Hi All,


Please can someone either tell me or point me in the right direction to explain how best to lower my series 3 XJ6 ?


I'm not after excessive lowness like coilovers wound right down or air bags etc but i do want it lower than standard.


I've had a quick Google search and arent coming up with too many options but someone mentioned that the front can be dropped by using / removing washers or something from the IFS setup ???


Any help / guidance would be great.


Thanks
Darren

 

Yes, there are shims in the front spring pan, or on top in the tower. There was a formula for what a specific thickness shim altered the ride height, but I cannot find it.

A HUGE amount of work to remove whatever is decided, and it could be wrong, so that HUGE amount of work is repeated and so on.

The rears are "coil over" as standard. Lowered springs are available from "King Springs" down here, but they are usually significantly "firmer" than the OE, dunno why, they just are, so the Classic Jag ride is LOST.

 

Also, the front spring pan can be lowered. This means fabricating some spacers to fit between the spring pan and the lower control arm, but it's doable.

Cheers
DD

 

Ok cheers Doug & Grant.


I dont suppose there's a "how to" type thread anywhere you could point me towards ???

 

Well, I have not done it. I think I understand the method Doug describes.


1. Safety. The car must be jacked up and the front wheels removed. Keep the jack n place and use sturdy jack stands on solid footing. Block the rear wheel with a chock in front and one behind. Set the hand brake. transmission in Park.


Removing the pan that's support the springs will unleash tremendous mechanical energy. it must be secured. Study it carefully. One method might be a sturdy pice of all thread rod in the center with plenty f thread bit.


2. Remove one fastener at a time and replace with a longer one. Now, you have a defined space between the spring pan and the lower control arm. Good fastener quality. Generic Hdwe grade not good enough. Fabricate spacers for each fastener.
I'd guess about an inch. Remove and install, one bolt at a time.


Might be some fit sand try to get the desired ride height.


This method has at least two advantages over other cruder systems.
Alignment remains the same. As the spring rate is unchanged, either is the ride.


As to the rear, I've not the foggiest, but Grant's sounds doable. Yup, the rear is old time tried and tested "coil over". Carrera was/is a respected maker of these.
Their tech once offered guidance in rates and were willing to provide the hardware.
Pricey at the time...


Yu might just jack up the rear safely, of course, and lie down and contemplate the architecture and see where location might be changed to lower the rear and not change the rate or alignment.


Carl.

 

Mmmm sounds complicated but I'm pretty sure I get what you mean.

Think I'll get the car on the ramp and take all 4 wheels off and get my head round how it all works at the moment.

Does anyone know anyone that has done this. I'm thinking that a picture paints a thousand words and all that

 

Exactly how low are you trying to get? mine is pretty standard with 215/70 tires and lowest point on car is only 5 1/4 inches from ground!! granted that is the jacking point behind front wheel, but i already have issues getting rear of car on and off of ramps due to body hitting the ramp itself!

 

I know this may not go down well but I want it 2" lower all round, possibly 2.5".....

 

Was thinking the same. My car is nearly always the lowest car in the car park or in a bunch of traffic. However , these are our personal toys to please our personal tastes, so why not.

 

When I put a different brand of tires on my car, tires with stiffer sidewalls (husband's idea of safety), its effective curb height was raised by a good inch, with accompanying degradation of cornering and handling.

When (not if) I use up these Generals which are quite soft, I will go back to Michelins, which sit lower and handle better; and I don't think it's all connected to ride height.
(';')

 

Ok so ive been doing some measuring, googling and ringing around and I reckon ive found a company that seem to know what they're on about. They're called Dampertech and are based in Sheffield here in the UK.


Currently the car is completely standard, including some saggy / worn rear springs. Ive got about 125mm of clearance from the lowest parts on the car like sump, exhaust and other odds and sods to the tarmac. My wheel and tyre choice (185 x 60's on a 15" x 7" wheel) will bring this clearance down to about 92mm. I need the car lower by about 50mm though which would leave me with 42mm clearance.......


The rear end seems to be pretty straightforward - I need to get the wheel and tyre sat where I want it to be and then measure the distance between the mounting points of the dampers. The bloke from Dampertech will then make me an adjustable coilover unit to suit the finished ride height im going for.


The fronts though seem a bit more complicated - Same measuring required to be able to use an adjustable coilover damper but I suspect the existing damper mounting points (top and bottom) wont necessarily be strong enough to then take the spring load and damper load together ?


Soooooo, my question is, has anyone dealt with this or know's someone who has to save me from reinventing the wheel so to speak ?


Here are a couple of pictures to show where im up to. Ignore the tyre size though as these are 185 x 55's to use for mocking up - the sidewall is too small, hence im now going to go for 60's


Cheers in advance.



























The inspiration !

 

Not my cup of tea, as they say, but you asked, so I will impart what I know.

A very long time back, about 1989 I think?, a Jag owner here wanted his S2 XJ12 Coupe lower to the ground. Same suspension by the way.

We tried to reason with hime, NOPE, he knew what he wanted, so as said, its his car, knock yourself out.

Obtained the required springs (King Springs) based on the masurements he calculated, much as you have done.

Fitted the rear with new Gabriel shocks (his were a tad sad). Borrowed the Jaguar Spring Compressor Tool I have and did the fronts.

The drop according to the spring people should have been "about 40mm", and that matched his calculations.

The rears went well, and did close the wheel arch gap to a "nice" point. Some shim removal at the disc rotor sorted the neg camber a tad.

The fronts took days, as the thing dropped like a stone. The OE springs were sent to the factory, and they remade another pair with the same spring rate spec???, and the drop he wanted. Sat too high. Kind of half way between stock and desired.

Next set were spot on.

Then the test drive, oh my.

This thing was like a Go-Kart in all areas. Rode like an Original Mini Cooper, and handled about the same, which was insane for that size car, but the slightest imperfection in the tarmac had the car contacting said tarmac rather obscenely.

After 3 days, and the realisation that shopping mall "speed humps" were seriously unfriendly, normal access to his own driveway, and 4 "Yellow Canaries" (defect notices), and all sorts of other grief, the car returned to standard.

It took months to repair all the damaged suspension bits, sill panels, sump plug boss, etc.

Still that way today.

If what you propose is mainly a "Show Car", different discussion. A road goer, not sure of the roads etc up there, your eyes are better than mine.

 

Cheers Grant. Understand exactly where you're coming from and agree with pretty much all of what you're saying but lower is where I want to go im afraid.


Am also considering and will mock up with different tyre options. i.e 185 x 65's would make about 3/4" difference to the ride height compared to 185 x 60's and might still achieve the look I want ?


I know that lowering Jag's isn't a lot of people's cup of tea and that you could say id be spoiling one of the very things that make these old cars what they are - a very comfy old cruiser, but I do like my cars to be lower and, for my sins, I like a challenge !

 

Make sure.you have room to get the jack underneath!! Years ago i worked at shop.and a lowered pickup came in for an oil change. We couldnt get the arms of the lift under his truck, nor would our trolley jack fit! Sent him to a place that had a pit instead. Tires would have been easy enough as the.trucks jack was a bumper jack. Anyways. Just make sure you have clearance at the jacking points for whatever type of jack you are going to use. Also keep in mind clearance is a tire is.flat!

 

Jack clearance will be fine as I have some thin wedge tyre ramps to drive on to get the body of the car back up to "normal" height.


Hadnt thought about getting a puncture though.......

 

Buy a pressure can of tyre inflate, it'll get you out of trouble.

 

Good thinking batman !

 

Couple of thoughts before I go to market. if warm, Jeep and AC, if still tolerable, ACless, but getting shinier Jaguar!!!


1. those 185's "mock up's" greatly exaggerate the filling of the wheel wells. As already stated, 215 x 70's fill them almost to full!!!! In my case on 7" XJS lattice wheels. Little empty space!!!


2. That black car as the desired example is road limited. Note the exaggerated negative camber. Reminds me of the air bag cars. Raise to drive, drop when parked for looks.


But, I definitely agree, to each his own.


memory:


My son "restored" a 73 Ford Ranchero from a badly beat up critter to a realy nce looking one. RED, country squire trim and nice wheels. But, lowered. ugh, felt evry bump in the road and bottomed the suspension at will. Looked "Kool", though!!!!


Carl

 

Hi Carl,


Lowered cars arent your thing then i take it


I know that 205 x 70's fill the arch and that's fine but i dont want balloon type tyres or standard wheels, hence the smaller sidewall options im trying.


Im pretty sure that the black car has air bags all round. I dont want to do this as i dont want my car as low as this, just similar ish in style


I've a feeling id like the look of your sons Ranchero, especially because it's lowered. As has been said, each to their own

 

Not really, only sort of. And, I sure do respect the views of others, even if they conflict with mine.


1. Low does look good, to a point. Splayed out wheels, just don't look right.
2. I do want the wheel "arch" filled with wheel. Teeny wheels in a large opening don't get it for me. But some folks strive for it, the "low rider" guys.
3. Large alloy wheels with "rubber band" tires are not my taste. Yeah, some want them tall, so...
4. I prefer more rubber, less alloy.
5. I gotta laugh when I see the really big SUV's that are supposedly off road capable with the huge alloy wheels with rubber band tire.


I want the car to look good, handle well and ride decently.


Tis a compromise to an extent, I get it. But, giving up function for looks has to be limited at best.


The wheels and tires on my first car were 30 x 3 1/2 wood spokers!!! Been through a lot of combinations since then.


Carl