My XK8 frankly, a bit scary

[wack]

If i'm honest I don't enjoy driving it as much as I did my Mazda MX5, the MX5 was nothing to look at but a real laugh to drive, handled like a go kart and I could throw it into the bends without worrying where it was going.

The XK8 is a different breed, fast in a straight line but quite frankly a bit scary unless the road surface is perfect, the one thing it does that the Mazda didn't is put a smile on my face every time I look at it, simply beautiful

[wack]

My car is running on 18" Continental tyres, the front suspension has been checked out , NS front upper wishbone bushes were replaced but it still doesn't handle well, it tramlines quite badly especially under heavy braking, a while back I gave it the full beans for 7-8 seconds, took my foot off the power and stared death in the face, it was all over the place, the road was more uneven than i'd anticipated but the suspension couldn't cope at all, I was shaking when I got it stopped.

Haven't done that again, after that I got the tracking checked which was spot on, when you say suspension geometry do you mean 4 wheel alignment or something else, the tyres have at least 5mm on them so i'm reluctant to spend £600 on changing them on the off chance it'll improve the handling.

One thing I did notice when it was up in the air is it has green shock absorbers, would these have been standard when new, the car has had a lot of money spent on it by a previous owner, it's a XK8 Sport but has had the XKR look applied very well, bonnet, grille, kick plates and badges etc, I'm not sure if it's been lowered because i've never put it up against a standard car, can you tell by the picture of it

Edited by wack on Sunday 16th May 19:14

[wack]

I've read the manual regarding Tyre pressures, it says non jaguar approved tyres should be inflated to 40psi so I tried this as I couldn't find anywhere that said continental tyres were jaguar approved.

The handling has improved dramatically, it goes where I point it now, the major downside is the ride is very hard now, are jaguar approved tyres made with reinforced sidewalls as I'm starting to think a lot of my problems were due to sideways flexing in the rear tyres when any sideways force was encountered

Does anyone have a XK8 with Green shock absorbers as i'm curious to know if mine are standard

the prescotts said:

Hi Wack, XK's are not the greatest handling car in the world but your experience seems a little extreme. I see you are in Cheshire so if you ever find yourself around Southport I would be happy to have a look. I have owned XK's for the last twelve years so should be able to tell if there is anything wrong with the handling.

Thanks for the offer Paul, I'm in Warrington so it's a fair drive to Southport at XK8 fuel consumption rates

RW774 said:

Front bed mounts shot I wonder??. That would make the front axle beam squirm cornering.

UncleRic said:

RW774 said:

Front bed mounts shot I wonder??. That would make the front axle beam squirm cornering.

Could be. More likely the front upper cross-mounts have perished, which would throw the rear-arm rubbers off camber and cause a suspension hub to come undone.

Edited by wack on Thursday 20th May 20:40

You're scaring me now that sounds expensive, is it something that would be obvious by looking or is it take it apart and see.

Thanks for all the advice so far, it's much appreciated

Edited by wack on Thursday 20th May 20:42

[wack]

Not sure about Castrol but Warrington is the home of Rock Oil, I'll get the bushes checked out and the items you mention, thanks again for the advice, it does handle much better with 40 psi in the tyres, no fillings left in my teeth though