Russ68

I know a few people commented on this regarding Steve's potential search for a low miler STR. It's nice to have a low miler, but this is no guarantee of condition and all the issues David describes are perhaps more prevalent on a car that hasn't been used much. Mine has 135K on the clock and returned comparable emissions to Steve's: Fast Idle - CO: 0.016, HC 9ppm, Lamda: 1.003. Natural Idle - CO: 0.006 I think these cars have 'long legs', and are designed for big trips and high miles, for mine to be as good as she is, on the mileage she has is a testament to this. I know it's not for everybody, but if you do your own spannering, running costs tumble, as the cost of parts is actually pretty / very reasonable...

Of course Jon, I'll factor this in, looks like Samco do a suitable pipe, with an inlet, but this will need further investigation. There's a few engineering places around here that could weld me something up in stainless, which would be a nice bit of bling for the engine bay. But I best look into it properly first There's a local guy who breaks S-Types, I may source a complete inlet from him that I can butcher, before I do anything to take mine of the road. But getting my wheels sprayed and sorting out the leak from my expansion tank are higher up the priority list at the moment. I must have bought every damn trim clip that is on the car, except the big 2 piece ones that hold the trim plate that goes over the expansion chamber. Shouldn't hold be back from taking this off, but I like to have replacement clips and replace any broken ones after doing a job. I may post separately about this unless anyone knows what they're called and if they can still be sourced? Cheers, Russ

Mine was flat this morning but is fine now after a jumpstart and 20 mile run. I think the issue was related to either locking or the cooling fan, I'll investigate further. But your 10a drain is really significant David. Too high to relate to a small component, such as a light staying on. I think you're on the right track and hope you sort it soon

Wow! That's some big stuff there Andy, thanks for the explanation

Very interesting Jon, the later ones didn't have this swirl chamber or whatever it is, I'm not bothered about induction noise and it won't be an issue for me if this goes from nothing at all to barely audible! I'll take a bigger picture, but potentially changing out this pipe section gives me the clearance I need and may tidy things up. Generally with airflow and induction, if it looks clean and neat, it probably is! More soon

What a shame Simon, could you buy another one, and swap your upgrades on to it? You're not thinking of leaving Jaguar and the S-Type behind I hope!

Aha! That makes more sense Andy. For interest, why 'the tyre man'? Is this your line of work? You don't always contribute to tyre related topics...

After a ton of research I just bought some Nexen Nfera SU1 for the back of mine, well reviewed and tested, plus cheap - medium price. Worth checking out I suggest

Thanks Steve, it'll look even better with the 275's on the back and the refurb Vulcan alloys

Very interesting Joe, sounds like a fair bit of new kit on that model, inc an aluminum bonnet. Potential interesting retro fit to another model, but I imagine most STR's for breaking would have front end damage so not salvageable!

Hi Nick, really interesting that, and fantastic you've had your S-Type from new, awesome brand and model loyalty. It gives you a valuable perspective not many will have! I'll bear that in mind re the stater motor, and if mine gets sluggish, I'll consider this above other things

The original X200, like mine, had manual adjusters on a big 10mm allen key, can't say I'm disappointing about this, they are a doddle to adjust

Really Simon? Just an empty lump? What's it for then? Could I cut it off? Must do something?

Hi Simon, the boot still pops up as usual, it's a fairly nominal extra weight I guess. The remote boot opening is one of my favourite features

Thanks all, including Simon whose comment is valid. The justification was as much to myself and my partner that I'm not spending company funds carelessly on my hobby. But if things continue to go well, I'll have one! What a luxury it wil be to work on cars indoors and on a ramp! Plus I want to completely Waxoyl all the cars, inc the Jag, and this will make life so much easier 😃

Upgrading to an older model Andy? Sounds like there's a story there! Good call on the fishing line, better than ferking around with a scrapper or screwdriver to get them off! I'm undecided what to do, but it's not top of my list at the moment. I'll try having a proper clean on the old one at some point, 1/2 the issue is wax on the black bits. If this doesn't yield the result I could fit the newer badges and do as you have done so effectively. Or I'm even tempted to use the bonnet badge in this position, right hand side of boot etc. The badge came off when I fitted the bonnet leaper, it currently has pins on the back which could easily be removed and I'd expect the right adhesive would hold it in place. Not sure I've seen anyone do this before but it could look quite smart? If anything like the adhesive ring it left on the bonnet, which was a sod to remove, so it may be better to use a badge more or less the same size and shape. As I say, undecided but not a high priority!

Hi Josh / Dex? I went through a similar thought process a couple of years ago, and after much research and looking, eventually settling on a 2001 3.0 manual Sport. The manuals are rarer, but they are out there, and my Sport is surprisingly good on the twisty bits since I put the new tyres on, harder suspension than standard but still super comfy. There around the same power difference between the 2.5 (200bhp) and 3.0 (240bhp) as between the 3.0 and 4.0 (280bhp), plus the 4.0 is c150 kg heavier, so a manual 3.0 Sport is arguably the drivers choice IMHO, backed up by the Honest John review I linked you to above. Of all the early X200's, I prefer the look of the Sport, less chrome etc, but if going for a post 2002 car, this isn't quite the issue as the facelifted ones look more contemporary. If, like me you can tinker with them yourself, parts are cheap and plentiful and if you take the plunge, we can more specific advise about this. I bought cheap as a rolling restoration, as I have other vehicles, but if your only car, you may be better spending a bit more for a later one. Mine was running rough after being somewhat unloved by the last couple of owners, so I haggled the price and luckily she came good once serviced. Sailed through her 1st MOT and is coming together nicely now If you do a lot of miles, you could LPG convert, as Simon (SimJag) has done, I think he covers more miles than most of the rest of us put together! My 1st 5K averaged just under 28mpg, but this can be 20ish around town or if racing. The manual is more economical that the auto, and it's crazy how well they roll, I'm forever taking her out of gear and still find myself catching slow moving traffic. I love mine so wish you all the best, helluva car for the money! Cheers, Russ PS. I didn't get much recent history with mine, but was competent / confident enough to go on vehicle condition, and to factor in service costs of bringing everything up to date...

Hi all, The new intake has arrived and other than it being pretty grotty, and the slightly smaller intake, as per later 3.0, I have a potential clearance issue with the bit projecting from from the pipe between the MAF and throttle body shown in blue below. I'll have a play around with it, no great loss if it doesn't work, but potentially not the quick win I'd hoped. I may be able to rotate it round slightly to go over the new intake, but it doesn't appear to lend itself to upgrading with Samco hosing or similar, barely a straight run in it with lots of stuff projecting off! Before I take it apart and start playing with it, I don't suppose anyone knows what's inside the lump indicated below? Thanks, Russ

That does look good Andy, has she been resprayed? Those big Powerflow's look great as well! I notice your S-Type badge is on the other side to mine in line with latter fitment I think? I'm guessing they just stick on and don't have pins like the bonnet ones?

Ha ha, I like your thinking! Although a plastic cover over the underside could actually be a good idea, potentially improving airflow and keeping crud off the precious bodywork, in a tough plastic like a HIPS or ABS. I may give this some thought!

Oppps! Sorry to hear that Eric, but at least it wasn't £hundreds. Makes me happy to be improving a 15 year old Jag and not a Maserati, Porsche or similar where parts would cost a fortune! Wonder how much an injector rail with inlet manifold would be on a Ferrari, more than £30 I bet! Just been going though my bills for her, and while they're adding up, and I must stop buying stuff for the moment, it's not too bad, I think I have real value for money, and many of the parts are comparable or cheaper than any old hatchback. I figure it's best to be gathering bits now while they're plentiful, cheap and arguably still undervalued

Thanks guys, I think so too I still can't get over it's come halfway across the world for that price! No wonder manufacturing in this country is suffering, there's no way we could even paint something for that money, let alone supply a complete custom part and ship it internationally in a week!

Ah, good thinking! If we lasered metal it would be an easier sell, but unless we're doing sump and diff guards in plastic or wood, it wouldn't really work, as this is the laser work we (currently) do

Well I have to say that this is pretty impressive, what a crazy global market we live in nowadays! I only placed the order a week ago and it was custom painted in Taiwan before dispatch to the actual Jaguar paint codes, which appear to be matched perfectly. Arrived today after being advised of dispatch yesterday, all for £34.99 including shipping! It fitted easily in a matter of minutes, but came straight so had to be gently bent round the boot shape. I can't wait to get the new staggered alloys and 275/35's on now, but these need spraying which will take awhile, hopefully in the next few weeks. I'm now slightly disappointed in the condition of my S-Type boot badge, I haven't been able to clean it up and it appears I can find the newer type in good or new condition, but the original X200 ones seem hard to find. Does anyone have any ideas on where I could get one, or will the newer one be a direct replacement for my original?

Ha ha, I'd be happy to hire the lift to other enthusiasts Jon, but being I'm on the Isle of Wight, I'd expect the take up to be limited Just a plan in embryo at the moment, but when I last had mine MOT'd, I noticed they had the big 4 post, taking up a lot of space, and the 2 post, which is basically just a couple of pillars when not in use. When I asked and checked, they were not badly priced, from £1K etc. The challenge is now trying to justify / think of a reason that a laser cutting business needs a car lift! I could then buy through the business then and claim the VAT back .