Hi! I'm new to this Forum and need your help to pick the right shocks for my 1997 Jaguar XJ6. Actually, after some research, I got the Bilstein F4-B36-1861-H0 (Front) and F4-B46-1858-H1 (Rear) shocks. My mechanic tells me that the ones for the front are quite good, but the ones for the rear are not stiff enough. He can easily compress them by hand and feels that they will not hold up for too long under a heavy car like mine. He wants to install a pair of KYBs or some other Bilsteins. Any suggestions? Is it the right test to determine the stiffness of the shock by just compressing it by hand? A great number of sites I checked recommended the above shocks for my car.

Please I need your help quickly, as the car is at the shop and will be worked on tomorrow. Thanks much in advance!

 

I think the standard issue XJ6 shocks are on the soft side by design and probably *would* be easy to compress.

Go to an XJR spec shock if you want something with more ooomph.

Cheers
DD

 

My R has right around 64k on her and the 60k mile range is usually the life of shocks correct? (if they're original).

I'm going to be doing some preventative maintenance such as coolant hoses, flush, power steering hoses that are starting to dry out and show their age.

Only ask about the shocks because if I go over the wrong speed bump you can hear a crunch sometimes. I want to keep this car in 110% shape.

 

If you go to Bilstien.com and their online catalogue, you already have the correct shocks for 3.2 and 4.0 litre xj6. As others have said, if you want stiffer shocks there are the xjr versions. There are also German spec xjr shocks which are the stiffest - Jaguar and some other suppliers can still supply these.