Newby here with a question. I have a 2002 xkr (just bought it) and the front shocks have a couple of wires coming out of the top so I assume they are electronic. My question is: Are they adjustable? Softer or firmer? On rough roads I get quite a bit of bounce/shimmy and would like it the ride to be softer from time to time. Also, is there any way to look at them or test them to know if they are working correctly?

 

That is part of your CATS suspension, it has a controller that manages the stiffness of your shock automatically.

To tell if your shock are working properly you need to lift the shock boot and look for oil around the damper piston. That is a sign of the seal being worn and the pressurized oil will leak out.

The ride on these xkr tends to be a bit rough, after all it is a Grand Tourer not a sedan.

If you don't see any oil leaking out there is no real reason to replace them, unless you don't mine shelling out hte coin to have them all replaced.

How many miles does your cat have?

 

Use the link below and go to page 31 and read on to page 38 that covers the Adaptive Damping

Link http://www.jagrepair.com/images/Trai...l-11-26-02.pdf

 

The car has 60,000 miles. My first true sports car so it may be working perfectly and I just need to get used to it.

 

Another member told me of a control box in the trunk at the back middle.
Remove the central trunk panel that covers the spare.
On my 2002 XKR coupe, the box is as close to the bumper as it could be.

One screw to remove and another to simply loosen
Remove the screw closest to middle of car, merely loosen the other one that is closest to stereo, and then pivot the unit up and out. Carefully remove the big connector, and your CATS will be put into stiff mode.

The shocks are only two stage. Soft and hard.
I drove around in stiff mode for a week and found it helped in corners but resulted in a bouncy ride around town. Easily confirmed that the shocks really did have two modes.

Only in 2010 did Jag move to continuously variable dampers that finally made a real difference.

 

Thanks! I'll give it try this weekend.

 

See https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...-switch-73487/

 

ccfulton, that's the fella who advised me on disconnecting the box in the trunk as much safer than removing wires from the shocks as others did.