Hello All, My 2004 3.0 Sport isn't riding like it should. I like to drive it somewhat aggressively around town but don't ever see myself taking it to the track. I bought the car last summer with only 39,000 miles and it is my daily driver, year-round. I plan on keeping it forever.

The price of the KW is only around $500 more than 4 new shocks/struts/springs.

I'd like the idea of being able to adjust the ride height, but not sure how likely I am to really do that. I want less roll in the corners and a lower ride height. I have 18" Aruba wheels and new BF Goodrich G-ForceComp 2 AS Plus tires.

Any recommendations? Any other suggestions? Thanks in advance.

 

1JagDriver, when you say that the car is not riding like it should, what do you mean by that. If you do some looking, you will find that in a lot of cases, it is not the springs or the shocks, but it is the rear arms (lower front and top arms). The bushings in these are known to wear and get some play in them, resulting in the car riding funny. 2 checks come to mind. First off, look at the inside edge of the rear tires. Do you notice them wearing excessively? If yes, this proves you have a bad arm back there (granted, can be either one at this point). This is where you then need to look at the tires and see if they are leaning in at the top (have all extra stuff out of the car). If the tires are leaning at at the top, then your upper arm needs replacement. IF the tires appear to be pointed more towards the front bumper, then your lower/forward arm is bad. The other check that you can do for the lower/forward arm is to enter a long sweeping turn (like you find on a cloverleaf entering/exiting a highway). Enter the curve at a normal rate of speed. Part way through the curve, gas the car like you were going to overtake someone on the curve. Did the rear end of the car feel like it was going to step out on you (it won't, but it will make you wonder)? If yes, bad lower/forward arm.

If the ride is mushy, then yes, odds are, your springs are starting to get weak and replacing them is about the only option that you have. Now, one thing that I would say for the coilovers is that because you live in an area where there is snow, you may find yourself adjusting the coilovers in the spring for a lower ride to get the look that you are after and then up in the fall to get additional clearance to get through the snow. If you are complaining about a rough ride, then that is almost guaranteed to be your tires and either getting a tire with too stiff of a sidewall or running the tires at too high of a pressure.

 

Hi Thermo - The tires sit straight, and the set of Pirelli PZero R AS Plus that came on it had no signs of wear, but they were not good in the snow. I recently replaced them with a set of BFG G-Force Comp 2 AS Plus and had the alignment done (225/40/18).

Right after I got the car in September I had the stabilizer bar bushing replaced; but honestly, it made no discernable difference.

I was told by a Jag mechanic that there was a slight leak in one rear shock, but he didn't seem to think it was a pressing issue. However, this is my 3rd X-Type and this one doesn't hug the road like my previous 2002 Base or 2002 Sport with double and triple the miles. In the cloverleafs, I get almost thrown out of my seat bolster and it feels like I'm driving a FWD car, not AWD or RWD.

I'm not a DIYer so I end up getting out the checkbook for basic things. When I switch between 18" summer tires/wheels and 16" winter tires/wheels will I need to do an alignment each time, or just adjust the coilovers? If seasonal alignment is not required, then I'd probably prefer the coilovers. But if I'd need to do coilover adjustment AND alignment, then it sounds like the new shocks/struts/coils might be better.

As I write this, I'm remembering that when I drove it all the way from Yuma to Minneapolis, the suspension seemed fine. It was only after putting on 1,000 miles of Minnesota potholes that took the life out of it.

I don't mind investing in this, but want to make sure I don't pay thousands of dollars, then end up re-doing it again. What do you think is best for lowered look with better handling and winter-ability?

 

1JagDriver, lowered look and winter-ability are direct opposites. To get one, you negatively affect the other. There is no happy medium ohter than keeping the height you have now.

With you talking about how the car tosses you around in the cloverleaf, I would be looking at the lower/forward arm. These are easy to replace. The hardest part would be breaking the bolt loose on each end of the arm. But, that shouldn't be too bad. Replacing the arms should only be an hour per side (worst case) and the arms can be had for around $100 for a pair.

If you adjust the coil overs, odds are, you will need to do an alignment as the tires will lean differently with the change in height. Look at how your rear tires change as you put say 500 pounds in the rear seat. Same effect as dialing the coilovers. But, if you are having to pay someone to adjust the coil overs every time the season changes, then going with a basic lowered setup may be the better thing all the way around.

 

FYI. Bilstein B6 Front struts are no longer available in the USA for the X-type. If you really want them you have to order them from Europe. The B6 rears are still available in the USA. I tried for over a year to get a pair. Wrote Bilstein many times asking when you would manufacture more of them. Over a year ago, they wrote and told me they weren't going to build them.

Based on what is available, I will go with coilovers when the time comes to replace my struts.