I posted my great disappointment with the handling I was getting form my new to me 2008 XK.

https://www.jaguarforums.com/forum/x...ndling-252900/



Many folks made suggestions and I appreciate all of them.

I was certain that the suspension was not faulty, rather not as stiff as it should be, maybe it had worn out shocks. Well after three months of driving and getting to know the car I have come to these conclusions.

1 at normal speeds the ride, comfort and handling are all really great

2 at elevated speeds and in ‘S’ mode the ride and handling are almost adequate, still too much roll and lack of rebound control for my taste but OK

3 at my preferred (out on the country roads) speeds I need to drive more conservatively until I make some changes to the car.
Given the current oem shock costs I’ve decided to research several coil over kits which if I’m correct can cost @ the same as just the oem shocks.

I came to this purchasing conclusion since in the ‘S’ mode I’m perfectly happy with the ride/handling characteristics around town and can even tolerate a bit more harshness. I’m certain that new oem shocks and springs would not tighten things up as much as I want.

The coil overs have separate compression and rebound adjustments, ride height adjustments and different springs are not very expensive. I’ll give this a lot more thought and if circumstances allow I'll handle this little change after getting my xk8 back on the road in May



wj.

 

You've got a 4.2 it wouldn't make a difference to the ride whether you are in D, DS or paddle mode, going into DS doesn't firm up the shocks.

Good idea going with the coil overs Ive tried all set ups on mine and if the coil overs were avail when I purchased my xk I would have jumped on them immediately.

 

Save your money and buy an XKR.

 

Hi Steve…I am 100% certain that going into S does in fact change the suspension. If you were here in Texas I’d demonstrate through some of our curvy, dipping roads.

That is, 100% certain.

Maybe there is a difference based on country delivery or other , I don’t know about that.

I was certain but asked Moscow Leaper in another post, he responded that yes going to S puts the shocks into hard on the 2008xk.

And Stuart,

You are correct, the issue is that I want to make a major jump to 2014/15 xkr which will take @ 25K and that is not going to happen anywhere as soon as 1.5K~2k.

But once again, you are correct.



wj

 

I've just pulled the eibach suspension out of my xk which is firmer then the xkr-s variety and your car will handle like it's on rails if that is what you are after

 

I’m sure it will be on rails but also kill much of the personality of an XK.

XKR handling would be great, more focused like your old eibach combination (stiffer, lower etc) is not in my game plan for this car. Thanks for the offer though.

 

There's a set of xkr Rear shocks and springs ready to go on market place .

The rear springs on a xkr are over 30% stiffer then the xk .

The current set up I'm running is xkr springs on the rear and xk on the front and Ive found this to be the best combination, it'll stiffen your car up very nicely and reduce all that nasty body roll

 

Thanks Steve, I purchased a set of used rear xkr springs/shocks last week. They are due to be delivered this week. I'll just set them aside while continuing to look for a pair of front xkr s/s. Too many other things on my plate at the moment.

wj

 

Very good sounds like your on the right track 👍👍