I've owned the car for 9 months now and I'd only change two things. Anyone suggest if I could do it easily?

1. Steering feels way to light. I would have expected it to be progressive and get heavier the fast you go? It had a creek noise when I bought it and they fitted a new bearing down the shaft that cured it. I can drive it with one finger though! I can't feel the road with it being so light! Makes me nervous at speed.

2. Suspension I feel is to soft. It would be great to have the dynamic switch to stiffen it up a bit but mine is a 2008 that doesn't have it. Anything I can do apart from changing the shocks? Do lowered springs make it any stiffer? I could pop some viagra into the tank

I guess it is a GT and I'm used to sports but I'm loving the sound anyway.

 

The steering feels light-ish, but it does tighten at speed. I've driven mine at 186 and it's rock-solid - not drifty or vague. Mine does have the Dynamic-Pack-style front upright, which might make some difference, but I think the standard XKR is still good. Yeah, if you're used to something that requires arm wrestling, it will feel light.

The Dynamic Pack suspension setup was first developed on the 2008 XKR-S (special edition, different car from the 5.0 R-S). It's 28% stiffer at the front, 32% at the back. If you could find those components somewhere, you could switch to that setup. I believe, though it would be worth asking some of the peeps on here who have access to Jag parts lists, that the springs are common, though I know 4.2 & 5.0 shocks are different, generally.

That suspension setup is noticeably firmer than stock XKR, but it's still a decent ride.

 

Thanks, you only need light steering when you are parking really so I'm amazed the system isn't speed sensitive. My Impreza did that and greater feel. Guess there isn't anything I can do about it unless I could tighten something?

As for the ride, all boils down to cost. New springs wouldn't be to bad cost wise but a set of coilovers would be expensive. Finding genuine RS parts are rare.

 

Did you just compare your Jaguar to a Subaru?

 

It is.

Yeah man, there totally is and it's super easy. Just drain your power steering fluid.

 

Lol! Different animals Wolf vs Cat? Not much would touch my Subaru but still prefer the jag! Amazing what you could get out of 4 cylinders!

 

Well at least that would be cheap! Might have to work on the Popeye arms though.

 

Ahhhh - back in the day, I owned a 3.0 Capri, which had aftermarket alloys, wide wheels, a lot of weight over the front wheels and no power steering. I manhandled that beast around and developed a, shall we say, vigorous steering style.

Then one of my mates got a Merc SL, and offered me a drive. At the first corner I came to, I nearly put it straight into the kerb because I heaved on the wheel in my normal fashion and almost did a u-turn...

 

Maybe at near 10yrs old it's not quite as it left the factory.

The steering was (back then) progressive etc. If it's as described it sounds marginally/majorally out of spec.

I'd be guessing you could have CATS (like my 04 STR) but if so it sounds faulty.

 

Really needs a stiffer front anti roll bar or a softer rear. To me the car is way too tail happy.

 

*scoff*

 

I don't have any complaints about the steering or handling. If I see a divot or crack in the road I feel it more in my butt than the steering. My steering is firm at speed, the chassis is locked to the road, go cart responsive to inputs. The car is balanced while braking as well. I hooks and books as well. Maybe a little disappointed about no posi but it is what it is.

I walked the dog on a Subi a couple months ago when his car wouldn't hold the road on an off camber turn at 100+. XKR just kept digging.

 

now THAT was funny.

 

As always......
MORE POWER!!!

 

what I've been saying for years, and it's a bummer that no one makes them. the 5.0's with the e-lsd are incredibly lose. that would help balance that tremendously.

 

I'm still looking to get wider wheels in the back of my '10, incorporating the 15mm 'spacer' distance, and extending inboard about three inches as well, say about a 12"-13" wide wheel for 245/25/20 tires.

 

Capri's are fetching big money now. I remember drooling over the Brooklands special edition. My friend has just got a Escort RS2000 back looking great. Think it's the MkII, the one with the slant nose. Paid a lot for it as the Mexico is a fortune. I was amazed how much cars like this have just sold for at the auction at the NEC classic show this month. A nice Sierra Cosworth RS500 3 door went for £115k! Should have held onto your Capri eh!

 

I had to do an internet search to see what you guys were talking about. I guess it was called the Mercury Capri over here in the states and was marketed as a chick car . Didn't have a big market over here and went away in a few years. Interesting how there are so many differences in cars in different parts of the world. If it didn't have a big V8 over here back in the day we didn't like them but then again back in my youth gas was 25 cents a gallon.

 

Yeah, 25 cents per gallon is about £0.05 per liter. You Brits feel bad yet?

 

A tyre problem? My 2007 XK is very stable, but now that I have winter tyres it is somewhat lighter. Have to watch it, if I try to put in a new cd I may find I have moved a bit too much sideways. Does not happen with summer tyres.