I am curious about what shock brands XJ40 owners have on their cars. I'm just thinking of the future work that needs to be done, and I like to have a game plan long before kickoff.

I only learned of the company Woodhead today, and that this company was the original supplier. Though I could easily source those, I am hearing Bilstein and Sachs are quality options that many shops swear by. From what I recall, Bilsteins willl likely provide a stiffer ride, but I am not opposed to that. The North American market models had a softer suspension setting beginning with the 1990 4.0 models, and in 2024, this setting feels a bit old fashioned compared to the other cars I drive. Maybe the soft ride quality shouldn't matter to me because the handling of the car is exceptionally stable.

 

I recently replaced the shocks on my XJ81 and it is a night and day difference. But I must say that I also switched from sportspack suspension to standard suspension. Even though the standard suspension is still rather stiff on the V12, at least for Jaguar standards.

For the rear end I now have Boge shocks (I think they were also original suppliers, but maybe only for the german/european market), I bought them long time a ago with a spring package. For the front I got me KYB shocks and they both work very well, much better than the old ones (which had no manufacturer printing on them, so they were probably factory equipment).

 

Thank you for that information, V12 lover. I will keep the Boge and KYB shocks in mind as options. This brings up a different question. What tires do you have on your car? My '93 XJ6 has the last of the 15" diameter wheels before the company shifted to the Kiwi style in 1994. There is not too much demand for that size now, so choices are limited. I have a set of General Tires (which I doubt are available in Germany). Those tires are just basic touring tires as that was the only brand I could find for the wheel. Since then, tires from Vredenstein and the original Pirelli P5s have become available in the USA. My understanding is that the current Pirelli tires are not that good, but I do see positive reviews on the Vredenstein Sprint Classic.

 

The original shocks on our US-spec '88 and '93 XJ40s were by Boge, so that's what I replaced the ones on our '88 with, and they were superb. When it came time to replace the shocks on our '93, I couldn't find Boges, so I tried Bilsteins, which I found a bit harsh on that car. A couple of years later I found a good deal on Sachs shocks and gave them a try. I thought they were excellent - just as good as the Boges. By that time, both Boge and Sachs had been acquired by ZF, and I suspect the Sachs shocks used the same design as the original Boges. ZF seems to have discontinued the Boge brand and has rolled all shock absorber manufacturing under the Sachs brand.

Cheers,

Don

 

Yes, Sachs and Boge are now both part of ZF. When I was recently looking for the front shocks I wasn't able to get Sachs or Boge in Germany, at least not with Jaguar Partno. So I went for the KYB and I am very happy with them so far. And they are less pricy as well.

Regarding tyres, I have Lattice 16" wheels, so I could go for 225/55 16. These are still available from many manufacturers, but they are getting pricy as well. For 15" it will be difficult, couldn't find 225/65 15 at all at a first glance in Germany. 205/70 15 are available, seems to be a common dimension for commercial vans nowadays.

Because I had serious issues with tramlining I opted for tyres with V-shaped profile (Bridgestone Turanza 6 AllSeason). From my own and other people's experience I expected them to reduce tramlining and I was not disapointed.

Oliver

 

Don and Oliver, Thanks for the input, and apologies for my delayed response. That is valuable information on the original shocks, especially since I too have a '93. Of course as the business world consolidates, yes, I can see how specialized manufacturers come under the auspices of an umbrella company.

I intend to keep my car as stock as possible, so I don't even entertain replacing the wheels....oddly enough, I always liked the Pepperpot hubs of the '88 to what, '91, models here in the US, Although I don't care for the solid design hubs on my car, I can live with that. I think the Vredenstein tires range from H to VR and W for the proper handling, etc. I don't really go over 70 if I can help it, but I certainly understand why one shouldn't scrimp on tires / speed rating etc. for a car like this. At the time I bought tires, I could only find Generals and Hankooks touring rating, and I just wanted to find any proper size acceptable quality tire to replace the mismatched and worn ones on the car. I had to laugh when the tire dealer required that sign a form agreeing that I would not drive over 112 miles per hour. The Generals do the job, but I am eyeing a set of proper tires for when the time comes to replace these Generals.