Hi all. Had my 05 XKR convertible for about half a year now. Car has tons of power and always gets lots of looks. However, I'm curious about several things. The steering has always felt very stiff. I'm assuming this is normal for this car? I've always had XJs with butter-smooth steering and ride. Also, the ride feels pretty rough, and I think this might be due to worn front suspension and possible wheel bearing issue. But are the XKs just a much stiffer, noisier, and rougher ride? Are these things normal for the XKRs? To be honest, I thought I would love the car, but I just don't love it nearly as much as my 06 XJ Super. Maybe I'm just more of a sedan guy... Thoughts and opinions appreciated.

 

The wheel bearings are not very well protected from deep water, so don't drive through low lying areas in heavy rains. Wheel bearings will pull to one side, howl and the howl will get louder when you change lanes. They might add a "crunchy" edge to the ride, but not make it "rough".

When the suspension of a X100 wears out, the front gets lower and adds camber that the power steering has to overcome to turn. Measure the distance between the center of wheel and fender lip and report it back.

Rough ride isn't helped by 20 in wheels, but old tires don't help, either. Tires harden with age. If they are over 7 years old, they probably could use replacing, even if they still have tread. Worn shock mounts, especially in back, will make the ride seem rough, because the shocks are flopping around and not controlling the ride. Very common X100 issue.

 

The comments on suspension wear are true. I didn't realize that my upper control arm bushings were totally shot; after replacing them my steering was noticeably smoother and easier.


Your noise could also be from almost worn tires. I also was a little taken back by the road noise in my XKR when I first bought it. But it would need new tires within a few months and the ride was much quieter afterwards.


I couldn't ask for a better road car. I've put over 90,000 miles on her in 4 years and she's an absolute dream on the highway (well, at 90 mph at least! - lol. She loves that speed).


Don't give up on your XKR just yet.

 

NO - suspect worn suspension bushes

My 2005 was on 20 inch Sepangs. Beautiful appearance but very harsh ride compared with the 2001 XK8 on 18 inch Impellar wheels I'd had before that. This totally spoiled the car for me. My XK on 19 inch Carelia wheels is a good compromise between style and comfort.

Graham

 

This is also quite possible. Depending upon your taste and what you're looking for, perhaps the flagship sedan is more lovable. It's a more advanced car.

 

I must admit I love my XJ, but every now and then there's no substitute for the XKR

 

I must admit my Van den Plas was a lot easier to get in and out of and had a lot more room, but the XK is more fun to drive, and the stereo is fantastic.

 

If you're old-ish and tall (I'm 62 and 6-foot-7) you're just not going to enjoy the XK8/XKR series very much. I have to fold up like a card table to get in and out of it. The floorboard cannot accommodate my size 15 shoes. The 19-inch wheels create a relatively harsh ride even with great tires (Yokohama YK580). Good thing ours is my wife's car and not mine. I very rarely drive it because I just cannot fit into the damn thing....

I much prefer driving my S-Type, my Ram pickup, or even our Outback SUV....