So now that I have my new Kumho 149mph V rated tires, I’ve tried to do the Italian tune up, where I run it hard for a while at 5500-6000rpm.
But my 88 has a 2.88 differential, along with the TH400. I was doing 100 mph in 2nd gear and the tach was only reading 5,000 rpm. I tried 1st gear, but it forces a shift to 2nd as soon as I go over 5500 rpm, and I don’t want to overheat the transmission, so don’t like the idea of staying in 1st anyways.
Can I run it at 4500-5000 rpm for a much longer time to get the same benefit? Or do I need to go 120+mph in 2nd gear?!?! which I really don’t want to try.
Thanks, perfect excuse to take the Jaguar into the Washington Cascade mountains this spring/summer.
I’ll be ready to tell the officer I’m simply tuning up my car.
Ptipon
(Ptipon, Sonora, CA, USA, 1990 XJS, Conv.)
4
I found a road between some fields and did 125mph in 2nd three times until the blow out smoke disappeared which was very little to start with. Temp did go up but stayed at normal on the gauge. I keep it well tuned at all times. In the past I have also done over 100mph going up the grapevine in CA. No smoke at all about a 10 minute or more run back in 2010. This was a at least a year after my Italian tune up. A new AMG Mercedes tried to catch me but I beat him to the top, the top portion not being as steep and I also backed off of full throttle. That’s where he was gaining on me. One has to also dodge the semis and slower cars even in the far left lane. That get’s pretty crazy because no one is going over 60mph because of the grade. I don’t think a fully loaded semi can get over 45.
Ptipon
Sonora/CA, 90 XJS-V12 conv, United States
Kirbert
(Author of the Book, former owner of an '83 XJ-S H.E.)
5
Wiggles is correct, it’s about WOT acceleration to near redline, not steady operation near redline.
I remember being with my Dad as a teenager - we had a Holden V8 wagon - which was running poorly from short, cold trips (in hindsight). The Service Manager at the dealer told him that there was nothing really wrong but that he should “drive it down the South Coast and bore it up (Mt) Ousley”. It worked. Paul
No way that happened. Maybe he wanted to have a look.
Good warm up, then beat it uphill a few times, then allow it to cool down a little should do.
By the way, our two modern cars showed drastically reduced oil consumption after about thousand km of driving fast. Until then they use a lot at 70-120/145 mph. I wonder if the rings need to bed in again at higher rpm besides burning off the carbon and moving everything properly?
Sorry guys but I have to ask this question, I recently posted how I vented my gas tank by drilling a 1/8" hole in the cap. BTW, others did the same. Long story/reply short a bad environmental thing to do, generally stated. Please explain how driving 100 plus mph on a public roads is safe & OK though, I really never read any negative reply’s on this type of off track speeding, Just wondering the logic comparison of the two.
More lethal, but still (thankfully!) safe and legal in Germany. You get used to it so quickly and others not much slower and they know you‘re coming. The only true danger is that you ‚feel‘ slow when you get off the highway. I do drive the limit when there is one, hand off when tired, keep in the right lane and sometimes I go slower until I realize I don’t have to. Our roads are excellent and built accordingly.
Also, I use 30% more fuel for being 30% faster overall. A miracle, but nevertheless true.
Ptipan might be speeding. I maintain that not having a speed limit is one of the most beautiful things about driving and that I do go slower whenever I have to, be it rain or the law. Or the cooling system…
I just found it funny how the oil consumption went down significantly after a while, and the engines seem to run happier. That the italian will help with.
My XJ is vented to atmosphere ever since it left the factory and while I wish it wasn’t, there are so few cars on the road it is no longer a big concern or waste.
Kirbert
(Author of the Book, former owner of an '83 XJ-S H.E.)
11
Long story short it’s a stupid thing to do. The car already has a carbon canister and the associated plumbing. The money has already been spent providing that equipment. And rather than just fix whatever issues it might have, you just get out the ol’ drill.
Yeah, i did the work and got my my carbon canister to work. Gas cap seals well without any woosh, and I’m saving the environment
Doing 60-100mph for just a brief few seconds on a freeway then slow right back down to 60mph. No other cars around to lane change or pass, and importantly, no cops around to give a ticket for doing 100 in a 60.
Pretty rare situation. Which is why I need to go to Montana or something to drive! Although the freeways are clearing up quite well with everyone staying home to not get sick.
I can’t speak for other countries’ speed limits . If there are no speed limits then there’s no speed limits to break! It works differently in the US. I’m told venting my gas tank to the atmosphere was a stupid thing to do. Does that statement hold water, in
comparison against driving over 100 mph (considered reckless driving in most states) to blow out the carbon on the public highway. I guess this is “the
smart thing to do”. How about gutting the converters, running Euro pipes , gutting the air pump or just getting rid of it ? Through the years I read specific instructions how to do these modifications and not a negative word I’ve ever read these mods.
As long as it is legal, go ahead. Most emissions stuff robs power and costs money. Sometimes it can even harm the engine.
Non-federal versions simply work better.
But the ‚italian tuneup‘ serves to bring the engine back to life by giving it a proper thrashing. The fault here is that looking at the market these engines have a design flaw as they are chronically underworked.
Nobody advises speeding, even less the endangering of others; so we advised going uphill.
And it might even help with emissions; therefore a good thing altogether.
Personally I wouldn’t care much if it’s being done on a wide stretch and nobody notices!
No, it is far more complex than that!! Later cars with full emmeion equipment produce power, lots of it.
PVC is not only good for the atmosphere, but for the engine, imagine that!
The early cats were restrictive. The later ones, much less so. Performance versions are available, at a cost.
The tank vent system in the XJ series is a bit complex, but not hard to fix…
The air ump on these cars is not a good design and subject to failure. it does perform while healthy! Later cars have a better design. The one on my lump is electric… Much better.
Each of my cars is in full compliance of CA’s tough standards. They run quite welll…
MY Hot rod ofa cpouple of decaes ago, “not even close to compliance”. it ran like stink…
Went there, VW microbus, hard to get into slipstream and avoid prey mirrors, got across MT with clean windshield, do not know if prey knew we were there, Suction great device to take a brick and propel it to 75-80.
