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 MGF Technical - Tyre choices

I'm thinking of replacing my MGF's tyres (currently NCT-3's) with something else, as recommended on the tyre choices section of this website (e.g Pirelli P7000's). Anyone else used any of the alternative tyres or have any other feedback?
Cheers,
Steve.
Steve Thomson

hi mate why dont you try contis cpc s they are a good tyre set off 4 £ 270 not bad good in all weathers..

i have heard toyos are good and the eagle f1 are the bees knees
darren

Steve,
The easy way, become a Member ( it costs you nothing )
find 3 days free time and search the archives.
Every Member drives on their opinion of the 'Best Tyre'
The 'Best Tyre' depends on what you want out of your car and how much you are willing to pay for it.
Geoff F.
G. Farthing

whatever tyres you go for, choose 195/50-15 for the front instead of the original dimension 185/55-15.
195's are cheaper (because this dimension is more common), and will give you slightly more grip.
Conti's SportContact are good tyres overall and are not a bad deal a 270 GBP/set.

Fabrice

Steve,

I've been using Toyos on my F for the last couple of years and I can't fault them on performance or price. Four 205s x 15" supplied and fitted for £220 last year. Might have gone up a little by now.

Darren,

Sorry, I've got Conti's on my ZR and I think they are complete sh1te - I can't wait to get rid of them. I'd rate them even worse than the Goodyear NCT3 and they're pretty bad in the wet.
David Clelland

Hi! Steve,

Like you I have just had to replace the two rear
Goodyears on the back of my MGF and have gone for
the Pirelli's which were recommended to me.

Had a telephone round and National and Kwik Fit were
comparable at £172. for the pair including balancing
etc. Went for Kwit-Fit as you got a chance to win
a holiday and drive a Ferrari round Monza. If you
didn't win that, then you had the option to go Venice,
Florence, Milan or Rome for 4 nights (2 for the price
of one) provided you booked the mini-break before
30th April.

Good luck in your search.

Regards - Bill
W.A. Pearson

DC

Interesting how we al get different feelings from
different cars. My TF135 is still on the OEM Contis that I drove to last years Highlander on; so far I have had no problems at all. Defo better than the NCT3 from my first F but not too far from the TOYO T1-S that I finished that car with.


BUT I agree - TOYO will be going on this car as soon as I can reasonably declare the CONTIs worn. One more Highlander this year and swap over ready for the Pyrenees in June?
JohnP

Have had Avon tyres on every bike I have owned and have them on my F as well. ZV1 or ZV3 are pretty equal the ZV3 maybe shade it in the wet.
Nkosi_Ecosse

I got 4 Toyo T1-S for £205

Love them !!
Clive

I guess the Avons set me back £144 for the front and £157 for the back. £301 allround. Still they stick like glue.
Nkosi_Ecosse

Go Toyo's. Any of the models are better than the NCT's, I went 4 x 205/50 x15 T1-R and think they are great and very good value for money.
Andrew Regens

As Andrew did, I replaced the crap NCT's with Toyos (In my Case 4 x 205/50/15 TPG's) and the difference was unbelievable. Much better grip both wet and dry, better ride and quieter.
Phil Stafford

Hi Guys, It looks like from this thread that you can fit 205/50/15's all round...

Is that the case because the tyre fitter suggested I might get Speedometer inaccuracies with the slightly different diameter? I have the front end of my MK1 MGF on 195/50/15's and it gets a bit squirrely at speed, so I was hoping to increase the width to offer a bit more grip.

Plus I can only get hold of Bridgestone S-02's in 205/50/15's which I read were the Dogs Danglies! :)

Any info would be welcomed.
N. J. Atkins

You've found 15" Bridgestone S-02s? Where from??? They are superb tyres!

Regarding the speedo inaccuracy: the speedo uses a take off from the gearbox - so it doesn't matter, from this perspective, what tyre size is fitted to the front wheels. I've used 185, 195 and 205 tyres on the front, and none gave any cause for concern. The best compromise from a handling point of view was the 195/50s, but there is an advantage to using 205/50s insofar as you can even out tyre wear front to rear...
Rob Bell

Rob,
As you have done it, there's a surprise ! Do you not get any problems with tyres fouling wheel arches on full lock or cornering due to the increased width or is that compensated by the lower profile thereby keeping the tyre away from the arch ?

It is something I have thought about for when my boots need replacing, do you rate all Bridgestones that highly, I fitted Bridgestones previously, pre MG, because of reputation, cost and lifetime puncture repair / replace guarantee.

Adrian
Adrian Clifford

The wider profile tyres can rub on the wheel arch liners - but nothing a hairdryer can't fix.

Bridgestone tyres are great but some are better than others - the SO-2s were the best the SO-3s are not quite as good, or so I am told.
Ted Newman

Adrian, when MG brought out 16" wheels for the MGF they fitted 215 tyres front and back so you can safely go up a size or two when you change your's. The wider tyres do tend to rub the plastic arch liner on full lock, but not when you're cornering fast. This happens particularly in the winter when the suspension has sunk a little due to it being cold. The way to sort this is gently heat the plastic where it's rubbing with a hot air gun or hair dryer and push it back until it cools. Use the handle of a screw driver or something similar and don't burn your fingers.

Rob mention that one of the advantages of using the same size front and back is that you can swap them to even wear. When I had 205s (Toyo Proxes) all round I tried this and the handling was badly affected. I can only assume that the tyres get worn to a different shape on the different axles. After a few hundred miles I changed them back and resigned myself to the fact that for every set of front tyres I bought I would need to buy two sets of rear ones.

When I eventually bought new rear ones (exactly the same as I took off) the handling was dreadful. It was so bad that I thought that the tyre fitter had broken something. Funnily, it felt as if the problem was at the front - steering was light and it was difficult to keep the car going in a straight line. It took my annual pilgrimage to Silverstone last July (about 750 miles) and a few easy laps of Knockhill before everything felt that it was back to normal and then for good measure a few not so easy laps of the track.


Have a look at this site. It will calculate what size of tyres yo can use on the rear without affecting your speedo -
http://www.chris-longhurst.com/carbibles/index.html?menu.html&tyre_bible.html
David Clelland

David,
Thanks, that is some reading and some site. I was quite OK with the principle, I used to be an engineer in my younger days on heavy commercials, incidentally we always reversed our tyres from front to rear and then recut them twice, always put new on the front though.
Thanks, and to Ted, I like the idea of "adjusting" the inner wheel arch liner, may have to do that when the time comes.
So it's SO2's or Toyo's then ?
BTW mines a 2000 model, guess my suspension may could differ by a fraction, do you think ?

Ted, is there a COLPUC this month ?

Adrian
Adrian Clifford

Yokohama A538's on mine with no problems found. Superb on track also.

Duncan.
DJC Dorrell

Adrian

Patrick is the boy for the COLPUC - I will post a question on the MGF General Board
Ted Newman

Ta ! see you there.
Adrian Clifford

Steve,

Toyo's are great one of the best tyres I have used
Mike
M L Dippenaar

Thanks for the feedback everyone. Overwhelmed by the response. Toyo's seem to get the vote. I'm having trouble getting Pirelli P7000's front and back sizes anyway.

Cheers
Steve
Steve T

Regarding speedo readings changing with tyre sizes, it is worth noting that the F/TF speedo overreads quite a lot (i.e. shows you speeds you are nowhere near), particularly if you have 215/40-16s at the rear.

Having tried 225/45-16 rears (with matching 205/50-16 fronts to retain the same aspect ratio and width difference compared to the original TF 160 setup), I can tell you that these tyres provide spot-on speedo readings (yes, I HAVE measured), much better comfort and unbeatable looks. The problems include a need to alter the footwell panels slightly to avoid rubbing at full lock, slightly blunted acceleration and the fact that the car is not homologated to use these sizes, giving MOT and insurance problems. But for "show and competition" use... ;-)

Per
Per

Per, thanks for the info on alternative tyre combinations for the 16" wheels that work! :o)

Adrian, I haven't had problems with tyre-rub on 185, 195, 205 or 215mm tyres - but some do: for this, as Ted says, just re-shape the wheel arch liner slighty to clear. :o)

Bridgestone S-02s are superb - but wear fairly quickly. For better durability then the Toyo T-1R/ T-1S or Bridgestone RE720s are probably better bets... :o)

PS MY2000 MGF has exactly the same suspension as the earlier "Mk1" MGF :o)

Happy hunting!
Rob Bell

Following on from earlier, I need to change all four tyres, but Toyo's and SO2's bit hard to get and very expensive. Good comments from the thread on Avon ZV3's. I can get these for £49 + vat, anybody got any bad things about them ?

Adrian
Adrian Clifford

I can get 4 Toyo Proxes T1-S, 2x195 & 2x205's for £225.00 all in, inc VAT which is cheaper than those ZV3's. Maybe you should ring a few fitters up?
Nick Atkins

Rung up almost every dealer in Essex, cheapest Toyo's coming in at £63, Bridgestones into the £75 range, that's take away price plus vat. Prices must be different your way.

Adrian
Adrian Clifford

try http://www.blackcircles.com - I've used them a couple of times and found them to be quite competitive
Ian Matheson

Thanks for the link Ian, checked Toyo T1S' £69.30 and SO3's £89.75.

Think I'll go for the Avon's as I'm putting 205/50's all round. 2000 F

Adrian
Adrian Clifford


to add to all the above,
just had to change the rear tyres on my tf (with oem
contintal premuim contacts, ) the originals have
lasted 27,400 miles from new so i can thoroughly
reccomend the longevity of the continentals and
the replacwement cost all in was £ 129.13!!!

steve

27,400 miles Steve?? phenomenal mileage!
Paul Bevan

This thread was discussed between 09/02/2005 and 25/02/2005

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGF Technical BBS now