Has anyone done any suspension upgrades on the R Coupe? My main goal is to reduce body roll not necessarily reduce height.

 

Googling this topic suggests 3 spring options:
- Mina Gallery
- H&R
- Velocity AP

There are no anti roll bar options.

There are also coilovers.

My inclination is to go with springs, and maybe wait for anti roll bars later.

Anyone tried any of these springs?

 

I'll have a report for you on the H&Rs in a couple weeks. I do believe there are threads where others have reported on both the H&R as well as the VAP springs.

 

Thanks. What considerations led you to choose H&R instead of VAP?

 

Yes, there are.

The anti roll bars in the F-Type (RWD at least) are shared with other models. XK, XF, and the earlier X350 & S-Type too.

There are nice thick bars available that originally suited the XF, will also fit the F-Type https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...pgrade-141963/ these are offered for sale on eBay for the manufacturer in Korea, but you will have to look for XF, not F-Type.

Details of the parts crossover in this thread https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/w...-f-type-94044/

F-Type is listed as having a rear bar p/n XR835524 i.e. same as the V6 S-Type & X350, same as the non R-S XK's...

The stock F-Type front bar is C2P23535, same as the X150 XKR, which was a replacement for the XR837161, that also fit the S-Type, and X350...

The XF connection is there is a part number crossover between the XF and XK for the front bar. For the rear there is a crossover between the XF, XJ and F-Type.

 

Reputation, focus and ride height.

I never heard of VAP before joining this forum. VAP is a British concern that has been around for 8 years offering suspension, exhaust, tuning, and appearance parts. H&R is a German suspension developer and manufacturer established 35 years ago focused entirely on suspension components manufactured under ISO standards.

I have also been very happy with the H&R springs and anti-sway bars I installed on my R53 MINI lowering by 1.0" in front and .75" in the rear. Ride actually became more sure footed through the turns and smoother over the bumps.(Though front dam whisker need to be replaced every five years or so).

Lastly, and perhaps least importantly, the H&R springs will lower the V6 by 1.2" rather than the 0.9" of the VAP springs. The 1.2" is my preference, but that might actually be a detriment for those navigating more extreme terrains than I. I don't mind replacing the whiskers..they're cheap.

 

I know this is a big ask, but can you tell me the specification comparison of the front and rear bars on the XKR-S verses the bars on the F-Type R Coupe?

 

I got some input from Vic and he said that he found the VAP springs didn't improve the body roll issue. However his take was you probably also need better shocks and/or thicker anti-roll bars, not just springs.

I think I may focus on the anti roll bars.

BTW what is cost of whiskers?

 

Each side about $80 and center $130. Easy install.

And you are right about the roll. A good set of lowering progressives will have little impact on roll if you don't want the ride quality to suffer. Larger bar in back will show more improvement than the one in front with a well balanced car like the F-Type.Most people focus too much on just the front bar.

 

Reducing body roll with heavier anti-roll bars can undesirable side-effects, depending on the roads you travel. I get a lot of uneven roads, where the left and right sides of the car are hitting bumps at different times. Too much roll stiffness upsets the chassis in these conditions by linking the sides too much and preventing proper independent action.

If I had nice, smooth roads (and no speed bumps or driveways to contend with) I'd set things up differently, but the real world for me precludes that. If I dropped the car 1.2" (noted for the H&R springs) I'd have to park at least a mile from home and hoof it the rest of the way.

 

+1 and well stated!

While hard cornering is certainly not flat, I think body roll is pretty minimal. Lowering is totally out of the question for my street use. All in all, I think the package is a very good compromise for all types of street conditions.

I used to routinely do suspension mods on my high performance cars, and while they were improved on the track, I definitely made some of them somewhat unpleasant for street use.

 

I think I've mentioned how wonderful the Works dampers are on the R53. If I haven't, consider them mentioned.

Significantly lighter high speed damping, coupled with heavier low speed damping. A lot more comfortable and much more controlled than the ride of the standard car. Ride height with Works Springs was also bodywork friendly.

 

Is there a similar thread covering Jaguar's passive dampers? This is an area where the ride/handling could be improved on the Base model...

 

Body roll is far from minimal. This car has more body roll than my 4400lb BMW M5.

The body roll is more saloon car like than sports car like. One of my favorite corners in Atlanta can be taken at 70 in the BMW and only 62 in the Jag. That isn't right, when you consider weight advantage and similar tire sizes.

 

Buy an Elise. I think you'll like it...

 

Body roll in itself isn't a bad thing. I'm assuming what you really want is less "lean" once the car is set in a turn. Sway bars will only go so far in controlling it. Ideally, you'd also want stronger springs. Not the quickest way, but getting custom springs made from Eibach or Swift will be able to give you a stronger spring without dropping height too much. They can run calcs to make sure they can set the spring length based on the corner weight and desired ride height/spring rate. A majority of the lowering springs on the market don't increase stiffness all that much because mainly the people buying them want a lower car with the same feeling. This is why lowering springs solely won't do what you are looking for... You want the opposite which is not typical to the market so going the custom route is likely going to be your best option.

Also, keep in mind that this could open up another can of worms.. Depending on how stiff you want things, you may also need upgraded dampers. I don't know how much room there is with the OEM equipment for increased spring rates but that should be kept under consideration when increasing spring rates.

 

Specs such as stiffness don't exist, not for mere mortals like us anyhow.

As per the other thread, this is all that's known;

Front 32mm hollow, rear 17mm solid (the 2008 4.2 XKR-S and 2007 S-Type R got a 19mm rear bar)

Fronts
AWD, convertible & coupé = T2R7849, unique to F-Type AWD
RWD, convertible & coupé = C2P23535, same as X150 XK/R and others

Rears
Convertible with Continuous Variable Damping = C2P23536, same as 5.0L XKR-S
Convertible without Continuous Variable Damping = C2D22337, same as XF Sportbrake
Coupé with Continuous Variable Damping = C2D22337, same as XF Sportbrake
Coupé without Continuous Variable Damping = XR835524, same as X150 XK/R (not XKR-S)

In regards to the X150 XK/R/R-S;

The front bars are the same for XKR and XKR-S, only the XKR-S GT got a different bar, and that is the same one that's fitted to an XF 4-cylinder model. Go figure...

The rear bars on the XK & XKR are the same as the V6 S-Type and XJ. The XKR-S got a thicker bar for 2008 (which is what I fitted to my XJR) and then for the 2011 XKR-S it has a different version which is also used on the XFR-S.

The XKR-S GT got a completely unique rear bar, but when I enquired about buying one a few years ago it was like £1000 just for the bar, there were only 5pcs available and there would be no further production. So that killed that idea....

You now know everything I do about the stock anti roll bars on these cars....

I had looked into this topic briefly. The part numbers for the F-Type dampers and springs don't seem to have any crossover to the other cars. The part numbers are unique to the F-Type.

 

Perhaps we are comparing apples and oranges. It's entirely possible there is significantly more body roll in the considerably heavier R coupe, loaded with options than I see in a stripped base convertible.

 

I certainly got that sense when I first test drove a V8R and V6S right after one another.

 

I was contemplating the same thing as I was driving home tonight. I've got a V6S, which a little heavier than a base model, but it's a coupe (lighter than convertible), manual (lighter than automatic), V6 (lighter than V8), and RWD (lighter than AWD). The last doesn't apply to the OP, but I too am thinking that it's really a different car.

I haven't driven the V8R but I did drive the V8S back to back with the V6 two years ago. I drove the V6S later and decided then that the V6S seems the most "driver's car" of them all (with manual, of course, because I'm biased). The V8 just carries more weight in the nose and it shows.

In short, if you've got a V8 and feel the body roll is excessive, I'll stop mentally dismissing your complaints. You have my permission to whinge