Well, my (new to me) 2010 XKR is having its first track day experiences this weekend. Unfortunately, it won't be me driving it. Tonight starts Yom Kippur, and I will be in the synagogue all evening and all day tomorrow. My friend and business partner in the automated parking business, sold his Audi S5, and asked me if he could take the Jag. So, he'll have the first whack at it. I loved driving the S5 on the track, which I did many times, the smoothness, the ability to drive it quickly with so little effort, the incredible tranny/clutch combination, everything about it. We are going again in a couple of weeks to Buttonwillow, but this weekend the XKR gets to "cut its teeth" at Willow Springs, about an hour northeast of Los Angeles. Should be a lot of fun (for him, anyway). I'll report his experiences on Monday.

 

Lending each other your cars for a track day? I doff my cap - that is true friendship!

 

To tell you the absolute truth; there is no way I would lend my XKR to anyone for use on the track. I hope you guys pre-settled for the possible damages; wrecking the car, blowing engine or transmission etc... The only single time I borrowed my best friend's racing car after my race car blew an engine and I needed the Championship points, I blew his engine too. Then he borrowed a car from an other friend for his race and rolled it end-over-end six times in Turn 1 at Thunderhill :-). He had to build a new race car for his friend, while I had to have his engine rebuilt, plus mine. Sh*t happens on race tracks.

 

Yom Tov to you.

 

Thank you. I just got home from temple, broke my fast, and found about half a dozen text messages from my friend asking me how to disengage the traction control. To be honest, I haven't had a chance to get that far in the manual yet, so I'm not sure. I told him the manual is in the glove box to look it up. He did say it felt very fast when the traction control was not invasive, and he reached approximately 140mph on the long straightaway at Willow Springs. I'll try and reach him tonight for more details.

Stay tuned!

 

Hold down the DSC for about 14 seconds.

 

No temple for me, but I fasted. Boy did I want to rush to the restaurant as soon as the sun was down. I live in a Hassidic/Othodox (also the center of the Archdiocese) neighborhood, so if I walked around some parts I'm sure I can hear the shofar. I feel guilty going for a bike ride on Sat morning and everyone is walking to-from schul.

I think holding down the DSC button for several seconds is the norm on many cars. It's the same method on my Lotus. The Lotus grip so well, I've never felt the DSC or ABS come on yet!

 

mosesbotbol,
Hey, at least you fasted. We all pick and choose bits and pieces of the rituals we're going to observe. I happen to love the music of the liturgy, especially during the High Holidays and Kol Nidre, in particular.

So my car came back from its track adventure, a little worse for wear, but nothing that can't be cleaned up. Two front tires were trashed, front brakes shot, front rotors are being resurfaced now, we'll see when they're done if salvageable. Willow Springs' surface is apparently very rough, and chunks of black melted rubber thrown from the track covered the Jaguar in black Jaguar spots all over the car. My friend had a detailer wash and wax them out this morning, and on a quick glance everything seems to be okay.

As for his experience driving it, he wanted to turn off the traction control, and I kept messaging him how, but without the car in front of me, I kept telling him to press the button next to the dynamic mode. I had forgotten it is one row above, and I believe he kept pressing the cruise control, so he never got the traction control off, and he said it kept interfering with his ability to enter and exit corners as fast as he would have liked. It was also 110 degrees F in southern California, this weekend, and the supercharger would "poop-out" after 3 or 4 hot laps til it cooled off a bit. Otherwise, he said it was fast as hell on the straights and performed very well. On the straightaways where Traction Control wasn't an issue, he said he was able to surpass just about anything that was on the track at the time, including Vipers, Ferraries, Porsches....all while being coddled. He had a great time and said I will love driving it on the track. Well, two things about that, first, I'm not as aggressive a driver as he is, so I may not have the same issues. Secondly, in the past couple of years, I have either driven my Pantera or a rental car on the track, so the XKR will be so superior to either that I'll have very little to complain about.

Going to Buttonwillow Race Track in Bakersfield next month, so I'll get the chance to test for myself.

 

Your 2010 XK is NOT designed for race tracks. It was very likely that your tires and brakes would take plenty of abuse, and should have been expected.

After another weekend of open tracking your car at Buttonwillow, I am quite sure that you will once again stress the new tires, new brakes and rotors.

If people want to track cars, they need to either BUY a car that is set up for open track days or have a designated car that can take alot of abuse.

These "stock" XK/XKR's are for driving on roads and to enjoy, not a race track environment. While you might enjoy the open track days with a "street" car, be prepared to continue to spend $$$ on the car after each tracking. Not only are open track days costly with tires, brakes, rotors, you are placing a lot of stress on engine parts and other parts within the car.

While racing competitively in open wheel formula cars for many years, I have seen many individuals ruin and tear up "street" cars on open track days.

I would think twice about tracking an XK. Should I, or shouldn't I.

 

Sorry Richard, but I respectfully disagree.
Whilst there certainly will be extra costs for consumed consumables, the car is capable of track day use.
I've tracked mine before and look forward to doing so again next month.
At the last Jag club track day here, there were over 30 cars, mostly jags, none of which suffered any mechanical failure. This included everything from D-type replicas, e-types up to XJRs, XKRs and an F-Type.
I've been tracking cars since a (modified) 1985 XJS-C back in the last millennium..
My belief is that sports cars should be driven sportingly - otherwise what's the point of the performance? There is no way that the XKR can (or perhaps, should) be driven to its capabilities on a public highway. Let's enjoy them for what they are, in the right place.
Cheers,
Rob

 

I took mine to the track and no ill effects. It isnt really suited to small tracks though, the DSC was on constantly and my reaction was to put my foot down more rather than easing off (I never said I was good at it). You really need a track with a decent straight, and not so many corners, I didnt get the car over 150kph and wouldnt have had the hammer down more than 10 seconds at the longest, I think. Personally, I didnt enjoy it that much, though getting pwned by my friend in a new wrx might have contributed to that.

 

Bruce,
Get yourself over to Perth sometime - Barbagallo's good for over 220!

 

When I purchased this car a few months ago, I did so with several goals in mind. First, my 2002 XKR has over 150,000 miles on it, and I love this car. I want to be able to extend its life by not putting 20-25 thousand miles on it every year, so I wanted to get another car that I could enjoy a couple of days per week to cut the amount of mileage I put on my convertible.

Secondly, I go to the track a couple of times per year with friends in the SoCal Audi Club, and they don't allow convertibles (even if they did, the 2002 in stock condition is just too sloppy and not enjoyable for track use). So over the past few years I take my 1972 Pantera, just for fun. On less technical tracks (read: fewer, less sharp curves), the Pantera is fine, but on some like Spring Mountain, without power steering, it's difficult at best, and downright bruising at worst by the end of the day. I wanted to have a car that is capable of going to the track occasionally, while still offering the luxurious package that the XK/XKR offers. I am not as aggressive a driver as my friend who used it this weekend, so I don't expect the same level of wear as this past weekend's, but this car is still capable of spirited performance. In addition, since I have an extra 5.0L engine with an extra supercharger , it affords me a bit of relief in knowing that I don't have to go out and purchase parts should something happen.

I'm not a track "junkee" who goes every weekend that would require a dedicated track car, I go a couple of times a year, and the XKR is certainly capable of handling that duty, and I look forward to my first track experience with her.

 

Willow springs is a tough track........
140 on straight is FLYING there.......turn 9 is a challenge and it is at altitude so keep all that in mind

 

One of the tag lines about the XKR 75 was something like "It's a car that you can drive across Europe to the Nürburgring, turn a few hot laps, and then drive home again without feeling exhausted." I've done that (well, not in the same day) and it is definitely capable of it. After 9 laps, done in three sets of 3, the tyres and brakes were fine and the car seemed to have hardly broken a sweat.