I got my XKR just about a week before this whole Cornonavirus thing started, so I haven't been able to drive it much. I've been taking it out on about a 10 mile loop around back roads by the house once a week just so the battery doesn't die. I've been doing it on early Sat mornings...there's no traffic so I can open it up a little bit.

I will be glad when we're able to get out again so we can take the XKR on a road trip.

Pat

 

Correction...simple high pass filter not low pass

 

Hello Q&C
I did find Cambo's extensive thread on the audio upgrade. Thanks for the info. Lots of good discussion there but mainly addresses higher grade audio than what my car has. Mine has the basic Jaguar sound system with 160 watts into 4 channels/6 speakers. Speaker suggestions in the thread will be helpful. Not much to be done about the receiver and amp without much effort.
Best regards and stay well.
Mike

 

Its OK, we are living in a time where we are looking for the alternative reality.
Replacing that capacitor with a high fidelity one will yield an improvement.
Post the value here and I will recommend a good one.

 

Washed, went for a long drive.

 

Hi Q&C
will check the cap value. l think it was in some kind of plastic bracket so may have to cut that away to see the value on the electrolytic can. Your advice would be welcome!
Regards. Mike

 

Applied Rejex Sealant ...

 

I'm not sure that a 10 mile run is a good idea. The engine will barely get warm in that time let alone reach full operational temperature. And I don't think it will do the battery a lot of good either - small journeys hammer batteries - they don't run long enough to get charged. Best thing to look after your battery on a Jaguar is a CTEK or similar (plenty of info if you search the forum).

I fully appreciate your frustration though - getting your car and then not being able to use it is tough. You could maybe give it some love while you can't drive it much - how about a really good deep clean, followed by claying and then a good wax or ceramic glaze? Loads of advice on YouTube and in the forum about the best ways to do it. Maybe the interior would benefit from the full valet treatment? Or get the wheels off and do a number on the wheels, barrels and all. One thing you might consider is swapping your bulbs for LEDs - they make an amazing difference to how the car looks - way more modern somehow. There's a couple of great threads on the forum about how to go about it and which LEDs to use.

There are a ton of things you can do with an XKR that don't involve driving it. I think I get (almost) as much pleasure from looking after mine as I do from driving it.

Welcome to the XK(R) family! You made a terrific choice!

 

Lovely photos guys! Lovely cars, lovey images!

 

Thanks for the advice, I definitely need to take it out on longer drives.

I've already done a few things during this stay at home period:
- Replaced the missing "R" badge on the rear (I wanted the original, had to be special ordered from the UK, took a couple of weeks to get here)
- Swapped out the interior lights for LEDs (didn't tackle puddle lights in the side mirrors yet for fear of breaking something...I'll read a bit more)
- Cleaned up the sticky interior buttons (Kirkland Signature face wipes from Costco worked extremely well)
- Completely cleaned the interior, including leather dressing and conditioner on the seats, dash and other leather (used Weiman leather cleaning/conditioning wipes, made the leather look really nice)

Once I'm able to, I plan to take it to get ceramic coated. I have a shop here in MD that does a super job. I had my Infiniti Q50 paint corrected and coated there about a year and a half ago and it still looks amazing, paint is as smooth as glass. Very easy to clean, as well. Can't wait to get paint correction on the XKR and have it ceramic coated.

I'll get some pics up once I get everything done to it.

Pat

 

My daily commute is less than 5 miles and takes around 10 minutes door to door. I don't do a huge amount of driving other than that and have no issues with my battery. I find that locking the car when not in use us all that is required.

These cars also warm up very quickly and it is usually kicking out heat from the ac within a couple of streets. I suspect that the gearbox and engine oil won't fully get up to temperature but the coolant is up to operating temperature about two thirds of the way to work.

 

I monitor the temp on a digital readout and I am surprised how quickly at least the XKR warms up190f. About 1 mile for me.
I will report back how long it takes the thermostat to open.

 

Garage pics today. I live in a new housing development. Today the wind is blowing @ 15mph and construction equipment is moving dirt. Translation - like pulling your car out into a sandstorm so garage pics only. I lost some time due to a cold snap and snow, but the exterior is done. I'll post better pics outdoors later
Foam cannon
Double bucket wash
Clay mitt
Cut/ Polish
IPA
Mayabi Ceramic Coat (2 coats)
Kamikazi Overcoat

She's coming out of the garage tomorrow for a drive.
A few words on cut and polish.
I tried a few options so FOR ME, this is what worked and what didn't. I had some spider webbing on the car and we all know the key to any finish is the prep work.
Cutting Sonax Perfect finish and Rupee foam pad - no effect after 4 passes with D/A polisher
Cutting CG V36 with a rupee foam pad - little effect after 4 passes
Cutting CG V36 with an orange Hex pad - better but still required too many passes

Cutting Maquire's Ultimate Compound and orange hex pad - perfect after two passes - this is my go to going forward.

 

Very nice finnish! :-)
​​​​​​Just Maquire's Ultimate compound and then some wax?

 

You could certainly wax if you want it. I used Ceramic coat. for me, the less touch on the car the better. @ 14 years old, the paint (though I had a partial respray) is too old and needs correction too often. So we'll see. The nano coat should allow less towel contact on the car resulting in fewer swirl marks. I use a waffle weave and a closed loop towel to dry now and my towels are all laser cut edgeless.

The polishing took me about 12 hours, but some of that was putzing to find the right combo of products.
The ceramic coat took about 3 hours first coat, 2 hours second coat. The stuff I used has a long pot time so I could do two panels at once before having to wipe it down. THat's the main reason I spent up for the product.
I did the overcoat (sacrificial layer) this morning. That took 15 minutes.

 

Sean that finish looks really grand!

 

Sean
The car looks fabulous. I do think you could use a little more experience and my car is available as a guinea pig! 👍
You results have given me something to aspire to.
Mike

 

Thanks Mike. I politely decline your offer for more practice, Anything looks good in the shade. She still has plenty of flaws but I'm happy with it.

 

I second that. I works well on my cars even with my cheap foam pad plus sock type rotary buffer.

 

Purrrrdy!