X308 XJR front shocks
Discussion
Hello guys,
Potentially looking to replace the shocks and springs on the front of the XJR, I see they are prohibitively expensive so I've been holding off for a while. Has anyone found a suitable alternative or is the only option to cough up and pay? I've replaced a few bits and pieces now but the car still feels 'loose' unfortunately, I understand this isn't shocks and springs directly but whilst it's all apart doing wishbone bushes etc it'd be nice to put some on. Out of interest I replaced the V mounts on the subframe too, does anyone have any experience of genuine vs aftermarket on these as it seems to have made not one bit of difference.
Looking at it I also don't have the upgraded lower steering column with the rubber damper. As nice as it'd be to put one on these are again ridiculously expensive. It'd just be nice to get it back to driving somewhere near as nice as I'm sure it once did!
Potentially looking to replace the shocks and springs on the front of the XJR, I see they are prohibitively expensive so I've been holding off for a while. Has anyone found a suitable alternative or is the only option to cough up and pay? I've replaced a few bits and pieces now but the car still feels 'loose' unfortunately, I understand this isn't shocks and springs directly but whilst it's all apart doing wishbone bushes etc it'd be nice to put some on. Out of interest I replaced the V mounts on the subframe too, does anyone have any experience of genuine vs aftermarket on these as it seems to have made not one bit of difference.
Looking at it I also don't have the upgraded lower steering column with the rubber damper. As nice as it'd be to put one on these are again ridiculously expensive. It'd just be nice to get it back to driving somewhere near as nice as I'm sure it once did!
hey Lew,
from my limited knowledge of these the CATS dampers are pretty much unburstable, that saying they do have bushes in them which can fail. I have just had these replaced (circa £15 each to buy) on my XKR along with the upper wishbone bushes. the result is superb, all tight up front with no knocking on low speed bumpy roads.
My old XJR responded well to the lower stiffer springs that i fitted, enhancing the look of the car to boot. i would say that ride was not drastically compromised but when the CATS woke up to work in unison with the springs it was a better handling experience.
D
from my limited knowledge of these the CATS dampers are pretty much unburstable, that saying they do have bushes in them which can fail. I have just had these replaced (circa £15 each to buy) on my XKR along with the upper wishbone bushes. the result is superb, all tight up front with no knocking on low speed bumpy roads.
My old XJR responded well to the lower stiffer springs that i fitted, enhancing the look of the car to boot. i would say that ride was not drastically compromised but when the CATS woke up to work in unison with the springs it was a better handling experience.
D
Thanks for the reply D,
I do have the lower shock bushes ready to fit actually, definitely well needed as they do look rather crusty at the moment! Also have wishbone bushes ready to go in, did you go for the aftermarket replacements from British Parts or SNG Barratt etc or genuine? I get the feeling a lot of the stuff you can buy for them now is very cheap and a bit nasty. Replaced all of the ball joints soon after I bought it, it was an utter pig of a job and yet looking underneath the rubber boots on every one have already cracked and degraded, it looks more like a 10 year old joint than 9 months old!
I do have the lower shock bushes ready to fit actually, definitely well needed as they do look rather crusty at the moment! Also have wishbone bushes ready to go in, did you go for the aftermarket replacements from British Parts or SNG Barratt etc or genuine? I get the feeling a lot of the stuff you can buy for them now is very cheap and a bit nasty. Replaced all of the ball joints soon after I bought it, it was an utter pig of a job and yet looking underneath the rubber boots on every one have already cracked and degraded, it looks more like a 10 year old joint than 9 months old!
Hi Lew,
Not sure what went in to be fair, Just dropped it off at Jagcare, Portchester. I dont do alot myself the the Jags, i tend to leave my tinkering to the Mx5.
I may be wrong but my belief is that the CATS needs to know when you are driving hard to adjust itself, ie if you throw it around and get aggressive with the throttle then it will, eventually, register your driving style and stiffen up. Not the most sophisticated but then again its 25 yr old technology.
D
Not sure what went in to be fair, Just dropped it off at Jagcare, Portchester. I dont do alot myself the the Jags, i tend to leave my tinkering to the Mx5.
I may be wrong but my belief is that the CATS needs to know when you are driving hard to adjust itself, ie if you throw it around and get aggressive with the throttle then it will, eventually, register your driving style and stiffen up. Not the most sophisticated but then again its 25 yr old technology.
D
Got round to doing the lower front shock bushes this evening guys. The top bushes are also well past best. Is there any UK based suppliers that do these ad a single item and not the entire plate assembly? Checked the usual sources and they're not coming up with anything. Any help much appreciated
Hi Lewg,
If I could throw my two halfpenny in.
Like you I think that some of the OE prices are eye watering,but having an understanding of the engineering integrity that needs to go into these parts eases the pain.
Behind every part there is a whole, invariably, thick, spec document and at the end of the day that's what your paying for.- remember the debacle a few years ago when Mercedes started to take quality out of their engineering, the result was crusty W Series and component failures all over the model range.
I think that amateur sleuthing on product sourcing is a bit of fun and is a dimension of classic ownership that happens to be very beneficial in driving cost down - Unipart made a great business out of it after all.
Regarding your Jag, I would buy OE every time particularly if I can't substitute as above. The cost saving (20%?) is outweighed by engineering integrity; stripping down to replace V Mounts that have failed again is a real PIA and costly as well.
Though not applicable to our latter day Jags - ask how many Red Top so called Lucas rotor arms have let down owners.
Guess what I'm saying is -
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin
If I could throw my two halfpenny in.
Like you I think that some of the OE prices are eye watering,but having an understanding of the engineering integrity that needs to go into these parts eases the pain.
Behind every part there is a whole, invariably, thick, spec document and at the end of the day that's what your paying for.- remember the debacle a few years ago when Mercedes started to take quality out of their engineering, the result was crusty W Series and component failures all over the model range.
I think that amateur sleuthing on product sourcing is a bit of fun and is a dimension of classic ownership that happens to be very beneficial in driving cost down - Unipart made a great business out of it after all.
Regarding your Jag, I would buy OE every time particularly if I can't substitute as above. The cost saving (20%?) is outweighed by engineering integrity; stripping down to replace V Mounts that have failed again is a real PIA and costly as well.
Though not applicable to our latter day Jags - ask how many Red Top so called Lucas rotor arms have let down owners.
Guess what I'm saying is -
“The bitterness of poor quality remains long after the sweetness of low price is forgotten” – Benjamin Franklin
Edited by Carsie on Tuesday 28th February 13:06
So very true Carsie! I'm surprised the aftermarket parts appear so prevalent for Jaguars of all things. I had the pleasure of doing the V moumts twice on my XJS rear subframe too funnily enough!
I gladly go genuine every time if I can get hold of the parts, thankfully a friend works at Jaguar and can look at parts availability for me quite readily.
I gladly go genuine every time if I can get hold of the parts, thankfully a friend works at Jaguar and can look at parts availability for me quite readily.
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