Hi Guys

Another amazing Sunny day for this time of the Year, so I put work on the back burner (yet again!) and then we went out for another day trip.

This time on some back roads that had every kind of driving they could offer, with lots of hills and twists and turns and all that kind of stuff.

And though we've done this trip before, with the Shifter in Drive, just for the sake of experiment, I though I would do the whole trip with the Shifter in 2nd.

Where apart from the extra Petrol I used! it was much more fun and so I certainly wouldn't say no to a 'rinse and repeat' on a similar trip.

And though I never exceeded 4000 Rpm, I was wondering if you could do any harm by driving along for a long time, with the Shifter in 2nd

Where you also have the benefit of having engine braking.

Thoughts please Guys.

 

Um,

Your wallet will get harmed.

No actual harm as such, just a more spirited driving scenario.

Your long time is possible shortish by our standards, but through the hills etc, I have done this with no issues at all.

Looooooong distance here is thousands of kms, and NO, not a good idea.

 

I don't know if you've see Harry Metcalfe take a pre-HE XJS to Monaco, but he uses second a lot in the mountains:

 

Impossible to disagree with Grant . . . so diplomatic . . . especially when my first reaction to OB's question of any damage from long usage of lower gears was . . . "Yeh, OB, certainly mate. Second gear and aiming for 120mph will do it for sure".

Sensible answer lies in your reference to 4000rpm, which is well beneath area for any concern. There is also some valid argument that gearing will place less stress (thus wear) on engine & trans.

I must admit much of my driving is long distance, long hours, somewhat rapid so tall gears (not short) are smartest for both least wear and fuel consumption. However, I too have an interesting section that traverses the mountains whenever I travel to the coast. With the 6spd in either the S-Type or XK8, I never resist use of the J-Box in that 150km section.

Dropping down over the 50Km of often steep escarpment, using lower gears, means I enjoy a rapid descent without the constant riding of brakes I see too often in others . . . brake pads & rotors are not cheap, with the added pita if rears are inboard. Using lower gears manually on my return climb, results in spirited driving with no chance of lugging or sagging, coupled with eliminating repetitious up and down auto changing.

I suspect that whether E-Type, XJS or XK8, it's that GT experience that Jaguar did so incredibly well. Weep for me . . . come Friday, it's the S-Type for my 1300Km round trip to Sydney. That TTD engine has such prodigious torque and long-legged gearing that 120Kph (75Mph) equates to 1900rpm. What a hoot when you pull out to overtake and accelerate from there!

Enjoy mate. Enjoy!
Cheers,

Ken

 

I have a friend who worked at a funeral home while he was at university and drove a "coach", i.e. the hearse. He and a co worker (who was driving) were on their way to a church in rural Saskatchewan, which if you're familiar with the Canadian prairies means a flat straight road. They were a bit late, so averaging 75-80mph (posted speed limit was 60mph).

The driver commented on how the car (a Cadillac I believe) was using a lot of fuel, so my friend leaned over and looked at the instrument panel and then moved the column shifter from 2 to D and heard the revs drop! Said the car was never quite the same after that, and not in a good way.

 

Sure will do some damage! To your bank balance and to the local squirrels suffocating due to CO emissions Just kidding. Nothing will go wrong.

I like to aus my XJ every so often and will stick it into 2 and just floor it. Rev limited cuts in around 7.000 RPM so it is quite fun... 120 kph in 2nd is good for drag racing. 120 mph in 2nd is even better!

 

. . . and Daim, those German autobahns really are roads where you can do it safely. Here in Oz, or at least anywhere near me, our regional and rural highways are nowhere near as good . . . not as challenging and slow as across Highland Scotland but generally only one lane each way that widens to an extra overtaking lane in many hilly sections.

As Grant has said, "long distance" here takes on a scale most Europeans find difficult, however, for the most part around me, are totally deserted. Not so the 1000Km from Sydney to Brisbane. In country areas, static police radar cars tend to stand out, so more roads now have painted markings to enable airborne policing. High speed kangaroos tend to be smarter, better camouflaged, and can spring out of nowhere. Not too sure about our famous Great White Sharks - they seem quite content with their diet of surfers and don't tend to venture too far inland!

Days of taxing the upper limits of various Jaguars (especially our E-Type at full song or Chris in the V12 Daimler) are well behind us . . . much halo polishing . . . but I still enjoy some spirit in my Grand Tours.

Cheers,

Ken

 

Hi Grant

Whenever we go for a day trip it's about 50 miles each way, which must seem pathetic by OZ standards.

 

Hi Ken

Most of the driving I do is in 'D' and will only be using '2nd' when its really needed, as the garage I call at for Petrol is becoming my second home!

 

Hi Jagboi

Good advice and will only be using second if I need to, I was just driving at normally but the engine braking gave the Car a much better feel.

 

Hi Daim

It was just an experiment, as I've very rarely used 2nd gear before but the engine braking gave the Car a very different feel.

And in case I forget to mention it, was drinking Petrol just like it was going out of style!

 

Hi Someday

I've seen this Video before and have now just watched it again (thanks for putting it up) South of France it is then but first I've got to try and save up for the Petrol.

 

Wish I could drive my car to France, or even overseas. Alas, there is no tunnel, and the nearest country is South Korea, and the second-nearest country is Best Korea. No, wait, I just checked. Russia is actually the second-closest country to me right now, at 740 km away. Best Korea, ruled by the Kim in the North, is 770 km away. Easily within range of a nuclear warhead....

 

Maybe I'll cross that off my list of Holiday destinations for a little while.

 

I actually really want to go to North Korea as long as it is a dictatorship. Not being stupid, but I want to see the world from inside a brain washed country. I know how it looks from countries with open and indiviual opinions, but not from there.

But as long as an angry orange threatens rocketman, I think it wouldn't be clever to be there for a while... No matter what side of the threats.

 

Don't be afraid to use second, the V12 is a different animal from a (typically) low revving American V8.

I've done a number of trips through the Rockies where there is long grades to get to a summit and I put my foot to the floor, set the cruise and sit back for 20 miles as I grind up the mountain. The car is just fine after that.

I did the trip one time in a truck towing my E Type on a trailer behind me. The truck has a 145L fuel tank and on the steepest part of the grade I could see the fuel gauge moving down!

 

I've done similar on different critters. All escaped just fine.


And tomorrow, my lump will get a short version. Only 5 or ten miles at about 70 in "2". Get the cats good and hot for the dreaded Biannual SMOG test.


Off yo create a tent shelter for Billy. Much needed rain on Thursaday per the weather folks.


Carl

 

LOL . . . Hey, OB, you should never leave home without one of these - see pics below.

Both show B-doubles with two added tri-axle trailers - a total of 4 tankers making an 84-86 wheel roadtrain some 55m long - pictured at Alice Springs on Adelaide-Darwin run. The first prime mover is the good ole trusty Mack (2.1L/Km), whereas the second is the Volvo NH15 (1.9L/Km). IIRC, both use 18spd RoadMaster trans. Having been involved in the business case for replacing fleet of nearly 100 prime movers, that 10% fuel saving equated to AU$10M pa . . . and that was near 20yrs ago!

Now, that puts the fuel bill for our lusty V12s into perspective, eh? Keep on truckin' fellas.

Cheers,

Ken

 

If you actually COULD see it. All you could see would be precisely what your every-present Nork minders would want you to see--as far from an authentic experience of the real country as you could possibly get. You'd have to constantly be on guard to make sure you didn't slip up and say or do something which in any normal country wouldn't even be noticed, but in Best Korea would land you in jail. And you'd be forced to lay flowers and bow down before the statues of the first two Kims in the North.
Getting into North Korea is pretty easy really, so long as you're not a journalist. They welcome tourists. And as long as you're a good boy and done everything they told you, they'll even let you out again....

 

Yeah! but you might not get back!