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MG MGF Technical - Steering?

A quickie I got a Rover25 as a hire car while work is being done.... The steering seems a lot more responsive on this car than on the MGF.... The MGF feels a little bit light - with a little bit of give when turning the wheel.... is this normal? I presume its due to being a FW drive rather than RW?
Wayne

Try unplugging the EPAS on the F and see what you think. I think that it's very light on the F. Some times I sort of like that, some times I don't.
David Bainbridge

What you need is the newly developed EPAS bypass switch...
I have it switched off almost all the time unless i feel like a girly woss when parking- I think I'm the only one with this mod so far, parts were less than £10, with the most expensive item being YUG101720 which is the air recirculation switch from the aircon. see Rob Bells site for more info and some nice pickies.

Will
Will Munns

pity u couldnt turn it up or down or was sensetive to the speed u were going like in some cars :)
Wayne

Oh it is sensitive to speed, but I think a little too sensitive at low speed, by about 25mph it's not actually doing much if anything.

Will
Will Munns

Disconnecting the EPAS is certainly a good way of increasing steering weight and feed back - the EPAS seems quite effective in masking road conditions and grip levels. Will's instructions on how to install an EPAS bypass circuit are included on my site (check DIY section in http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com)

But interestingly, there is a (rather more expensive) alternative solution. I think that everyone who has driven a TF has commented that the steering is much improved in this car over the MGF. There are two potential explanations for this difference: a modified recalibrated power assistance system and a new, faster steering rack.

The former part is going to be very difficult to retro fit to an MGF when economics are taken into account. The latter is a simple replacement part, albeit one with a 10% faster ratio. So I asked Techspeed to install a TF rack into a '96 MGF so we could see if there was a difference... :o)

There is! The steering feel is much better with the new rack. Yes, the steering is that little bit faster, but after a while driving the car, you notice how much more stable at speed the car now feels, the more meaty steering 'feel,' the better feed back (which is associated with less 'kick back'), the reduced nervousness and 'slop' around the straight ahead.

Not sure what costs are going to be like for customer work - and TF parts are still very hard to locate thanks to the current Caterpillar fiasco - but I think that it'll be roughly equivalent to having an ITG Maxogen air filter kit fitted. In my book, this mod is very worth while and splendid value for money :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

Did you have the MGF EPAS on at this point, or was it off during the test, i.e. are the old epas and new rack good together, or were you just using the new rack with no EPAS?

TIA,

Leigh
Leigh

Leigh, the astonishing thing (to me at least) was that the new rack works perfectly well with the original version of the EPAS hardware - which as you know has been through at least 2 significant upgrades since its release in 1995.

Which reminds me - I must try the new rack with the EPAS switched off...
Rob Bell

Question for Rob,

The car with the EPAS cut off switch on your website...Is this a Mk1 of a 2000MY F?? and so is the part number given for the switch correct for both or only one? One other thing, it says to use a 10A relay, I take it this is at 12V?

Cheers,
Nigel
Nigel Kidd

Hi Nigel,

The car pictured is Will's car, and is a Mk1. As a result, the switch part number indicated is for a Mk1 switch panel, and therefore not for the MY2000 Mk2 model.

Hmm, thanks for pointing this out - I must put a note on the page stating this. If anyone can tell me what the relevant MY2000 part number is I'd be most grateful :o)

Regarding the relay, yes, 10 amp, 12 Volt. Anything from the Maplin's or RS catalogue will do.
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 30/04/2002 and 07/05/2002

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archive. The Live MG MGF Technical BBS is active now.