Note and commentary,

I recently was faced with a blown air shock on the front right of my 2004 XJ8. As we all know this is an expensive repair. A $1000. Plus for one shock. Ug! After reseach here and elsewear I decided on Strutmasters conversion system. It was a simple install by my local mechanic, (not a Jaguar specialist). They also include a module to wire into the system that takes care of the computer system. Its installed behind the rear seat. Great directions from Strutmaster.He did a great job and we were back on the road the same day. I highly recommend this system. And the folks from Stutmaster were great to work with. I feel the ride is better than original. Feels a bit more like a sports suspension rather than a touring sedan.
Great Driving To All.

Great driving to all.

 

I do understand the sticker shock for the replacement item, but brand new Bilsteins (OE) can be had at around the $800 mark. I have debated this issue concerning using a spring over shock vs. the air suspension for a while now, and dealt with it on my XJ40, and for my X350, there is some validity to not getting rid of the original design. I recently purchased this newer vehicle, and while it has 100k, the system is still in pretty good shape. There are some dynamics concerning spring rates and DSC systems that really rely on the original design to function as intended, and for me, that is a part of why I purchased the vehicle to start with. There are other factors concerning it's design, dealing with vehicle dynamics that even variable rate springs wouldn't address. So that is why I am going to in the next month or so, place aside the funds to do a replacement of the originals prior to system failure.

I have heard good things about the folks at Strutmasters, but I'm not willing to give up the engineering behind the Sport mode and DSC, and I do love the ride quality.