I have an '01 XKR Convertible, I have not been able to drive in a couple years. I have had it in 2 shops at an expense of nearly $2000 Because no one in a 45-50 mile radius Knows squat about it! or how to adjust it! I have been looking for a compatible Tubular sub frame, With custome adjustable control arms and Coilover shocks. Am researching the Ford crown Vic , SN95, or Later Mustang engine cradle/Suspension sub frame assembly for Possible bolt in or Modification to fit. Before I get Flamed remember Ford owned us for this time period. I Love the Shape of this car, But all the foo foo Glamour stuff is for rich people. My plan is a turbo charged Late model 5.0 Coyote engine with 6 speed manual. I would like to keep the Jag Spindles and brakes though. Any reasonable input or comment is welcome! A more attractive alternative than an LS Swap.

 

Hi Mustangoutcast,

Welcome to the Jaguar Forums!

Many members of these forums maintain, repair and modify their own Jaguars on a modest budget, and personally, I don't think of my 2001 XKR as having any "foo foo Glamour stuff," aside from the beautiful real wood veneers in the interior.

I don't know of any company that has made a replacement tubular front subframe, but Jaguar XKs are not designed to be great candidates for racing. For one thing, they weigh 4,000 pounds.

Your '01 XKR is probably equipped with the electronically-controlled CATS suspension, which changes the shock absorber damping rates dynamically. If you replace the shocks with non-CATS units, you will have a continuous CATS FAULT warning on your instrument cluster. But if you also replace the engine, you will have plenty of other warning messages, so maybe you'll just have to live with them.

The 4.0L supercharged Jaguar AJ27 V8 in your car was rated by the factory at 370 hp and 387 ft. lbs. of torque, which can be increased with revised supercharger pulleys, air intake, exhaust and other modifications. Replacing the automatic transmission with a manual gearbox would certainly transform the car. Before you commit to replacing the engine, check out this YouTube video:


Cheers,

Don

 

Why do you want to change the suspension? (IMO you are about to ruin the car, but I know, it is your car........)

 

They share no parts with mustangs except maybe the door hinges. A Mustang subframe will not fit. What’s the problem with your car? We may be able to better guide you if you tell us the symptoms or codes.

You could possibly swap in a coyote, but that will require custom motor mounts, standalone ECU, among other things. You can buy coilovers for these cars, at great expense. Despite what the guy above me said, if you disconnect the CATS module in the trunk, you will not have any warning lights in the cluster for the electronic suspension if your car is fitted with that system.

As for alignment on the stock suspension: toe is adjustable at the tie rods, caster can be adjusted via the shims on the upper control arm. The camber in the front cannot be adjusted much. There’s an eccentric bolt that can give you up to half a degree of adjustment. In the rear, the halfshaft spacers can be swapped to adjust camber. Worn shock mounts results in excessive camber due to the lowered ride height on the front end of the car.

These cars are not difficult to work on. The shops you went to are incompetent. Take it to an indie Jaguar tech. The 4.0 engine in your car suffers from plastic timing chain tensioners. Upgrade to metal tensioners and the engine will be bulletproof provided that you keep up on maintenance and make sure the cooling system is in good working order. Your car has the robust Mercedes 5 speed transmission. If you want to manual swap, you will need a standalone ecu.

And for a not insignificant amount of money, the supercharger can be swapped for a Kenne Bell twinscrew supercharger for up to 600 whp. The transmission in your car will tame the abuse all day long.

LSD differentials are available from Quaife (gear type) or Gripper (clutch type).

Yes the car is heavy, but most of that heft is in the interior. Strip it out and, it’s possible to shed about 500 lbs reportedly. The guys at Swallows have a manual swapped (using a Diesel S-type manual transmission) 650 HP XKR that reportedly weighs about 3300 lbs. They kept the stock subframes, upgraded to coilovers, kept and upgraded the stock engine and stripped the interior.