Russ68

I replaced all 6 plugs and coil packs, and put in new inlet manifold gaskets, as this had to come off. Tell them your model and he'll send you the right ones. I did a full service at the same time with all filters, which is where I originally found Berkshire Jag, through their service kits which use genuine parts and are surprisingly cheap 

I bought a set of these for my MGF, they seem very good, although not fitted them yet:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MGTF-MG-TF-Chrome-Twin-Nozzle-Washer-Jets-Pair-New-/250916743830?fits=Model%3AMG+TF&hash=item3a6bcdaa96:m:mmm2e6GiitW8WMDf3J4j-Ow

Difficult to be definitive here Paul, I'm in favour of offset wheels as they were an option on the STR and fill the rear arches nicely. But the 20" were never an option as far as I'm aware and they could not fit properly or not work well even if they did fit, so you're taking a risk. That said the price looks keen so if they didn't work out for you then you could probably sell them on at no loss. On balance I'd probably go with an 18" that was originally speced for the car, but nothing ventured, nothing gained

Hi Tim,

I did this job on my 2001 3.0 Sport last year and it made the world of difference, but I had a misfire under load and not an Oil leak. I can recommend getting a service kit from Berkshire Jag Components and buy genuine coil packs. The chap that helped me seemed knowledgeable and his advice on the parts was proved right. Getting the inlet manifold off and refitting was a bit of a mission, but there is advice about this online and no specialist tools are needed, so research beforehand, leave plenty of time, go at it methodically and you should be OK ;)

Hope this helps, Russ

DAB is great, especially 6 Music, but as Joe says, it's all down to signal. I fitted a DAB in my MG and there are areas I can get blanket coverage, other places I know it will drop out. It is less forgiving than FM and hopefully the coverage will improve as time goes on...

Thanks all that's really useful, I'll consider my options and report back with what I decided :)

Hey Paul,

I want a DAB in my S-Type as well, but I'm not lucky enough to have the ACM like you, so I'm going for a double DIN DAB with inputs for iPhone, USB and MP3. I've not selected the actual model yet but that is the plan. I got a really nice Philips DAB for my MGF, but it's single DIN, something restrained that doesn't look like a cheap mobile disco would be preferred as the Jag is too classy for that!

Good luck!

Exactly Jim, while I can't quite class the S a 'rolling restoration' she was a bit unloved when we bought her and I fully intend to get her tiptop over the course of time. Wheels and tyres were a known issue when we bought her and I see little point in the 'face only' refurb, I could do this myself with a can of spray and some masking tape. The 18" Vulcans I have were an option on the STR and look great, they'd be even better with a refurb and new rubber 

Is anyone aware of a mail order service on the wheels? I am not having much luck locally!

Hi All,

The 18" Vulcans on my S have seen rather too much of the kerb and I want to have them done before fitting a new set of tyres.  It seems my local specialists (Isle of Wight) want to repair and paint the wheels, and the one I've spoken too leaves the tyres on when they do it. This is not quite what I had in mind, I thought it would be a tyre off, powder coat job that would also address any internal corrosion (if there was any). I'd have thought that paint would be damaged on changing the tyres, does anyone have any experience of paint vs powder coat on wheels and am I wrong to be concerned?

Many thanks, Russ

Hey Mark, I know what you mean about the bling, that's why I went for the Sport, colour coded and a bit more purposeful looking. I'm pretty sure you could swap it out if you wanted, although some people must like it or they wouldn't put it on I guess ;)

Hey Tim,

I had a 71 GT6 MKII back in the late 80's, I remember it being a fantastic looking thing, but handling and comfort left a bit to be desired. Poor mans E-Type apparently ;)

Cheers, Russ

Good for you Den, very nice! I think your donor could be the same colour as mine, are you breaking her or just hanging onto the bits 'just in case'?

I'm not really desperate for anything but there are some interior parts from a manual handbrake / pre facelift one that could come in useful. Plus the under front bumper panel (spoiler / splitter?) has seen better days on mine, if yours was good and going spare at any point 

Cheers, Russ

PS. Once I have my wheels and tyres done and a decent valet, I'll post some pictures...

Hi Joe,

Thanks for this, nice rims, but I have a set of 4 Vulcans which I really like, if I could only buy the x2 9.5 rears it would be perfect. I came close to a set last summer, and if I knew what I know now, I would've bid more on them. Hen's teeth and rocking horse s**t spring to mind! For now I'm going to have mine refurbed with the new Nexen's, and if I find the staggered rears at a later time, they will make a great addition, or I could use a proper job hub bolted spacer to achieve a similar effect. As even with the 245's they still don't fill the arches well IMHO, which is an issue Jaguar recognised and solved with the staggered rims.

Cheers, Russ

Some people say annual Oil change, regardless of mileage, but this is probably OTT, if as Peter say that oils are guaranteed for 2 years, then that would seem a reasonable time for a change. I'm on a 5K annual mileage policy with my insurance, but I've enjoyed driving her so much, we may well exceed this! If you haven't done already, you'll need plugs and coil packs at some point, the left bank is a bit of a sod as the inlet manifold need to come off to get to them. Well worth it though, what an awesome engine :)

Thanks guys, jealous of Joe's staggered wheels which were used on the post 2003 STR, if I could find some, I'd have them as my Sport use the STR Vulcan alloys ;)

5-30 semi...

Thanks for this Peter, that seems a good price, I'm still tempted by the Nexens though. I've decided to have the wheels refurbed before I fit the tyres and I have all the brakes to do as well. Handling and stopping should be transformed 

Hi all,

It is 245/40/18, I've been pricing various tyres for the fleet and mistyped, so I've changed the topic title.

Thanks for the recommend and prices Jim, did you recall what you paid for the 2 Goodyear Peter?

Cheers, Russ

Hi all,

We're finally getting round to replacing the tyres on the Jag. When I bought the car, all 4 were all in different conditions and from different manufacturers, which is shocking IMHO, especially for a car with the class and performance of the S-Type, so I can't wait to get a complete set and the more consistent handling they will offer.

At the recommend of a previous thread, I asked for Nexen and have been offered N'Fera SU1 at £100 per corner, fitted, valve and balanced etc. They which appear to have tested and been reviewed very well. The other option is Pirelli PZero at £135 a corner, despite the name being better known, I'm not convinced these are a better tyre and suspect I would be paying for the name. Prior to my taking the plunge, does anyone have any recommendations or anything else to contribute.

Many thanks, Russ

Well done Paul, really interesting. I noted a parcel shelf amp / speaker module on eBay from a premium sound system. Would this be any benefit or does one really need to do as you did and swap the entire system from a donor vehicle?

Never disconnected my battery so can't help with that ;)

Hi Neil,

Welcome to the forum, I had similar (I think) issues with mine on purchase, and once more or less found myself locked in the car and considering having to climb out! Advice at the time was to remove the door cards and lube everything up, which I was reticent to do as I've done this before on other cars and it's easy to break clips and such. After advice from Paul (Raistlin) about this, this is something I'm going to schedule in properly, but when armed with a full day, spare trim clips, trim removal tools, spray waxoly and everything I need to make my mirrors retract automatically on locking the vehicle. 

Mine sorted itself out after I had my key fobs refurbished and started using the car regularly. So if you haven't already, get yourself a spare key fob, and ensure your fobs have good batteries and switches. You can also have the speed locking switched off by a dealer or independent. There are other posts about this which may help, and if your battery is in anything other than good nick, consider changing this as a matter of course.

Hope this helps

Cheers, Russ

Did your contractor know you had a S-Type, or just any Jaguar? Clarkson likes to take the p**s of Jag owners so perhaps he's been listening to that idiot! 

I briefly had a shed of an XJ6 when I was in my late 20's, and it's taken 20 years to renew my Jag ownership. At 47 I suspect I'm at the younger end of the age group, plenty of similar posts on other forums, but they seem mainly US based:

age of owners

average age

younger jag owners

Cheers :)

No worries Steve, and if you ever decide not to use those Adamesh boxes, I'll take them off your hands ;)

As far as I can tell the self programming info as per Bluejag is a complete red herring, myself and a couple of other forum contributors tried all their advice numerous times, to no avail. For myself, I bought an unprogrammed fob from eBay (£15) and had a new transponder key cut (£65) as mine is pre facelift and has a separate key and fob. A local independent programmed the new key for £20. I them used an eBay refurb service on the original key (£18), who changed out all the switches and replaced the battery, this key didn't need programming etc. They wouldn't change the case and buttons so I did this myself with a new case kit (£5). So I now have 2 fully programmed and good as new keys and fobs for c£120 all in, which I'm happy with...