As I've mentioned elsewhere, my XKR is my daily driver. Never really gave it much thought, but I've been reading about carbon buildup and the like.

Anyway, I'm at my "office" (the Paramount lot, which is the best office EVER) about three days a week. It's about four miles, a 12-15 minute drive, stoplights and stop signs, I never get above 40mph. Pretty casual driving. Some weeks, that round trip is all the driving I do.

Anything to be concerned about, long-term?

 

I would consider placing her on a battery maintainer for the days she's not being driven as that distance and length of time is not going to keep the battery fully charged despite what others may suggest.

What does the engine oil look like when it's drained? You may want to have it analysed the next time it's changed to see if there is excessive contamination.

 

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/f...une-up-190506/

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...une-up-162141/

 

An interstate jog, with sustained rpms does the car good.
Blows things out. Keep it in 5th if you can only go short distances.

Fortunately the daily drive you are describing gets the engine to operating temp, so there should be no long term probs. If you ever buy a car from an old lady who only went to the grocery store with it, first thing you have to do is a new header back exhaust system.

 

With such short trips, I would worry about water in the oil. Your crankcase breathes and will take in moisture from the air as it cools at night and anytime it isn't running. If your oil doesn't get hot for significant periods of time, that water doesn't always completely evaporate and escape the crankcase. It will slowly build up and can cause corrosion inside the engine even though there's oil there. Once a week, drive around with the engine at normal operating temps for an hour or two. There's no need to run it hard unless you want to. A simple leisurely drive is fine. Maybe take PCH over to Santa Barbara. That's about a 75 mile round trip isn't it? That'll be enough time to get the engine hot, all the fluids moving around like they should, and the alternator will have plenty of time to keep the battery fully charged.

The worst thing you can do to a vehicle is nothing. Just drive it. Sitting in the garage will kill it faster than anything else.

 

Santa Barbara is about a 175-180 mile round trip from the Palisades. Better suggestion - take her into the twisties in the Santa Monica Mountains on early weekend mornings and have some fun while drying her out.

 

Oh, Santa Barbara is further than I thought then. It would work, but it's a longer trip than you need. Santa Monica would probably be a better destination. Thanks for the correction.

 

My "Italian" road of choice is the Angeles Crest. You gotta try it!

Anyway, thanks for all the insight. I will do an Angeles Crest run tonight.

 

Not exactly. Although the crankcase breathes, air is not the primary source of water in the crankcase. Water is a product of internal combustion.

The PCV valve draws fresh air into the the crankcase in order to remove the gases that are products of internal combustion, primarily carbon monoxide and a large amount of water vapor. Those gases get past the piston rings and flow into the crankcase. That's why you may see water coming out of your tailpipe. It's not moisture from the air; it's from combustion.

 

Exactly. An engine produces carbon dioxide and water in near equal amounts. They taught us that in 2nd grade.
Water in oil is not remotely a concern.
P.s. Hardly anything gets by the piston rings in our cars. Maybe after 200,000 miles.

 

Why not, you have 3 out of the 4 ingredients.

 

Yes, blow-by is breathing I was referring to. Re-reading my post, it is a bit unclear. Things don't always come out in posts the way they were in my head. My bad.
Is there much blow-by in Jag's engines? It should be minimal in a well-maintained vehicle with tight tolerances. I assumed Jag's engines are pretty tight.

Believe what you want. I have 18 years of oil refining experience and specialize in damage mechanisms that impact equipment utilized in the process. I am certified by the American Petroleum Institute to inspect mechanical equipment in all refining units based on my knowledge of damage mechanisms concerning petroleum distillates (like crankcase oil and gasoline/petrol) and metals (like the crankcase, pistons, head, and block of your vehicle). I am extremely familiar with equipment in cyclical services and those subject to thermal changes and fatigue (like a vehicle engine). I hold API-510 Certification #39456 which makes me one of about 40,000 people worldwide with such an active certification. Some of us have multiple certifications, each of which are numbered, making the current highest number around 75,000 for new certs. About 20,000 of us actually use our certifications in inspecting and assessing damage. Many of them are PEs who have the certification but don't actively use it regularly.

If you want to know about corrosion, I'm a decent person to start asking questions to. Then again, meh, what do I know? Your second grade teacher taught you all about internal combustion engines, so you probably know better than me. Don't worry about moisture in your crankcase in an engine that is run at low temperatures far more than normal operating temperatures.

 

This is above my head, I have only used petroleum jelly twice.

 

I would take the long way to work. Drive the car!

 

Would driving in sport mode once in a while help pk? Sport mode keeps the revs up.

 

It would help keep up appearances Richard.

But they are mostly empty revs. They wont really warm a car up in the winter faster either.

 

Carbon build up will happen whether you long haul or short run.

 

Frequent short trips are considered harsh use and require more stringent maintenance schedule. Some issues were already discussed (condensate in oil), but this is by no means complete list. There is also ethanol separating from fuel, condensation in the exhaust, then depending on climate and storage conditions you can have body rust and dry rot for seals and tires. Last but not least, plain old neglect - not changing engine oil "because I only drove 750 miles this year" is common flawed thinking.

If you drive so little, consider all-electric car. They are ideal for short drives.

 

I always learn something on these threads. As always, thanks.

To clarify: I drove across the country and back this summer-- I've put 0ver 9,000 miles on the car since May, so not really worried about it sitting for too long. I just haven't wound it out in a while, s0 yes I think my repeated short drives might qualify has "harsh conditions."

I'm in Southern California, and the car's been a SoCal car its whole life, so neither cold no moisture is an issue (I think I've done a below 32F start precisely once in the car-- in the morning, in Utah, on the drive. Plus, I keep it garaged so I'm not too worried about the sun.

Did the Angeles Crest Highway last night. As I mentioned on another thread, some of those kids with their tricked-out M3's REALLY know that road. It was an intense drive.

 

This morning my cat was covered in frost after sitting outside the past 12 hours at work. Car went from dead cold to defrosting the glass in 2 minutes, up to temp in @ 5. Per carbon, loading the engine cleans it out. Free revving really does nothing because the intake vacuum is so high the engine is gasping for air.

Stop light to stop light seems like a great opportunity to let the cat growl. Roll into the throttle hard off the light, enjoy an up shift and smile like a little kid at the next light. It's called the fun pedal for a reason. I've been known to giggle like a little girl after a spirited blast.