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MG MGF Technical - Lowered and Loving it, well mostly...

I've just had the Mike Satur Lowering Knuckles fitted - the car is now set at 335mm - looks lovely - handles like a dream!! Also had new front tyres & tracking sorted out (had suffered front inside tyre wear), so this may partly explain the better handling, but I'd strongly recommend them.

Only problem is getting in and out of the garage. My garage has a gentle ramp up to it and there is a catch for the up and over door in the middle. When I first took the car back after lowering, there was a nasty scraping sound from underneath. I tried to get out of the garage again, but to my horror found that I was stuck!!! Eventually got out by means of driving over planks of wood, and streering way over to the left.

I checked out the underside and I have made a major impact into what looks like some kind of protection plate right in the middle of the car. No problem with the exhaust, K&N cold air pipes etc, just this plate.

My question is what is this plate? Is it going to matter that it is dented, or is it there to protect something else which I should get checked out?

Car drives fantastic!! It's like having a new machine, so there can't be any structural problem, but I would like my mind set at rest.

Thanks,

Roland
Roland

Roland

Like you I have a ramp into the garage and I have been hitting this plate for the last 4 years plus. So far no problems, I think it is a reinforcment plate added to give a bit more stiffness to the body.

Ted
Ted Newman

My car had been lowered in Japan - unknown to me - looked like a tom cat. Turned out to have been lowered in the front by 20mm problem could not get in and out of any public car park. - embarrassing to say the least when you have to ask your wife to get out of the csr so you can get it unstuck
david

I think (I'm not sure, impossible to prove) my manifold broke apart due to exactly same situation. Frontpipe got a knock of a catch, then this caused a haircrack in the welding of the manifold, taking only a few hours before the manifold welding started to drip away (heat gets into crack) and kaboom, manifold dead, head gasket dead (not sure if these were interrelated, but happened at almost same time (about 15h diff)!

Better check your frontpipe status from time to time!!
Dirk

Dirk

Which front pipe are you referring too!

The problems encountered here are the car being low so hitting humps, the centre of the car, where this plate is, regularly catches on my drive hump but it is never going to be able to effect the engine as the pipes are isolated from the engine via rubber pipes that have more than enough give in them to soak up any movement.

Ted
Ted Newman

I think that Dirk is talking about the exhaust down pipe. It travels a somewhat circuitious path under the sump of the engine to the flexi-joint. It is in a very vulnerable position- as indeed is the catalytic converter. Interesting theory Dirk.

But like Ted and Roland, the most common area of my car that is scraped is that cross bar. I doubt that a few dents are likely to cause any lasting harm.

Rob
Rob Bell

Try reversing into your garage - simple...but it works for me !
Steve

Steve

I do!

Ted
Ted Newman

Rob,

not only theory. IMO.
- A chap here (Ralf) also got the manifold broken... OK a HGF happend to his MGF before that manifold got broken.

But how about Scarlet Fever. He replaced the flexipipe last year by a MS stainless steel one, cause the net around the flexi area got totally worn from his often hits on bumps. Did he also have manifold problems ?

Another one relates to that new bracket between engine and manifold. I can't still beleave the arguments of MG according to prevention from noises of the exaust system.

Just some thoughts

Regards
Dieter

Dieter

>>But how about Scarlet Fever. He replaced the flexipipe last year by a MS stainless steel one, cause the net around the flexi area got totally worn from his often hits on bumps. Did he also have manifold problems ?<<

Dieter, I don't think that he has- otherwise I am sure he'd have mentioned it.

If the manifold were to go, then I'd be tempted to fit a QED 4 into 2 into 1 extractor manifold. Well, any old excuse will do! ;o)

Rob
Rob Bell

I had the Satur flexi-pipe aswell. Did last about 1/5 of the OEM Rover pipe (75k miles vs 15k miles). Rover pipe died due to flexi ripped apart. Satur one die due to invisible internal crack. Pipe looked still as new, no single impact signs on pipe, but still internally it was broken, making a horrible noise.
Reason? No-one knows, but I had to pay a new one, since it wasn't a Rover std one!
>:(

So I guess I'll keep using the OEM Rover ones instead... Satur's ones are nice, but I can't really confirm they last a long time :-/
Dirk

This thread was discussed between 11/08/2000 and 18/08/2000

MG MGF Technical index

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