I purchased a 17" winter set for my Cayenne when I purchased it - The Dunlop winter sports are an OE supplier.

I bought the same tires in 245/45R17 for the Jaguar -- Like them very much.

 

Any car + summer tyres = not a snow car We have ice/snow here most of the time from November till March, so I've driven on snow a lot.

I have 225/50-18 studded winter tyres on my XJR. It's actually my first rwd car, and no probs in the snow so far. Traction control is a bit too eager to "help", and it needs to be turned off is something special like acceleration is required... lol

These tyres do look awfully narrow on it though...

 

I agree with you about the traction control... Just 2 days ago I was at a ski resort and I had to park on а hill road. To just move forward I had to turn the traction off, because even with new winter tires (Dunlop 225/60/16) when I release the brakes the car was slipping backwards and pushing at the throttle didn't increased the RPM over 900 Sometimes the driffty start is a must...

Even so for me the XJ is not a winter car not because of being RWD or too wide, or with too powerful engine - for me is the cold start at very low temperature. It seems that these engines doesn't like to start normally at temps below -15C. The first 1 minute of idle is very restless, the engine shakes a little bit and it takes pretty much to get the heaters blow normal hot air Maybe I just used to drive a Mercedes with Webasto heater last few winters...

 

JKO is in the right part of the world to know about driving in winter conditions.
Like it or not, winter is a long season in Western Canada as well.

In my experience, the XJR is a good snow car.... but I found some 16" BMW steel wheels that would clear the Brembo brakes on the XJR. I fitted them with 225/55/16 Snow tires to match the spec diameter of the stock wheels. They provide a significantly narrower footprint than the stock wheels. The added 2 inches of sidewall profile also helps (and makes for a much nicer ride as well). The important key is to use snow tires... not all- season tires. The rubber compound hardens in cold temperatures much more with summer and all-season tires. Winter tires are made with a rubber compound that performs much better in cold temperatures. This allows you to stop much sooner even on relatively dry roads in cold spells. JKO goes to the extent of studded tires, but many places outlaw studs now, as they are hard on dry pavement, especially with a car like an XJR that can rip a patch of asphalt out on demand. Studs are great on ice if you can get them.

With the setup I described above, My XJR was superior to the front wheel drive van my wife drove in the past. No question, her current 4x4 SUV is better than the XJR in deep snow. If you need to drive an XJ in winter conditions, you will find the above formula transforms it into a better than average snow car. I have gradually evolved into using the traction control system 95% of the time. The first winter or two, I shut it off, but in deep snow, it actually works better. I have to climb a hill to my garage and now know that traction control gets me there better. Slow but sure, vs spinning the back wheels. If you have to stop on a hill, you may need to switch it off, but with some forward momentum, the traction control seems to do its job. Obviously, it will prevent you from ripping around and spinning donuts, so for that behaviour, one must defeat it.

I would say the biggest drawback to the XJR in snow, is that since it is pretty low to the ground, you sometimes end up plowing snow if you have more than a foot of fresh stuff. Nevertheless, it plows pretty good!

Low profile, summer tires in northern climates should be illegal during winter months in my opinion. (Not that I like regulations)

 

I haven't had to cold start my XJR below -3C yet, so I can't comment on that... but I would not keep it as a daily driver here if I didn't have a warm garage. Last winter we had weeks of below -20C... where's that global warming when you need it? And I have an engine block heater and a cabin heater (combined with a battery charger) on it, so if there's a mains socket available, extremely cold starts shouldn't be an issue

 

JWT, you're quite right about the smaller footprint and higher profile tyres. That's the configuration I've used on my previous cars in the winter, and I'm actually on the look for 17" XJ8 wheels for next winter. I'm not yet sure whether to stay with studded tyres or not. I haven't used them in the past 4 years actually, but these came with the car (almost new). They are rather noisy at low speeds on asphalt, but superior on ice of course.

BTW, it's mandatory to use winter tyres between November and March here in Finland, and most ppl use studded ones.

 

Snow? That's what the other XJ is for. :-)

 

I had to cold start mine a couple of times last winter at minus 30, after sitting outside for 9 or 10 hours. It is not pleasant, but it always started up rather nicely, considering how cold the battery was. The thing I hate about that is getting the low oil pressure message for 5 or 6 seconds. Have not had any minus 30 weather yet this year, but we can get a week or two of it in late December or anytime in January. People from Winnipeg and south of the border in Minneapolis know far better than Calgarians about extended periods of low temps. It is usually just a brief adventure for us

 

Occasionally OEM Jaguar block heaters come onto ebay I'll post a link next time one comes up. On the coaches in work we have Webasto heaters and they are good at what they do. MG Rover offered them on the 75 & ZT models, it's a shame Jaguar never did.

 

Well, it has a big battery, which of course helps a lot Or should have... mine has a 75Ah battery atm, compliments of the previous owner. But I've already ordered a 95Ah AGM battery with plenty of CCA.

What kind of oil are you using?

 

Unfortunately living near the center of the capital has it's disadvantages... like not having a garage so my XJ is sleeping always on the street. And we already did had a -14C this winter - to be honest I wouldn't refuse even a local warming, not global

And yes - the good battery is one of the keys to fight with the cold starts. But there is also good coolant fluid, right viscosity of the engine oil, good spark plugs and compression of the engine.

 

+1

I always had 0W-40 oil on my cars when I had to keep them on the driveway year-round. That along with frequent oil changes (I've usually halved the factory mileage recommendations) should ensure proper startup lubrication in the extreme cold.

BTW, I've read on some other thread(s) about cold weather increasing boost on supercharged engines... makes the XJR even more interesting car for the winter, as it produces even more power when the traction is reduced.

 

+1

I park my car in an unheated garage that gets blasted with wind in Boston which has similar winter temps as Bulgaria. I gotta admit, my car has seen some temperature extremes. I had it in 4 years in Texas gulf coast 100+ degree humid and rainy summers parked outside and now 3 years in Boston snowy winters in an unheated garage. My thermostat housing broke apart when I was driving in below zero temps last winter. I park it for a month in the unheated garage in the winter, and sometimes that first start in January which is usually around 10 degrees or so can range from just somewhat slow to a very rough idle for about 60 seconds. Hard life for a 11 yr old car?

I'm running 5W-40 full synthetic but I don't get the low oil pressure light.

Someone on the forum mentioned driving their X308 in -50 degree weather. I can't imagine being in that temperature.

The midwest is much colder than Boston though.

 

Jussi,
I have been running Mobil 1 5W30 in mine, which I believe is specified for my part of the World. I have used 5W50 a time or two in the summer, but generally stay with the 5-30. You are right.. the cars do have big batteries.

I get the low oil pressure light only after sitting all day in minus 30ish temps.

BTW.. I just found out that my 16 year old son's hockey team is set to play the Finland U17 team on January 2. Why don't you head over to take in the game?