Hi guys,

I am looking to buying an 03 XJR with about 70K miles. My question is did they came with the CATS stability control system standard or was it an option? How can you tell if it has it? Also I know the car is electronically limited to 155 mph, can the limiter be lifted? If so what is the true top speed?

Is $12k a fair price for this car?

 

Look at the top of the shock towers. If you have wiring going there then you have the CATS I believe. Mine has it too but I won't be going with the CRAPS set up when I replace them provided I can figure out how to fool the car into not insisting on them. Mine are very slow to respond. You might see 160mph or so. Not worth the effort IMO. 12k seems reasonable for a well cared for 03 XJR with that kind of mileage. I paid 13.5 for mine in June with a very good service history, no accident, own owner, partially replaced front suspension bushings and ball joints and winter tires and wheels. It had 65k or so on the odo.

 

So what is so bad about the CATS system? Is there a switch to disable it like the traction control on the X300 cars?

 

Nothing wrong with the CATS system in my view, just the expense of replacing the original shocks if something fails with them, a very remote chance of that.

Speed limiter is not worth tampering with, to access it you have to have someone with IDS/WDS hardware and software, which usually means main agents (dealers).

Cats was fitted as standard to MY2001 UK, MY2002 USA.

 

Ok thanks Sean and Benebob. I hope I end up getting this car. What a beauty.

 

A performance suspension it is not. It is way to slow to adjust to your driving style. Fine for daily boating but when you want to play it doesn't do to good.

 

Back before I was driving, my friend who had his license, used to often drive his father's '99 XJR. He could bring that thing up to at least 280kph (app. 175mph) according to the speedo. His car had some sort of software upgrade/chip that subsequently de-governed the ecu speed limiter. Man, I remember that car being so ridiculously fast..... good memories.

 

I have 03 XJR R1 and IMO I think CATS is decent for a car of this size. I had a 01 XJR W/O CATS and the car seemed to loose in the rear end. It seemed as if the car wasn't honkered down in the rear. Almost like you couldn't take a curve (like a Cloverleaf section of a Intersection Highway for example) at high speeds without the rear end coming loose. CATS seems to make the car more stable at high speeds.

 

If you ever follow behind an XJ and watch the the way the car moves over bumps - it is different because of the rear suspension.

They drive differently - a bit of a squat going on -- and the suspension moves over a wide range. It was an alternate design -- to provide a very comfortable controlled ride without harshness.

All designed before big wheels and pneumatic suspensions. I believe the "CATS" was a simple way to provide the normal ride but to also tame the large tires at speed.

I remember the larger tires -- only 17" -- that I installed on my 95 VDP. They came from a XK that was fitted with wire wheels. The firmness that the tires introduced to the suspension was noticeable at high speed - you could see the tires bounce.

This is the reason that Jaguar only has one tire specification for the car -- the reinforced side walls allow for lower tire pressure and the P Zeros are soft - so the tire is helping as well.

 

I forgot to ask, do X308s have a seat belt reminder beep and light if you don't fasten your seat belt? Those things are so annoying.

 

Nope. Not in the USA at least.

 

What do you mean by the XJ squating over bumps? I'm curious about the XJ's rear suspension. It seems clumsier over bumps than the front suspension IMO.

I'm surprised the rear is as tame as they are on the XJs. It was impossible to get my VDP to oversteer while autocrossing unless I used the throttle.

 

Burmaz - If you Google "Jaguar XJ rear suspension" you will get a lot of information.

Much was placed on light weight -- unsprung weight. The movement of the brakes to the outside and the ever increasing tire size works against the setup.