I don’t know why but I had to start it somewhere. So it started there – Plup
Why is the P450 great value?
The P450 F-Type is a detuned version of the R model which makes 575 HP. The way this is achieved make the 450 feel lazy even though its still quick. Viezu have posted the details here. Basically the peak torque from the P450 occurs at a very low 2000rpm and continues flat until 5000. Even though the car sounds great at higher rpm there is no real advantage to be gained from holding the gear to let the car rev higher. This makes home tuning very attractive and it can bring out the full potential of the engine in stock form.
Viezu claim an increase to around 600HP just from a software update. However this real win for me is an increase in the revs where peak torque occurs to 4200-5000. This immediately make the car more involving to drive and gives a reason to take the gearbox out of full auto.
My Experience
My personal experience was slightly mixed. I ordered the home tune kit with 2 tunes, the approx 600HP one and one with same performance but some pops and burbles from the exhaust.
The box came quickly. Its a little clunky to use but pretty straight forward. First you connect to the car and download the original configuration. Then connect the box to a PC to send the original files to Viezu in an email. A few hours later the new tune arrived.
Sadly the technical department at Viezu did not agree with the sales team that providing the burble tune was sensible with the standard catalytic convertors. Basically this tune can send unburnt fuel into the exhaust. Its the save situation the original 2014-2016 cars where catalysts were failing early so jaguar rolled out a software update to mute the exhaust sounds and same the catalysts.
The other issue that muted my enjoyment of this upgrade was I installed it within a few days of acquiring the car. I sure I would have found the upgrade much more significant if I have not just come from 2 years of Porsche 992 4CS ownership. The F Type now had more power that the Porsche and was similar in terms of acceleration. The F Type much more easy on longer drives but cant match the track focused handling or insane launch control of the Porsche.
Taken as a whole the upgrade was very worthwhile and didn’t result in an increase to insurance for me.