Greetings,

I am in need of a suspension retrofit on my 2005 XJR. After way too much reading and investigation I have decided to do the Strutmaster coil over conversion. Why? Because it seemed to be the best crossroad of quality/price/ease of installation and warranty for me at this time. I just ordered the kit total cost from North Carolina to Colorado USD$1060.00

I totally understand BOX, Don B and others rational to keep the air "as is" from the factory. They swayed heavily on my decision because truly I'm a purist and in the end I want it to perform as intended. The car has 80k on it, it needs the rest of the suspension updated, the output shaft is leaking and a little engine maintenance is required. The interior is a 9/10, black, the exterior is a 7/10, black. The black paint needs attention but not much. I plan to keep the car for awhile, not foever, but not looking to move on from it anytime soon either.

I am concerned about the difference in ride. I will follow up with my impressions on smoothness and handling performance. I will also let you know about the quality of the product and the experience dealing with the company. So far so good, they sent me a confirmation email with the shipping information and a contact name for reference.

Now on to purchase control arms, bushings and other suspension wear items.
Thanks,
Griff

 

I am crossing my fingers fer ya! Hopefully, they are a better quality than their units I put on my MK VIII. The ride wasn't bad, just different and did make it seem more like my old 76 vette. If I was closer I would come help you install them.

Keep us posted.

 

I ordered my suspension parts cost $1000. I hope I am doing the right thing putting 3k+ into this car. its goig to need another 2k to get it pretty close to perfect, some paint work and a little engine preventitive. I like it and it runs well. My total cost into the car so far is $11k.

Griff

 

Hi Griff

Any updates on the conversion you did for your 05 XJR??
I have a 05 super V8 and like many others need to fix the air suspension in some way. Mine is at 140 K beautiful in and out charcoal/ebony, and also needs the rest of the suspension done such as bushings, control arms etc., just as yours does/did.

Just like you I hope to keep the car for awhile and can't afford to go back again and again to chase ecats problems - wife and budget will not tolerate. But ecats needs to be considered as others have said prices for the material have come way down.

So - how it turn out??

Thanks
Mike D

 

Our air shocks are to be rebuilt, as you probably know. At $505 for a set off of the front my 04, which were then put onto the 07 keeping the stock ride, very nice.
The Arnott's are very nice as well, but $830 compared to rebuilt stock price of $505, as well as keeping the original function of lowering the car.(IF you want to chance going to jail trying it out)

 

The struts are settling in, the car is a little taller but not excessively. The ride is firmer but not uncomfortable. It corners well. One aspect that is hard to compare is that the bushings and air shocks were so worn that it felt very mushy.before I made the conversion. It is to be expected that the ride would be much firmer.

So the question is would I do this again?...yes. In Colorado we have huge frequent temperature swings from day to day. Today is Sunday Oct 14 and it is snowing, yesterday it was 70 so switching to coil overs was the right move for me.

I think the piece of mind the swap gives you is worth it. Strutmasters seems to be a good company. Time will tell.

Now I have to figure out why my heater is blowing cold air,
Griff

 

Good to hear they worked out well, nice to be aware of all your options.

 

Looks like the conversion is the way to go.

Anyone know the bolt sizes on the Arms or any tools that would help the job get done, they look like 21-22mm. Looks like I am going to need to jack it up and get all 4 off the ground as when the suspension
fully decompresses there is no way to get a jack under there.

 

There seem to be a number of options for conventional strut conversion kits in the US ....anybody found an option in the UK ?

 

I, too, have an ‘05 XJ8 L and I’m eageraly awaiting the day I convert my suspension to coil and spring.

When a car is 15+ years old - and it matters none which car it is - we’re often left with a decision to repair at a high cost of surrendering the car all together. While my cat has all the trappings of a potential iconic model, I don’t believe it’ll ever be considered a classic, from a collectors standpoint, as long as I’m alive. And it’s too damn fun to be a daily drive to have to worry about the dreaded CAR TOO LOW warning. Peace of mind, added with dependability, makes converting this car a no brainer.

All said, this is contingent upon personal choice and need for the car to operate. I use mine as an airport livery car and I can’t afford to lose a client when my cars suspension goes out and I can’t pick them up at home for their 7:00AM vacation flight.

I’ve narrowed my selection down to the Arnott kit. It’s the one that’s been recommended by roughly 80% of Jag owners I’ve communicated with. I’ve gotta do it soon because odds are good that the air susp will crap the bed during the first Phoenix (AZ - USA) morning it dips down to the low 40-degrees F

Anyone else convert theirs recently?

 

Have you looked to see, the previous owner, just may have replaced the air springs, & compressor?

 

the motorcars ltd kit has always been a scam, it’s just XK strut mounts on s-type/xf shocks. please stop buying these kits and make them yourself.

if anybody has an arnott EBM or equivalent take a picture of it.