point.IMO.

i built my pedal box for my xjs to have a 3 inch clutch throw, there isnt much leg movement involved at all. altho it is pretty tiring after a long while of traffic

mguar wrote:

dyintorace wrote: Wow. I hope there is some way for you guys to manage headers. That car should sound awesome! Great score!!

Headers? don't add anything.. (sound wise) Cast Iron Manifolds sound identical.. However if you've ever heard a V12 running you'll swear it's at a really fast idle.. sounds like 1500 rpm or so at 600RPM.. It's because you can hear every single cylinder firing unlike a V8

I dunno about V12's, but that's a patently false statement for every car I've ever put headers on (leaving the rest of the exhaust the same) including a 289 Mustang, a 5.0 Mustang, a 390 AMX, a 13B RX-7, and a GS-R Integra...

mguar wrote: V8's need headers to make power.. that's because adjacent cylinders can fire anywhere from 90 degrees to 270 degrees apart. Those uneven pulses are what hurt power.. A V12 has adjacent exhaust pulses 60 degrees apart. (and if you combine both banks it's 30 degrees apart)

Then what about the rotary?

It's definitely interesting. Aren't V12's and certain I-6's the only naturally balanced engines because of this?

Mguar-From my brief bits of reading I was under the impression that non flat plane crank V8 engines had to suffer a slightly too large collector during header design because of the unbalanced firing order per bank. It was my understanding that any engine with an equal firing order benefited more from headers than a slightly lopsided one.

I like how demented our boardmembers are.

i take it your widebody project is no longer happening. heres mine, its a work in progress.. manual 4.0, soon to be lifted and made into a safari rally grand tourer :)

In reply to krakenfelt :

Make a thread, I think I seen your car in the x27 section of the jag forums. 

In reply to krakenfelt :

That really captures the classic look Sir Lyons  was going for before  the federal government came in.  
      Those 3 eared knock offs intrigue me,  are they functional?  

speedbiu said:

The Jag run and drove fine,the bad news is the brake system is complicated and without changing it to a different system it will not autox.The brakes will not stop the car with out the anti brake system hooked up,darnedest thing I ever saw. The shocks cost like 900 bucks and takes 6(4 on back).I tried running it around tight turns and I'm not sure it would even make the corners at an autox.Theres no way it would make it in at challenge price and I'm not going to put alot in it due to resale values.Back to the brakes it takes a dual plunger pedal due to the weight of the car almost 5 thousand pounds.so it would have to come out of a 3500 truck $$$$ to properly stop the car and be fabricated on the firewall.Sorry guys would not have started this thread if I had any idea I could not do it for the challenge.

Actually both Group 44 and Tom Walkinshaw raced without power assisted brakes.  It's a function of basic math.  If you want help  GRM advertisers can put you in the right direction. For far less than the Jaguar dealerships will. 
  Regarding shock absorbers. Chances are extremely good that the stock ones are in fine shape. Only rarely do I find they are worn out in the many many rusty cars I scrapped. 
the springs in the rear can be fine.  You might need a sway bar which was standard in the early years and got smaller  until they were only put on special order cars. Depending on the race track Group 44 or Tom Walkinshaw didn't use the rear bar at all. They both felt it introduced too much under steer. Unless the corner was extremely tight. 
Same with the front sway bar. Early ones were 3/4 or even 7/8's and are plenty stiff enough. For racing purposes you might cut 1&1/2 coils out of the front springs. That will stiffen the ride enough so you feel confident throwing it into a corner. 
The stock GM power steering is over boosted. Put a bigger pulley on it or Rob Beere sells a kit to  make it adjustable. 
 

You know the main handicap Jaguars have.  They are heavy. If you want the luxury you have to accept that weight penalty but it can be stripped out and the weight get down to about 3000 pounds. Since removing things doesn't cost any money,  just your time. That's the biggest performance improvement you can make.