I'll see what I can do.

Cheers,

Don

 

Su informacion es de mucha ayuda. Y gracias a todos por permitirnos aprender de ustedes.

 

¡De nada, kabu XJR!

Cheers,

Don

 

Hey Don,
Folk (like me) are still reading and reaping the benefits of your write-up.
THANKS!
Chemosbe!

 

Thanks so much for this informational post. It has helped me immensely with understanding and troubleshooting my Air suspension issues.

 

Hello Don, could you eventually update the download links? Tried to get the X350 Air Suspension Manual but the link is dead.
Thank you very much & best regards!

 

Hi Mr. Riley,

Thank you for your kind inquiry. Many of the download links were being hosted on a Mediafire account paid for by Graham (GGG), who, like all administrators and moderators here, was an unpaid volunteer. When Internet Brands made some decisions that prompted Graham's departure, he understandably ceased to pay for the Mediafire account. I do not have a Mediafire account, but if you will PM me the documents you are looking for, I will see if I can help.

Cheers,

Don

 

This one should be usefull:

https://www.mediafire.com/file/x1bs4...ining.pdf/file

 

 

Thanks for this link. Do you or anyone else have it for the X358?

 

The X358 is just a cosmetic facelift of the X350. The Air Suspension & ECATS system is essentially the same through VIN H32732, so the same training manual applies.

Cheers,

Don

 

after two years of being told they all drive that way /////my 03 x3509 has finally been diagnosed and fixed by a wonderful guy who is a LandRover specialist. My hard suspension was due to a burnt ourt wire to the rear fuse box causing a voltage drop to the Module causing the ECATS system to not work properly. Car now drives like irt should/

 

Is anyone able to simply explain what I lose by using non Jag/oem air struts (and anything I gain). From what I hear, if I use Arnott, they are 'fixed' at a comfort or sport setting. So does that means the eCATS on an x358 won't do the high speed lowering over 105mph for example, as well as all the other dynamic features outlines in the tech manual linked above? Is the eCATS still sending the signal but the Arnott just ignores it? And if you switch from Arnott back to Jag/OEM remanufactured, does the eCATS suddenly start working again or does it need programming/activating. What's the consensus here, is a 'dumb' preset Arnott shock better than an early 2000s computer system eCATS running the show?

 

Hi Mike,

The high speed lowering is a function of the air suspension control, not ECATS, so it is possible if not likely that this feature would be preserved with Arnott air springs/dampers. But here are the ECATS functions that would be lost, from the Training Manual:









In all the accounts we've had on the forums of folks using Arnott replacement air springs/dampers, I can't recall anyone saying, "I really miss ECATS." So the simple answer to your question may be, "It's better to have an operational air spring/damper than to worry about ECATS."

What I can't remember is whether the use of Arnott units causes a persistent ECATS FAULT warning lamp to be illuminated in the instrument cluster. Hopefully someone else can chime in.

I have converted a lot of X350s & X358s to the Arnott coil springs. That kit comes with an Electronic Bypass Module to fool the computers so no fault codes are triggered.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thanks Don, for your response. I was a little worried that I'd miss the CATS. Like you say if no one has complained after the replacement, I don't expect I would either so I'm definitely leaning toward Arnott air strut replacement.

Does anyone know the defaults that ECATS uses as slow and fast speeds?

THx

 

Also, in my opinion, having healthy bushings is a better way to invest in the suspension than the preserving ECATS. For what it's worth, I didn't notice any detectable difference in squat under acceleration when I switched from OE 'soft' struts to Arnott soft struts in the rear of my SV8.

I have yet to see an ECATS fault in either of my cars, but now that I have spoken, I expect one any day.

-j

 

In response to the recent discussion...

In 2019, I had a 2006 XJ8 Vanden Plas with about 35,000 miles. It needed the air springs.

I called Arnott and talked to one of their tech advisors. He explained that all their air springs do for this car is adjust for ride height. They do not adjust for side-to-side motion of the body nor fore-and-aft motion of the body. In the picture posted by Don B yesterday, you can see that the original factory setup does a lot with controlling those motions (thanks, Don). Arnott said their ride quality falls between the Comfort and Sport of the factory air springs. He said at lower speeds it will be firmer than the factory and at higher speeds it will be softer--it is only one setting and so it can't dither back and forth between two setting like the factory designed. It seemed to me that Arnott's setup is the opposite of what you would want--you would want soft at low speeds and firm at high speeds. Given that the Arnott's didn't work like the factory setup I decided to pass.

I ended up having the originals rebuilt by Rebuild Master Tech. They worked "ok". Overnight it would lose about an inch in ride height but in the morning it would rise to the proper height in just a few seconds and remain at the proper height all day. It wasn't worth having RMT rebuild them again so I left them on the car. In 2022 I sold it to a friend (yes, I actually sold a used Jaguar to a friend and we're still friends). The suspension has since collapsed and he has just let the car sit.

I now have a 2004 XJ8 VDP that my father bought new; it has only 38,000 miles and I intend to keep in another 20 or 30 years. The suspension on it has collapsed so I'm replacing all four air springs. A number of years ago, Bilstein came out with a replacement air spring for these which functions just like the original factory setup (which was also made by Bilstein). These replacements are supposedly much more reliable than the original ones.

The part numbers for these are 44-069506 and 44-069483 (I can't remember which is front and which is rear). Now Bilstein no longer makes these so you have to look around on the internet to find a company that still has some in stock. I could not find any company in the United States that had these and had to get them from a company in Germany that obtained them from Poland. I found them on ebay. Prices can range from $1,000-$1,800 each. Yes, it's pricey. In my search a couple months ago ML Performance (in England, I think) did have a set of four. But I guess that in a few or several years no one will have these Bilstein replacements anymore.

Hope this helps.

 

The manual states that the default damper setting at both slow and very fast speeds is firm.

 

Now that you mention it, I seem to recall that Arnott includes an inductor inside the top cap of their air spring/damper units to fool the computer so no ECATS faults are triggered.

 

Thanks for putting the whole air suspension system for my 08 Jag XJ Vanden Plas in such an understandable, orderly manner. I am confident that I will be able to tackle the rebuild of the suspension with ease....maybe.