I have a 2013 XK coupe, BRG with sparkles, 25K. Purchased it 2016. Love it. Its a pure hobby and i don't drive it much. Cant drive it fast or aggressively anymore because just got a speeding ticket. Usually take my wife out to restaurant movies, etc. Occasional car show Constantly thinking of ways to make it to my liking. Here's the thing. Because of the sport suspension it handles great but annoyingly harsh on City streets while great on smooth roads. I'm willing to sacrifice some handling (not too much) for less bumpy ride. Would it hurt the car to take it to a suspension shop to work on it (change shocks mainly)? Thanks.

 

Welcome to the Forums.

Shockers would be the key, BIT, I am not familiar with that later model OE set up.

I suggest a re-ask in teh XK (X150) Tech Section, they will know.

Good luck.

 

 

 

Welcome to the forums.

 

Welcome to Jaguar Forums meander,

Good to have you with us.
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welcome to the forum - enjoy!!!

 

Hello,
Welcome to the forums from ElinorB.
(';')

 

I can't answer on the X150 particularly, but I have absolutely transformed my 2012 X250 with a "comfort suspension" kit from Spires which included spring rates reduced by 15% and custom yellow Bilstein B6 dampers valved to match the new spring rate. But I got just about half of the total improvement from changing the wheels and tires going from 245/40r19s to 235/50r18s, a gain of about 3/4 inch of sidewall.

Changing just the dampers won't improve the harshness at all, rather it might make things worse if the original dampers are a bit worn and already move easier. You'll get improvement primarily from softer springs. I don't know if there is a comfort suspension kit for the XK, but assuming there is not, it is entirely plausible to have a custom suspension setup built. I wanted to see first what it would cost to go even softer than the Spires kit and so talked to couple of hot rod and race shops that thought the XF would be a piece of cake in comparison to the antique and race cars they usually build. Some of those "experts" told me that I could have just custom springs wound and installed for about $2,000 and as long as I didn't go more than 10% softer, I could still use the factory dampers. Beyond about 10%, the dampers would need valved to match the new spring rate and since the factory dampers can't be re-valved, it was going to require custom made dampers. I got estimates of $6,000 to $9,000 for a custom setup at a 25% softer spring rate but the Spires kit at 15% softer was only about $2,500 installed so that's the route I chose to take.

Now something else to consider is whether your X150 has electronic suspension - I'm not familiar enough with them. I specifically bought the XF "Portfolio" trim level which does NOT have any computer suspension control to worry about.

After all that narrative, I suggest you look at adding some sidewall to your tires first before pursuing suspension modifications and see how much it helps. That 3/4" sidewall improvement was quite dramatic. In my case though I was trying to get as close to my old X308 magic carpet ride as practical. I think I may have gotten 50% of the way there, but I spent about $5,000 altogether on the suspension kit, a set of refurbed Vela wheels and new tires. Good luck in your comfort quest. I know exactly how you feel.