A pic of the completed install described below:

Latest project was to install new rotors and pads on the front, and get the summer rims and new rubber on.

I went with EBC rotors and Centric ceramic pads. I must say, very pleased with the performance and they look great. I'll get some pics up soon.

The install is simple. Jack the car up, pull the wheels (loosen the lugs before you get the fronts off the ground). Once it's safely jacked up, then you get to work. First unbolt the caliper retaining bolts.. I think they are 12 or 13mm if memory serves. This is also a good time to inspect the rubber sleeves for wear and clean them off real good. Pull the caliper off and hang it from the coil spring with some wire to keep it out of the way and safe. Clean it off as well, being careful not to damage the rubber boot. A small bronze wire brush works good. Next, pull off the caliper bracket. These might take a little bit of penetrating oil and some grunting...15mm bolt heads I think. Once you get them popped loose, remove the bracket. The rotor is now ready to come off. I used a 3.5lb sledge to knock the back of the rotor (gently) in a circular pattern to work it loose. You don't want to go overboard, a real solid whack and the rotor could damage your wheel stud threads.

Installation is just as easy. Clean off your new rotors with caliper cleaner. I wear nitrile or rubber gloves while handling the rotors to avoid getting grease on them. Fit the rotor, then screw 2 lugnuts on to hold them in place. Oh yeah, make sure you clean the hub off real good  before you fit the rotor - wire brush the heck out of it. Once the rotors are back on, then you can start assembly of the bracket and calipers. I use a little anti sieze on most of the bolts. Start with the bracket, obviously, then go to the caliper. Take the pads, use brake grease on the backs, and fit them into the caliper brackets. Make sure the perches are good and clean and lightly grease them. The pads can be a little tricky to fit, I found that pushing in the bottom first works well to compress the spring, then while pushing down, slide in the top.

Once everything is on, I spin the rotor to check for clearance and any grease that may have gotten on the rotor. Put the wheel back on (don't forget to torque them down after you get them back on the ground - I go 90ft-lbs). Take the car for a spin - avoid prolonged and emergency braking if possible to properly seat the rotors. The ceramic pads will be a little noisy at first, but it will go away after a while.

I'll get a couple pics of the finished product up here soon. Leave a comment if you need more info.

As for summer rubber, I went with Hankook Ventus V4's. Buy 3 get one free at Poop Boys ($101 each). Once i had them properly balanced by the dealer (Road Force) and I rotated them (front to back, they are directional - I have a slightly out of round rim) they ride very good and handle quite well. Mine are 225/45 ZR17's. I had my alignment shop set the toe to zero - the car seems to ride smoother and I expect better tire wear.

Until next time....

Well, time has come to think about some new skins for the wheels. I have Falken Ziex on there now and they are total junk. The inners wore off quite quickly, even though I've had the car aligned several times. The road noise is incredible. Handling is fine, but ride is harsh and again, the noise.

I actually can't wait to put my winter wheels and tires on - Hankook Icebears - just to get some peace and quiet!!

So, anyone want to share some tire recommendations? I'm thinking BF Goodrich G Force Sport, and Yokohama AVS - I have had both in the past and like them a lot. I'm keeping the car maybe another year, so I'm not putting Pilot Sports on it or anything. Maybe a tire between $100 and $130...

Advice anyone?

Well, I traded my wife cars for the week, and I must say, driving a 2007 Saab 9-3 Turbo is a hoot. Feels like the motor is strapped to your right foot. Turbo lag is nil, and once it comes on full boil it's a blast. Quicker than my X for sure. Rides better as well. Handling ....gotta go with the X on that one. The Saab's wheel gets a little squirmy under hard cornering (both cars have 17" performance tires) and the torque steer is enough that you have to make adjustments. I have always felt that the X handles extremely well.

Saab beats it hands down on the radio end as well, with a 9 speaker Bose system. The special seats are a dream (60th anniversary edition - has the same interior as the new 9-3).

Anyway, all this has made me itchy for a new mod on the X....new tires are coming soon, as the Falken Ziex's went to sh*t after 5,000 miles. Man they are junk!! Worst tire I've ever had. The winter Hankooks will go on in Nov and I can't wait, if you can believe that.

Soo....any suggestions for mods? I'm thinking cat-back exhaust is next on the list. Then maybe some asthetic stuff, clear blinkers and the like.....it has to go back to the dealer soon because 2 out of 4 door handles and locks are not working correctly.....jeez.

I need to get some new pics up....

But if you click on the pics, they are re-formatted in a much easier to view size. FYI. I'll have to sit down and figure out how to format this page a little better.

BTW, this is a link to somebody's site that has some neat info....check it out you X Types!

http://jaguar.bttlxe.com/xtype/

Okay, here is a pic of the sub/amp combo splice into the factory radio. This is pre-soldering. After soldering the connections, used heat shrink tape to secure. Left rear colors are white/blue and yellow/blue. Right rear are yellow red and white green.

Sorry to those who are checking back for the radio wiring pic...I've been on travel for a few weeks...I'll try to get it up tomorrow morning.....

Here is a step by step for installing a powered subwoofer in the X:

Remove ashtray. Turn key to on and then move shifter down to D. Turn key off.

Disconnect negative  battery cable.

Pop off gearshift surround (wood). It just pries up with your fingers. Start at the front edge.

You will now see two phillips screws at the bottom of the console. Remove the screws.

Pull out the ashtray area - disconnect the 12v cig lighter socket and put assembly aside.

With something soft or a careful scewdriver, gently pry between the hazard flasher button and the seat heater switch (or blank if no heated seats) - then remove the upper wedge area of the console.

You will now see 2 torx screws. Remove.

The entire unit can now be pulled out. NOTE: PLACE A FEW CLEAN RAGS OR TOWELS DOWN OVER THE SHIFTER AREA AND CONSOLE TO AVOID SCRATCHES/TEARS. The edges of the unit are very sharp - so protect your area.

You will now see the wires in the back. The main stereo unit wiring is on the left side (looking at the unit from the front). You need to pull the wiring harness out of the unit. Press down on the top of the connector and wiggle it back and forth to remove it from the head unit.

You are now ready to do your splicing. This will vary depending on what exactly you are doing.

My Kenwood unit has a power, ground, remote, and 2 speaker input leads. I ran the speaker leads under the rear seat, along the door sills, up over the drivers side footpedals, and into the back of the console. You also need to remove the drivers side console cover (carpeted) if you are going to wire the same way. To remove that, it has one phillips screw by the drivers seat. Then just pull it back and it pops right out.

Okay, the speaker wiring: Right rear speakers are: left rear are white/green and yellow/red. The left rears are white/blue and yellow/blue. To splice in, I used a utility knife to carefully remove some of the wire covering, then I soldered in the speaker input leads to the amplifier. (I'll have to double check + and - colors - I'll update later).

The power lead is brown with white stripe. You can splice your power lead for the amp here if you don't have power in the trunk. I had a cd changer in the trunk already, so I just spliced power, ground and remote from there.

Remote turn on wire is yellow/green. Ground is black - however I would ground the amp next to it's mounting location on bare metal to avoid ground loop noise.

I used zip ties to secure all of the wires. It is VERY important that you secure the wires that go over the footpedals to mitigate the risk of them falling and getting caught on your foot.

The unit that I installed was a Kenwood 10" subwoofer box with built in 200watt amplifier. It also comes with a wired remote control to make adjustments to the bass. I ran the wired remote under the door sils and secured it with velcro tape to the carpet side of the console kick panel on the drivers side. The unit was on sale at Best Buy for $139.00. It sounds great!

I also spliced in an additional 12v cigarette lighter type outlet for my Sirius. To do this, I simply spliced in to the power leads to the factory cig lighter outlet and mounted the new outlet inside the center console.

I have a picture of the head unit out of the car with the wire connections, I'll get it up hopefully this evening.

Total install time was about 2 hours. Tools needed: utility knife, phillips screwdriver, torx bit (I'll post the exact size soon), electrical tape, soldering gun and solder or some type of wire splicer or nuts, wire stripper pliars are nice but not absolutely required. That's about it. Just take your time!

Please feel free to post questions!!

I am going to post pictures off all of the mods that I do to this car. Pics soon to be up: woodgrain dash kit, K&N intake with Karl Wolf airbox mod, muffler port mod how-to pics, Sirius radio install pics (fm hardwire)....and more to come.

Check back soon for more info.....

This was shortly after I purchased the X with 17k miles on it...