Hi
My cars ground clearance is close to ridiculous. That means 90mm to be accurate. So I always fear speed bumps, getting onto ferries etc. etc.
To be honest the car looks great when lowered like this. I think the springs are from Majestic.
But on the other hand,- if I want precise steering and a hard uncomfortable ride I can take my Caterham for a spin.
So my question is:
How much does this lowering of the suspension change the original manufacturer intended comfort of the car.
What is the ground clearance with the standard suspension, and what is the ground clearance with the most common lowering kits?

Cheers
Carsten

 

Google search indicates 5.7 inches. .U can convert to .metric on google. It is low!

 

Correct ride height is 14.5 to 14.75 inches measured from the center of the wheel to the inside lip of the fender.

 

What do the Upper Shock mounts look like?

Is the foam crumbling around the shock's top nut?

 

Hi Carsten, your XK looks nice from what we can see. I agree with Ungn. I had the same problem with my low mileage '99. Replacement of the front upper spring cushions made enough of a difference to alleviate bottom outs in driveways, etc. Easily visible from under the hood ( boot) at the top of the tower. Mine clearly were crumbling and the shock itself was off center. Good Luck , Rich

 

Thanks. I will report back when I have been able to check to upper shock mounts.

 

What do you think. The upper shock mounts looks good to me ?

 

Mine is exactly 13 inches.

 

Indeed. It's 5.5 cm or 2.2 inches lower than standard

 

They are probably squished flat inside. The foam looks "brittle" and not like foam.

The Welsh upgrade Poly's are denser material. At 13" most of that 2" has to be the upper shock mount.

If you unplug the CATS, put the car on jackstands and undo the 3 top nuts, the shocks assy's should drop down far enough to see the compression of the upper mounts.

 

^^ What he said....

All of the original factory upper shock mounts are long past their expiration date by now. Install a set of the Welsh poly upper shock mounts and put this issue behind you....

 

Use this link and look on page 69.

Link http://jagrepair.com/images/AutoRepa...sb_09_2003.pdf

 

Not entirely sure what you are asking. If your car rides too low for your use-case (speed bumps, ferries, etc.), you will have to restore it by swapping your springs for a set of stock parts, AND take advantage of that job to replace the upper mounts with a set from Welsh. This should restore your ride height to what Jaguar specifies (check the Vehicle Spec Book on jargrepair.com for actual measurement data and test conditions).

Best of luck, keep us posted.

 

+1!!!!!!!

 

Hi fmertz
Maybe my question got lost in good people's advice about upper shock mount wear ( I'm going to look closer at the mounts soon, thanks )
Any advice from owners that has converted their cars to lowered springs would be appreciated. On ground clearence before and after as well as driving experience.

Thanks
Carsten

 

You could always start by gathering some numbers yourself. You can jack the front of the car (under the radiator support) a bit until the ride height is restored to what Jaguar specifies in the Spec Book (that measurement between the wheel center and the wheel arch, check jagrepair.com). Then see how much higher the body would be. If you like that improvement, then step away from the car and see if the resulting looks is something you can live with. Take pictures and check again after a good night of sleep. Get a second opinion. My sense is that if you want this car to be a go-most-everywhere car, and handling the way Jaguar designed it, you will need to ditch these springs and restore the ride height with new mounts and stock springs.

Best of luck, keep us posted.

PS: The parts store may also have hard spring inserts you can temporarily use to restore some height. If cheap enough, that might be another test before committing to anything.

 

I am curious to see a full pic of the car from the side.

Can you post one so we can see the overall stance of the car?

 

Picture...1000 words...this one looked fine from the top.

BTW this pic was one of the sh!tty uro replacements that lasted only a couple years. The Welsh replacements are the only way to go. Even though they have started jacking the price up on them its the only viable solution. Apparently word got back to them.

 

Very illustrative, thanks.

 

Sure, here you go.