Hi,,,does anyone have any experience with possibly stiffening up the front end of an xjs (slightly). I realize my '93 4.0 is more of a cruiser than a sports car, but it seems to me the ride would be better if I could stiffen up the front suspension just a little, nothing drastic. I'd kinda like to just feel the road once in awhile.

 

https://www.superflex.co.uk/products.php?cat=211

Poly bushings are a quick fix, youll want them on the steering rack and roll bar the rest is subject to heated debate. Then you can look into shocks or even stiffer road springs if you like spending money.

 

Fitting some adjustable shocks is a first step, then take it from there. But first check the suspension wishbone bushes are all good.

 

The wishbone bushings appear to be okay. The poly bushings sound interesting. I have considered new adjustable shocks. I also thought about stiffer springs but i don't want to over do the fix.
Thanks for the input.

 

Thanks for the link. i think I'll try these first.

 

What do you mean by feel the road. Are you interested in more steering precision and feedback or more body control?
A simple fix for more steering Precision is to up your tire pressure to the top end of the allowable range. Another thing that can increase steering Precision greatly is by going plus one on your wheels and tires. If you have a 93 you probably already have the better rack bushings just make sure that they're not worn out another thing to check is the upper control arm bushings. Its very difficult to see whether they are worn out without removal. You also need to carefully check me upper ball joints and lower ball joints for where small amounts of play can turn into big decreases and steering precision. And after that you have to make sure you are alignment is correct. I have four Jaguars that I drive on a regular basis they all have similar suspension but all feel very different mostly due to tires and different shocks and different alignment settings.

Body control and general body motion sloppiness can be optimized with shocks the stiffest off-the-shelf shocks available are the bilstein's HD.

 

It feels like a big old Eldorado going down the road. Totally un-sports like. i think i may opt for some adjustable shocks but not the stiffest available. Just something to make if feel a bit more sporty and less old Caddy.

 

If you want it to feel a bit sportier, I would suggest some stiffer shocks, but not adjustable. Fortunately, all shocks are stiffer than your worn out old ones!

I just put Sachs front shocks on my V12, which were only $90 a pair from Rock Auto. They are quite a bit stiffer, especially on rebound. All float is gone.

Another important upgrade would be the steering rack bushings. If you have the original ones, they were positively dangerous even when new. This is the only place where poly ones are a good idea.

 

Start with the steering rack bushings, tie rod ends, and the anti roll bar bushings. Then up grade the shocks front and rear. Drive that for a while and then see where you want to go from there. This assumes that tires and wheel alignment are all correct.

 

I'm pretty sure that Jaguar didn't have 'big old Eldorado' in mind when they designed the suspension, even for the American market.
If nothing has been changed since new then everything is 25 years old so maybe just renewing all the bushings would improve everything greatly.
An interesting clip from TG if you are one of the few that haven't seen it:
Jaguar XJS Top Gear : BBC?s James May featured our XJS - XJS & XJ from KWE Cars

 

Hi Rick25

When I got my XJS 'Cherry Blossom' back on the road after a 17 Year Lay up!

She was rolling around all over the place like a 'Drunken Sailor' as well as making horrible graunching noises under the Bonnet/Hood

Which was a bit of a mystery, as She had just passed her MOT inspection with flying Colours

And exactly the same thing happened with my Grey XJS '50 Shades'

Trying to go round a Corner was really a bit of a Joke, as She was heeling over like a Sailing boat

And because She passed her MOT it took me forever to find out why

At the time in question and being a 'non mechanic' I was still finding my way around the Car

But when I'd checked almost everything else, I looked at the Top Bushes of the Shock absorbers

and was Shocked to find they were not there!

OMG What happened!

They had totally worn away to the extent that all was left was just the threaded bit with a bolt on the Top!

And the graunching noise was made by the sound of the thread of the Shock Absorber Top

As it rubbed up and down inside the empty Hole

Where it made a Sound like 'Broken China' (No I don't know why either!)

I could have ordered some On-Line but as I was keen to get back on the road and didn't want to wait I made my own

Which is not only dead easy to do but you can tune the Body Roll depending on the Material that you decide to use

And I've cut them out of Rubber and also out of Nylon Chopping Boards, all you need is a Standard Hole Saw and you are good to go!

Providing the Nuts on the Top of the Shocks come undone easily, then you could fit New Bushes

To the Shocks on both sides of your Car in around an hour

But once that job was done what happened next!

Its no exaggeration to say that it Totally Transformed the Car, as She now went round a Corner Flat, as if She were on rails

For what seemed to be a Minor Mod that literally Cost me nothing!

The difference was Jaw dropping!

And so that is the first thing I would try

You can see how I did it on Page: 62 of my 'Cherry Blossom' restoration Thread

Here is the Link to that Page: https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...122634/page62/

 

Hey....I will definitely check it out this weekend. Thanks for the heads up and the link.