Re: Possible solution to jittery ride?? (archive)

By the way, Eddie was right. Adding around 250lbs is enough to make the rear start pushing around. I've played around, and it appears that 100 lbs placed close to the front of the trunk does the trick (placed close to the back seat in the trunk). 100 lbs is enough to seriously calm down the jitter, without playing too much havoc on cornering or braking (although I don't push either - I'm sure someone silly enough to race their XK8 might notice). My wife went with me recently and asked, "What did you do? It rides so much better!" Go figure. . .

BTW: I've played w/ the pressure, and I'm running 28 front, 30 rear (any more, and the jitter gets much worse, and less and the tires get squishy). I'm running Pirelli P-Zeros (17" stock wheels).

Dave L.

I have a '97 XK8 convertible (purchased used about 6 months ago). Like many of you, I love the car, but find the ride somewhat "jittery" over moderately rough roads.

Due to a New Years resolution, I purchased some free-weights today (wish me luck!). I loaded up the weights in my trunk (255 lbs). The ride home was glorious! It was smoother than I could believe! The jitter was completely gone!

You'll probably think I'm nuts, but here's my idea. . .I can go to a metal shop and ask for 4 pieces of square flat metal (maybe 75 lbs each, with the 4 covering the bottom of the trunk). They wouldn't shift around much, or take up much room. I could cover them w/ black fabric, and it wouldn't be all that obvious.

But, if the solution is this simple, why wouldn't Jag simply weight down the back slightly more during manufacturing?

Your thoughts?

Dave L.

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