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MG MGF Technical - MGF as a Track Day Car

I have a 1998 MGF 1.8i which I have owned from new and used as my daily commute. The car has covered 205,000 miles

Due to a change in family circumstances I have now got a Passat Estate and plan to use the MGF for track day events. I would appreciate Members views on modifications I could do to improve performance given that the car is completely standard. Some of the things I thought of are:

- Lower the ride height
- Track day tyres
- K&N Induction kit
- Sports Exhaust

Your thoughts would be appreciated.

Andrew
A W Sloan

Hi Andrew,

A lot of us already take our MGFs out on track - and actually, taking out a completely standard car is no bad thing, as the car as it is is capable of taking the punishment, so long as all the fluid levels are checked, and the brakes are serviceable.

Regarding modifications, the single greatest change you can institute are the tyres. I wouldn't necessarily rush out and buy track biased tyres straightaway - you'll have a lot of fun exploiting good performance tyres, such as the highly rated Toyo T-1R (available for both 15 and 16" fitments).

There's plenty you can do to the suspension. If your car is otherwise standard, I wouldn't lower to less that 358mm at the front, as the spring rates become soft and you run out of suspension travel. In other words, the handling gets worse! The best approach is to fit lowering knuckles, which will allow lower suspension heights without compromising handling. Thereafter, you can consider alternative dampers. I use Bilsteins from Tech-speed motorsport, which are superb. Others use adjustable dampers from the likes of Spax and Avo.
Then there are the suspension bushes. At over 200,000 miles, your car's suspension will be well past its first flush of use, so replacement would be a good idea. Consider polyurethane replacements - particularly for the rear tie-bar to dial-out the passive rear-steer.

On performance modifications, well the sky's the limit, but a replacement air filter and an exhaust system is a reason place to start, and your car will sound more like the sports car it really wants to be.

More on suspension, performance modifications etc here: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/

Hope this helps!
Rob Bell

Hi Andrew

If you want to go out on track in the company of other MGs then you should take a look here www.mgs-on-track.com

Regards

Steve
S HILL

Hi Andrew,
No ones mentioned brakes yet, I found the 280mm brake kits for the front the best budget option as they fit all 16 inch wheels and are quite easy to fit, mike satur's kit is probably the best buy as its cheapest but doesnt come with pads. Im not impressed with the feel the greenstuff pads i bought give, and wished id listened to advice and spent a bit more and gone with mild mintex pads. As for other mods ive just fitted a janspeed exhaust and sports cat, (52mm TB and ITG maxogen were done last year)and im not sure there's any difference in performance, just a louder noise!
The manifold turns up tomorrow, hopefully that will make a difference, i'll let you know.
john
John Reed

I started with a 52mm TB, K&N fiter, Miltek SS Exhaust, green stuff pads, lowering knuckles and Toyo T1R tyres. This was enough for the first few years whilst I gained a bit of confidence and experiance. Since then I fitted a half roll cage, four point harness bought track day tyres, adjustable shocks then I had the 4pot callipers, bigger rotors plus 16" Trophy alloys and just last week I had a 160HP Trophy cylinder head which has been ported and gass flowed plus a fast road cam, cleaned up exhaust manifold and a FPR to help suply the correct amount of fuel. I have only used the car since then on a very cold and damp hillclimb but cant wait to use it in a super sprint. For the moment thats it. All this has been done over six years and my F has travelled some 162000Km. You don't need to spend as much as I have done as lots of our members have just as much fun as I do but with a fatter wallet but I can or should be able to compete against TF160's. The first thing is decent tyres then go from there...........
Andrew Regens

Hi Guys

Thanks for all your comments: there is certainly plenty of food for thought.

Andrew
A W Sloan


Hi Andrew

If your interested in taking your car out on track with fellow mg enthusiasts here's a very useful link.

http://www.mgs-on-track.com/aboutus

We run approx 10 days per year which are all sessioned days which give you 20mins on track per hour,That's 7 sessions (over 2 hours track time) in the summer months.

We get a wide range of MG's but MGA,MGB. MGC, BGT's, MGF's and TF's make up the majority.

There are 3 sessions per hour broken down into experience levels giving first timers, Novices etc the confidence to get out on track and enjoy driving there MG to the full.

Your most welcome to come along to any day just to see what it's all about..The circuit entry is always free of charge.

Hope to see you out on track soon

Stu
MGOT

stu5

Hi Andrew,
Another quick cheap up grade that I'm considering is fitting TF anti roll bars and the longer droplinks to my F.
If Im right, then there 1mm thicker, ie. abit stiffer, and may keep the car flatter when cornering.
I've not read of anyone doing this yet, so it might not be A, possable, or B, worth the hassle!
But I'm having a look to see whats involved.
If anyones already done this or something simular then please let me know!
Thanks
John
John Reed

I forgot to mention, the best modification is to yourself.
Ive lost weight, (25kg) and the car feels very quick with less of me to lug around!
(And it was a lot easier and less emotional than fitting that bloody manifold)
Im also trying to find a company which offer driver training courses, as ive never been on a track other than the M4.
Let us know how you're doing.
John
John Reed

Perhaps Stu didn't want to appear judgmental of people's abilities, by not mentioning that every MGoT day has ARDS instructors available for hire, which I'd highly recommend. The usual format is for them to do a couple of laps in your car to show you the correct line & braking points, and then you take the controls and try not to make them squirm... ;o)

Body roll can generally be controlled with damper modifications - the standard F dampers are designed to control rebound as opposed to bump, whereas most aftermarket dampers work on both strokes. As Stu suggests, it would be well worth going along to an MGoT day, as you'll find cars there with a wide range of modifications and a friendly bunch of people very willing to give passenger rides so you can see for yourself what the mods are doing - you won't find a better 'Try Before You Buy' scenario ;o)
bandit

>> Another quick cheap up grade that I'm considering is fitting TF anti roll bars and the longer droplinks to my F. <<

I bought a pair of TF ARBs to investigate this about 4 years ago (is there nothing new under the sun? LOL). You're absolutely right, they are about a 1mm thicker in diameter front and rear. The front ARB is a straight swap so long as you use the drop links and the mounting rubber from the donor TF. The rear is not so simple: the TF ARB is a different shape (longer arms to the drop links) which would make fitting it to the MGF a fiddle. And once in the car, may have somewhat unpredictable impact upon roll resistance.

Front and rear ARB rates need to be considered when thinking about the balance of the car. A complicated subject that a chassis engineer is better placed to explain than me (who's only read a book or two on the subject), but simplistically, fitting a stiffer ARB at one end will increase the development of slip angle of the tyres on that axle - so stiff front end will result in more understeer; a stiff rear end will result in oversteer. Get the balance right, and you'll get neutrality. But getting this balance right using TF parts (designed for a different suspension system remember) will involve a fair amount of luck...

Well, put it this way, I haven't taken the plunge yet... But am still considering options for Project Shed.
Rob Bell

I was browsing free stuff boards a few days ago and found a
website offering antiflu facemasks:

http://antifluzone.com/Free-anti-flu-N95-Facemask.html

What's their reason to do it? Is it a scam or what?
vickedrobert

I think that this forum as developed its own kind of virus... :o(
Rob Bell

Hi Rob, that last ones odd?
Anyway, back on topic.
Yes i know that im raking over old coals, I thought it was odd no one had done this before, should have realised it wasnt that easy!
Years ago, on my old capri the trick then was to fit the stiffer 2.8 litre front roll bar and leave the back soft!
But then no one ever accused the capri of having balance!
i think eilbach(?) make diferent shapes of drop link, they may also have spherical/rose joints though, which might make them to stiff?
Anyway, i'll pick up a second hand rear ARB and see how i get on (again, i doubt its worth it or techspeed or VHS would have done this as a kit years ago!)
And, just to prove it a fab set up from standard, a work collegue wrote his modern 206 hatchback thingie on a roundabout the other night, Ive been trying to recreate this with 10 year old bushes and dampers, Ive fitted the compliance washers, but havent got the rear tracking checked yet,in the rain and the car is brilliant! just a mild understeer on exit, no problem at all, and im a crap driver with little experiance, other than mk11 escorts and capris as a teenager.
Anyway, thanks all for putting up with my ramblings,
Ironning to do
John :-)
John Reed

John, take a look at the pictures here: http://mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/suspension/chassis_and_handling/TF_suspension.htm

It shows a comparison between the MGF and TF rear suspension systems - and also the significant difference between the drop links on the two cars given the difference in design of the rear ARB.

To fit a TF ARB I suspect that we'd need a custom drop link, but it is possible that an off the shelf option might be available (from a different car?)

I still have a pair of TF ARBs in the garage, so might be tempted to offer it up to the Project Shed and see what's possible...
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 12/05/2009 and 16/06/2009

MG MGF Technical index

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