I have a 2008 XK which is long over due for shocks. I appreciate the smooth ride of the stock suspension but desire the xkr ride+handling.

I spoke with bc racing and their products will not work for me, only because they cannot support a stock ride height, must be 1” (or more) lower. That lowering would cause me to drag the front middle and rear of the car too often in the areas where I drive/live.

So, back to square one.

Can I install xkr spring/shock assemblies on this 2008 xk (yes it has cats). I’ve search ed wrecker yards and have found several lower mileage units (~45,000mile).

Will an xkr spring/shock assy bolt up and function properly on an XK?

They are all listed for coupes and I have a conv…is there in fact a different set used on the convertible?

Any and all advice appreciated.

wj

 

Key issue is can they operate with CATS? 07-09 used a 2-stage system, '10+ a multistage system. Bilstein made the ones for the 4.2 XK, and speaking from experience the front Bilsteins are very difficult to source. I know the XKR's are a different unit, but not sure of the details of where they can be found. I suspect some will be forced to delete the CATS units as time passes and simply go with regular shocks.

EDIT: I looked for the XKR's, and Rockauto seems to have the Bilstein CATS units for the '08 XKR (front and rear) for $260 each. Get 'em while they're hot.

 

I've been putting this off for sometime for $$$$ reason. It looks as if I need to bite the bullet and do something.
The 07-09 (US) xk150 be it xk or xkr used cats, 2 stage. So my question, hoping someone has already done this, is are the xkr units a bolt in? and is there a diference between coupe and convertible as to the units used.
wj

 

except I also will need new springs. I'm not in love with this car and looking for my keeper, can't justify throwing money into the pit. My thinking is if I can buy used assemblies (less than 50Km) use them for maybe 10-15kmiles while finding my keeper that is a somewhat smarter approach, maybe not.
time will tell
I appreciate your thoughts
wj

 

There must be a misunderstanding. The BC ride height’s fully adjustable. I’ve got my rears adjusted higher than Jag’s spec (4 finger gap from top of tyre tread to wheel arch).

 

Yes
No

 

I cannot recall any other members that have gone through more spring and shock set-ups on a 07-09 (4.2) than myself and Jahummer, and he's definitely the go-to guy when it comes to BC coilovers.

The entire strut unit (xkr) will bolt straight up to your xk with no need to compress any springs or recalibrate the CAT module. (However, with the XKRS struts, I believe a software update is recommended.)

The colours used to identify the struts are the following:
Xk - Black
Xkr - Green
Xkrs - Yellow (and yes, there was a short run on the 4.2; funny enough, the springs were made for Jaguar by Eibach.)

I would have to get the verniers out for the rears; however, by memory, the xk front spring are 14mm in thickness and xkr 14mm

Another note to consider is the xk, when fitted with the xkr struts, will sit approx 3-5mm higher upfront then the xkr due to having less weight over the axle no s/c (I actually shaved my xkr spring down to compensate this)

 

I first used email and response was that I could not retain stock height. Then spoke with a woman there that said it was adjustable, except only to lower not up to stock or higher. I'll call back today and confirm.
wj

 

Thanks for that, when you say shaved, literally or did you cut off a portion of the spring?
wj

 

Your welcome ^^^

And I took approx 5mm off the front spring and it sits visually a lot nicer now another 3-4mm and it would be bang on with the rear but that's just my OCD kicking in lol

 

Now we're getting somewhere. Prodded by jahummer's comments I got back in touch with bc racing and the news is good. Here is part of an exchange with them...

I just looked into the in-house vehicle testing that we did on this specific vehicle. It looks like out of the box, it will lower the vehicle about an inch, but it can actually be raised to OEM height, if not slightly above.

This is a rare occasion on one of our kits, but not impossible. For the XK/XKR kit, it does look like it is possible to retain OEM height.

It is important to note that when adjusting our suspension, that threads are visible through the hole on the lower mount. Raising the vehicle any more than this can cause the damper to rip out of the lower mount.

I hope this information helps you!

Now I need to make a decision.
wj

 

It was mine they did the fitting and testing on...

 

Looking closer at the mounting and considering this is a street vehicle for me, can I assume that there will a lot more road feel transmitted simply due to the lack of a 'soft' mount?
wj

 

Not at all. The rubber bit you’re looking at isn’t a shock mount, it’s a spring isolator. What makes shocks feel different’s combination of spring rates and dampening, both of which are adjustable/customisable with the.BCs. Keep in mind any non-CATS strut’s going to eliminate that feature. Active dampers are quite effective at masking roadway texture.

 

Okay, thanks
wj j8

 

I installed front (used) xkr struts to my xk this weekend.
They have transformed the handling to everything I want/desire.
Will do the rears
next weekend
wj

 

I found I could not work today...major internet issue in Texas, due to hurricane. So after a while I quit trying and decided to replace the rear struts in the XK. One margarita, two hours and my xk now behaves as I always wanted/expected it to.
Life is good.
WJ

 

what did you use? Jag, bilstein, or something else?

 

I had purchased a set of used jag/bilstein xkr struts...now installed.
wj

 

Glad they work out well for you.