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MG MGF Technical - tyre sizes

i have managed to find a tyre fitter who can supply me 4 new pirelli p7000's are these a good choice of tyre?

when i first brought my mgf vvc, it had 4 diffrent budget tyres all round, the back end keeps coming out on corners, so i thought well worth investing in new tyres!

also, is it o.k. to fit 195/50 tyres to the front? will it affect the driving in any way?

thanks in advance for your help!!!

from a fledgling mgf owner...

Andy
a r lee

Andy

Tyres are very much a case of personal preference, especially on the F. There is a lot of information in the archive on choices but strangely little on the P7000. Very few people on this board us Pirellis but personally, I found them excellent both wet or dry although prone to wear quickly. I also found that Pirellis didn't require running in like other performance tyres. There was one occasion when a dealer fitted 6000s claiming they were the same thing but the tread pattern is very different, so check you get what you wanted.

195/50s on the front are a good compromise between 205s which tramline and 185s which tend to plough on a bit in corners.

Obviously the overall balance will be affected by what you choose to put on the back, but assuming you have 205s there, you should be happy. Whatever you do, don't attempt to get away with anything less than 205s on the back because the car will be tail-happy.

Chris
Christopher Marshall

As always, see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com

Enter main site, and pick Tyre Choices from the Technical&DIY drop-down menu.

btw, is there a way to more directly link that?

Jamie
Jamie

http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/tyres.htm
Dave Livingstone

just wanted to say thanks for the advice! nice to know theres people out there who know there stuff...
andy lee

I now need a couple of front tyres to replace the standard NCT3 on my F. My normal supplier, ATS, says they are not now available, and my local branch have a directive from MG suggesting that the sole replacement tyre is the Continental Premium Contact. I'm surprised they can be so specific, and know this is going to be a common cry; so, has anyone any experience of this tyre ?

In common with many MGF owners, I suffered the standard MGF tracking setup, which wore the inner edges of the front tyres; my friend at ATS kindly turned the tyres for me and I have many miles of motoring since.

In considering some new tyres, I would wish for a tyre that could again be moved between sides; now I may be wrong but I get the impression that not only are the Continental tyres one directional, but also left and right specific - can anyone confirm this ?

I have refered to the excellent MGF tyre options page of course, but some of the tyres are superceded / not readily available. I'm told the Goodyear Fi style tyres are more liable to tram-line - is that true ?

I went to a different tyre shop and weighed various options, and was suggested the new Michelin Pilot Exalto 2 as having very good reports. As someone who dosen't hammer my car, I don't need the ultimate tyre, just a really good one.

Comments appreciated, thanks

Rob

Rob Speare

Rob, all directional tyres are left/right specific. If you have the same sized tyres all round (some people have 205s front and rear) then you can swap them fore and aft, but only on the same side of the car. With the standard set up for the F being 185 on the front and 205 on the back, you can not swap directional tyres anywhere.

I have Goodyear F1s fitted on my TF, D2s on the front and D3s on the back. I think only D3s are available now, and these should be fine on your F.
Neil Courtney

>>>Rob, all directional tyres are left/right specific.
===surely not, as long as the tread is symmetrical then simply reverse the tyre on the rim and fit to opposite side. But a directional, asymmetric tread design will need specific left and right, agreed.
David S

Yes, I will give you that David. Did not think of taking them off the rims first.
Neil Courtney

Just bought my first f vvc, great fun.
have been reading the comments about tyre choice, on looking at mine it is shod-215/40/16 front and rear, goodyear eagle f1s front and ventus rear. never heard of ventus, anyone out there used them?
Drives realy well in the dry but havn't tried them wet yet.
e tucker

Every TF in my local dealer was fitted with Continental Premium Contact. Seems to be the current OEM tyre so a tyre fitter is well advised to follow that line. My TF has them but so far I've no real experience - running in for 600 miles followed by 1300 miles for the Highlander 2004 over the weekend. All on dryish roads so far; no problems on Scottish roads. Don't know what they would be like if only a pair fitted in conjunction with NCT3s.
JohnP

ET - we have the same size as you, F1s all round. It sounds like somebody went for a pair of budget tyres 'cos they thought F1s were expensive - but if you go to Micheldever or Bracknell tyres you will get sensible price for F1s. Budget tyres are false economy IMO.
David S

The latest Auto express tyre test has put F1's at top of pile again.

Paul
Paul

Anyone tried http://www.tyresave.co.uk/

jt
John Thomas

Hiya guys, just reading through the comments about the tyre problem ! I have a sep 2001 MGF and have a nail in one of the front tyres, I have also been told that Goodyear no longer make the NCT3 can someone recommend the best replacement please
Gilly

Gilly

The Goodyear F1 has been "the" recommended tyre on this BBS for a couple of years but not mixed with existing NCT3s.

Also gaining good reports has been the TOYO Proxes TS-1 (I think that's about right).

Bridgestone have also had a number of followers but I can never remember the model names.

Other tyre manufacturers will recommenr tyres but the above have been widely used by bbs posters.
JohnP

"Every TF in my local dealer was fitted with Continental Premium Contact."

Probably not the 160s as according to Continental web site they don't make a Continental Premium Contact that would fit ~ 215 40 16

Steve Child reported in February that
"the TF160 still uses the F1 rubber on 16" rims, the 15" rims use the Contiential rubber"

So here we are a few months on - assuming 160's are still rolling out on F1's are they GS-D2 or D3.

I thought GS-D2 were getting scarce and GS-D3 were a no-no.

jt (coming late to the d2/d3 debate)

ps Is it true that the only Merc that runs on Conti Premium Contact is the A Class ;-)
John Thomas

Good point JT - "Every TF in my local dealer" It's just that there weren't any TF160s in the showroom at the time of my visit.
JohnP

For what it's worth, I had Toyo Proxes T1-S fitted to my Trophy this weekend and put about 400 miles on since.

IMHO, they are absolutley fantastic. The best tyre I have experience on an 'F with. The more I lean on them, the better they seem.

Really add to the joy's of an 'F, IMO.
Chris

Hi, Thanks for the feedback everyone; I have had a pair of Pirelli P7000 195/50 fitted to the front - I think these are probably more compatable with the NCT3 on the rear than a pair of F1s would be.

So far, straight from the tyre dealer they have been absolutely brilliant, and look the part. £56.25 each fitted.

Rob
Rob Speare

John.P Hert.
Hi John thanks very much for your help, but without sounding like a complete idiot, will I have to change all the NTC3's or just the front two ?
Gilly

Putting good tyres on the front and 'sticking' with the crap ones at the back will lead to the back not sticking when you expect it to!
Will Munns

Andy

195/50s do not show in the Tyre Sizes specified by MGR for the "F". Hold your breath when you have your next MOT.

Geoff F.
G. Farthing

Since when did they check tyre sizes on a MOT?
Martin Chappell

Martin.

Try www.vosa.gov.uk/vosa/carlgvowners/mottesting/carcomponentstested.htm

Wheels/Tyres.

Condition,security, tyre size/type and tread depth.

Your MOT Testing Station may have a Vechicle tyre Size Wall Chart. Mine has.

The VOSA Site makes interesting reading for those who want to deviate from manufacturers Type Approvals.

Geoff F.
G. Farthing

This thread was discussed between 05/05/2004 and 13/05/2004

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