porshe has been specing ight weight oils far longer than Jaguar and some very hipo hi revving engines without issue. I have also witnessed on others and several of my own engines spin bearings, wipeing out bearings to almost like aluminum foil, and scored cranks. never had a rod break because of bearing failure though. now there is only so much hp a rod can take. on my nissan 4.0 i knw once I started upping the boost on an engine never built in a boosted ap i was gonna have long lasting piston or rods. i replaced the stock cast with forged custom CP pistons, and custom billet steel Pauhter rods. i used stock Nissan bearings and i have no issues on a boosted high revving engine with over 30k miles on since built. I would, since Ian has extra engines now, take out a piston and rod from the blown engine and send them out for prototyping and have a custom set or 2 made up. I spent $2200 for both rods, pistons and rings for a 6 cylinder. just change and add for a 8 cylinder. you know what they say about wanting to play and the cost of speed

 

I made it to Motor Oil 106, and I feel as though this is some very useful information, thanks for posting. Now, I wonder if a block heater could be used to help alleviate thickening of the oil if you were to turn the heater on first before starting up cold? I don't know much about block heaters, but the idea has potential if you prefer a thicker oil.

 

It’s a great article, and kudos to you that you made it that far, I am counting the days until some has read it all ;-).
You could also skip to the last part; there it will be clearer with some of the numbers that thicker oil would not be a good choice...
And equally important this article also shows how bad it is to start using the power of your engine, when the oil isn't up to temp yet. I'll bet most don't even wait until the coolant has reached operating temp, so let alone the oil (which is somewhat later again).
I also have a block heater for the colder days, and of course use 0w oil.
We are getting of topic, but believe that good maintenance and care for your engine will help for longevity (am not proclaiming that this will prevent any failure of course).

 

The common type of engine block heaters have very little effect on engine oil in the sump as they heat only the coolant. There are sump heaters which used to be used on air cooled engines.

The problem is not the viscosity when the oil is cold, that is the W number and there are plenty of wide range multi grades with very low W numbers out there.

The problem is with the "summer" weight number. Modern engines are designed for low viscosity oils and using higher viscosity oils can lead to oil starvation especially in the valve train and the big end bearings with catastrophic results.

For continuous high speed use it is important to keep the engine oil as cool as possible, oil coolers are used on turbo engines and ought to be on any supercharged engine. I do not know if the XFR or SC have engine oil coolers but they should.

However, a normal street engine is never going to be suitable for extended track use. There is no effective way to keep the engine cool enough if you run it at high loads, high rpm and concurrently low speeds which most track work involves. You will ruin your street brakes, your street tires, often your transmission and differential and, it seems, blow your engine.

High speed driving on the road is very different than on a track. High loads are very brief unless travelling at very high and often illegal speeds (outside Germany). If you wish to track a car then you ought to buy one suitable for doing so. A Porsche is designed to track all day, even a bog standard Cayman or Boxster, with the correct tires. No modern Jaguar is suitable for serious track day driving and it is mystifying why anyone would want to. A 4,000 lb "race car" is such a ludicrous idea I cannot stop laughing just thinking about someone tracking their XF. It is designed for comfortable and rapid cross country travel over UK B roads and excels at that. Try following one under those conditions, even in a Cayman. You may keep up for a while but if the XF is going from land's end to john o groats over B roads you'd better try an A8 to keep up.

 

I(RESPECTFULY DISAGREE) I guess jaguar running the xfr in 09 out in bonneville salt flats in street/stock trim with hi speed tires and top speed limiter removed at 200+ mph was not a good idea. Or when i was asked to be a tech for 2 xk's koni challenge series track cars(stock class and setup) till ford sold jaguar out and the 2 cars we were to get disappeared, was a mistake...please these cars are more than up to it. But with "any" car, porsche , ferrari, jaguar, toyota etc....drive em hard youre gonna break stuff. Theyre build by humans. And like the old sayings, if you dont loose it or break it, youre just not driving it...we're also a porsche dealer and ive seen lots of blown porsche engines here too. Including the awesome carrera gt(2 engines, and severals trans, and clutchs...and thats a half mil$$ racecar in street trim.
And I guess my 5500 pound 700hp Suburban that I not only drag race but corner with very hard and have "drifted" in more than a few instances would make you laugh too. not when i blow past and xfr. nor friends I know that have tow rigs that are diesel powered turbo charged 700ftlb beast that weight 8000+ pounds and blow past most high performance car. why would you laugh at any of this I dont get. a race car isnt defined by engine, weight or number of cylinders. i have always taken a road less followed and get alot of enjoyment blowing a mustang or camaro off the track by a big yellow 5500 tow vehicle(yes I tow my 580cid 1100hp 8 sec El Camino to the track with it and run them both. I had a very expensive weekend 1 time blowing both rear ends in 1 weekend. but I just built them stronger for next time, and that is what its all about. you find the weak links and improve them

 

What an interesting thread. Thanks folks.

From oil levels, lack of a dipstick, slosh starvation, oil viscosity, poor Ian's bust engine, to operating temps, and more.

Great read.

Just one comment/observation, the speed limit on UK derestricted roads that carry the National speed limit for single carriageways is a maximum 60mph. Any driver of any car would be able to observe this maximum. More likely restricted by a tractor or some such.

I can't for a minute imagine that Jaguar designer's even considered the UK speed restrictions on B roads. (single carriageway).

 

I must say that the oil level checking system is a PITA. You need to run engine and make sure oil is warm, as it expands when heated. Then you need to find a level surface, turn off the engine and wait 10+ minutes! Not a problem if your garage is level but mine isn't! I park car in one direction and it reads down almost a quart. Park in the other direction and it reads completely full.

 

Whiz-bang stuff always has some kind of downside, doesn't it??

I know I read somewhere that the oil level sensor is really sensitive, especially in the fore/aft direction. I think it said a 0.5 deg off level could mean 0.5L error in level indication.

Bummer!

 

Yep. I believe the closed system is for emissions reasons; specifically, to make sure there aren't any leaks around the dipstick. Personally, I don't see why they couldn't just go to something like a threaded dipstick. That would ensure sealing and avoid the fancy, but inconvenient electronics.

Update: I can verify the system is very sensitive to correct leveling. I've been checking my oil over the past few days on a variety of levels and even small angle differences can cause differences in reads of 0.5 liters or more, in either direction.

 

We've got accelerometers in every hand-held electronic device these days (e.g smartphones, ipods). You'd think the auto makers could include a few and compensate for slope when reading the oil level.

 

I spotted a XFR in my dealers shop with no motor in it. I asked 1 of the guys and he said that owner is screwed. He said the owner claims to have left the car running and went into the store and came out and somebody drove off in it. Then they found it a few blocks over wit ha blown motor. His insurance wont pay out due to he left it running when he went into the store. The cost for the new XFR motor for the owner is $17K out of pocket. The dealer suspects that the owner was driving the car hard and that caused the motor to fail and not stolen.Either way this is the first I have heard with a 5.0 S/C motor popping.
This is in Central NJ BTW.

 

Having looked through this story, my observation is that a possible failure cause is an overfilled sump. I have experienced the results of high speed oil air entrainment. This oil will not pump and the results look exactly like starvation, but does not set off the low oil pressure switch. The higher the engine speeds, the worse the frothing and resulting oil pressure drops. Car oil pressure lights don't light until the pressure is approx 2 psi, full failure mode at speed! Windage trays are nice and help some, but a guy that consistently runs it like he stole it, will bypass the safety of a windage tray.

 

Add to that the possibility that dealer mechanics like at my dealership ALWAYS overfill the sump this seems likely. The handbook says 6 liters with filter. That is about 6.25 US Quarts.

The most that should fit in is 6.5 liters. This is for the 4.2. I think the 5.0 may take more.

 

I have owned a Jaguar consistently since 1963 and have never seen one oil starve if the sump is filled right, even during gymkhanas. I have also seen dealer oil monkeys overfill consistently, causing all kinds of failures, including one on my new Ford Probe GT. They added enough oil to it that during warranty (free oil changes) the oil frothed enough on trips that the entire hydraulic valve train was destroyed from running at such low pressure (sometimes the oil light would even come on, causing much concern). I learned to check the oil after changes when this was diagnosed as air entrainment failure.

 

It turns out the XFR with the blown motor at the dealer had a fsulty cam that the customer heard a ticking for some time. Then the cam snaped and the motor were blown. The customer then said his car was stolen when he left it running while he went into the store. Well, It was out of warranty and insurance wont pay since he left the key in it. So he forked out the $13K for a new motor. Car has 64K miles on it.
Ouch....

 

I realize this is an old thread, however, I was set to buy a 2010 XKR and had the owner bring it to my mechanic as I wanted to scan it for any existing codes. As soon as he pulled into the driveway, my mechanic after listening to the engine for 10 seconds, said "this engine is about to throw a rod, the car needs a new engine or a complete rebuild." The owner (and me) were pretty shocked. He had purchased an extended warranty or insurance policy and was told they would cover full engine rebuild. He took it to his local Jaguar dealer and was diagnosed today as oil starvation leading to the destruction of a rod. He had normal oil change intervals, no warning lights, and I can confirm since I drove the car for about ten minutes about 2 weeks ago. There were no warning lights. He is now awaiting a decision from the insurance/warranty company. Car was not tracked. I told him I would still buy the car if the engine is completely rebuilt and had a warranty as I would essentially be buying a car with a brand new engine. This could either be done by Jaguar or my mechanic as he has rebuilt several engines for me, as well as he builds racing engines for his own track cars. We'll see what happens,

So, this phenomenon does exist with 5.0 L engines.

 

Hi, I have a 2012 xkr convertible which has a full service contract and extended warranty etc. The car has never been abused or been late for any maintenance schedule. I took the car to the dealership as soon as an engine noise started. To cut a long story short it is another case of low oil even though no low level or check engine oil light came on. Now Jaguar is saying it needs a new engine and they will not cover it in the warranty. What are my legal rights here? Obviously these engines have a serious issue with the oil level warning system and oil consumption. If anyone knows of similar cases I would really like you to step forward as I am preparing to fight my case legally.

 

How low was the oil? (Or : How much needed to be added to bring it to the right level?)

 

Hi Ian,

I am in the middle of the same nightmare, my 2012 XKR developed an engine noise and I took it directly to Jaguar. The outcome of the story was oil starvation and the engine needs to be replaced. The car has a full service contract with the dealer and has no expense spared or any service date missed....Also it is a standard car. No warning light came on at anytime to suggest the oil level was getting low. Jaguar are saying is is my responsibility to put oil in it and will not cover it under warranty. From the experience you had, can you help me with your photos and any evidence you gathered... As I am going to fight them legally as this is obviously a design fault. Thanks, Mike

 

Hi 'JagV8', Actually this just happened this week and the dealer is running tests for Jaguar MENA, they are putting the minimum oil in the engine to see it if the light comes on or not. I have no idea what was in the engine when i dropped the car off.