My local Jaguar club is holding an autocross (called a Slalom by them, must be a British thing... ;-) at a local airfield that I plan to attend.

I haven't driven in one for a while, but did lots of them in the past so the principals are familiar. But I'm wondering if anyone has some advise about doing one with an X-Type?

One of the things I'm wondering about is shifting, or not. Should I put the J-shifter in the "2" position and leave it or manually shift from 1 to 2. I'm sure the course wouldn't permit it to get into anything higher than 2 under power, but I wonder if, should I take my foot off the gas, if it might shift to 3 or higher. What about leaving it in D and pushing the "S" button on the center console?

Never autocrossed an AWD car, is there any weirdness to think about there?

What tire pressure should I use. I was thinking about raising it to about 40psi

Other advice?

Thanks
================================================== ====
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

I would leave it in 2. The shifts on this car are not the fastest and you will lose seconds if your trying do downshift. Keep it in 2 so you can have instant power. Just remember that the harder you are on the car, the more stress you're putting on the glorious transfer case.

 

pab, keep in mind that with this car, when accelerating hard under a hard turn, the car is going to want to slide sideways unlike a front or rear wheel drive car which will tend to either drive straight (front wheels are sliding) or the rear end coming around on you (rear tires loosing traction). It will be a slightly different feel. So, if anything, you may need/want to steer a little harder into the corner to get a little bit of drifting going to maximize your traction (up to 10% of slip will improve traction, but jump up to 11% and the traction will drop significantly).

But, like was mentioned, doing prolonged high rev/high power maneuvers with the car is not going to be the best for the car.

 

Also you must realize that on stock suspension the car under steers horribly!

 

For an autocross, leave it in 2.

As far as tire pressure is concerned... What's the weather going to be like? If it's going to be warm out, I would actually recommend letting some of the air out of the tire. The tire pressure will rise automatically as the tires heat up. When I ran at the track I had my tire pressure down to 27-28 psi, after 5 or 6 hot laps it would be around 34-35 (this was on a pretty hot 90+ degree day). Don't over inflate your tire, remember: you want to have the biggest contact patch on the ground for this type of driving.

When you finish your laps and park your car DO NOT pull your e brake unless you want to end up with warped rotors... Put it in park and leave it at that.

The only other advice I can think of is watch the understeer. If you're on stock'ish suspension and tires, your car is going to understeer like crazy. In some cases if you are in the right part of the power band you can use the throttle to power through and get the car to rotate but if your revs are too low you'll just understeer into all the cones all day long. Transitions in this car are slow too, so keep your driving line smooth.

 

Well said...

 

Autocross must be different over there. Here fully stripped out with roll cages fitted and expect contact.

Usually on a dirt track. (love it, but can now only spectate).

And I would guess that you can write off any warranties you might have, or normal insurance, if you are going to race the car.

 

Well it was great.

Me and 15 of my friends... met on a airfield runway to have some fun.
There were 5 XKEs, an XJS-6, an Audi TT, a Mitsu Eclipse convertible, a Morgan Aero8, a Honda hybrid, a Merc AMG E63, an S-TypeV8, a Lotus7-clone, a race-prep'ed Spitfire, and race-prep'ed TR6.

The course was rectangular with arched short legs. There were a pair of cones 1/2 down each of the long legs. A run consisted of three passes around the rectangle. On the first you had to zig-zagged inside of the cones on each long leg. On the second you did a figure 8 from short leg to short leg. And on the last leg you went straight through the pair of cones on each long leg.

There was a "stop box" right after the optical timer that you had to stop within where if you hit the cone at the end you DNF'd...

We each ran 5 times over about 3 hours.

I went off course on the first (over cooked the entry into the final arched end and ran wide. Didn't bother finishing since the time penalty would have been costly. Next three runs time steadily improved, last run just a bit slower. My best time was 48.3 seconds. I pulled up fairly short in the stop box each time (probably due to the ABS) probably could have kept the heat on a little while longer through the timer.

Car handled surprisingly well, even got a little over steer coming out of the
arched ends. Felt really comfortable with the transitions and the braking was fine (rarely locked any wheels even on SLOW THE **** DOWN moments). I was surprised on how controllable it felt. I really felt like I could pay attention the course rather than feel like I was getting thrown all around. I ran with 40lbs in the tires.

Other times: Honda - 52.0; XJS6 - 51.6; S-TypeV8 - 49; other XKEs 47.5, 46.5, and 45.1; Eclipse - 46.0; Morgan - 45.4; AMG E63 - 44.9; Audi TT - 44.7; XKEV12 - 43.0; Lotus7-clone - 42; Spritfire - 41.0; XKE in race condition - 40.4; and the TR6 - 37.8.

Some XKEs were coupes some roadsters I didn't keep records of which was which, although I know that the raceE was a coupe and the V12 was a roadster.

Bottom line, I beat the hybrid, the XJS and the S-TypeV8, got trounced by all the XJEs...
================================================
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

My local Jaguar club is holding another autocross on October 2 and all are welcome!

It will be held at the air field at Ft Devens off Rt2A, which is located about 30 miles west of Boston MA. Registration is 9AM.

If you are located in New England and would like to run your car or simply watch I'd be happy to see another X-Type show up!

I "won" my class (of 1...) last time. I'd love some competition this time...
================================================
Jaguar - it's not an automobile, it's a Motorcar

 

Just shown off...
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

Woooo body roll!

If you plan on doing a lot of autoX I HIGHLY recommend getting yourself a set of KW coilovers and a new set of wheels/tires. If you can't afford new wheels, at least upgrade your tires.

Oh and brakes too, you'll need those. How was your brake pedal feeling after a day of autox?

 

The TR-6 was predictable, although the Lotus 7 clone would have been expected to come in fastest in the field. Maybe it wasn't a very well sorted clone.

 

I'd love to but I need a transfer case.

Or a set of my sway bars...

 

I would love to join you, but I can't put that kind of abuse on my transfer case

 

Not so bad, really. You don't hammer it coming out of the corners since you don't want to oversteer. I think it is actually harder on the brakes.

But come to watch, it's a good show.
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

JCSNE is holding a Slalom in Hartford on June 24. Anybody in the area should consider participating. But it not, just come to watch.

================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

JAGUAR CLUB OF SOUTHERN NEW ENGLAND SLALOM

JUNE 24 2012
360 MARKET ST. HARTFORD, CT

REGISTRATION BEGINS @ 8:OO AM $25.00 JCNA MEMBERS
$30.00 NON-MEMBERS

Pre- REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED

Slalom is a fun low stress, low speed competition, one car at a time, Instructors will be available for any newcomers, come join the fun.

NOT LIMITED TO JAGUARS

BRING A HELMET IF YOU HAVE ONE

Directions From the West:
Route 84 east, take exit 50 Main St., left at light at end of ramp – Trumbull St., left at 3rd light – Windsor St., left at 1st light - Pleasant St., left at 1st light – Market St. 1st right on Pequot ST. Lot behind Citgo gas station.

From the East:
Route 84 west, take exit 50 Main ST. right at light at end of ramp
– Market St. go through 2 lights, Pequot St. on right. Lot behind Citgo gas station.

From the South:
Route 91 north, take exit 32B Trumbull St., right at light at end of ramp, go through 1 light, Pequot St. on right Lot behind Citgo station.

From the North Route 91 south take exit 32B Trumbull ST., right at light at end of ramp – Market St. through 1 light, Pequot St. on right. Lot behind Citgo station.

Ken Haas 860-657-6591 Dean Cusano 800-899-1055 ext 105
khaasxj12c@gmail.com dcusano@motorcarsinc.com

 

The Slalom yesterday went off really well with about 20 cars participating, most of which were Jaguars. However, there was one fast Subi STI and a ripp'n 911 of some type.

We started running about 10:30 and were done by 1PM.

Jaguar Association of New England (JANE) is hosting the same event at the same place on July 15.

If you're in the area please stop by to take a few runs or just to watch!
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

This is so incredibly cool to hear about this and about your great times against those other cars. I totally applaud you PAB for the guts you showed and the glory you brought to our humble X-type.

 

>This is so incredibly cool to hear about this

Ya, it is, and I encourage everyone to try to see if there is a local Jaguar club in your area (Jaguar Clubs of North America) since they will probably run Slalom, as well as other, events.

My local club (Jaguar Association of New England (JANE) Home Page) not only does Slaloms, but stages a Concours event at Old Sturbridge Village (Old Sturbridge Village), attends Polo matches with picnicing on the groups (Myopia Polo Club - South Hamilton, Massachusetts), holds weekend drives through New England, stages lawn events (http://larzanderson.org/wp-content/u...hCOOL-copy.jpg), as well as having a monthly dinner, with lecture, in a private room at Longfellow's Wayside Inn (Wayside Inn).

But there are only two X-Types in my club so I'm feeling kind of lonely...
================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

 

JANE is holding a Slalom in Hartford this Sunday. Anybody in the area should consider participating. But it not, just come to watch.

================================================
Jaguar: Grace, Pace, and Space - Sir William Lyons

JAGUAR ASSOCIATION OF NEW ENGLAND SLALOM

JULY 15 2012
360 MARKET ST. HARTFORD, CT

REGISTRATION BEGINS @ 8:OO AM $25.00 JANE MEMBERS
$30.00 NON-MEMBERS

Pre- REGISTRATION IS NOT REQUIRED

Slalom is a fun low stress, low speed competition, one car at a time, Instructors will be available for any newcomers, come join the fun.

NOT LIMITED TO JAGUARS

BRING A HELMET IF YOU HAVE ONE

Directions From the West:
Route 84 east, take exit 50 Main St., left at light at end of ramp – Trumbull St., left at 3rd light – Windsor St., left at 1st light - Pleasant St., left at 1st light – Market St. 1st right on Pequot ST. Lot behind Citgo gas station.

From the East:
Route 84 west, take exit 50 Main ST. right at light at end of ramp
– Market St. go through 2 lights, Pequot St. on right. Lot behind Citgo gas station.

From the South:
Route 91 north, take exit 32B Trumbull St., right at light at end of ramp, go through 1 light, Pequot St. on right Lot behind Citgo station.