Russ68

I wonder if the Green Cotton Filter is a better bet then? I used K&N and Pipercross on various cars before, and the Vader Induction Kit on my MGF made a world of difference. But I understand the induction routing on the Jag is quite good and can hardly be improved upon? So it's only replacement panel filters that are worth considering? If this is not the case I'd be happy to hear of it. Similarly, while I understand that remapping the STR can release a lot more power, remapping a normally aspirated AJ6 or AJ8 doesn't make much difference and hence isn't worth doing?

I have the STR Vulcan alloys on mine which were a standard fit in this size, so I can attest they work well on the car. Later STR's had staggered wheels with 275/35 on the back and 185/40 on the front. From memory the standard wheel is a 7" or 7.5" wide? The staggered rear is a 9". You'd obviously want the correct PCD and offset to standard, but I imagine if the one's you buy are recommended for your model, you'll be OK. I just did a quick eBay search and there are loads out there, new and salvage

For interest have you serviced her and when did she last have plugs and coil packs? My V6 ran poorly under load until I changed these out on the difficult to access left bank, now she's revvy and sweet and about to have her 2nd oil service since I've had her. I'm going to add the sports exhausts I bought and I'm also considering a K&N panel filter this time around instead of the standard paper one . There's not much else we can do modification wise to the V6, whereas there is a ton you can do to the supercharged V8, which is one of the reasons why I have to have one (eventually!) .

Thanks Jon, I've responded to your message, hopefully one or both of us can take advantage of them

Nexen reviews I've seen have been good, and I know a few forum members use them. Please send me the link to the eBay alloys, I have a search going on these and haven't seen them come up. You could send in a PM with it if you're so inclined

Hey Jon, you're lucky enough to have the staggered alloys, which is cool. I was looking for a pair of the 9" Vulcans for the back of mine, but she handles so well on the 185/40's, I'm going to stick with these now. I heavily researched tyres before taking the plunge and the choice I'd made before deciding on the Winrun was the Nexen NFera SU1. These are available in 275/35 and c£90 each, which is not too bad. You can then get the NFera's for the front as well, as best to have a complete set from the same manufacturer IMHO

That does help, thanks! I'm from an engineering background and for my sins I did a few years in the motor trade, so while not a professional mechanic, there's nothing / very little I can't do myself, especially after researching and seeking advice from the forums. This makes a big difference to running costs, but can eat into my weekends! There's nothing I've heard so far which has scared me off, I'll check all the usual stuff, inc rust, which I think can be a problem. Hopefully the right one will turn up when I need it, the Mrs has persuaded me I should get one for my 50th which is 18 months away, hopefully the prices don't rise too much between now and then! I'll keep an eye on it and may buy one before time if the right one comes up. The only thing that held me back is I still have a fair bit of work to do on the S-Type, and I want to recommission my MGF in the spring, and I was in danger of having lots of unfinished projects with nothing competed. Whereas, when I get the XKR, I want to be free to devote my full attention to it, and have the other vehicles to use without a ton of maintenance .

Sounds like a good plan Jason, I bought a reader but the app I bought on my iPhone won't talk to it, so I'm interested in any recommends, I think the issue if the app, not the reader. I / you can ask on the S-Type forum which is a lot more active if you don't get a reply here. I've seen it come up before so you may even be able to search the forum for advice

Winrun R330, I already recommended them to you in another post. I have them on my S-Type and they're fantastic and £216 the set fitted in 185/40/18. W rated to 168mph and I can testify they grip well and progressively in all conditions...

Hi Tom, Thanks so much for your response, after the very active S-Type forum, I'd almost given up hope of a reply from an actual X100 owner! I'm looking for a coupe, so the roof does not bother me, and I'm looking to do a rolling restoration, much as I have been on the S-Type. So buying a usable car with MOT and maintaining / improving it. I will not be looking to cover a lot of miles on an annual basis, but the odd large road trip plus runs out at the weekend to keep her ticking over. My thought process went from seriously considering the S-Type R, but not seeing enough benefit / difference between my Sport manual and that. Whereas the XKR is very different, the spiritual successor to the E-Type with supercar performance. Do you do your own mechanics? I can imagine paying someone to maintain them would be expensive, I hope to do this myself. From what I can see spares availability should be good. Mechanics shared with various other Jag and Land Rover models, and a good support network via the clubs and various specialists. Were there particular costs you had in mind and is anything ruinously expensive? What have you had to do on yours? Plus how do you find the handling and have you done any modifications over standard? I'd be interested in the Racing Green sequential shifters, never being a great fan of autos. But I may come to like the auto box as everyone else seems to get on with it! Thanks, Russ

Yup, I was with the AA and when I started modifying my MGF, the premiums they wanted went nuts, whereas A-Plan Bletchley, who specialised in the MGF were happy with me to do anything with the exception of forced induction and nitrous and the premium was even a bit less. Real people on the end of the phone and nice to deal with, as Andy says. I had a 5K policy, but loved driving her too much and went over, they didn't mind me bumping this to 6K on renewal. Last years was £289, but I protected my no claims this year, increased the car value, added another named driver and only have a £250 excess, so the renewal was £338, still pretty good I thought

Hey guys, Thanks for the write up Jon, very informative and somewhat as I expected. So I guess if it came to a shoot out the Scooby would have the advantage over the STR on a windy B road, but on an autobahn or round the Nurburgring, the STR would have it? On the right tyres of course... Speaking of which, the set of Winrun R330's I had fitted are nothing less than exceptional for the price IMO, £216 fitted the set of 4 in 245/40/18 on the same Vulcan alloys you have on the STR. They work great on my Sport and are W rated, hence 167mph, so providing you don't take the speed limiter off, you should be OK! Definitely try A-Plan in Bletchley for insurance, particularly if modifying cars, which they are relaxed about mods and seem to be happy to consider your no claims on other vehicles. I had my NCD on my modified MGF and they still insured the Jag at under £300 inc 3 other named drivers. Cheers, Russ

Hi Guys, Well done to Jon for taking the plunge with the STR, a helluva car! How is the engine on that mileage, good I hope? I hear they can handle high mileage. I seriously considered buying one to the point of obsession, but decided there was no point me getting one and keeping my current S-Type. But I want more Jaguars and the next one has to be V8 supercharged, so I've decided to go for an X100 XKR . There is still work to do on my S-Type, and I want to recommission my MGF in the spring. so I'm not taking Jon's advice about buying the XKR right away so as not to have a whole bunch of unfinished projects! Hopefully in about 18 months I'd be in the lucky position of having the 3.0 Sport manual S-Type, an XKR coupe, an MGF and 2 Discoveries. I think I'll just about have all the bases covered then! For interest, can you give an overview of the relative performance of both your S's and the Subaru, including handling? Thanks, Russ BTW, love the Vulcan alloys, same as mine

Yup, something like that screw looks fine, remove it, insert the wire or crimp connector and screw it back in. You'll know soon enough if the earth is good or you need to look elsewhere. Ensure you can get the wire under the trim neatly, or you could perhaps go somewhere less visible

Hi Nathan, any metal part of the body is a ground point, this is what is referred to a 'negatively earthed' i.e. take a positive from the battery and the negative is via the cars steel structure. So look out for where a bolt goes into the metal and you can crimp on a connector (or wrap the wire around it if you must, crimping is neater!) and use this. I've just had a quick look on mine and the bolts into the steering column would probably work if you can't find anything on the fuse box itself, perhaps the ones that bolt the fuse box to the body? Or you could break into any other grounding wire with a crimp or screw connector. Hope this help, Russ

Relating to the rough idling, if you've just bought the car and don't have clear evidence of servicing, you need to do a full service on it now with oil, filters, plugs and probably coil packs (as Andy said). Learn to do this yourself and you'll save a fortune! Ask Berkshire Jag for a service kit which is what I did, your local autofactor can provide the oil...

As Chris said, the CDC autochanger is in the boot on the left hand side, I have the same head unit and a CDC in the boot, mine didn't come with the cartridge for the CD's, which is annoying! I've also been looking at fitting a more modern double DIN head unit in mine, but finding a CDC cassette would be a good start!

Well done for getting in there Dave and good you didn't break anything! If the local spare for breaking can be seen working and looks OK, this would seem the best best, it's there and hopefully cheap and good etc. A full price recharge (£60), sorted my aircon out, so I was luckier than you, as it's blowing lovely and cold. The guy put a tacker dye in the refrigerant, so if it leaks we can identify it in future. Hopefully your's will be done soon and you can start enjoying the S-Type, not working on it

Hey Dave, I need to get into my doors so I've bought spare clips on the basis that they can get brittle and I'm likely to break a few. I'd look 1st or you won't be sure what you need 😉

Hey Steve, Unfortunately not, the guys supplying the hanger repair panel went out of stock, but it did give me the chance to order some fancy stainless clamps and the repair paste I needed. Really pleased they turned out to be stainless, they were so grubby this wasn't obvious from the get go, so I'll give them a good clean up before they go on, which will be ASAP, but perhaps not before next weekend. I also fitted a leaper and I'm really pleased with it, photos on the Mrs's camera, but once I have access to them, I'll post . All the best, Russ

Silver IMHO, I'm just about to redo mine and I'm going for silver

Thanks guys, they've been dispatched, so we'll know soon enough, I hope to fit them at the weekend. I had to order a repair panel for the hangar, which broke away on the offside. The same thing happened last year and a made a repair panel myself, but it was a pain and on balance I thought best just to buy one. I'm looking to use some stainless clamps for ease of future maintenance and removal. Cheers

Thanks Simon, I took some pictures of mine and carefully compared as them to the standard and the Adamesh ones, so I'm pretty happy they'll fit so I've ordered them now. I'm slightly concerned they could be a bit loud with the tiny silencer box, but we'll see and if so I can either weld in a larger silencer or sell them on as are. I suspect the breaker didn't realise they were an aftermarket part, and for £130, it's not much of a risk as my others are pretty shot anyhow. Can't wait to put the on now .

Hey Simon, this is what I thought, and you should know having played around with those Adamesh pipes you sold on. Tempted to have a punt on them as my OSR pipe has broken away from the mount which I need to attend to shortly, and my rear boxes are pretty shot. Does anyone know definitely if a 2002-2007 rear silencer fits on a 2001 X200? Thanks, Russ

Hi all, I saw this listing for S-Type rear silencer boxes on eBay, and they look nothing like the big (knackered) rear boxes I have on my 2001. This is just the one side and the other is listed separately. Does anyone recognise them as a standard fitment and are they likely to fit on a 2001 car? I was going to treat myself to a set of Adamesh rear boxes but these look like they'd achieve a similar result for a fraction of the price. The idea may be a non starter but I thought I'd ask! Thanks, Russ