I was under the impression that synthetic oil does not break down to the extent of convention oil. Twice a year does seem somewhat excessive with little driving.

 

Car does about that each year and I change the full synthetic only once per year. I don’t believe synthetic “breaks” down in the period but moisture over time especially when run so infrequently could cause issues. Oil changes are super inexpensive so no reason to question it really.

 

It's not that oil, synthetic or dino, breaks down; it's that it gets contaminated. How quickly and what kind of contamination depends on how you drive.

Bocatrip, in his Post #19, above, asked: "Are regular oil changes every year still as important even when yearly miles driven are under 2,000 miles per year? WE are talking about a 2010 XK with 12,000 miles."

Cars with internal combustion engines that are driven infrequently and over short distances don't stay fully warmed up for very long. As a result, water vapor (a product of internal combustion, together with carbon monoxide) condenses and stays inside the engine instead of getting hot enough to completely evaporate. That water can cause rust and mix with other contaminants to form acidic and corrosive chemicals that can drain into the crankcase and cause damage to an engine as well as the exhaust system.

Oil is cheaper than rebuilding an engine. Change it at least annually to avoid problems.

Just my

 

Fixed for you!

 

.... and I fixed it for YOU.

 

I don't drive mine during winter (except on rare occasions) and I will NOT change oil that's not even been used. That's just dumb.

 

About the only person in this whole thread that knows what they are talking about. So much BS.

 

The 4.2 has a Dipstick!
Need I say more?

 

The only advantage i could think of is that it could be lighter since the engine not as big.But the extra power in the 5.0 really makes up for it astronomically.

 

Productive input and thank you for the insult.

 

All depends on how you plan on driving it,,if your the average driver that only gives it the beans every once in a while
any of them will serve you fine and they all sound good, if your a lead foot and want the fastest then the XKR 5.0
is the one to have.. As far as reliability I think more important than which one is who owned it before and how they maintained it.

 

When shopping, for the XKR apart from the obvious cost differences between 4.2l and 5.0 XKR. I found that the 5.0l SC can easily overwhelms the rear tyres, it was harder to use the available power on the streets as it would easily loose traction around corners with more than 1/3 throttle input. The back wants to swing out and spin the tyres constantly, so I was feathering the throttle around corners fearing that the car will do a 180 on me. It could be the 5.0l has old tyres and the owner was with me at the time and it wasn't my car. It was harder to put the power to the ground on the 5.0l without spinning the tyres.

I can use more of the 4.2l SC throttle in normal street driving without the feeling that the back end would step out with too much throttle input. So to me the 4.2l SC is more playful because I can use more available throttle on the streets without breaking traction too early.

The 5.0l SC has a lower / deeper rubble but sounds more muted, where the 4.2l SC sounds more eager. Maybe because you need to rev the 4.2l SC more to get to the same speed as the 5.0l SC.

My type of driving is to enjoy the twisties as our road are restricted to 110km/h (highways) and the boys in blue can only guestimate your speed in the corners. On the straights they can lock your speed with a radar gun. So on the streets its fast into corners and slow in the straights.

 

So you like slower???
Maybe just buy any other car.
I hear you can really hold the throttle wide open for like a minute on pretty much any Honda and not get over highway speed. FUN!

 

A Toyota powered Lotus will run rings around the XKR5.0l. Power without control is nothing. I have stock motorcycles that can do 9.5sec 1/4 but I prefer the twisties.

 

That is how I felt about my 5 litre XKR when I upgraded from my 4.2 lire XKR.

Shortly after I bought it I was lined up beside another car at some traffic lights and the road ahead had a gentle curve to it. I realised that I actually didn't trust my car to stick to the road if I decided to have a race off the lights whereas I wouldn't have hesitated in my 4.2.

Getting rid of the OEM Dunlops and switching to Michelin Pilot Sport 4S's made a world of difference and the car is still very predictable even with the extra power it now has.

 

damn. i knew i should have gotten the XKR. but noooo, it came in black, and i just had to have white.

 

Control without power is nothing.
I'm usually (never) at a track, but I DO use freeway on-ramps. I also pass other cars while ON the freeway.
I pull away from red lights and stop signs, but rarely do those lead to chicanes and hairpins.
No, if you're not on a track (or on a higher-speed mountain road) POWER is more your friend than being able to pull 1.1G out of a corner.
Give me power on the street every damned time.

 

I said this many times but a proper ECU remap on a 06-09 4.2sc, as I offer, will wow you at the difference it makes. Will be pretty similar In feel to a 5.0 cars... Heck my 0-60 is faster than stock 5.0 XKRS if that tells you guys anything....

 

Your car is way off the pace for the quarter mile terminal speed compared to an XKR-S (118mph) though and that is a much better indication of real power as these cars are very traction limited off the line.

The difference in mid range power and torque between a 4.2 and 5 litre is quite noticeable when you drive them and even more so once you start tweaking the 5 litre.

 

Discussions about XKR 4.2 or XKR 5.0 often focus on engine differences...

There is no denying that the 5.0 is significantly more powerful throughout the operating range

Two other very important points for me:

- The new ZF gearbox is significantly superior to the previous one in both pure performance and daily amenity

- The new piloted suspension (Bilstein) that replaces the "CATS" and is also much more efficient and makes the XKR 5.0 one of the most enjoyable GT to drive in any !!!

Of course, the XKR 4.2 remains a very nice car... but when we tasted at 5.0 ...