This week a friend had me install a set of Suncore Industries front air spring/shock absorbers (dampers) on his 2008 X358 because his suspension was leaking in cold weather. I have previously installed a Suncore coil conversion kit on an X350 and my initial impression was that its performance was similar to that of the Arnott Industries coilover conversion, with perhaps slightly better body control. So I was anxious to see how the Suncore air spring/shocks measured up.

The distinctive features of the Suncore units are their low price, currently about USD $500.00 per pair, and their claimed compatibility with the ECATS adaptive damping system. They are said to be replacements for the OE Comfort units, not the OE Sport units.

Here is a comparison of the new Suncore unit and the OEM Bilstein removed from the car:




Here are the top ends of the units showing the differences in design:




The Suncore units do indeed have electrical connectors that receive the ECATS wiring, though I found that getting the harness connectors to clip securely to the tops of the units was fiddly:




Here is the Suncore part number. I just checked their website and they are currently listed as Out of Stock, so perhaps demand has exceeded Suncore's initial projections:



The direct link to the Suncore catalog listing is here:

Suncore Industries Jaguar X350-X358 Air Spring/Shock Absorber Units 117J-28-F

After installing the units and clearing the DTCs, I started the engine and watched the suspension rise to full height. I took the car for a test drive and found the ride comfortable and fairly well-controlled while cornering, though not as well-controlled as the OEM Bilstein B4s. The great news is that the CATS Warning lamp did not illuminate.

I let the car sit overnight in temperatures in the upper 20s Fahrenheit and the suspension did not drop.

I personally doubt that the Suncore units offer true adaptive damping. I suspect the conical projection on the top of the unit houses an inductor coil or resistor that simply provides the impedance or resistance the ASM expects from the solenoid coils in the OEM Bilsteins so it will not trigger the CATS FAULT warning lamp.

I'll try to remember to report back after my friend has put some time and miles on the Suncores.

Cheers,

Don

 

I had a very bad experience with these. First, the CATS is not functional with these struts. They merely have a resistor or sensor that turns off the warning light. Their advertising is misleading.

I bought Suncore front struts for my XJR when I had it. One of the shocks failed immediately on me and was making a thunking noise. Also, the brass air fittings are made of several pieces that screw together and can violently disassemble themselves when you remove the air line if it comes loose. It happened to me; I thought I was loosening the nut, but the entire fitting was actually backing out of the strut. Maybe I can take some blame in that, but I never had that happen with the factory Bilsteins and I installed and removed them countless times. Once the fitting was in pieces, it was impossible to get back together because the threads had stripped.

I replaced them with RMT rebuilds which weren't much better. I wish I had just converted it to coils.

Sorry for being so negative. I do hope your friend has a better experience with Suncore than I did!

 

John,

Thank you for sharing your experience. That's the purpose of this thread - to make information available for other members who may want to consider these Suncore units among their other options.

Cheers,

Don

 

Arnotts on both of mine, front, & rear about $900 for two, so far no issues

 

i went with the made in usa Arnotts on mine . I'm keeping the car so the lifetime warranty is a plus . used Arnott's on other vehicles over the years and never had any issues .

 

If you remove the top cover from the strut where the electrical connector plugs in, this is what you'll find:

 

John,

Thank you for posting that photo. The woven covering is typical of the fabric tape used to wrap inductor coils, transformers, guitar pickups, etc., so it makes it seem more likely that what is covered by that wrap is an inductor coil to mimic the impedance of the Bilstein DampTronic solenoid valve coils, rather than a simple resistor.

Cheers,

Don

 

Wingrider & killjoy,

My recollection is that if the Arnott units prevent the CATS FAULT from illuminating, it is through the use of an inductor or resistor in the same manner as the Suncores, not through solenoid valving that varies the damping rate in the shock absorber.

Cheers,

Don

 

yea I had issues with the RMT units, I read somewhere that all they do is refurb the bags , they don't do too much to anything else in their.......mine rattle and car drives worse than my work van, but the air bit works fine, I can feel that at low speed.
The Bilsteins have come down in price a lot lately.

Im guessing some financial guy walked into the factory and asked why they have a massive stockpile of replacement shocks.......haha

 

It's funny those Suncore look nearly identical to the Arnott air spring replacements, right down to the steel cone covering the ECATS inductor. I do see some minor differences in construction, so not sure if this was a copycat product or if Arnott sold the rights to make their replacements. I put 2 Arnott new-manufacture air springs on the front of my XJ about 4 or 5 years ago, no complaints so far. Been putting off the rear springs--they still hold air, but can feel the shocks are too soft.

 

I thought I would try out a set of Suncore's after my RMT & CARiD fiasco. I have put about 200 miles on them and in my case, they have not leaked. No CATS warning light, but from experience can tell the system is not functioning while cornering. They just bypass the fault code. Recently I have started to hear a slight knock over low speed bumps which is coming from the right front. I am 99% sure its the shock. I won't be able to confirm until I have the wheel off again. By then, even with their 1 year warranty, I will probably just put a set of Bilstein's back on. The originals were good for 75,000 miles so there's that.

 

I have just replaced my air suspension with the Arnott coil over conversion and could not be more pleased. My XJ8 was sitting low in the garage and I have been putting it off for about 18months, so pleased to have the new suspension which I being 76 yrs old and my grandson did over a weekend! Its really not that hard, just follow the Arnott video, you will be so pleased with the results plus the lifetime guarantee. I actually purchased the 4 suspension parts from Walmart at a price of $1220 delivered.

 

How hard were the rears to install?
Their rear air shocks were not an easy to install on either of mine.

 

Hi djpxk8,

I think you missed the point of this thread. There are countless threads and posts about converting the air suspension to conventional coils from Arnott and others. I have personally installed over a dozen Arnott kits and one Suncore coil conversion kit.

The purpose of this thread is to present to owners an option for maintaining the air suspension but at a lower cost than with OEM Bilstein B4 air springs/shock absorbers. Many owners do not want to convert to coils, but want a less expensive air spring/shock option. That's what this thread is about.

Cheers,

Don

 

Hi Wingrider,

The trick I came up with for installing the rears was to cut a couple of 2-foot lengths of vinyl tubing with an inside diameter that will slip over the studs on the top of the shock unit. I want to say the tubing I use has an I.D. of 5/16". I slip one end of the tubes over the studs that will fit into the larger holes in the body and stand the shock unit up under the body. Now feed the other ends of the tubes up through the two larger holes in the body. Now, as you lift the shock up into position, the tubing guides those two studs into the larger holes. Support the lower end of the shock with a jack while you go into the trunk to loosely install nuts on the studs without tubing. Then you can remove the tubing from the other two studs and install the nuts on those. This trick works with both air spring and coil units.

Cheers,

Don

 

Thank you for the very handy info.
That sure would have saved us a good bit of time
Rear shocks were already fastened on top.
My problem, was to collapse the shock enough, to get the lower bolt in.
Car on an overhead lift, was a real plus.
Then a transmission jack, & pry bar, to get the lower bolt in..
That was the worst part of the install.