It's come that time that I need to replace my shocks, I have adaptive ones on them at the moment but for half the price the standard shocks are very tempting.

 

Half ? Heck, the plain shocks are 1/4 the cost.

as far as being “worth it” goes, that’s a very subjective subject.

If one has the budget to spring for the adaptive shocks, then do it. That’s my simple take on the subject.


Z

 

My view is "dont spend money on old cars" keep it roadworthy and looking pretty but dont spend Ł10 if you only need to spend Ł5..you never know when the engine will go bang or you get written off. I paid Ł2999 for mine and we buy any car just offered me Ł750 so what would I get it it was written off .....

 

Are the adaptive shocks just as comfortable as the passive shocks but can go stiffer when cornering? Or are they always stiffer then the regular shocks.

 

Go stiffer at higher speeds ..from what I have read you wont tell the difference

 

I had an XKR coupe with 18" wheels and no CATS before I bought my XKR convertible with 20" wheels and CATS.

The convertible is one of the most comfortable cars I've ever owned - more comfortable than the coupe, despite having rubber bands for tyres. You definitely want the CATS suspension to be working when cornering hard,, otherwise it wallows.

Well worth the money in my opinion, but only you can decide how much you want to spend on your 20 year old car.

​​

 

Pros:

enjoyment of taking long sweeping curves at a good clip.

safer at speeds over 70 mph (estimated) due to better chassis control.

Helps keep value / originality of car

Cons:

costs 4 times as much as a standard replacement.

it all comes down to an individual’s preferences and budget. There won’t be any consensus on this subject.


Z

 

Also not entirely clear going from CATS to regular shocks will result in error messages??

 

I believe so. I’ve never done that, replaced the CAT shocks with the std variety, but from reading posts on the forum I think you have to just unplug the module to get the error message to go away.

Z

 

Just put a resistor to simulate the CAT . Measure the CAT itself with an ohm meter for the value and then work out the current at 12v and fit a suitable wattage resistor . Can be done in the trunk where all the cat wires come together.

 

My shocks might actually be OK as is but my ride height is sitting about an inch low on all corners, fronts are around 14" and the rears are about 15". I will probably see about new springs and shock mounts for the front, the rear I assume i need a new set of those foam rubber washer things. Not sure if I want to go with standard ride height or the Adamesh 25mm lower springs though, they should bring the front up a little from what they are now and the rear lower but I will need to get my alighnment sorted at the rear because the tyres wear very quick on the inner edges. Pilot Sport 4S only last 2-3 years and about 10-15k miles or so which isn't very good.

 

Even easier - pull the fuse. #2 trunk fuse box on my 2001.

The CATS module has one wire that goes to the major instrument pack to signal a fault, it's nothing fancy and there is no "module not present" check.

 

I did that when I suspected my shocks where on stiff all the time. Surfice to say they weren't stiff all the time. I didn't dare get to 30 mph because it felt so rock hard.

 

is it possible something else is amiss ? The switchover from regular to hard setting is noticeable but not extreme. The hard setting just makes the car a bit stable when pushed harder, it certainly shouldn’t make the car seem unsafe.

Z

 

Well my front shock mounts are due to be replaced and I likely need something done at the rear as well. The shocks I think are fine just old now, the garage did say they weren't leaking or anything so they should be OK. I like the car a lot and I plan on keeping it but at the same time I don't want to spend money where it doesn't need to be spent. So I figure some new springs and shock mounts a the front and the rear new springs and those foam rubber bushes on the shock will help a lot. Those seem to be the thigns that wear out the most anyway. The garage said that my bushes are all still OK, there is some slight movement from the front lower bush but nothing too bad they said. Not sure if I want to get the Adamesh 25mm lower springs or just standard ride height springs, I figure the Adamesh springs are probably better quality although they are still a lower ride height. I'm looking at these JAGUAR XK8 X100 X308 XJ8 X300 REAR SHOCK ABSORBER SUSPENSION BUSHING BUFFER | eBay

 

Please keep us posted on the results.

Z

 

Will do. I hope to get it done around August time.