My Jag is also my day-to-day driver, but of course I don't like the short-term stop-and-go conditions any more than anybody else. What I usually do in such cases is to make maybe a five-mile or so "detour" down a nearby expressway or at least a stretch of open highway, during which time I like to "open it up"a little and let the cat stretch its legs. Typically I will let it wind up to about 100 mph, just long enough to make sure I saw three digits on the readout, then ease it back down gently.

But my big question is this: from the car's point of view (i.e. keeping its moving parts lubricated and happy and such), what would be an optimum time and extent to open it up? Maybe a little bit more than I do now? ...Not that I would need much coaxing, LOL...

 

not sure what you mean...if you are is in good running conditions (proper oil levels, coolant levels, etc.), only thing is to make sure your car is properly warmed up before WOT.

 

I have to start out by saying, I love this forum as much as I do my new Jag. I recently inherited my Dads baby. I have never been a real car buff, I have had the BWM's, Mercedes and a Caddy. As a Realtor here in MA, I do a LOT of driving and typically switch of between My Escalade in the Winter and my Mercedes Conv in the Summer. Well, Dad recently passed and left me his baby of whom I have named Quimby, a nice British name. I had to name it as a male as he has way to much class and performance to be a girl.. LOL Anyway, he's a 2004 Jaguar XJ8 in Zircon Blue and Dove Gary leather with 32,000 miles.

I've put on about 2K miles in the last month and this baby gets SO many compliments by strangers and clients. Far more then the Escalade and the Mercedes. They are so common here and Jags are less seen.

Anyway, thanks for this site and all the info that everyone shares.

 

There is no such thing. As long as you don't overheat the motor/trans/diff(s) and don't run it dry of fluids, the car will be fine. It won't make any difference if you baby it or if you romp on it.

 

Drive it like you stohle it... (It's not a new Corvette, it shouldn't overheat!)

 

+1. It makes no difference how you drive it.

You may be thinking of days gone by where cars fueled by carburetors controlled by mechanical distributors had a tendency to deposit carbon on the spark plugs. My dad and grandfather always referred to the need to "open her up to burn the carbon off."

Spark plugs used to need changing every 6-10K miles. These days with fuel injection and precise fueling controlled by computers, you don't even worry about them until past 100K.

 

Quite glad they don't need frequent changing. Now days just finding the plugs can be a pain, removing the coil packs can be difficult in such confined spaces. I do miss the open engine bays with the room to work from the good old days. I certainly do NOT miss rebuilding carbs though.

 

On the other hand, I've owned a lot of classic cars over the years, and for me, there is something quite satisfying about them. I knew how to work on them, and I didn't need to be a computer programmer with expensive diagnostic machines. Just a few simple tools sufficed. What they lacked in terms of reliability, they made up in simplicity.

 

So true... IMO, there was nothing better than rebuilding a small block Chevy in your garage on the weekend with nothing special required except a torque wrench and a piston ring compressor...

 

Bingo, you obviously get it.
But, you also probably cheated like I did, with an electronic ignition (MSD) conversion of the distributor, which certainly made those old carbs work better.

 

Of course... but still, when at the drag races and "tuning" the carb by changing jets between runs, be CERTAIN you don't pinch a gasket... Fire up the fuel pump, watch the fuel pour out of the pinched seal onto the hot manifold and down to the open headers...

the flames are AMAZING until you shut down the fuel pump... hopefully pretty darn fast!

 

 

Back on point, at least somewhat... I see no mechanical reason why this practice would be a problem. or at least I certainly hope not because I find myself doing the exact same thing... most evenings, on my way home from the office, I take various round-a-bout longer ways home, on certain roads I am more confident I can reach 100+ mph speeds without getting nailed.

Top speed thus far: 154mph. Pacific Coast Hwy in Huntington Beach. Those that might know the area will think I'm nuts, but I know where they hide.

The one thing I will add for those that have not had the luxury of accomplishing such yet. This sweet cat absolutely sings between 120 and 130. Had the opportunity a few months ago to cover a twenty mile stretch of open freeway "cruising" at 125+. Had two other cars making the pace along with me, so the "security in numbers" principal made us less concerned about law enforcement.

 

As we said, it makes no difference one way or the other, and it certainly causes no harm to the car anyway, unless one hits something.

 

modern cars doing 100mph on a smooth road is vanilla. heck, you barely tap on the gas and you're doing 60mph already. I remember my first car w/ less than 100hp, doing 80mph the car was shaking and felt like it was going to fall apart!

 

If you need a reason to rationalize going over 100, feel free to use any excuse you can come up with. However, even on the old school vehicles, "blowing it out" requires high engine speed under load, not high vehicle speed. Even with them, though, the cleaning additives found in current mid and high grade fuels, and the absence of lead, help to reduce deposits on the plugs. Just have to worry about fuel mixture.

 

So basically you needed to get the wheels balanced???

 

My MG Midget could only break 85MPH when going downhill. It might have had a bigger trunk, however.

 

If Im not mistaken thats called an italian tune up- was typically done to "blow out the crap in the fuel line" of classic italian sportscars. (Well at least thats the story Im sticking with officer)