Driving your Jaguar on the road should be a sin/ criminal activity.
That’s like buying the Kentucky Derby Winner and using as a plow horse on your farm. Or smelling delicious dinner and not sitting down to try it.
No you aren’t being kind to your car. you are causing it problems. the worst thing to happen to your engine is a cold start. Bearing are dry, gaskets/ seals shrunk. Clearances are at the maximum. You put more wear on that engine at start up than a whole day of track time. Etc.

Using a Jaguar to its full potential on public roads is illegal and dangerous.
So how can you drive your car at speed without getting a ticket or risking an accident?
Track Days are one answer. No you don’t need a roll bar or numbers. Helmet or racing suit.
Show up With your car in good condition and you can drive on the race track just as fast or slow as you feel comfortable.
There are a few safety rules to learn to ensure everyone stays safe and accident free. The organizers will gladly explain. Most events have instructors willing to ride along with you and help you figure out how to go faster safely. These are guys with a lot of experience and tend to be very calm and reassuring.
This isn’t a race ( in spite of being a race track).
It’s a race track so you can safely drive at speed. No children playing, pets on the track, school zones, nobody is drunk or stoned. Everybody is going in the same direction. No cross traffic.
If a faster car wants to pass you, you have to signal that person by. So watch your mirror’s.
You can start out at road speeds and work up from there. Nobody will be upset, Typically you’ll go out with cars of roughly the same speed. Yes some will be experienced and make those smaller cars faster than you are. That’s OK.

It’s really the right crowd and no crowding. There are some really nice people there willing, indeed eager to help. Yeh and maybe a jerk or two. But good news, they seldom come back.
Some people come just for the socialization. It’s pleasant to spend one with people of similar backgrounds & interest. Plus listening to that V12 at full sing? Ahhh!
This stuff is highly addictive. I’ve been doing it for 62 years now. And at 75 I can’t wait until the next track event,
Warning, you will be worn out when you leave, maybe a little sunburnt? But the amazing thing is that temptation to speed? It’s gone!!

 

You paint a very interesting picture. I can see you've been there and done that. You obviously are in an area with said Race Track. I live in Northeast Arkansas and I've never heard of a track day, at the closest track which would be Memphis. I'll have to look but I believe it was shut down several years ago. Other then that everything local is Saturday Night Dirt / Bullring 1/4 to 3/8 of a mile mostly, and I sure wouldn't think of taking an XJS out on the Dirt! LOL! I'm 65 now and I've slowed down a little but 5 to 10 over is still the norm for me. LOL. I have no intention fo slowing down, a little more careful maybe, but slowing down NAH! my last name is Shelby after all. LOL!

Jack
PS when finished I will find a place to exercise My Jacobra very well.

 

I've been to a track day put on by the JEC at Castle Combe in England, and I was taught by one of their racing instructors. It was interesting to do for the day, but probably not something I'd do again.

 

There is a track around Lake of the Ozarks? Vintage racers report it to be very interesting. Go to SCCA and see what’s near you.
Chances are more than excellant there are also auto crosses you can go to. Again nice and safe. There you actually need a helmet. The worst that will happen is You will hit. Some rubber cones. But Turtle Wax does a wonderful job of removing any trace of those marks.
My favorite track is Elkhart Lake. 7 hours from here. But the trip is worth it. Lovely area. Warm friendly people. The best track food in the universe. But the real attraction is those 3 big long straights on a 4 mile long track with history going back to the mid 1950’s. Racing around Elkhart Lake has been going on since 1952.

 

Interesting Good? Scary? Bad? What sort of instructor did you have? I’m not familiar with that track. Is your car well suited for it?
Do you ever go to the vintage event at GOODWOOD? Is that more you style?

 

Like many of the tracks in England, it was originally built as an RAF base during the war, and what is now the track was the perimeter road around the airfield. It's 1.85 miles with 9 turns, so there is very little straight length. I was in a nearly new XF diesel, and I still managed to hit 120 mph on the straights. The car wasn't the limiting factor in going faster, it was me.

The instructor was a certified Racing Driver School instructor and was excellent at telling me how to drive, where the line was through turns and tips for making the best of the experience. He usually works at Goodwood doing experience day type events, so is used to novice drivers on the track.

It was an interesting experience, but I've never felt a need to drive fast, so that's why I probably wouldn't do it again. That and the cost of flying across the Atlantic to go there!

 

Thank you! I really appreciate your story and explanation. So was it a bucket list kind of thing?
Would you recommend it to others?

 

Will repost later

 

No bucket list, the instructor is a friend of mine and he said that the club had booked the track for the day, so why didn't I come over to England and he would teach me to drive a race car? So I did. He has a Mark 2 that is built up as a pure racing car, it's no longer road legal, and I was able to drive that as well as the XF which was owned by a friend of his. The XF was nearly new, had only 2000 miles on it.

Those 3.0 turbo diesels are amazing in the European market XF and XJ. The instructor has also done press launch work as a "pro driver" for Jaguar and has been involved with vintage racing for decades. Has has previously had an S Type as a race car and spent considerable effort to get it to go as fast as possible. Snetterton and Silverstone are the tracks he is most familiar with, and Jaguar did a press day with the XJ at Silverstone. He said it was a real eye opener to be able to drive the diesel XJ around the track with 3 passengers and the AC on and be able to lap faster than he was every able to make his 60's S Type go around the track.

Yes, I'd recommend it as a taster to see if it's an enjoyable activity. In this case, it was an open track day, drive your car on the track as much or as little as you want. It's every October, I think always at Castle Combe.

 

I looked into the Auto Crosses, and almost got into it. Unfortunately It never happened for one reason or another the season got sidlined etc. Then I traded my 08 Mustang for a Ford Fusion so my wife could get the 2 little grandaughters out of the back seat so there went my ride. For lack of money I never got into the stock car scene either. Had to dang many kids, and susequent grandkids to support. LOL.

Jack

 

It is blast. Not a jag though. This was 2016.

3 days ate up $2000 worth of Mich MPSS ZP tires. 1.2 G 4 wheel drift corners.... Too bad the track is 300 miles away, and tires are pricey...

Doug

 

the biggest takeaway from racing for me ( aside from the pure fun). Was I stopped speeding on the roads. When jerks made stupid moves on the road, I was prepared for them, And the satisfaction I got from racing, just made me so much more mellow.
That’s why I’m such an advocate of tack events. A Ford Fusion is fine for both Autocross and track days.
In fact an automatic lets you focus on driving rather than shifting. Once you get the feeling for the lines, braking points etc faster cars with manual gearboxes just work better.
There is a magazine called Grass Roots auto sports that annually has a $2000 challenge in Florida. That is the cost of the car cannot exceed $2000.
The next car I build is going to be just that. I’ve got a bunch of V12 engines with automatics. I’ll drop the pan and plug the right holes to turn it into a manual shift ( clutch less) using lead shot from a fish tackle box ( cost3 cents?).
A pair of new turbo’s sells for $125 each. And kick the power over 600 hp with no other changes. ( high mileage engines wear the rings enough so you don’t have to tear the engine apart to gap the rings).
I’ve got a bunch of MGTD body parts. While the value of that sort of thing would push it well over the $2000 mark. If I use those parts as a pattern, they don’t count. Nor does the mold. Only the fiberglass used for the actual part.
Anyhow, I’ll be there with a 2000 pound car and 600 hp.

 

In a lot of cases a friend will lend you his car for an Autocross/ track day. So you won’t even need the car. Just a friend with a car.

 

Autocross is a lot of fun at slower speeds.

You learn how your car handles, does it push, or is it loose? and how to compensate. If it understeers, gentle braking will shift weight forward and give the front tires more bite, if it oversteers, give it some gas to shift weight to the rear (rear wheel drive only). It also gives you a chance to adjust your suspension based on low speed maneuvers right there, assuming you can adjust shocks, sway bars etc and brought tools. You can get lots of practice on how to react to situations on the road.

Plus almost zero chance of damaging the vehicle. I did crack some fiberglass on my '61 decades ago when I got a cone caught up behind the front tire

Doug

 

Spot on!!!
In fact even if your goal is vintage racing Wheel to wheel, an autocross is a perfect place to start. Then take it to a track night /event. And feel the difference between slow speed corners of Auto cross and high speed. Since those are not races you’ll have experience at higher speeds before you go wheel to wheel.
Plus you don’t be overwhelmed. Trying to sort out a new car while you are new and then dealing with the mental chess game of racing wheel to wheel.

 

As we boomers age, we are more and more willing to help others enjoy this sport.
The best place to find us is at club meetings.
Not Jaguar club meetings. Not many people there share our interest.
SCCA, Corvette club, BMW club, Porsche club. All have active people in autocross.
Start with SCCA and they can connect you to autocross groups.
What I’ve done is post a listing. Seeking people to help me work on the current race car project. In exchange for their time they get seat time at local events. Plus I try to make it a social event. Drinks, bottled water, pop, lemonade, etc. beer when finished. Snacks and if over noon lunch.
The shop is well equipped and warm in the winter, cool in the summer.
I’m perfectly willing to teach, From basic to advanced tuning.
I make a point of it never being a marathon, 2-3 hours a week if that’s all you can manage.
I patterned that after the guys I learned from.
Then when you take the car you built to the track, you have the confidence of knowing it’s as right as it should be

 

Vintage racing, a set of tires will last me 2 years. Average 6 races a year. Typically 2-3 day event,
At that point there is probably over 50% rubber left, but they are so hard I’ll lose seconds a lap over new tires.
Of those 6 events 1 maybe 2 I’m cruising. Nobody is pushing me and faster cars are out of sight. 3-4 I’m driving to my full potential, typically passing and being passed several times a lap.
Occasionally I’ll be put on the fastest group, there it’s any bodies guess as to how I’ll place.
Newer cars will naturally be faster but there are a lot of drivers in that group who think racing is about stepping on the gas pedal real hard. ( easy pickin’s)

 

I have never had any interest in racing. I've tried to get into F1, Le Mans, etc but its just tedious to watch. Its also incredibly dangerous to do, and I'm a cautious person so the idea that I might take up racing myself is ludicrous. I bought the car because I thought it was mechanically interesting, and it has been a good pandemic project. Now that its reliable I mostly use it to commute, a task for which it is excellent. Comfortable and quiet, while also not being a boring silver SUV. Having power in reserve is a benefit, not a problem.

 

True.
Racing, while my experience is that it’s not dangerous, I can understand those who feel it is and I certainly wouldn’t want those people to be involved.
I can understand how you think watching it is tedious. I find watching Golf, baseball, most sports as tedious. The only interest of watching auto racing is when I have a personal interest in a person or persons on track.
While I played many of the sports it was hard to remain interested. I was co-Captain of the Basket ball team that placed 2nd in the state. But that was the end of my interest. I found Football dangerous, and the two times I played golf somebody in my foursome died. I understand statistically golf has the highest death rate. Probably something to do with the age of some players with all that walking.

 

I don't watch any "sport". No interest. Even auto sports. If i ain't there doing it, no point.

Racing dangerous? pro racing certainly can be. 200 MPH with other cars doing 200 doesn't leave much room for mistakes. But, I don't do 200 with other cars.

If I had the opportunity, I would do a track day at Daytona, maybe on the Rolex course, in my Z06, but it it is just one person at a time, hitting close to 200. I think a lap or two would satisfy my 200 MPH need. Over 150, things happen fast.

Montana used to not have speed limit on the Interstates, back in the 1970s.

I took cars that really had no business doing 140, over 140, but i was younger., and it was usually just straight line road in the prairie see how fast it would go.

Doug