MGF Users Quality Database

Compiled by Tony Thompson
All the views expressed here are submitted by MGF owners and are their personal unaltered opinions.
They represent the views so often expressed across a variety of BBS boards.

If you would like to contribute to this data base go to the data entry form  Data Entry Form

or
and include your name, model, car registration number, the item or part, the supplier, cost, quality,
purchase date, supplier's response if you complained, and a % rating.


The more opinions that are received for a specific item, the more accurate the overal rating will be.

Last updated 10 May 2009

CONTENTS:

Engine Bay
      Engine
      Filters
      Coolant
      Other
Brakes
      Calipers
      Discs
      Pads
Clutch
Suspension & Steering
Tyres

Exhausts
Body Interior
      Hoops & Windstops
      Interior Trim
      Storage
      Other
Body Exterior
      Boot racks & Luggage
      Splitters
      Other
Dealers and Service
Used Parts

 

Engine Bay

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Engine

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

Gas flowed head and "popped" spark plug repair.

Peter Burgess

Reasonable.

 

Mixed. Head work seemed good. Spark plug repair was agreed to be done using method#1 but found out (during service) that cheaper method#2 was used instead. Talked to Peter about this and apologies were forthcoming stating miscommunication. Possible, but I have a good memory of events! Overall, I feel a bit misled with some of the work - although technically he delivered.

 

Only 60 Could have been much, much higher if it had gone well.

60

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

Sabre Heads gas flowing

Sabre Heads

£500+fitting

Jan 2004

Very high. Full gas flowing, repair to stripped plug socket and post HGF 'strengthening' all done. Roger has vast experience and it shows with healthy honest advice combined with some very skilled work. At least on a par with DVA work

 

95

95

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Head gas flowed & ported. Larger inlet valves

Mike Satur

lots

2002

Excellent. Work done on time & to cost. Subsequently had leaking inlet manifold gasket & surprised original gasket type was still there as it must have separated.

 

90

90

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

PTP lightened flywheel

Private purchase

£ 100

2003

 

Terrific. Should have had one of these fitted ages ago. :o) Engine speed/ throttle response much sharper now. No problem in town traffic - no problem with stalling as some horror mongers might have you believe

 

90

90

Erik Baekelant

MGF 1998

PTP Ltd. RT-Sport 165 kit

Power Train Projects

 

£ 2042.44 GBP inc. VAT & shipping

March 2004

VVC-ish above 4000rpm. All parts included. Fitted by MG-Rover, but problems with MAP hose/sensor and engine bay cooling. Great service but didn't really help with engine bay fan

 

80

80

Gerry Hiorns

MGF 1997

 

Honda ivtec 2.0 ltl conversion with 6speed box

Mike Satur

£ 9.5k+

Nov 2004

As this was the first 'f' ivtec conversion (as far as I know) a lot had to be done to achieve it. Commitment was of a high standard, tech ability was also high giving a very reliable result.

98% is above the benchmark. Only if the supercharger was fitted at the same time would 100% be granted.

 

98

98

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8 1996

Ported Cylinder head

 

DVA Power

£ 300

Aug 2005

MGF Centre provided the cylinder head (TF135), which was in excellent order to start with. Dave then took my head on in short order following a cylinder head failure. The quality of work is astonishing and his attentiveness to detail first rate. A pleasurable experience doing business with him.

 

 

99

99

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Filters

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

K&N 57i

Kinnor Services / FilterPower.com

£ 95

1999

Kit quality is good: all parts supplied. Instructions were a bit basic when I purchased the kit though!

Easy to install & sounded great. When the filter was 4 years old (after 40+k miles), the silver end cap came off the filter. I contacted the supplier (Lesley Smith at Kinnor) & had a replacement by return of post.

Faulty 4 yr / 40+k mile old part replaced FOC by return of post. K&N seem to take their 1 million mile warranty very seriously!

99

99

 

Emma Jackman

MGF 1.8i 1998

K&N 57i Induction Kit

www.DCDezign.com

£81 inc P&P

Sept 05

Complete kit, easy to fit. Instructions were quite basic, however Rob Bell has detailed instructions on his site. Car felt slightly sharper but it's worth it just for the induction roar. Sounds fantastic under
acceleration.

 

99

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

ITG foam filter

Mike Satur

 

1998

Exposed foam air filter, from the Roversport catalogue.  Easy to fit, sounds great, felt like the car had more power

 

90

90

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Pipercross air filter system. 52mm body

Mike Satur

Part of other work

2002

Throttle body exceptionally good. Transforms car. Pipercross filter very good & sounds great. Has lately developed a mounting squeak at idle

 

90

90

Chaz

MGF 1996

Vader enclosed air filter

Mike Satur

Cannot remember but worth it

2004

Fantastic, easy to fit. Gives a much better throttle response and a nice bark, like the ITG particularly when combined with 52mm throttle body

 

95

95

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

ITG Maxogen Enclosed Air Induction Kit

Mike Satur

Second hand

2003

Gives much better throttle response, particularly when combined with 52mm throttle body

 

95

95

Johan Slagter

MGF VVC 1997

Enclosed air filter Green Twister, UNIV-TW70A, i.d. 70mm, with cold air hose UNIV-KFDTW01

Green

€  225

June 2004

To connect the filter to the throttle body I used a Gates 90 degree angle hose, internal diameter 70 mm, part number G4278-17042.   So far so good, far better throttle response, especially from standstill. No need to remove resonance box for the cold air pipe, bit difficult to install.

 

90

90

Coolant

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Under floor Coolant pipes + clips

Mike Satur

£ 93.15 inc VAT + dly

 

Excellent – very easy to fit, except for usual system bleeding hassle.

 

95

93.3

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Alloy under floor coolant pipes

Mike Satur

£ 65

Oct 2003

Excellent – great finish, fits perfectly  :o)

 

90

Andrew Phillips

 

Aluminum under body coolant pipes

Mike Satur

 

2002

Replacement pipes in aluminum to cure rust problem.

 

95

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Up rated radiator & ss hose clips

Mike Satur

£ 157 inc VAT & P&P

Feb 2004

Good, but a very, very tight fit. – hose connections could be better angled.

 

85

85

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Aluminum high capacity radiator

Mike Satur

 

2002

Higher capacity aluminum radiator – fit backwards and rivet fans on – not really a DIY job

 

95

95

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8 1996

Coolant level sensor

B & G

£ 90

Aug 2005

A very well thought out bit of kit. The alarm ECU is contained within a small robust black plastic box. The buzzer is good - and loud enough to be audible when driving. The warning light looks very aftermarket though - so I've connected this instead to the unused catalyst warning lamp in the main instrument binnacle. The instructions are extremely clear. Excellent

 

90

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC 1997

Replacement Radiator

E-Car Parts Ltd., via eBay

£ 99.95

March 2006

Old rad was shot with a minor leak. New one excellent, brand new, good price, fast delivery. http://stores.ebay.co.uk/E-CAR-PARTS-LTD Fitted by Beech Hill Garage, see separate entry.

 

100

100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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BACK TO CONTENTS

Brakes

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Calipers

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

HiSpec front brakes (Billet 4)

 

HiSpec

Reasonable

 

High - but with fitting and communication problems. Small problem with fitting - cured by shims - and it's very hard to get hold of them to talk through problems and/or questions.

 

Due to communication problems and the fact that these are best fitted by a mechanic and not a diy job, only 60%.

60

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

FX aluminum and titanium 4 pot calipers

Mike Satur

 

2002

Look superb, stop the car really well, very well made.  Highly recommended

 

95

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

EBC Turbo Grooved discs

B+G

 

2000

Standard sized front discs, but drilled and grooved.  Not much better than OE, but equivalently priced.

 

75

75

Mike Hankin

MGF Mpi 1996

AP Racing 4 pot calipers & 304mm discs, braided hoses

Secondhand from eBay, hoses from B&G

£185

April 05

Truly awesome stopping power, pedal response very reassuring, essential track-day kit

 

100

100

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Discs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Drilled and grooved rear discs

Mike Satur

 

2002

OE spec rear discs, but drilled and grooved, work slightly better than normal

 

75

75

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Rear disks

TDC, Fareham

£ 40 + VAT

Sep 02

Good

 

90

90

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

Discs & pads.

Mike Satur

Reasonable

 

Good

 

80

80

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

280mm Black diamond drilled front discs

Mike Satur

 

2002

Part of the FX 4 pot kit – look and work well, highly recommended

 

95

93.3

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Black Diamond brake discs

Mike Satur

Part of other costs

2002

Excellent. Drilled & grooved. Don’t rust & wearing well. Better braking than standard or EBC disks

 

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC
1997

Black Diamond 280mm drilled & vented front brake disc

Mike Satur

£195 + vat

July 2004

Part of my "brake improvement package": Servo bracket, braided hoses, bigger front disks and drilled/grooved rear disks with kevlar pads. The car now stops when you ask it to! Seriously, harder pedal, far less travel, more responsive braking.

 

95

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC
1997

Black Diamond drilled & grooved rear brake disc

Mike Satur

£138 + vat

July 2004

 

95

95

Mike Cunningham

MGF 1.8i 1996

Brake upgrade - grooved large + Mintex 1144 pads & braided hoses

Mike Satur

£ 500

June 2006

Very good

 

90

 

Alan Dunstan

MGF 1.8i 1996

EBC Turbo discs, green pads & SS pipes

B + G / EBC

£ 350

2000

Good. Better braking than standard. No dust & plenty of feel. Not as good braking as I wanted. Looked good.

 

70

70

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

MG Sport and Racing grooved discs

MG S'n'R

£40 / pair (approx

2002 - 3

Standard discs machined with grooves. Work brilliantly well to prevent glazing of pads and best still, good consistent brake performance on track days

 

85

85

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

Big Brake Kit

Mike Satur

Part of other work carried

2004

280mm drilled front and 240mm drilled + grooved rear discs + stainless steel hoses + Mintex 1144 pads fitted - BIG improvement over standard.  No front/rear imbalance (even on track)

 

90

90

Pads

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

EBC Red Stuff brake pads

B+G

 

2001

Not recommended for road use

 

50

50

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

MINTEX rear pads MDB1673

TDC, Fareham

£ 21.70 +VAT

Sep 02

Good

 

90

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Mintex 1155 rear pads

Mike Satur

 

2002

Better frictional coefficient pads, but at a downside of increased brake dust and disc wear.

 

85

85

Mike Nunn

Trophy

Mintex 1144 front pads

Mike Satur

£ 80

1 March 04

Excellent, but noisier than oem’s, but work better without the black residue. The extra squeaks maybe annoying to some.

 

99

94.3

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Mintex 1144 pads

Mike Satur

Part of other costs

2002

Very Good. Much better braking than standard or EBC greens. Lots of dust. Can resonate. Not a lot of feel until warm & quite noisy.

 

85

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Mintex 1144 pads

Techspeed

£74 set front: £60 set rear (approx)

2002, 2003

Absolutely awesome pads. You never ever feel that the brakes are going to let you down: they just reliably haul your speed down under any conditions.  Only downside is that they eat discs for breakfast - and some may take a while to get used to their aggressive performance

 

99

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

EBC Green Stuff brake pads

B+G

 

2000

Replacement pads, marginally better stopping, but a lot less brake dust

 

85

87.5

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

EBC GREEN Stuff Front Brake Pads

JRT

£ 25

2001

Wear earlier than standard. Less brake dust to the rims. No fading if you go sometimes to track-days

 

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC
1997

Black Diamond kevlar pads. Front & rear

Mike Satur

£34 + vat per axle

July 2004

Part of my "brake improvement package": Servo bracket, braided hoses, bigger front disks and drilled/grooved rear disks with kevlar pads. The car now stops when you ask it to! Seriously, harder pedal, far less travel, more responsive braking

 

95

95

Bob Millar

MGF 1.8Mpi 1997

TruPart Brake Pads

Local automotive parts shop

£15 - £20

1st July 2005

Woeful. Funds were tight so had to go for budget option. No feel or response. Will be replaced again ASAP

 

0

0

Other

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Stainless steel braided brake hoses

Mike Satur

 

2002

Improve pedal feel, transmits more force to the calipers

 

85

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC
1997

Stainless steel braided brake hoses

Mike Satur

£36 + vat

July 2004

Part of my "brake improvement package": Servo bracket, braided hoses, bigger front disks and drilled/grooved rear disks with kevlar pads. The car now stops when you ask it to! Seriously, harder pedal, far less travel, more responsive braking

 

95

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Braided brake hoses

H J W

£ 20

2001

Aeroquip style braided hoses. Purchased to sharpen up brake response. Actual benefits of fitting these were minor: cause of 'sponge' is elsewhere in the braking system and wasn't cured by these hoses

 

70

70

Neil Batts

MGF VVC 1998

Copper brake pipes in engine bay

Local garage

£ 300

Sept 05

Rear rigid brake hoses corroded in engine bay leading to failure. Occurred 2 weeks after passing MOT, garages comments “worker on test day could not see all of pipes”. Resultant bill for replacement with copper pipes in engine bay

 

 

 

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Servo steady bar

B&G

£20 (approx)

2002

I was staggered to discover how much movement there was at the brake servo - and this simple servo support brace makes a significant difference to this - and to brake feel. Highly recommended to any F owner with a spongy-feeling middle pedal

 

90

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF VVC
1997

Servo steady bar

B&G

£22 (approx)

July 2004

Part of my "brake improvement package": Servo bracket, braided hoses, bigger front disks and drilled/grooved rear disks with kevlar pads. The car now stops when you ask it to! Seriously, harder pedal, far less travel, more responsive braking

 

95

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Servo steady bracket or bar

B&G

£ 23.50

Mar 2005

Very effective at reducing servo movement and improving pedal firmness. Disappointing that bracket had to be modified to ensure clearance, considering this is a part specific to the MGF – see page on www.apttony.co.uk

 

85

BACK TO CONTENTS

Clutch

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Clutch lowering kit

Mike Satur

£ 25

2000

Good – the linkage requires adjusting before installation, but is straightforward to install (space restrictions in the foot well permitting of course!)

 

80

80

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

AP Racing Clutch

Techspeed

£ 180

2003

Tidy pick up: not too aggressive. Purchased to replace the standard clutch that was starting to feel the strain of several seasons of Sprint championships and track days! Hopefully replacement should be better able to cope with the abuse. But early days...

 

90

90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACK TO CONTENTS

Suspension & Steering

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

Various suspension and other mods

Techspeed

Slightly high

 

High. Cost but balanced out by the service offered.

 

85

85

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Polyflex bushes (shocker kit only)

Mike Satur

£ 47.59 inc VAT & P&P

April 02

High. A harder ride than the original MGR rubber bushes, and tendency to squeak, but far more responsive.

 

95

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Powerflex poly bushes

Mike Satur

 

2001

Removes excessive play in the suspension components due to OE rubber bushes perishing.  Tricky to fit some of them, also lots required so a full set is pricey.

 

90

90

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Poly suspension bushes & sub frame mounts

Techspeed / Polyflex

£ 750 approx

2003

Excellent. Lots of feel & tight. Reacts to tiniest steering input. Transmits noise & you can feel each vertical break in road surface.

 

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Lowering knuckles

Mike Satur

 

1998

They ‘do the job’    :-)

 

90

90

Dieter Könnecke

MGF

Lowering knuckles

SEE BELOW – TO BE CLARIFIED

MG Rover (DE)

£ 130

2000

Discontinued P/N Z300020RDX in DE. OK, they do the job, BUT .. check the reliability of it's rubber dust cover frequently, i.e. when you get wheels off. Water can get into the bearing if the gaiter slipped off and this leads to heavy rust and damage at any time. If I had to lower my MGF today, I'd go *another* way

 

60

60

Dieter Koennecke

MGF 1999

Lowering knuckle kit Z300020RDX

MG Rover Germany

200 GBP

1999

At first I'd been impressed. Easy installation with help of a hydragas pump. Lowering the car by up to 40mm was no problem with the additional required 4wheel laser wheel alignment.
Now, it's 5 years later. (2005)
I'd found them crap. The part was never tested for long time use. One rear suspension bolt sadly rusted away, I assume due to water ingress due to much stress on the rubber gaiter and plastic parts. A replacement is no longer available in DE

MGR Germany closed down sales.  I'll find my own way to get the car lower and cut the displacer aluminum piston by about 9 to 10mm instead

5

5

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Spax shocks

Mike Satur

 

1998

Adjustment screw rusts up over time, but other than this they are very good

 

75

75

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

AVO adjustable shock absorbers

Mike Satur

£ 300 approx

2002

OK as shock absorbers but I found did not suit my MGF or me. Could never find a happy medium for the settings. Replaced within a year

 

40

40

Mike Hankin

MGF Mpi 1996

GAZ adjustable dampers

MGF Centre

£ 190

May 05

Significant tightening of suspension feel, noticeably reduced body roll. Less composed over potholes but track performance more than compensates

 

90

90

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

Lowering knuckles and Spax adjustable shock absorbers

Mike Satur

Part of other work carried

 

Looks better and transformed handling of car.  Pumping up suspension and setting tracking made car more comfortable than before (shockers set at middle settings). 

 

95

95

Andrew Regens

VVC 1998

Shock Absorbers and Lowering Knuckles PT NO BGF 7000

B+G

£ 273

Oct 2003

Every thing well finished and easy to fit. BUT a warning that the suspension mounts should be reinforced at time of fitting should be issued

I have written twice over the past few weeks to B & G and no answer. My rear suspension ripped out one turret and punctured another.

60

60

David Mills

MGTF 160 2002

X-Power suspension lowering kit. Part no MGR0005

MG Sport & Racing

£ 118 +VAT

May 2004

quality: Excellent. Springs do exactly what they say. Would be even better if some up rated shocks were available to complement the springs. Fitted by Techspeed who were also brilliant.

 

90

90

Dieter Koennecke

MGF 1999

Lowering knuckle kit Z300020RDX

MG Rover Germany

200 GBP

1999

At first I'd been impressed. Easy installation with help of a hydragas pump. Lowering the car by up to 40mm was no problem with the additional required 4wheel laser wheel alignment.
Now, it's 5 years later. (2005)
I'd found them crap. The part was never tested for long time use. One rear suspension bolt sadly rusted away, I assume due to water ingress due to much stress on the rubber gaiter and plastic parts. A replacement is no longer available in DE

MGR Germany closed down sales.  I'll find my own way to get the car lower and cut the displacer aluminum piston by about 9 to 10mm instead

5

5

Ian Stewart

MGTF 135 2002

Eibach X-Power TF springs

Leda (Silverstone 2005 show)

£100

July 05

Fantastic Quality - do exactly what they say - improve the ride no end - should be fitted to all TF's!! plus they also drop the car by 30mm

 

100

100

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Compliance washers

B+G

£10

1999

Pair of spacers to take up play in the rear tie bar – improves handling by removing rear wheel steer characteristic.  Good value for money.

 

95

94.5

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Compliance washers

B+G

£10

2002

Simple spacers that take up play in the rear tie bars – improves handling. Excellent value.

 

95

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Compliance washers

B+G

£15

1999

Elegantly simple solution to eradicating passive rear steer from the MGF’s chassis - & much, much cheaper than the alternative available from Sport & Racing at that time.

 

90

Dieter Könnecke

MGF

Compliance washers

B+G

£ 10

2000

The very best I ever did to an MGF. PU bushes are the more expensive alternative. However, I installed the washers just one day after I got the car and I'm still pleased (85.000km now). 4 wheel Laser Alignment is much easier and precise with the washers installed.

 

98

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Sports lowering & Bilstein damper kit

Techspeed

£ 800 approx

2001

Probably the single best investment I've made in the car. Transformed the ride and handling - both for the better. Brilliant

 

100

100

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Techspeed suspension + Bilsten gas dampers / TF rack.

Techspeed

£ 1000 approx

2003

Fabulous. Utterly transformed car

 

100

100

Dieter Koennecke

MGF 1999

Bilstein F4-BE5-2528 dampers

Ebay, 2nd hand

125 Euros

2005

Great improvement of ride quality and handling. I'd recommend a change to this or other new dampers latest after 50k miles cause the original wear early.

 

100

100

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

TF Steering rack

Techspeed

£ 170

2002

With 2.8 turns lock to lock compared to 3.2 of the standard MGF steering rack, this is a revelation, but necessarily for the reasons you might expect: on the motorway, the steering no longer wanders, you get more feel through the helm, and yet it is not overly nervous. Could almost do with being a little faster again... 2.5 steering rack anyone?

 

90

90

Dieter Könnecke

MGF

Bump Stops

MG Rover

 

 

£ 170

2000

P/N RNV100050. Introduced as part for the edition MGF Abingdon. Recommended for MGF with 16' rims. I decided to install them, having seen dents at hydragas unit fixtures lower lead at my old wreck. Together with a lowered car it can happen on bumpy roads that the upper wishbone hits the hydragas unit fixture. They do the job.

 

95

95

Adrian Clifford

MGF 2000

Front subframe

B+G

£927 total incl labour

(subframe was £396.)

Feb 2005

Hard to tell, but car now goes where I point it.

Original was bent upon purchase 12/04  B&G identified problem, carried out 4 wheel alignment

90

90

Glen Keating

MGF 1.8I VVC
1999

EPAS Steering Column

MGF Centre

£125 + VAT

30 Jan 06

Excellent item. Shaft end size was wrong. Sent me a steering link to fit FOC. Fast Delivery

 

100

100

Mike Cunningham

MGF 1.8i 1996

Suspension upgrade to TF and other changes

Mike Satur

£ 8,000

June 06

Took 2 weeks, and seems to have been very thorough

 

90

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

BACK TO CONTENTS

Tyres

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Paul Nothard

MGF VVC 1999

Tyres

Micheldevour Tyres

Excellent

Many over the years

 Excellent

 

 

90

 

92.5

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

4 W/Alignment + tyres

Micheldevour Tyres

Very good price

April 04

Excellent & helpful – tested ride height & adjusted tracking as per my request. Can get very busy.

 

95

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

4 W/Alignment

Christchurch Tyre Co

£41.13

July 02

Excellent & helpful

 

90

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF 1.8 VVC 1997

2 x 195/50/15

2 x 205/50/15

Toyo Proxes T1S

E-Tyres

£ 235

Aug 04

Order via their website. Price includes supply, mobile fitter at home or work, chrome stem valves and balancing. Excellent service and workmanship. More expensive than My Tyres at first glance, but are they? http://www.etyres.co.uk/

 

100

100

Tony Harrison

MGF VVC 1999

4 x Avon ZV3 tyres and wheel alignment

National Tyre Services

£ 300

July 05

Mature careful fitters who took pride in work and were very careful with rims.  Have since bought 2 new tyres for Golf Tdi from them.

 

100

100

The section below is derived from the BBS survey, courtesy of Rob Bell

As of 12 December 2005

MGF Owner

Model

Tyres

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

0-10, where 0= truly dangerous and 10= Superb

Overall

Rating

C Golvala

MGF

Avon ZV1
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55

 

 

 

Choice of dealer seller when fronts were replaced before sale. Not that bad, even in combination with the above on the rear. Lasted 25k miles

 

7

8

Adrian Clifford

MGF 2000

Avon ZZ1

205/50x15 fitted with new front subframe

B+G

£ 100

Feb 2005

Look excellent; seem to do the job very well, hard to comment further, too early.

 

9

Colin Ashworth

MGF 1998 VVC

Avon ZR2
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 195
Profile- Rear: 205

 

 

 

Excellent grip in the dry, a little twitchy when its very wet

 

9

 

Tony Harrison

MGF

Avon ZV3
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- F 185/55
Profile- R 205/50

NTS in Wallasey.

V Good people.

Around £300 fitted, balanced, new valves and tracking

 

Superb in dry, not bad in wet but being RWD treated with respect!   Previously fitted with budget tyres by supplying retailer

 

7

8.125

M Cunningham

MGF 1.8i

Avon ZZ3

Wheel size: 16
Front: 205/40
Rear: 215/40

Coopers of Newmains (Lanarkshire)

£300

 

corners on rails?!

So far at least a good 8 in the dry, too new to have tried in the wet

 

8

Chris Catchpole

MGF

Avon ZV3 (good tread pattern)
Wheel size: 16"
Front 205/40
Rear 205/40

 

£240 for 4 delivered not fitted

 

Excellent in dry, pretty good wet but light right foot required at times on bends, the odd twitch was noticed. Around 14k use before replaced on rear.

 

8

Nkosi Ecosse

MGF 1.8Mpi

Wheel size: 15"
Front: Avon ZV3 185x55
Rear: Avon ZV3 205x50

National Tyres Grangemouth

Front £75 each, rear £75 each, fitted

 

Brilliant on dry and wet. Even on fresh snow they performed well. Always felt safe with this combination and I was thinking that the fronts were going to outlive the rear tyres by about 7000 miles until a zealous MOT mechanic failed the one front tyre, which meant replacing four tyres at once. Forced me to change tyre preference (see next Block) The ZV3 is much softer than the ZV1 but the grip is exceptional for a road tyre that has to perform in both wet and dry conditions. 7000 miles on the rears with hard driving, might have got 20000 out of the fronts where it not for the tracking.

 

9.5

M Cunningham

MGF 1.8i

Wheel size: 15 (I've recently changed!)
Front:

185/55 Avon ZV1
Rear:

205/50 Avon ZV3

Coopers of Newmains (Lanarkshire

 

 

No problems compared to standard Goodyear Touring, and pretty good at Knockhill in the wet, managed 74sec best, no hairy moments and the brakes got pretty hot!

 

8

 

Nkosi Ecosse

MGF 1.8Mpi

Wheel size: 15"
Front: Avon ZV3 185x55
Rear: Avon ZV1 205x50

ZV1 National Tyres Grangemouth ZV3 National Tyres, Chorley

ZV1 £70 per tyre fitted, ZV3 £75 per tyre fitted

 

A pretty good combination in both wet and dry. ZV1s gave 13000 miles on the back. ZV3 remained on the car to the next set of rears.

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Bridgestone RE720
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Good middle range tyre. Does nothing wrong, but nowhere near as good as the best.

 

7

7.4

Mike Hall

MGF

Bridgestone RE720
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

Protyre Bristol

About £300

 

Superb in dry, very good in wet

 

8.5

Stu Dickens

MGF

Bridgestone RE720
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Micheldever Station

around 250 quid fitted

 

Superb in the dry, but not so confident with them in the wet. Previous tyres were GS-D2's and I can certainly feel the difference

 

7

C Golvala

MGF

Bridgestone RE720
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Rear: 205/50

 

£70 or so

 

As said above, good mid-range tyre, but not inspiring confidence. A hell of a lot better than the NCT-3s that i changed from, but I was glad of the change to the GS D2s when one of these got a puncture. Huge, noticeable difference

 

6.5

Fiona

MGF

Bridgestone RE720
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

Protyre in Bristol

Approx £300 for 4

 

Excellent all round whether wet or dry and yes, I have tried them fast and wet round corners ;-)

 

8

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Bridgestone SO2
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Excellent tyres- superb dry and wet grip. Not as soft as the SO-3, but strangely marginally better grip & feel

 

10

9.83

Rob Bell

MGF

Bridgestone S02
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Micheldever Station

around 300 quid fitted

 

Superb in wet or dry. Superb communication. Very progressive at the limits of adhesion.
The Bridgestones went in about 15k (but included competition and track use)

 

10

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Bridgestone S02 PP
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Tyre fitter

 

 

Awesome grip on dry & wet. Inspire huge confidence. My best tyre experience

 

9.5

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Bridgestone SO-3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Excellent, if a little soft, with a little less feel than SO-2.

 

9

9.0

Yigit , Istanbul

 

MGF VVC

Bridgestone SO-3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Excellent after the NCT-3. Feeling is good at the wheel, excellent grip in dry and very good grip at wet. Highly recommended for 15". Only concern they were not available as 185/55 in Istanbul so had the 195/50 fitted as fronts.

 

9

Dennis, NZ

 

MGF VVC

Bridgestone Potenza GIII (replaced the Grid II)
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Very good grip in both dry & wet. Very good ride - although firm and excellent wear.

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

mike, was derby

MGF

Continental Premium Contact
Rear: Pirelli P7000
Wheel size:15"
Profile- Front:185/55
Profile- Rear:205/50

Came with car

 

 

Jury out on this combination, not especially convinced by steering feel in wet, although grip at front progressive, had a couple of unexpected 'step outs' on rear in wet, but catchable. In the dry seem fine, bit understeery, but that could be due to running 185's - same proviso re: steering feel

Obviously this is entirely subjective, and only based on my expectations of the car, as i haven't got a previous set or sets to compare against...

 

7

 

James King

MGF

Continental Premium Contact
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

With car when bought

 

 

Average dry grip however the handling in the wet was a little scary. Car was very biased towards under steer

 

6

 

James King

MGF

Continental Premium Contact / Toyo T1-R
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50  (Toyo T1-R)
Rear: 205/50 (Continental)

 

Toyo's (Front) £41 fitted

 

The Toyo's have reduced the under steer a lot. Will definitely replace the continentals on the back with T1-R's when they start to wear. Toyo's are amazing value

 

8 (would probably be 9 if I had the same tyres on all 4 corners!)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Dunlop SP Sport 9000
Wheel size: 16"
Front: -
Rear: 225/40

Tyre fitter

 

 

As good as the F1 gsd2's they replaced. Excellent overall

 

8.5

 

Chris Reeves

MGF

Dunlop Sport 01
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

Mike Satur

£129.25 for front pair

 

Seems to be no problem with grip in dry, once noticed some twitch in the wet. Ride not bad. Too early to say about wear except that rears were on the car when I purchased 8000 miles ago and show no obvious wear

 

6~7

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dennis, NZ 
  

MGF VVC

Falken
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Average grip in dry & wet. Good ride and poor wear. To be fair these tyres (front only) had uneven wear due to a negative chamber.

 

5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brian Howarth

MGF

Firestone TZ200
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
 Rear: 205/50

Local ESSO petrol Station nr Preston Lancs

Front=£52, Rear=£56

 

very pleased with the grip in the dry and wet as I drive a lot on country lanes with plenty of farmers muck around. The wear rate at the minute seems as good as my last set of tyres.

 

8

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Fulda Y3000
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 205/50
Rear: 205/50

Tyre fitter

 

 

Much better than NCT3. Quickly worn on the inside (tracking issue). Scrubbed heavily inside front plastic arches.

 

7

Scarlet Fever

MGF

1.8 MPi

Fulda Y3000

Wheel size: 16"
Front: 205x45
8Rear: 205x45

Motobuild

£75.00 fitted

 

Reasonable tyre, good price, and 20K miles out of both the front and rears, sadly no longer available
These came with the wheels (from Motobuild originally). A pretty good tyre and would still be using them if i could get hold of them. If it ain't broke and all that...

 

8

Fabrice, Belgium

TF 135

Fulda Carat Extremo
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

They were on the car (young 2nd hand), freshly fitted.

 

 

I don't like them. Grip is average, braking is poor !! (although comparing TF w/ ABS vs. F w/o ABS but w/ big discs, is hazardous)

 

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rob Bell

MGF

Goodyear NCT 3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Average grip in dry, occasionally scary in the wet. Good ride and wear.

I managed to squeeze 25k miles out of the NCTs

 

5

4.5

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Goodyear NCT 3
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Average grip in dry, awful in the wet.

 

5

Brian Howarth

MGF

Goodyear NCT 3
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

Supplied with car when new

 

First set when car bought in January 2002

Average grip in dry and wet. Approx 24K miles rear 34K miles front.

 

7

Steve White

MGF

Goodyear NTC 3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Frightful tyre. Little grip on anything other than a perfectly dry road. Even small amounts of power would send to car spinning in the wet. Wear rate was very good, but suspect this was due to them being so hard, and thus the poor grip levels

 

3

C Golvala

MGF

Goodyear NCT 3
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Awful. Were on the car when purchased and I near came a cropper at the first wettish roundabout at which I had to brake too sharply

 

3

G Hampson

MGF 1.8I

Goodyear NCT 3 Wheel size: 15
 Front:185/55 (41k miles)
Rear:205/50 (20k ish miles

SMD, Leigh, Lancs

Orig' fit, replaced rears,110 ish pair fitted

 

Honest tyre, no problems

 

6

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Goodyear NTC 3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

Standard fitment

 

 

Dangerous. All to easy to spin the rears (and the rest of the car). Too much understeer

 

3

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Goodyear NTC 3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

Standard fitment

 

 

OK for cruising, not for driving.

 

4

Yigit, Istanbul

 

MGF VVC

Goodyear NCT-3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

I had those fitted as standard on the car. Average grip in dry, never to be trusted in the wet. Good ride and wear.

 

4

G Hampson

MGF 1.8I

Wheel size: 15
Front:185/55 Goodyear NCT 3 (41k miles)
Rear: 205/50 Uniroyal Rain sport (8 miles was more than enough!!)

Gates Tyres, Workington.

110 pair, fitted etc

 

Under no circumstances fit this tyre combination! gross rear end steering on straight, felt like rear on castors round bends.

 

5

G Hampson

MGF 1.8I

Wheel size: 15
Front:185/55 Goodyear NCT 3 (41k miles)
Rear:205/50 Goodyear NCT 5 (2k to date)

Gates Tyres Workington

140 pair, fitted etc

 

Seems fine, though limited use

 

6

 

Andrew Regens,

Australia

MGF VVC

Goodyear NCT 5
Wheel size:15
Front:185/55
Rear:205/50

 

 

 

This rating is based on performance of the tyres above

 

4.5 Very Average

 

Rob Bell

MGF

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 215/40
Rear: 215/40

 

 

 

Excellent tyres- good dry grip and superb wet grip. Ride good too! Feedback not the best though - my impression is that the side walls are too flexible.

the Goodyears tend to wear at a similar rate to the Bridgestones (again with a good amount of track use)

 

8.5

8.27

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"

Front: 215/40
Rear: 215/40

 

 

 

Good tyres- enough dry grip and enough wet grip

 

7

Steve White

TF 160

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Profile- Front: 195/45
Profile- Rear: 215/40

Came with car

 

 

Excellent tyres- superb dry and wet grip. Great for road or track use.

 

9

Mike Hankin

MGF

Goodyear F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16" (7J)
Profile- Front: 195/45
Profile- Rear: 215/40

Protyre Bristol

 

 

Sensitive to pressures but track & road performance excellent, stunning braking grip in wet, wear rate better than expected provided alignment correct
Cost(optional): circa £80 per corner

 

9

Steve P

MGF

Goodyear F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Great tyre - excellent grip in dry or wet

 

9

Jamie Wakeham

MGF

Goodyear F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Profile- Front: 195/45
Profile- Rear: 215/40

Came with my 16" rims

about £400 all in.

 

Massive improvement (unsurprisingly); much more confident in dry and wet

 

9

Neil Courtney, New Zealand

TF 120

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

Came with car

 

 

Excellent tyres - never had a problem.

 

8

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 205/45
Rear: 225/40

Tyre fitter

 

 

They were glued to the road. Great braking and handling on the wet too. Good wearing rate (15000 km : rears)

 

8.5

Per, Brussels

 

TF 160

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 205/50
Rear: 225/45

tyre fitter

 

 

Bigger sizes meant dry grip and braking was astonishing. Handling balance still perfect thanks to maintained difference in width between front and rear. Additional benefits: fantastic arch-filling looks and better comfort. Drawbacks: foot well panels must be altered, not road legal... :-(

 

10

C Golvala

MGF

Goodyear F1 GSD2
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

£75 fitted from SE Tyres

 

 

Now on both front and back, the change when first fitted to the rear (thanks to the advice on here) was astonishing. Definitely inspire confidence, though tracking, poly tie-bar bushes and Techspeed's Bilsteins all got done at the same time. Rears have lasted about 15k so far and have 4mm left. Addition of fronts this morning, even at silly garage pressure makes for better feedback than the Avons; I also hope for better turn-in once scrubbed-in. Interestingly, I looked at increasing to 195, but the 195/50 only comes as a GS D3, which is something I didn't find mentioned on here.

 

9

Al, Nottingham

MGF 1.8VVC

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2 all round
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

www.blackcircles.com - they deliver to local fitters all over the country.

£340 for  set inc. fitting / balancing etc. A little steep maybe but GSD2's are getting harder to find.

 

Previous owner had mixed up GSD2 and GSD3 compounds on opposite diagonals, which just felt a bit wrong especially at speed. Much smoother drive now with plenty of grip, wet or dry.

 

9

Scarlet Fever

MGF

1.8 MPi

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2

 Wheel size: 16"
Front: 215x40
Rear: 215x40

Elsenham tyre + exhaust

£105.00 fitted

 

Expensive, not quite as good in the wet as the Marangonis, but do not need scrubbing in. Didn't last long (circa 14K miles). Not as good an all rounder as the Zeta ESCs i felt, very disappointed in the lifespan (although poor tracking at the time had something to do with this I reckon). Generally feel that they are very overpriced.

 

7.5

Dennis, NZ

 

MGF VVC

Goodyear Eagle GS-D2
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Average grip in dry, poor in the wet. Fair ride and poor wear.

 

4

Rob Bell

MGF

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 215/40
Rear: 215/40

Micheldever Station

 

 

Excellent tyres- good dry grip and superb wet grip. Ride remains good. Feedback better than the previous generation tyre, but still no competitor for the Bridgestone S-02 IMO. But the side walls are a good deal stiffer than the GS-D2.

 

9

8.5

Blue Pocket Rocket

MGF Trophy

Goodyear F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16" (7J)
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

Bell Silencers Swindon

circa £75 per corner

 

Excellent grip (especially in the wet) on the road or track, very good wear rate for the type of tyre

 

9.5

Steve White

TF 160

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

BT Tyres, Rugby

£85

 

Good tyres but didn’t suit the TF that well. Grip seemed to decrease and made the TF feel more twitchy over time. Dangerous in snow. Car didn’t feel as well stable or as well fixed to the road as with GS-D2 fitted. Performance in the wet wasn’t as good as with the D2 either

 

7

Andrew Regens ,

Australia

MGF 1.8mpi

Goodyear F1 GSD3
Wheel size:-16
Front:215/40
Rear: 215/40

 

$175

 

 

Not as clingy as the Toyo's. A good every day tyre that wears well

 

Excellent 7.5

Ian Stewart

TF 135

Goodyear F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16"
Front: N/A (coming soon to my car)
Profile Rear- 215/40/16

Goodtread Garages, Alness

£76 per Tyre

 

Superb all round tyre, cant really fault them

 

9

Neil Courtney, New Zealand

TF 120

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

 

 

 

Excellent tyre, except while D3's fitted on rear and D2's on the front. Car was often a little twitchy. After the fronts replaced with D3's handling was back to what it was with D2's all round. Except that I spun it once on a track, and had not the year before when on D2's all round. But maybe I was a bit more circumspect the first time out.

 

9

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD3
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 205/45

Rear:

Tyre fitter

 

 

Perhaps marginally better grip than the GSD2's they replaced. At least certainly not worse. A bit stiffer, what is maybe not such a good thing for the F (at the front).

 

8.5

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D2 / 3
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Bracknell Tyres

£45/£65

 

GS-D3 on front very twitchy for some time when combined with GS-D2 on rear, but eventually excellent with minimum understeer

 

3 - 9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ian Stewart

TF 135

Khumo ECSTA KH11
Wheel size: 16"
Front:195/45/16
Rear - N/A

Unknown (on the car when bought)

 

 

These seem to perform fairly well in the dry, however in the wet there is no grip at the front end, it just washes out, have to be very careful in the wet.

 

4.5

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Scarlet Fever

MGF

1.8 MPi

Marangoni Zeta Linea

Wheel size: 16"
  
  
  
  
  
Front: 205x45
  
  
  
  
  
Rear: 205x45

Elsenham tyre + exhaust

£60.00 fitted

 

Need a fair bit of scrubbing in (feel a little vague during this period and tend to tram line a bit), look good, last set ran for 20K (front) and 18K (rear - puncture forced replacement, plenty of tread left). I'm on my 2nd set of these tyres - generally very happy with them. Prior to the Lineas i had..

 

8

 

Scarlet Fever

MGF

1.8 MPi

Marangoni Zeta ESC

Wheel size: 16"
Front: 205x45
Rear: 205x45

Elsenham tyre + exhaust

£65.00 fitted

 

Very good all rounder, sadly no longer available, last set ran for 20K miles (rear), 24K miles (front), not very interesting tread pattern though.

 

9

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Winter Tyres

Michelin

Wheel size: 15" alloy
Front: 185/55
Rear: 185/55

 

 

 

Good winter tyres - enough dry grip and enough wet grip. Good in deep snow as well

 

6

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jamie Wakeham

MGF

Nankang

Wheel size: 15"
Front: 175/55
Rear: 195/50

Fitted with car when purchased

 

 

Bloody death-traps. OK-ish in the dry, horrendous in the wet

 

1

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Toyo PROXES T1-S
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45
Rear: 215/40

DE local tyre workshop

45 Pound/corner

 

Excellent tyres- great dry grip and enough wet grip

 

9

8.57

Fabrice, Belgium

MGF 1.8I

Toyo Proxes T1-S
Wheel size: 16"
Front: 215/40
Rear: 215/40

Tyre fitter

 

 

Hard work to take the succession of S02's ! I went from 15" to 16" and overall wider rubber at the same time, so not very objective. Good "average" tyre

 

7.5

Nkosi Ecosse

MGF 1.8MPi

Toyo Proxes T1-S Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195x50
Rear: 205x50

Fair Deal Tyres Grangemouth

£200 all round fitted.

 

Almost as good as the Avon, certainly a little cheaper Performance is pretty good and feels pretty sure footed in the wet as well. They have only been on the car 2000 miles, so will have to see about durability, but reports from others seem positive on that respect.

 

8.5

Bob Millar

MGF

Toyo Proxes TS-1
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 195/50

Abottsinch Tyres, Kilmarnock

around £150 fitted

 

Superb in the dry. Confident and stable in the wet.

 

10

Steve P

MGF

Toyo Proxes T1-S
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

 

£210 for set - fitted etc

 

Good levels of grip in dry or wet but not as good as my previous F1 GSD2 - better value though

 

8

Neil, Goth labs

MGF

Toyo Proxes T1-S
Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
Profile- Rear: 205/50

Falmouth tyres

I know long story!

£200ish for set

 

Good levels of grip in dry or wet good value. Side walls WAY to soft. Recommend over inflation to compensate

 

8

Nick Atkins

VVC

Toyo Proxes T1-S
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Selecta Tyre, Loughborough

£260 All 4 including 4 wheel Laser Tracking

 

Excellent grip and handling in both wet and dry. Toyos have a nice rim protector too which is an asset. I wanted T1-R's but couldn't get hold of them as the guy said they were discontinued.

 

9

Andrew Regens ,

Australia

MGF VVC

Toyo Proxes T1-R
Wheel size:- 15
Front:-205/50
Rear:-205/50

Edgers Tyre Power

$145 each

 

 

SUPERB 8.5  They are a soft tyre so if you use them hard they wear. Small expense for an excellent value tyre. Make a very good every day tyre ride is good.

 

8.5

8.5

Peter Ambrose

VVC

Toyo Proxes T1-R
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/50
Rear: 205/50

Bracknell Tyres

Circa £50 each

 

Work very well with no problems. Seem to be rather flexible compared with Goodyears & Bridgestones despite T1-R claiming to have stiffer walls

 

8

NJ Rawlings

MGF

Toyo Proxes T1-R
Wheel size:16
Front:195/45
Rear:215/40

Camskill for tyres local for fitting

£ 240 for a set of 4

 

Best tyres i have ever had on the car as also good in the wet. Look quite nice as well

 

9

S J Knight

MGF 1.8i

Toyo Proxes  Wheel size: 15"
Profile- Front: 185/55
T1-R's on front.
Profile- Rear: 205/50
T1-S's on rear

Mid Devon Tyres - Crediton, Devon

 

 

Compared to the Nankang things I had before - these are like Superglue. Fantastic data guys - saved me money and introduced me to a tyre I'd not heard of before!
Cost(optional): £218 All 4 including everything

 

9

 

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Toyo PROXES Wheel size: 16"
Front: 195/45 (PROXES T1-S)
Rear: 215/40 (PROXES T1-R)

DE local tyre workshop

45 Pound/corner

 

Excellent tyres- great dry grip and enough wet grip

 

9

 

Chris Catchpole

MGF

Toyo Proxes
Wheel size: 16"
Front 205/40
Rear 205/40

 

£280 for 4 delivered not fitted

 

Superb in dry, not bad in wet but again susceptible to light twitching if heavy footed.

Around 10K use before replaced on rear.

 

8

 

Phil Stafford, Victoria, Australia

MGF 18i

Toyo Trampio GWN Wheel size: Standard
Front:205-50-15
Rear:205-50-15

Ian Edgar's tyrepower

A$150 each (Approx 50 Quid)

 

Good grip wet or dry, quiet, comfortable

 

9

 

R D Mellor

MGF

Wheel size: 15”
Front: 195/50

Toyo Proxes T1-S
Rear: 205/50 Goodyear NCT-3

 

 

 

Toyo’s great for the money except the 205/50 T1-S does not seem to be available any more. Understand the T1-R has a reinforced tyre wall (tried them on a Elise & were really good. So I'm going for the T1-R in future. Wear rate has been ok since setting toe-in to 0 degrees, 1st set lasted 3 months with factory tracking settings!

Goodyear’s, on the basis of good wear rates, handling predictable and so much better than the below nightmares they replaced. I’ve had about 21K from the rears although due for replacement now.

0/10 Unknown budget tyre originally fitted to rear of car, messed up handling so much the garage rebuilt rear suspension trying to fix the problem (I let them do it, it was free after all). Suspicion was poorly reinforced tyre walls

 

Toyo  8.5

Goodyear 6.5

 

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

Toyo Proxes Tyres

Wheel size: 15” 205/50 

Jim Dickson, Cumbernauld Village

£220

2003

Good price for 205/50 15" Toyo Proxies fitted and balanced - excellent service as well

 

95

95

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DC Morris T6 DCM

MGF

Yokohama A539
Wheel size: 16"
Profile- Front: 215/40
Profile- Rear: 215/40

Mytyres.co.uk

Approx £54 ea

 

Not the best looking tread pattern about perhaps but these really are a good all rounder, great grip in dry and wet, have used same for about 4 years and given bit of wellie on track and grip is superb and fairly quiet road tyre

 

8.5

8.33

Paul Huddleston

Trophy 160

Yokohama A539
Wheel size: 16"
Front:195/45
Rear:215/40

Falmouth Tyres

£114.49 for 2 fronts

 

Found them excellent in both wet and dry seem to wear well

 

9

Neil Courtney, New Zealand

MGF 1.8i

Yokohama A539
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

 

 

 

Good all round tyre

 

7.5

Dennis, NZ 

MGF VVC

Yokohama
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 195/55
Rear: 195/55

 

 

 

Average grip in dry & wet. fair ride and a side wall failure. This model of directional tyre is no longer produced!

 

3

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dieter Koennecke

MGF

Winter Tyres

any of this balloons
Wheel size: 14" steel rim
Front: 175/65
Rear: 175/65

 

 

 

Poor winter tyres- bad dry grip and bad wet grip. Good in deep snow only

 

 

 

3

 

Neil, Goth labs

MGF

assorted from ebay
Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185/55
Rear: 205/50

Ebay!

£100 for set inc VVC rims!!- fitted etc

 

Cheap but yuk

 

3

 

Nkosi Ecosse

MGF 1.8Mpi

Wheel size: 15"
Front: 185x55 (1 x Michelin, 1 x Maxon)
Rear: 205x50 Goodyear Eagle GSD-2

Carcraft, Rochdale

 

 

The tyres were fitted on the car when I bought it. The Goodyears were good but only lasted about 3000 miles before I had to replace them. The front was crap but rally lousy alignment probably had something to do with that

 

5 to 6

 

don k

VVC MGF

BF Goodridge G-profiler

approx £60 fitted each inc nitrogen gas instead of air

 

 

These I have found excellent in the dry and good in the wet too. Pembury track day was very wet and my car experienced good handling. On dry track days the rubber does get sticky :-)

 

 

 

BACK TO CONTENTS

Exhausts

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Dieter Koennecke

 

Milltek exhaust MGF01 (SP)

Milltek

App. £300

1999

Poor fitment quality due to wrong measures between brackets. Strange dents appeared after 30k miles. Exhaust fell off & burnt a hole in bumper. Had to cut one bracket & re-weld in right distance.

Didn’t complain

70

70

Ian Stewart

MGTF 135 2002

Milltek Quad Pipe Stainless Exhaust System

B+G

£ 325

Dec 2004

Fantastic quality, looks fantastic, fitted perfectly, it is pretty loud especially around 3000rpm, above that it has a terrific sound! Car feels slightly more responsive

 

100

100

Andrew Regens

VVC 1998

Miltek Super Sports Exhaust
Pt NO BGF6000NE

B+G

£ 234

Feb 2004

Well made and fitted easily. Performance increased but it's LOUD. I love it!.

 

90

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

SP / Miltek exhaust

SP Performance / Miltek

 

1997

Good looking, well made system.  Distinctive ‘wail’ and very loud

 

90

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Cat bypass

Motobuild

 

1998

Mild steel cat bypass tube – can be a nightmare to fit due to OE nuts rusting up, but other than this is great.  Lasted 6 years before replacement

 

90

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

KatKit / Cat saver nuts

Mike Satur

 

1998

Brilliantly simple idea, long blanked off nuts practically solves the rusty nuts problem on the cat

 

95 - Very good

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Mike Satur ‘Daytona’ exhaust

Mike Satur

 

1998

Superb looking, well made system.  My one was one of the first sold.

 

95

95

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Stainless steel Daytona exhaust system

Mike Satur

Part of other work

2002

Excellent. Had single exhaust finishers fitted. Makes lovely sound. Still looks good

 

95

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

Stainless steel Daytona exhaust system

Mike Satur

Part of other work carried

2004

Sounds great.  Not too noisy at speed.  Gives car slightly more throttle response

 

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Stainless steel flexi-pipe

Mike Satur

 

2001

Stainless steel replacement for OE item

 

80

80

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Stainless Steel Exhaust Heatshield Finisher

Mike Satur

£ 35

2002

Very good. I found I needed longer bolts than supplied to fit it but you could possibly use the supplied bolts if the exhaust was out of the way. Looks great.

 

80

80

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Piper Evo Exhaust

Private purchase

£ 150

1999

Chromed tail pipes prone to rust. Looked nicely chunky, and sounded good too. But RR testing showed that it actually robbed torque at certain points of the rev range.  I sold it, and the subsequent owner told me that it's mild steel construction lead to its early demise at the princely age of 5 years...

 

60

60

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Trevor Taylor Extreme

Private purchase

£ 150

2000

Looked like two scaffold poles sticking out of the bumper. Very industrial chic!  But sounded out of this world: earth tremor inducing rumble. Wow. Always best at idle and when the throttle blipped. Didn't make for a great cruising companion through. Lasted brilliantly, and is now making a new life in New Zealand...

 

90

90

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Mike Satur Imola

Mike Satur

£ 280

2002/3

Sounds brilliant, and not too intrusive into the cabin. It is the system that won (in Daytona form) our exhaust back to back testing. Best torque and the best power. You can feel it too - although the overall gains are modest (5 each of bhp and lb/ft).
Supplied adapter pipe from catalyst didn't fit and let the back box to fit at a jaunty angle - not great.

Mike Satur spent an entire afternoon trying to get a good alignment from the exhaust, eventually replacing the whole system. Outstanding service and customer commitment - great work Mike!

90

90

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Exhaust Manifold Support Bracket

MG Rover

£ 15

2002

Extra support for exhaust and prevents annoying rattle. A pig to fit though.

 

85

92

Dieter Könnecke

MGF

Exhaust Manifold Support Bracket

MG Rover

£ 15

2000

P/N GEX13002. To be installed between Engine bloc and manifold flange if rattling noise appear. So the officials said. Other say it prevents the cylinder head from moving sideward ... Who knows?. Anyway, the rattling noise at my car disappeared. Btw, the installation is an a***e

 

99

Chaz

MGF 1996

Exhaust downpipe and flexi-section

B + G

£ 100

June 2004

Fantastic workmanship and very good value for stainless steel.  Flexi-section much better put together than original part

 

90

90

David C Morris

MGF 1.8I 1999

SP Super sports stainless exhaust

Moss,  Bristol

£ 299

2002

Absolutely superb exhaust; cannot beat Stainless exhaust.

 

99

99

 Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

 Stainless Steel  Exhaust B120 “Standard”

 MGOC

 £ 236.25

 May 2006

 Good value for a S/Steel exhaust. Whilst labelled as a ‘standard’ rather than a ‘sports’ version, it has a slightly deeper and throatier sound than the original Rover exhaust

 

 95

95

BACK TO CONTENTS

Body Interior

MGF Owner

Model

Item

Supplier

Cost

Date bought

Quality

Supplier response

% Rating

Overall % Rating

Hoops & Windstops

Mike Nunn

Trophy

Boxer roll hoops + windstop

Mike Satur

£ 450

Sept 2001

Excellent, bit required a rework to avoid hood damage.

Supplier removed, reworked & refitted item without quibble

95

92.6

Michael Williams

TF160

Boxer roll hoops + windstop

Mike Satur

 

April 2002

Great quality – “looks the dog’s whatsits & is very effective”

 

93

Tony Thompson

MGF 1.8i 1996

Boxer roll hoops + windstop

Mike Satur

Reasonable

 

Excellent, but you need to be careful to get ‘clean’ holes in the T bar

 

90

David Clelland

MGF 1.8Mpi 2001

Mark II Boxer Hoops and Glass Windstop

Mike Satur

Can't Remember

2004

Chrome hoops look great.  My windstop is one of Mike's prototypes and is slightly larger than standard.  Can't be lowered with hood up but very effective when hood down

 

90

David Mills

MGTF 160 2002

Boxer roll hoops and windstop

Mike Satur

450 GBP

Mar 2003

Look brilliant, quality excellent, works well, IMO better than anything else on the market including the new MG hoops. MS fitting was top notch as well

 

95

Norman Law

TF160 2002

X-Power roll hoops (Stainless)

MG Rover dealer

£179 (fitted)

27 May 2004

Excellent fit and finish.  Downside is MGR windstop can't be lowered (if fitted) and needs new hood cover.

 

90

90

Andrew Regens

MGF 1.8 VVC 1998

X Power Roll Hoops

X Power

 

£ 110

 

July 2004

 

A few holes out of alignment that made fitting frustrating but other than that, excellent.

 

90

Kelvin Fay

MGF 1.8 VVC

MG X-Power Stainless Steel Roll Hoops

e-bay

£ 140

June 2004

Excellent. Fitting is time consuming, some holes slightly out, needed relieving. Instructions would be better if they hadn't left out a couple of steps! Once the job was finished, they look absolutely superb.

 

90

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8

Windstop

Mike Satur

£ 190

1999/2000

Excellent quality of build – after 5 years use it shows few signs of wear. Mesh in the hoops traps dirt easily – but then its better in the windstop than in your hair!. Downsides: The allen retaining bolts have gone a little rusty, & it does get a little drafty in the cabin 70+ mph

 

80

80

Karl Woodhead

N.Z.

MGF 1997

Windstop

Mike Satur

Reasonable

2002

Excellent.  Great visibility, good looking, easy to fit, and very effective at stopping wind buffeting.

 

100

100

Tony Thompson

MGF 18.i 1996

Windstop

MGR

Came with car

1996

Efficient because of height, but tended to tilt forward at speed & caught rear window when lowered.

 

80

77.5

Alan Dunstan

MGF 18.i 1996

Windstop

MGR

£ 40 fitted  (a deal)

1997

OK. Mine was a deal so value for money great. Mesh gets dirty quickly & frame catches back window when lowering. Hard to tighten enough to stop blowback

 

75

Andrew Regens

VVC 1998

Windstop, Non OE

B+G

£ 120

Feb 2004

Very easy to fit. Seems to do the job as described well. Only problem it seems to move forward at speed and has to be pushed back every so often. Collects dust but it's better than being in my hair!

Have not complained

85

85

Wayne D'Andilly

 

Glass windstop

Mike Satur

£ 100

Feb 04

Extremely easy to fit with no drilling required and looks good, could be slightly higher but other than that it works well and is value for money. Good option if you think of upgrading to the boxer roll hoops in the future.

 

90

90

David Welsh

MGF 1.8MPi 1997

Windstop

Newton Commercial

List price

2003

Well made, as easy to fit as Newton claims - I am no mechanic but really simple. It works too

 

98

98

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

FX aluminium  Windstop

Mike Satur

 

 

First rate item – extremely well designed and made. First rate item

 

95

95

David C Morris

MGF 1.8I 1999

FX WINDSTOP

Mike Satur

£ 100

2002

This I bought second hand, I love it and think it would still be huge seller if still available but sadly not.

 

99

Tony Harrison

MGF VVC 1999

Windstop

MGF Centre

£ 128 inc P&P

June 05

First class. No sharp edges. No drilling required, easily fitted in five minutes and unclipped in seconds. No interference with hood.

 

100

100

Interior Trim

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Red/black leather steering wheel

MGR

 

1996

Looks good, well made but not very hard wearing – was worn out in 5 years

 

50

50

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Red/black leather gear knob

MGR

 

1996

Looks good, well made but not very hard wearing – was worn out in 4 years

 

50

50

Rob Bell

MGF 1.8i

MG Momo gear knob (leather)

MGR

£ 40

1997

Okay - but the selector pattern sticker came off, and it has an irritating tendency to rotate in your hand..  Leather covering has however stood up well of 8 years of palming through the gears!

 

60

60

Alan Dunstan

MGF 1.8i 1996

Momo wooden gear knob

MGR

 

1996

Good. Gear position indicator came loose after 6 yrs. Re-glued with epoxy. Looks good & feels nice & chunky to use. Does not quite match dash wood colour.

 

75

75

Chaz

MGF 1996

Chrome gearknob

Mike Satur

£ 30 GBP

Jan 2002

Excellent quality, great shape, with deep-threaded shaft so that the height of the gear stick is lowered perfectly.  An essential first buy and better than any other I've tried/seen

 

100

100

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Mk1 Walnut dash kit

MGR

 

1996

Stick-on kit looks OK, but suffered from de-lamination over time.  Was worn out after 6 years

 

60

60

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Leather retrim

Mike Satur

 

1996

Excellent, bespoke design, good materials, good craftsmanship, soft leather wears reasonably – needs looking after

 

90

90

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Walnut dash ‘deluxe kit’

Mike Satur

 

1997

Good design and manufacture.  One item came unstuck though

 

80

80

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Walnut passenger airbag blank

Mike Satur

 

1998

Superb item

 

95 - First rate item

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Walnut Instrument binnacle

Mike Satur

£350

1998

Great item, but has suffered a bit of delaminating and was expensive

 

60

60

Michael Williams

TF160

Walnut cowl

Mike Satur

 

April 2002

Excellent – this is real quality & I would happily recommend it.

 

95

95

Andrew Phillips

MGF 18.i 1996

Aluminium door lock pins

Mike Satur

 

1999

Easy to fit replacement pins with grub screw attachment.  Look good and do the job well