Road Trip !
 

Wife and I are off on another road trip this morning. Last summer we did about 9000 km and went from here to Ft. Wayne Indiana via New England and returned home through Ontario and Quebec. This year will be a bit shorter as we are not leaving Canada and are just going as far as Toronto visiting friends along the way. I figure maybe 6000 km.

I have been driving for 5 decades and the Jag is by far the best GT car I have ever experienced. :)

I remember your posts regarding last summer's trip. Best wishes for this summer's trip and happy motoring....

Good luck on the trip
 

Barry,

We mainly have just “cries for help” in our forum so your news on a long road trip is welcome. Really good to hear our car being used as it was designed for - GT long distance touring.

Have a good one! Let’s see the pics when you’re done

Here's the link to your 2018 trip thread:
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ing-up-203677/

Like all "driving" threads, it got a lot of views.

I hope you have a great time and no mechanical drama.

Graham

Enjoy the trip, 200,000 km. Has made me nervous.
 

I know it is just a number but I turned over 200,000 km just before I put my 2004 XK8 away for the winter last year. Southern Ontario Canada. We have done 4 long road trip since I got the car 4.5 years ago. All without incidence and totally enjoyable. For the last 3 years we have driven through the Smoky and Blue Ridge mountains on the way to Myrtle Beach and could not have enjoyed it anymore in any car. This year for some reason seeing the 200,000 km. rollover is making me nervous. The car is running great, and I have done every preventative maintenance item that anyone on this forum has ever suggested. Just something about that 200,000 mark. Somebody please tell me that their car with 150,000 miles is still as reliable as ever.
The other thing that makes me want to take the XK8 is she is due for a new set of tires this year and I will save about $300.00 buying them in the US of A.

My positive road trip experience

We did approx 2000miles this Easter in France and Spain and the old girl was an utter pleasure to drive, as well as just to be in, on both highway and up mountains. Initially I was worried about the distance but actually the miles soon passed by at 130km/h on the toll roads and it was the smaller journeys that then worried me; trips to supermarkets, friends/families and general tourist touring etc, but no all these start/stops where no problem either. Although the car 22yrs old with a few bits of plastic missing it did fulfil a dream of driving to the Mediterranean in a 'supercar', with the added benefit of enough boot space to return home with 2 boxes of wine!

well.....we had an "interesting" first day. About 500km out a dump truck spilled a bunch of rock in front of us. Managed to avoid all but one and ruined a front tire. The owners of the truck are flying in a tire tomorrow morning. ( there are no dealers who stock 19" lo profile tires on this side of the province ) With luck the wheel is OK and we shall be off again.

Bad luck.... again
 

Barry,

Sorry to hear that you ran over a rock, but luckily no major damage. Only a new tyre needed. I take it you have the spare space saver in the trunk. I keep a full size tyre in mine as I get a lot of flats (as I’m in the construction business).

Last time you had a wheel bearing go out. This time - rocks falling on a truck. That’s just bad luck.

The construction company flew in a new tire and paid a local tire shop to open after hours to install the new tire and get me back on the road. All is well.
We have now arrived in Quebec City with about 2500km on the clock. Average fuel economy is 8.7L/100km at an average speed of 85kph. Zero oil or coolant consumption. The ultimate GT car ....and 15 years old

Quebec City memories
 

All’s well so far. Only us paranoid X100 owners would be checking oil and coolant levels in the middle of a road trip.

8l/100km is another language for me. Always have to convert to MPG for a comparison. Equiv approx 26MPG which is impressive for a V8.

My memories of Quebec City is the lovely chateau and an even lovelier waitress who I met serving crepes with choc sauce. She had some extra sauce later....

I have a long standing habit of checking oil and coolant , brake fluid etc every 2nd or 3rd time I fill with fuel. Did it on every car for over 40 years. Cruising through flat Quebec farm country yesterday at a gentle 100 kph listening to Verdi on the stereo; the trip computer showed an estimated range of over 790 km and an instant fuel economy 7.2 L/100 Km. Heaven.......I LOVE this car.

Off to the nation's capital today.

This is great to hear. My Grandfather took is XK8 on a Roadtrip from Cocoa Beach, FL to Golden Colorado and enjoyed every minute of it years before he passed away. These cars were meant to be enjoyed and loved.

I am jealous. Totally agree about these being superior GT cars. Very happy to know your car is being very thoroughly put through its paces and driven as it was intended to be driven. I think that's when these cars are happiest.

Don't miss the 1000 Islands Parkway.
 

After you Ottawa trip and if your heading down the 401 I suggest you get onto the Thousands Island Parkway at Gananoque. A nice little 40 km. Jaunt along the St. Lawrence river and a break from the 401.

I am in Peterborough Ontario now and will be for a few days. May not get a chance to try that side trip this year but will keep it in mind for next year.

Well I'm back. We travelled from St. John's to Peterborough with a number of side trips and visiting friends along the way for a total of 6243 Km (4065 mi). Average speed was 92 kph ( 57 mph ) with an average fuel economy of 8.4 L/100 Km ( 33.6 mpg ). Apart from the incident with the rock and the tire all was well. It's hard to beat cruising at 115 kph in absolute comfort and listening to Diana Krall on the stereo. I LOVE this car. I don't take a lot of photos ...but here it one at St. Anne's lookout in Cape Breton
https://cimg4.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.jag...50186c3260.jpg

Nice, thanks for sharing. Funny you should mention Krall, I was just listening to this beautiful song by her while driving last night:
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikiped...Other_Room.png

33.6 mpg?!

Best I have seen for my wife's 2006 XK8 is not quite 32 mpg. And that was during the winter months with her using cruise control set to around 72 mph on long stretches of I-95 and carrying multiple suitcases packed with clothes and shoes in the trunk. I had recently done an oil & filter change, installed new VVT O-ring seals, and poured a 20-ounce bottle of Chevron Techron down the fuel filler hatch. So I bet that a real-world 33.6 mpg is indeed possible under ideal circumstances and slightly slower speeds....

I knew the 4.2 was more efficient than the 4.0, but boy is that good. If I'm ginger, I can get 24ish. Granted, I tend to have a pretty heavy foot. I'm jealous!