MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Should i buy a ZR 105?

My first post on this board. :-)

OK, Scarlet is in for some minor work today and i have a rather nice ZR 105 in LeMans green as a courtesy car. It drives well (bloody well, feels more like a 1.6 than a 1.4 to me), looks good, handles well and presumably is pretty damn frugal with the old go-go juice.

On top of this, being a 'veteran' of the MGF scene for a good few years, there are a couple of easy to do mods under the bonnet that would liberate a few more horses for not a lot of cash. One of which is sitting on my shelf in the garage looking for a car to be fitted to!

Finally, i have been toying with the idea of a 'run-about' for over a year now and the 105, with it's low asking price (and discount scheme) is easily within my financial grasp.

So, should i take the plunge and if so, are there any 'essential' options i should include?

SF
SF

Will it be a Red ZR you would buy?
And would it be 'Scarletized' ?

Sure u would not prefer a ZS?


Kelv
Kelvin

Already sellingf the ZS Kelvin ? Perhaps awaiting a 160 Turbo ZS like me ?
Should SF not go for the ZR 120,or can he upgrade it as easily himself (insurance?)
alex

SF,
Get the new 'Atomix'SE version which has all the bells and whistles in terms of cosmetics - big wheels, side skirts, etc.

Hoping to see it at the Motorshow tomorrow......

Martin
4MGF
Martin Woods

Alex... not selling no!
Not even for a Turbo, V6 note is better than any tubo whistle :-)

Kelvin
Kelvin

Not surprised by SFs observations. Friend gave me a lift in his wife's 1.4 Rover 25 the other night. Not been in one before. With four adults on board, I was really surprised when he told me it was only a 1.4. Strong puller and very nippy even with four adults.

That KV6 does make a superb sound - to my ears mostly induction with some mechanical sounds mixed in - but nice as that is, that old turbo whistle coming on song and resulting increase in speed still has vast appeal .... :)
John McFeely

Yes the 105 handles very well, it's got a lot of grunt for a 1.4, and sounds nice as well. i have also noticed that it is very well balanced and controled when air-bourne (i suppose thats why they are rallying it), mine (driven like a rallycar :-) ) does ~28mpg with me & passenger and ~29/30 on my own, i would however try the 120 as the larger engine has more potential for tuning :) and the chassis can take a lot more than 103ps. i have found the mitchilins wear out far quicker than the Pirrellis, and (i have now found it's that same with my friends 160) the rear tyres rub on the wheel arch liners after a couple of thousand miles, and my MG garage have not been too helpful in fixing it (i see the problem being that something is wearing, because it didn't do it to start with), that just want to put modified wheelarch liners on so it doesn't rub any more (not my idea of help), in the 105 the seats squeak, pannels creak, and the general build quality of mine is none to be desired.

my dad has his ZS180 for sale if your interested (he's just dumped it for a ~350bhp RWD R34 Nissan Skyine GT-T, because he got nuked by an Audi RS4!)

The choice is yours
chris

Agree with Chris-I would not want to tune the 105 any further-especially as the 1.8 in the 120 is so good
andrew

>> Will it be a Red ZR you would buy?
And would it be 'Scarletized' ?

Sure u would not prefer a ZS? <<

Yup, ideally i would have a ZT, just gorgeous IMO, but it's not really a runabout is it?

Been looking at a Smart previously - this is the sort of car i am after (bland, boring, but cheap and comfortable) and a drive in the ZR 105 really opened my eyes as it aint' to much more than a Smart and boy does it go in comparison!

SF <---Might get a red one with 'Scarlet Fever Support Vehicle' graphics along each side (i'm kidding!) :-)
Scarlet Fever

I would definately recommend the ZR 105 to anyone wanting something as a 'runabout'. I drive my wife's 105 a fair bit and although it doesn't have the performance of my ZS it sure beats the pants off the Rover 200 which she had before.

John
JLD

I've got a 105 as my current car and its well impressive. Given that I moved from a 160 to a 105, I was expecting quite a drop in performance - sure there is a drop, but to be honest, you only notice it above 3rd gear, 1st 2nd and 3rd still nip by pretty quickly.

Not brutishly fast as the 160, but still damn good fun and quite a bit better on the old Juice. I can see why the 105s are selling so well.

Coinidentally, mine is Lemans Green too, works well on the ZR. :)

Regards

Steve.
Steve Childs

Interesting comments but,.
Has anyone tried a ZR 120 ??
tony

This thread was discussed between 24/10/2002 and 28/10/2002

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG ZR ZS ZT Technical BBS now