Is anybody running a aftermarket performance Front sway bar on their Series 3 jaguar xj6? improvements?

 

i ordered addco front (1 inch) and rear (7/8ths inch) from summit racing, haven't installed yet but will update when i do, for both sway bars links and bushings came to 500$

 

You need a rear sway bar too. Hard to find though. Some XJS's had them in the early 80's. Adding a rear sway bar makes a HUGE difference. You could upgrade your front to a aftermarket or use the V12 sway bar which is slightly bigger than the 6cyl swaybar. The XJS stuff fits.

 

I used the 1" Addco bar on my Ser III. Much flatter cornering but, of course, the understeer was worse when pushed hard thru tight corners. As mentioned, it's best used in conjunction with a rear bar.

Cheers
DD

 

I installed a 1983 model XJS rear sway bar and radius arms on my coupe.
Use large fender washers, with bolts, on the boot/rear seat back bulkhead.
It really makes it corner like its on rails!

 

Thanks for the info.

 

I know this is an old post but I'm praying someone can help me out. I bought an aftermarket front sway bar to replace the stock unit on my 1986 XJ6 VDP. Took the wheels off, removed the sway bar links, removed the sway bar bushing brackets and bushings and now I'm trying to actually remove the old sway bar from the vehicle.

The instructions that came with the new sway bar as well as the Jaguar service manual call for "maneuvering" the old unit out of the vehicle. After wrestling with this thing for an hour, I don't see any possibility of this thing coming out of the vehicle without further steps.

Read part of a really old post on another forum where "Doug D" (great guy - got a lot of info from that dude!) seemed to mention that you actually have to remove the two large front bolts on the subframe and drop it about an inch and a half to get the old bar out and new bar in.

Could someone who's actually done a front bar swap on a Series 3 give me some pointers? I would be forever grateful! New member here but have been "lurking around" for awhile. Thanks in advance for any response!

 

That's me

I've actually done it and could find no alternative but to remove those big front subframe bolts and lower the front of the subframe a wee bit. It really isn't all that big of a deal....but I did it with the car on a hoist.

Remove the bolts, lever the subframe down a bit. Or move the body up. Nothing bad happened although if the rear subframe mounts are on their last legs it might prove more than they can bear.

Naturally you'll take a safety precautions

Others will hopefully chime in with a better alternative.

Cheers
DD

 

Why are the XJS radius arms better than the XJ6?
Is it just because the fittings are welded on?

 

Yes. Other than that they are identical

Cheers
DD

 

Doug,

Thanks for the response as well as all the other great info you provide on this and other forums! Its a big help and often times before I embark on some "Jag Endeavor", I'll check the forums just to see level of difficulty and outcomes for various tasks at hand.

So basically, the instructions that came with the bar and the Jaguar service manual are wrong in that you simply cannot "maneuver" the bar out of the vehicle once it's been unbolted without at least one or two extra steps. Just wanted to confirm so I can follow up with the person that sold me the bar and tell him he needs to update his instruction sheet to reflect real world and not what someone read in a service manual which was wrong from the git go.

Anyway, thanks again!

 

I am using 1984 XJS radius arms, with the rear torsion bar option, for my XJ6-Coupe. It takes the waddle out of the cornering....

 

I have a 77 XJ12L that has the larger front sway bar that comes with the '12". I rebuilt the front end and rear with all urethane bushings. In the rear I used the XJS sway bar. When locating the attachments to the body, I set the rear suspension to the "mid laden" point. Lower arms are SNG Barratt with urethane bushings


Car corners flat with stock tires. I hope to have it on the ground soon with the new 245/45/17" on 17 x 8" rims.


I was cautioned by John of John's Cars not to over do the sway bars with the larger sizes. He suggested trying the XJS bar first.

 

Hi Giovanni,

I am a coupe owner in Canada, and see that you posted (in 2014) that you fitted a rear anti sway bar to your coupe. Is it possible that you might take a few pictures of the installation? Specifically wondering at the placement of the clamps onto the floor/seatback area, and if the vertical links were stock length.

Thanks, Brad

 

Hi Brad, sorry forgot you asked for this. I hope you can make it out. Click on pix to make bigger.

Rob

Welcome to Jag-lovers - Members Photo Viewing Page

 

Wow, I just looked at those old pictures, and can hardly make out the tape measure.

I believe the horizontal shot shows 4 3/8 inch. The vertical is 7 inches.

Sorry for the poor pic's.

Rob