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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Exhaust upgrades

After five years of ownership my ZS 120+ has pinholing in the rear section of the exhaust system.
As it will obviously have to be replaced, does anyone know if there is an upgraded version or an alternative to the factory item?

Dave P.
Penwithian

If you want a bog-standard I'm sure exhaust places will do them, getting the original appearance is going to be more difficult/expensive. The PO of my 180 put a Peco 'dustbin' on it. The car came to me with the original (looks nearly good as new) in a poly bag in the boot so I already have my first replacement. I did look at fitting it and selling the Peco, and while under there noticed one of the rear rubber mounts had been replaced with a plastic tie, even though the rubber mount was still attached to the body peg. I took the tie off and fitted the rubber, and immediately noticed how much quieter it was in general running, but the tailpipe is a little too big and knocks on the surround very occasionally. I guess that is why the PO used a tie, but I'd rather have the nicer running and just the occasional knock.
Paul Hunt 2

Other options include the Janspeed XPower and XPart XPower back boxes. Is your car a saloon or hatch back, as this will determine which options are available.

Ralph
Ralph Gadsby

Thanks for your comments lads,

I like the idea of the X-power back box system and have found an illustration on the net.
However, it appears to exit on the near-side of the rear bumper whereas the original came out on the off-side. That would not be a problem if it wasn't for the small bit of metal trim which is attached to the bumper.

The car is a 120 5-door by the way.

Dave P.
Penwithian

That's a picture of the ZT! They've used the wrong the photo.

Ralph
Ralph Gadsby

Ralph.
Returning to my earlier posts on this, is there any evidence that either the Janspeed X-power or the X-Power back box improve performance? I'm aware that they look and sound good but do they give a bit more poke?

I checked out Kwickfit's website as well as Janspeed and it appears that there is no back box for the ZS120, only the 180.

Dave P.
Penwithian

Its very unlikely that a back box will give any performance gain. Its more about the sound. To get any measurable increase in performance from the exhaust you would need to fit either a sports cat, cat bypass or sports manifolds.

Both the Janspeed and XPart XPower back boxes for the 180 will fit the 120.
Ralph Gadsby

Ralph, I have an X-Power intermediate pipe and back box on my ZS 120 Hatchback. Will these parts fit a ZS 180 Saloon or do I need to buy one or the other to fit that car?

Derek Porter
Derek Porter

"Its very unlikely that a back box will give any performance gain."

Probably true. My ZS180 came with a Peco back box with big bore tail pipe. I enquired of my insurance company and they said 'no extra charge' hence no extra performance.
Paul Hunt 2

"Ralph, I have an X-Power intermediate pipe and back box on my ZS 120 Hatchback. Will these parts fit a ZS 180 Saloon or do I need to buy one or the other to fit that car?"

No, it won't fit correctly. The mk1 saloon and hatchbacks have different length system. The mk2 systems are around 1" longer than the equivalent mk1 system as well.
Ralph Gadsby

This thread was discussed between 14/12/2007 and 29/02/2008

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