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MG MGF Technical - DVA has come up trumps again!

Big thanks to Tech-speed and particularly Gavin for doing yet another first rate job in getting my car back together following the cylinder head failure (Material had gone soft... oh dear - see gasket post mortem thread)

Just as well I had a spare head from the MGF Centre then! A TF135 head, complete with cams. :o)

But now no ordinary head - this one has been fettled by one David Andrews of Milton Keynes... :o) A quick and dirty port (that looks like considerably more work than is advertised!). So it retains the standard valve sizes - so not as rorty as Tim's K13A kit.

I've also retained the standard 135 cams (9.5mm lift, 252degrees duration).

And the result?

Well, I went up to Tech-speed this morning (thanks for the lift Dave!) with a mixture of excitment and trepidation. Excitment because my F was finally ready following all the work - and of course my expectations were high. And trepidation because I didn't want to be disappointed. Plus, I have driven F's with head work and cams that have felt very flat and disappointing until they come on cam. I didn't want that... part of the reason why I specified the head the way that I did.

And I haven't come away disappointed. Low and mid-range torque doesn't seem any worse than before "the op" and power is developed progressively all the way up to about 4000, where after the torque curve feels as though it gets something of a boost, and the engine continues, unabated to the red line. Power was definitely STILL increasing at the red line! On a standard 1.8i head, it's game over by 5000-5500rpm, so to be able to rev cleanly all the way up to an indicated 7000rpm was something else... (sorry Roy, Gavin, I couldn't resist!)

The other thing I noticed, was that I was always in a gear higher than I thought I was from the acceleration and the way the car felt... A very positive sign!

Will be very interesting to see what the power/torque curves look like - so will be heading over Emerald soon.

If anyone wants to join us (Dave's headed over too), please do let me know! :o)

Vroom vroom! I'm a very happy bunny! :o)
Rob Bell

Good to hear we are all up and running again Rob! :o)

I will be more than happy to give your F a good test run on the 16th!!,.... just to confirm your initial findings of course.

Just make sure you have a few more shiny bits fitted before then!....... I do have certain standards you understand!!.

:o)
Mark.L

Glad it all worked out. Silver linings and all that. Now the only problem is coming up with enough excuses to keep taking it for runs, :-)

Note to self - must get cams sorted.

Steve Ratledge


Great news Rob,

Will be VERY interested to see dyno output!

I'd be fascinated to know exactly what a "quick and dirty" port entails.. after all, if I'm going to go down the TF135 head route - as now seems likely, it looks like it would be an opportunity wasted ;-)


mike

mike

Steve, I was attempting to resist the temptation all last night to go out for drives - blatting through traffic is what this car seems to really thrive on... :o)

Mike, probably best to get the whole story from Dave himself, but I'll try and describe what has been done.

If you look at Dave's website, you'll find that Dave has various kits and options that he offers. You'll need to scroll down to the price list to find the Q&D port. Relative to the work involved in getting 240bhp out of a 1.8, what we're talking about is relatively quick - but I am amazed how much is done.

Whereas the more comprehensive kits go for larger port sizes and larger valves, the quick and dirty and full port (with standard valves) go for a more conservative approach. Essentially the port sizes are more or less retained, but a lot of work goes into the birfurcation of the ports for the twined inlet and exhaust cams, and more work to the inner radius of the turn into the valve seat. Dave also gives some attention to the valve seat itself - improving on the simple seat profile that is there as standard. I suspect that the full port takes the detailing a quantum further with regard to port shape and valve seat profile. Plus re-working of the valve guide (particular to the area around the boss surrounding the guide in the port).

I have some pictures of DVA ported heads - but not of my head sadly, but given the limitation of photography, it shows everything it is ever going to.

Worth doing? A Q&D is 300 quid. A full port is 450 IIRC. If you already have a TF135 head and cams, then you are looking at cheap performance.

When are you thinking of going down this route Mike? As I say, an Emerald run is planned for the not too far distant future...
Rob Bell

That's good news Rob.
Welcome to 'the club of modified heads' ;o)

We are not that far away from the situation where everyone sees a HGF as a blessing ;o)
Erik


Rob,

Plan to find out this weekend whether it's a head off job or not.. and it all hangs on that really.

I'm going to fetch the car this afternoon - i decided it was prudent to leave the car where it was rather than drive it back!

mike

You're right Erik! LOL

Okay Mike - sounds like a sensible approach. However, note that DVA has a huge work load on at the moment, so it'll probably pay to talk to him sooner rather than later...
Rob Bell

Rob, glad the car is back on the road. The real results will be on the track where you can compare your old lap times to the new!.
Andrew Regens

Too right Andew! Mind you, since I'll be changing class, I may be tempted to change the tyres too to a 1B type. Maybe Toyo R888 or perhaps the Pirelli P Zero C... Which of course, will have a major impact on times! :o)
Rob Bell

Sounds like a terrific job!
This is how we like it!
TF135 head and a Q&D sounds excellent
I have to say that Dave did a Q&D on a Lancia head I had a while back, JEEZ did it make a difference!
This is the real DARKSIDE!

Toyo R888s next?
With these this car will be uncatchable!
just make sure all the suspension, shocks, bearings, brakes etc are up to it!

If you need an excuse for a trip you could always come over to my place for a chat.




Neil

This thread was discussed between 18/08/2005 and 19/08/2005

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