What did you do to your X351 today?
#41
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#42
#44
#45
#47
Dam sexy
Last edited by Randy Mounts; 09-20-2019 at 03:08 PM. Reason: Fat fingers
#48
#50
On Saturday I endeavored to replace my o2 sensors. They really did not want to come out. After a lot of PB Blaster and elbow grease, I was able to replace the two downstreams but only one of the center/catalytic converter sensors as the other side got rounded off. Not a big deal though because I'm planning on putting in high flow cats soon anyway, and while the cats are out of the way, I'll have a ton of access to get to the upstream sensors in the manifolds as well.
These are the sensors I bought:
Downstream = Denso 2344794 - $77 for the pair from Rockauto
Center = Bosch C2D23702 - $113 for the pair from RMEuropean
Upstream = Bosch C2D17259 - $114 for the pair from RMEuropean
They may be different on the Denso cars pre-2014
These are the sensors I bought:
Downstream = Denso 2344794 - $77 for the pair from Rockauto
Center = Bosch C2D23702 - $113 for the pair from RMEuropean
Upstream = Bosch C2D17259 - $114 for the pair from RMEuropean
They may be different on the Denso cars pre-2014
#51
Almost forgot! I got a set of General G-Max RS tires installed on Friday afternoon. So far I'm loving them.
Here's the story:
When I bought the car, the dealer had put on a set of Bridgestone All Seasons 245/40/20 all around, even on the rears which should be 275, so they were really stretched. Later on I decided to upsize to Pirelli PZeros 265/35 front and 305/30 rear. I got them slightly used so the price was right. The wider tires introduced more tramlining but it wasn't terrible. Fast forward about 6 months to when I installed the thicker XJR front sway bar. Overall stability was much improved BUT it introduced massive understeer. So I downsized the rears to 295 but this time went with a pair of Michelin Pilot Super Sports I found locally. That took care of the understeer issue. I liked the feel and increased traction so much that I decided to put PSSs on the fronts too. That's where it all fell apart.
I don't know what the precise issue was but those Michelins were terrible on my car. I had to get them balanced three times due to vibrations. I tried every PSI from 28 to 37 trying to find the right balance between comfort and handling. Put the PSI too high and the ride quality is taut and firm but there's zero traction and the wheels skate all over the place. Put it too low and the traction is great (especially around corners) but the car wallows and rolls all over the place, even in Dynamic Mode. There seemed to be no inbetween. On top of that, the tramlining was downright scary and dangerous on all the horrible roads we have here. Those tires would follow every single ripple and line. It was a constant battle against the road. I really was not enjoying driving my car anymore. After trying to deal with it for a month and a half, I got fed up and decided to get rid of them.
After a lot of research, I decided to go with the GMax RS that was introduced last year. Its an Ultra High Performance Summer tire that's getting rave reviews on Tire Rack. They have a good looking aggressive tread and they're the right price. I also decided to go back to stock size 245/40 and 275/35. All is right with the world again. The car rides, handles, brakes, and accelerates wonderfully and no more tramlining.
Now, I don't know what would have happened if I had got a set of Michelins in the stock size. Maybe that would've solved all my problems as well but I wasn't willing to take that risk.
Here's the story:
When I bought the car, the dealer had put on a set of Bridgestone All Seasons 245/40/20 all around, even on the rears which should be 275, so they were really stretched. Later on I decided to upsize to Pirelli PZeros 265/35 front and 305/30 rear. I got them slightly used so the price was right. The wider tires introduced more tramlining but it wasn't terrible. Fast forward about 6 months to when I installed the thicker XJR front sway bar. Overall stability was much improved BUT it introduced massive understeer. So I downsized the rears to 295 but this time went with a pair of Michelin Pilot Super Sports I found locally. That took care of the understeer issue. I liked the feel and increased traction so much that I decided to put PSSs on the fronts too. That's where it all fell apart.
I don't know what the precise issue was but those Michelins were terrible on my car. I had to get them balanced three times due to vibrations. I tried every PSI from 28 to 37 trying to find the right balance between comfort and handling. Put the PSI too high and the ride quality is taut and firm but there's zero traction and the wheels skate all over the place. Put it too low and the traction is great (especially around corners) but the car wallows and rolls all over the place, even in Dynamic Mode. There seemed to be no inbetween. On top of that, the tramlining was downright scary and dangerous on all the horrible roads we have here. Those tires would follow every single ripple and line. It was a constant battle against the road. I really was not enjoying driving my car anymore. After trying to deal with it for a month and a half, I got fed up and decided to get rid of them.
After a lot of research, I decided to go with the GMax RS that was introduced last year. Its an Ultra High Performance Summer tire that's getting rave reviews on Tire Rack. They have a good looking aggressive tread and they're the right price. I also decided to go back to stock size 245/40 and 275/35. All is right with the world again. The car rides, handles, brakes, and accelerates wonderfully and no more tramlining.
Now, I don't know what would have happened if I had got a set of Michelins in the stock size. Maybe that would've solved all my problems as well but I wasn't willing to take that risk.
#52
if your going to go black. go so Black :)
The XJ rear. As you can see I have tinted the lights but cut out the turn signal to give it an extra pop. Also instead of removing the badges I decided to get those darkened up a bit as well. You’ll also notice I have an electronica license plate on the back.
Xj front. Black out grill trim and around the bumper.
XJ from the side. I have done limo tent all the way around with the exception of the windshield.
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demiroquai (01-18-2021)
#53
So replaced the front hub/bearings - hearing a slight rumble but mainly preventative as these can get seized in the wheel knuckle. Well getting the brakes/disc off was no problem but the hubs were seized and I mean seized - so much for the workshop manual "remove hub" I used the Ranchero method see his post #407 Ranchero hub removal. PB blaster, after a 24 hour soak of both front and rear knuckle/hub surfaces, is totally ineffective by itself but the push bolts work their magic - I used 1.25" long bolt/nut combination sourced from Ace hardware - they need about 3/16" trimmed off to be the best fit. As Ranchero mentions they need a huge amount of torque to get the hub to move. Eventually got a small gap
The push bolts eventually reach the end of their travel so onto a couple of chisels and a 3lb hammer with lots of PB blaster to gradually force the hub out.
One addition I made to Rancheros post was adding PTFE tape to the new hub as a barrier to corrosion, complementing the anti-seize. Hopefully this is last time I'll have to remove these hubs but just incase My X351 has 58,000 miles and I'd strongly recommend fellow forum members to replace their hubs before they seize so badly that the knuckle needs removing to get the hub out. BTW the new hub was noticeable smoother so even after all the hassles I feel good having replaced them
The push bolts eventually reach the end of their travel so onto a couple of chisels and a 3lb hammer with lots of PB blaster to gradually force the hub out.
One addition I made to Rancheros post was adding PTFE tape to the new hub as a barrier to corrosion, complementing the anti-seize. Hopefully this is last time I'll have to remove these hubs but just incase My X351 has 58,000 miles and I'd strongly recommend fellow forum members to replace their hubs before they seize so badly that the knuckle needs removing to get the hub out. BTW the new hub was noticeable smoother so even after all the hassles I feel good having replaced them
#54
The following 2 users liked this post by Randy Mounts:
bamaboy473 (01-06-2020),
Dan's cat (12-14-2022)
#55
Join Date: Jan 2012
Location: Reynolds Lake Oconee, GA USA
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Randy Mounts (12-31-2019)
#56
Very neat. I did something similar to Bride's Lexus 450h, but did you have to do an metal work, or just fascia trimming? I got lucky with with the plastic trimming.vb
#57
#59
#60
That's always my first guess too, however I just installed the XJR sway bar this past summer, so the bushings are new.
I did that almost two years ago now, so we're good there.
I did that almost two years ago now, so we're good there.