Super suspension – the ride of your life!

Over the years, Jaguar has maintained its position as a leader in suspension sophistication and the launch of the E-type in 1961 was where it all began.

At the time, most production cars were still using live axles. This, of course, impacted ride quality and made cornering a fickle affair. Designed by Bob Knight, Jaguar’s first generation of independent rear suspension (IRS) took five years to develop and was a game changer in ride comfort.

While its first production application was in the E-Type, the Jaguar IRS assembly was refined and used continuously until production of the XJS ended in 1996. Even then it carried on in modified form into the XK8, XJ300 and XJ308. The smooth ride and excellent roadholding offered by Jaguar’s IRS assembly played a significant role in making the XJs the highly-desirable classics that they are today.

But even the best designs need a little helping hand. Unless professionally restored within the past few years, all E-type XJ-based suspension assemblies – including the DB7s – will likely be very loose. This is mostly due to key rubber components which have perished over the passage of time. This is not a design fault; it is simply the nature of rubber. Joints and bearings will also wear, and springs and dampers will have weakened.

These wear-related and perishable problems accumulate, resulting in poor steering precision, degraded handling and unbalanced braking.

KWE offers a fixed-price suspension, brakes and steering package. This includes removal and full strip of both front and rear suspension assemblies. Each individual component is then shot blasted and powder coated, first in zinc and then in black – or any paint colour of your choosing!

The components are then re-assembled with new bushes, bearings, springs, dampers, brakes, earth straps, steering pump, brake pads and shoes. At KWE, we do more than restore – we uprate, and so several components will be upgraded to KWE specification, ensuring your smooth ride is extra-safe and lasts well into the future.

The result? Precision steering, superb handling, and the same (or better) ride comfort that you’d expect if you’d just bought your XJ fresh off the production line.

Take a look at this walk-around body and suspension restoration video.