Any suggestions on replacing the shock absorbers? I am in the US.


Budget is a consideration. I see Bilstein's on Amazon for about $100 each.


KYB


Monroe


???


Thanks,


Brad

 

I have Bilstein all round and very happy with them, there are 2 different rates for the XJS, the TWR were slightly more compliant than the Jaguar sport pack. I have the TWR spec, apart from the rear sitting lower (I need to add a spacer to bring the rear up 20mm), they give a well controlled but not harsh ride.

Front springs are stock packing shims removed (mostly because of the weight reduction), rear springs are standard ride height heavy duty, no rear swaybar, 1" front SB.

Poly bushes in the front swaybar, front subframe mounts, rack and upper wishbone which I am going to remove.

The car handles very well albeit a little sensitive in the steering, move the wheel and the car turns.

 

I just bought Sachs from Rock Auto for $40 each. Unfortunately, I haven't fitted them yet, so can't tell you how they perform. They sure look nice though.

 

Welsh Enterprises, Inc - Jaguar XJS Rear Suspension Parts - Shock Kit - Boge - XJ6 69-87 XJS

Stock ride - Best bang for the buck.

 

Give us a call and we can offer a good price..

CAC9091B is the std replacement as shown here: https://www.sngbarratt.com/us/#!/Eng...2-d8d3d8231d21

Kind Regards
SNG

 

My experience with shock absorbers.

Bilstein Front HD (yellow) are very stiff and add lots of ride harshness. Feel sporty on a v12, crash bang feeling on I6

Bilstrein rear HD (yellow) are inexplictable soft. Cant figure this one. Hand testing and in car testing indicate and unexpected softness.

KYB Front grey are a good all round shock, no harness and good control. Just at the limit of control for a v12, perfect and sporty for the I6.

KYB Front white (no longer available). I've taken many of these off cars I've parted and they are slightly stiffer than the KYB greys.

KYB gray and white rears, observed to be stiffer than Bilstein Yellows by hand movement and in the car.

OE Bilstein front (black) comfort shock are just like the KYB greys. Good ride and adequate control.

BOGE and Bilstein blacks rear are similiar to KYB rears.
Cant remember ever coming across a set of Boge fronts.

Cant understand why the Bilstein Sport yellow setup is hard up front and soft out back except there is a school of thought with a v12 racer that I've spoken with. He suggested that this is a good setup for a track XJS, the absence of a rear sway bar and soft shocks allows the back to roll over and makes the car rotate. Personally I dont like a loose rear end in anything I'm driving.... ... and my bilsteins are coming out for a set of KYB soon.

I've parted many XJ6's and XJS's over the years, I've taken out KYB's that looked like trash yet almost all of them were tight and functioned normal. I've taken out many black and yellow Bilsteins, 1/2 were trashed and leaking even though they looked good. Seem like the dust boot falls off and the shock rod and seal get exposed with the Bilsteins. The KYB dust shield is welded on...better design choice.

My favorite was a set of 40 year old Girlings, from a 42k mile XJ6c, they were soft soft soft but still damped well and still had a gas charge that made them quickly extend.

 

. i bought a set of Sachs rears about month ago, ride is great , handling fair.

seems as tho they are softer than my original BOGEs!!?

ron

 

My Series III came to me with near-new gray KYBs and, having a V12, I'd say your remarks are correct. They get the job done...no actual complaint.... but I find myself wishing for just a bit more firmness.

I'm trying to put together the guts to spring for a set of Konis.

Cheers
DD

 

Doug
A mate of mine has an XJS V12 with adjustable platform and adjustable firmness AVOs on the rear. These are the best aftermarket shocks I have ever experienced on an XJS. In fact I presumed they were OEM Boges! But I reckon they would adjust well, and I felt they were substantially better than the adjustable GAZs I had.

 

So should we go Bilstein Yellow up front and KYB Gray in the back to get the firmest of both worlds? I want F.I.R.M.

Jess

 

I think you need a spring change then, in addition. Just fitting hard shocks to standard springs might not give you the handling you are looking for. Something like this:
Jaguar Upgrades, Servicing - XjRestorations

 

yes, That's the setup my car and a customer car will be running at Wattkins Glen on a track day event in June. Both cars are being prepped this way with rear sway bars. This is a somewhat of a controversial setup as it's been suggested on Jag's to use a softer rear, no rear sway bar so the back end leans over and helps the car rotate. We are going to test this.

As someone stated shocks can only get you so far. As some point a spring upgrade is required.

 

As mentioned above, what is the purpose of the plastic rings above the front springs? Is it just to prevent friction?

 

They trim the ride height

Each .125" spacer yields about .375" difference in ride height

Cheers
DD

 

Can you elaborate on "...helps the car rotate"?

The terminology has come up before but I'm not exactly clear on what it refers to.

Cheers
DD

 

Furth to Doug's point, Brinny, I say leave them out. The car will not be too low, and the closer that airdam is to the ground the better.

 

Helps promote some oversteer. However, this is contrary to normal theory which holds that understeer is reduced by increasing rear roll and springing stiffness (sway bar, springs, shocks) relative to the front.

 

https://speedsecrets.com/driving-tip...ornering-fast/

This link explains better than I ever could. But you can think of rotation as a controlled spin.

The Jaguar XJ / XJS have trailing arms and as the car leans over one shortens, the the other flattens causing the whole rear cage to shift by design. This is a form of 4 wheel steering that some find effective.

I dont like any form of 4 wheel steering and find it unsettling. I have raced 2 other vehicles with 4 wheel steering, a Porsche 928S and a Nissan 300zx TT and crashed the Nissan real bad.
Ouch... that hurt. I loved that project.

 

Oh.

I thought maybe it had something to do with ability to "rotate" about the roll center or roll axis....something like that

Cheers
DD

 

That should buff out.