SM owner saying hello

[xantia_v6]

The SM has an 80 litre tank which it gets through at about 15mpg. Much of it is in semi-carbonised form at the back of the garage as the stuff almost pours out on start up. The joys of D Jetronic until it is replaced this winter.

I am surprised that it is. that bad. My XJ-S with d-jet fuelled 5.3 litre V12 does 17 MPG even driven enthusiastically.

[Charles M]

Renard use a Megasqirt ECU with bespoke firmware for the irregular fire 6, Captain!

I use consumption figures derived solely from brimming and odometer, which invariably has its own variances. The best I've got up to is 17, the norm about 15. It may well be my system sensors are not working particularly well, but I am not going to spend labour charges on sorting something that is coming out anyway. I think it is an earlier system than your Jaguar (fettled a lot) anyway.

[normantilbury]

Just filled mine up ready for it's journey up to Huddersfield £100 to fill the tank at asda.

Norman

[captainhaddock]

Good plan Charles. Didn't hear anything bad about Renard so go for it.

[Charles M]

I went over to meet Nard van der Meer at Renard in June. He struck me as intelligent, considered and experienced with a long track record (as well as love for the car) behind him. Much more of an engineer than mechanic.

[xantia_v6]

It may well be my system sensors are not working particularly well, but I am not going to spend labour charges on sorting something that is coming out anyway. I think it is an earlier system than your Jaguar (fettled a lot) anyway.

Just for interest, here is good article on the workings of the jaguar / lucas version of the d-jet system. Mine is one with no overrun cutoff and decelleration valves which have the effect of completely eliminating engine braking, you take your foot off the throttle and the car keeps running at more or less the same speed until you use the brake (which can be a little disconcerting).

[Charles M]

Thanks - sounds interesting!

[Charles M]

I took the SM down to my friend Gavin McGuire http://www.gavinmcguire.co.uk/ yesterday for a conflab about my Allard, and to see his latest arrivals. I am like a child in a sweet shop with all these spectacular veteran and later cars (the first ever Alvis Speed 25 had just arrived - a stunner) and popped in to show the SM to his belt and bearing supplier, Bess, who had found the correct fanbelt for the flathead V8 and who runs a DS21. She was over the moon.

Anyway, I hadn't figured on there being heavy traffic for the end of half term and the M25 was tailback hell. I came off to navigate through Surrey and got stuck with roadworks, then hit rush hour, then it got dark, so three hours to do 40 miles. This is the sort of traffic that would get the engine hot and constantly stall. This time - it just ran and ran and ran. I left the air-con off to reduce the load and had the window down as I was well wrapped up - gosh the Maserati V6 is a sonorous beastie at revs. So new HT leads, coil and dizzy has cured an immensely frustrating and long existing problem. I did determine in the dark that the headlamps are worse than an XM by a long way, so work needed there, and its low slung driving position is brutal when facing a line of cars with headlights on.

It's off to Holland at the end of this month, so at least no worries about what it will be doing over the winter.

[Charles M]

A couple of autumnal photos

[CitroJim]

That's lovely Charles The SM looks very good in gold...