Thanks for the pics and good luck with the conversion.

Hate to be negative but wow they really look like they've been put together from different kits with a few handmade parts to hold it all together. I can see why they are the cheapest.

EDIT, sorry I will try to be a bit more constructive.

Why are the front & rear struts different colours? They are different specs? But Bilstein all round?

What's going on with the bellows around the struts inside the springs? they are all wonky...

Why do the bolts/nuts/washers look like they came from the local hardware store?

Why is there a Nürburgring sticker on one of the rears?

 

I actually forget why they are different color.

 

Dinner time. I will update soon..

 

Yep, read below.




A little digging on the part numbers for the front struts pulled this up.

The numbers match up with OEM. S type sport suspension PN 24-067430: CORRECT shock for a 4.2 wanting the "sport" higher damping rates. He said the damping values for this PN are 1710 rebound, 630 compression (different than what you got/wrote, Brian). The tech also mentioned that the B4 for the S-type is already a monotube, more like a B6 and that the B4 line was simply the OE replacement/match line and didn't denote twin-tube versus monotube. The B6 and B8 lines are Bilstein's own damping rates, while the B4 line is the OEM/factory damping rates. He said BMW uses a twin-tube in their base suspension and so the monotube is a significant upgrade; and that Jag already specked the better monotube for all suspensions. He also said that if there was enough demand, Bilstein would make B6s or B8s for the Jag S-type, but he questioned how much demand was there really? I said not much, apparently, especially in comparison to BMWs, and that most of the interest was from STR owners and they have the CATS electronically controlled dampers.


These are the part numbers for 2003-forward 4.2 NA:

Front:
24-067287 Base/standard
24-067430 Sport

Rear:
24-067713 Base/standard
24-067720 Sport

Source**
https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/s...g-rates-91516/

The rears appear to be the Blistein Heavy Duty Monotube B6's.

The Bilstein Heavy Duty is a high pressure gas charged monotube performance shock.

"Bilstein B6 Series or Bilstein 4600 Series, the Heavy Duty has an extruded metal body, high tech monotube construction and 360 psi gas pressure to prevent aeration and fading, it is the best performing and most durable unit we carry. No other shock can match it."


I can not seem to find anything of significance for the coils.. I will give Eibach a call tomorrow and find out more about them.







They seem like a great value for the price to me, Arnotts have bad reviews, Motorcars use the same brands but want 800$ more.







-The wonky-ness was the rubber just being out of place from removing them from the boxes, they were packed in pretty good.

-As far as the bolts and nuts, I am not sure what you are saying about them looking cheap. Nice quality crush thread.....

-The sticker is pretty self explanitory, after removing the SM sticker.























































Edit;
Both the stype sport and these struts are 46mm monotubes, but I believe the S type uses a B4 model like the front on these.

 

Thanks for the pictures and the additional info.

So in effect you have B4's on the front and B6's on the back. Since they have used S-Type replacement shocks why aren't they the same front & rear?

On an S-Type you would not usually mix them, so why on the XJ? I'm genuinely curious why.

My comment about the bolts/nuts was actually two part;

The OEM nuts are a flanged locking nut, so there is no separate washer. They are also marked with a material number. The ones in your pics have no markings and separate washers. Also the finish of the nuts & washers, just look a bit cheap/generic to me.

The bolts don't have the E-Torx tips on them like the OEM ones either. The purpose of those tips is you can put an E-Torx socket on the bolt when you tighten/loosen the nut.

Like this, pics from my car;



I don't know how the bolts are fixed in the top of the upper shock mount on the Strutmasters, would want to hope it's very secure...

The other thing that jumps out at me is the mounts on the shock tubes for the springs. One is plain-steel OEM looking, and the other is a very nice thick alloy piece with a profile that stops the spring from turning and holds it firmly in place. It's a pity that they aren't like that at both ends.

Also, no markings on the top of the shocks for the installation direction? The OEM shocks are marked with an indication of where the front of the car is. I don't think they do that for fun at the factory, there must be a reason.

 

will be getting the strutmaster kit as well. As soon as the compressor or other part fails. Miles ahead of the oem air suspension. Always worried of catastrophic failure while high speed on the interstate. I've owned 4 Mustangs with aftermarket suspensions and am used to reliable, safe, capable suspensions. I'll cut the coil down to get it to proper height.

 

Those two sentences cancel each other out.

 

Great thread Naso!!!

 

Very little needs to be cut down to get it to sit down. Been done for 50 years by racers and enthusiasts alike. You may also be able to order progressive spring sized for a lowered stance.

 

Strutmasters do installs at 200$.


I do not have the technical answer to your question about the b4 and b6s.

That is what they typically use from what a tech told me this morning.

Today was a shop day for the jag.

I was out and about in town so I decided to pop into a local shop that does suspension.

Incident 1.

The receptionist/manager quoted me 209$ for install. I say "all four", she says "yes". We proceed.

I am watching the mechanic install the second front coil..

The girl comes out and says, "I am sorry but that quote was only for the front, please deposit anther 250$.". Then more or less tells me that "we can put the Airs back on if you want."

After a few heated words we agree at 350$, but they have to remove my Lower Control Arms and replace the bushings while at it.

Incident 2.

Rear arms are removed, I **** you not, their press broke.


Incident 3.

The larger bush provided in the parts I bought (link provided by you cam) are not the correct bush... Not even close. The other two seem to be correct.

Incident 4.

I drive all over town searching for shops that are open, good freaking luck on a Saturday. I find three that are, and have a press, but they all say "Sorry sir, we do not have the correct equipment for that.".

SO back in with my busted up nasty bushings. That sucks.

Incident 5...

We (they) are done installing!



Looks great huh!

Strutmaster made a mistake.. Obviously. Wrong springs I believe.

Since I an a weekend warrior and the install was after 4pm, their tech support had left the building.

I did speak to a rep who had confirmed the part numbers were in fact correct. I sent him some photos, he sent the message up the ladder.

Ken (I believe his title was Head of Research and Development. Maybe? Not sure I was kinda tiffed when he had first called.), called me within the hour, apologized and stated he would call the big kahuna and get this resolved to the best of his abilities, and return the call.

He did.

About 10 minutes later he called back and this was his proposal.

He wanted to send a roll back to pick the car up on Monday, bring it to him, fix it correctly, and send it back the same day (157mi each way)..

He then proposed that, if I was OK with it.

That they keep the car in their possession to develop a module bypass of sorts to clear the fault codes automatically for future customers. They will credit me for my time to develop it (sweet).

I said sure, it would be my pleasure.

So at least the day ended up ok with some quality customer service. I personally would not let this turn me off from Strutmasters.

Mistakes happen, very happy that they are that willing to solve an issue.

And maybe because of the manufacturer slip up, we XJR guys will get some new tech for our cars (sooner).

I can not address most of your questions cam, although I will be forwarding this thread to him so HOPEFULLY, he/they will chime in and address your questions.

I can say that if the nuts are an issue to whomever the oem ones work just fine on the kits.

The kit can only be installed one way. So the top markers are not necessary.


Here are some under photos..

Don't laugh at my bushings/boots.. Should of been fixed today dammit.

 

Should have accepted strutmasters offer to cut and install for $200.00. Nothing like the part manufacturer installing their own product into a model they know well. You seem to create your own "situations". Does make for interesting reading. Hope it gets sorted out.

 

Cambo, somewhere there is a thread where a member had this almost exact issue occur, I can't dig it up.

If you can.

1,000,000 thanks.

I would like to re-read it.

 

Someone did have this problem of the rears being too high, but after driving the car round the block and parking it up it settled down to a regular ride height.

Might not have been a Strutmasters kit, could have been Arnott or another one. Can't find the thread now but I do remember reading it.

So what is the problem with the bush kit? The large rubber bush? That's the lower front bush on the rear arms? Could possibly be they sent you the wrong part?

S-Type shocks have a mark on them which points to the front of the car. It is possible to fit them "backwards" hence the marking. I would have thought it would be the same on the XJ.

 

It is too large in diameter, the incorrect shape, and a different material.


Yes probably the wrong part, either way, that bush is fine on my car.

I don't think they can be installed backwards, on the front maybe, but it is pretty obvious. Just have to note the original orientation of the bottom mount.

 

I should have got another picture, but when the car was off the lift it certainly lowered a small amount on the rear.

Was just taking a closer look at the picture. Still 3-4in high though.

 

This thread got me curious. I don't have any issues with suspension currently but googled Strutmasters. Whilst typing, "complaints" auto filled and followed with several sites. So I googled Arnott, different results. No auto fill of the word "complaints".
Interested in your outcome and best of luck resolving Naso!

 

My suspension was done a month before I saw the car, so I couldn't tell you if that happened to mine before settling.

 

I see two things in that.

A. Like this forum, most entries you will find are negative ones.

B. Arnotts is a totally different market imo, and as such I would think they would have sold and produced many times fewer items. Arnotts does not make items for brands like chevy and ford, or am I mistaken?

Game of thrones consumes me or I would double check.

Edit, don't want to turn my thread into some sort of brand war, (not that you were trying too), that isn't the purpose of this thread. I have no stake in the matter, but I haven't had someone offer to flat bed my car 300mi to fix a problen in a good while.

 

No brand loyalty here either Naso and apologies if I was piling on. Jaguar OEM suspension is the brand getting the most complaints on this forum. Strut masters and Arnott wouldn't be in business if OEM was built better. Lincoln and Mercedes owners have the exact same complaints about their air ride suspension. I was just surprised at the shear volume of complaints about SM.

The previous comments from other posters regarding the "wonky" covers, the nuts and washers, how the bolts mount to the top of the shock, the size difference between the front and rear, how they appear to be compiled from two different kits, and finally the pictures of the install fitment are invaluable to anyone who follows with an aftermarket conversion.

There is at least one person who has the strut master set up on this thread who is satisfied.

And you are right, SM's offer to make it right is refreshing.

It's you car, do what you want to it. I appreciate you posting your experiences. I'm pulling for you and hoping for a satisfactory outcome. I will also be interested to hear how you like the ride itself as compared to the air shocks, trouble codes not withstanding.

 

Shoot man, there is way more than one person satisfied with the conversions, I would say at very least half a dozen on this forum are using the SM kit.



If you look at the guys on here who went with Arnotts vs Strutmaster, you will find that it is way lopsided as far as people happy with the product in favor of SM.

Arnott is known to have issues, well let me rephrase that, in the earlier days people had big problems with the units. I searched pretty hard when choosing, and as I said it seems that they did a better job with the conversion (SM).

Motor cars had very good reviews (for our cars, not talking about other makes), BUT they were 800$ more, and from what others and myself have dug up, they are a very very similar build.


Saying all that, I just wanna reiterate that I am not a brand fanboy of anything, I could honestly care less. I just based my decision soely on the facts that I could find on various forums and what ever anyone would tell me over the phone (Mind you Motorcars strongly disprove of the Arnott kits, not a word about SM)... Unfortunately lots of the views on the forums can only be taken as anecdotal at best.


Anyhow, I went to the shop where my car was today and it definately dropped a little bit. It still isnt right, but it did drop.

There was a car wash about 1/2 mile down the road from the shop, I drove the car down there to show it some love..

How could I let stutmasters work on it/develop that module if it wasn't sponge bathed first.

Other than the wonky ride height, and take in mind this was a very short drive at less than 20mph, I really couldn't tell too much of a difference in low speed ride quality, it was bumpy side road too.. And I was trying hard.

(^^^^See anecdotal evidence, it is honest though.^^^)


All in all, **** happens man. And it happens often.

I am excited to be apart of the R&D of that part, and excited to have SM doing the work. It bums me out somebody made a mistake, but it will end up being done right and because of this, and because I am such a sweetie, WE will all get something GOOD out of this.

And I couldn't be happier with the way they (SM) handled themselves (SO FAR).

Again hopefully SM will take a read of this and note Cambos thoughts and apply a better design.

Lets hope.

Thank you for your comments.


Enjoy the sexy time.

!