MG-Cars.net

Welcome to our resource for MG Car Information.

Recommendations

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGF Technical - X-Power Springs

After a couple of months of thinking about replacing the original springs with the X-Power (Eibach) springs I have finally taken the plunge. This morning I drove to Tech-speed and the guys did what had to be done. My goodness, what a difference - all the others who have undergone the procedure will be muttering "told you so!". It is a different car and even more enjoyable to drive. The car doesn't pitch anymore and the ride is a lot smoother - as I said to Roy - "it feel's properly damped" - he smiled!

A main concern was speed humps and so far all is OK - no groundings yet!

Thanks to Roy and the guys at Tech-speed (I also had a rather nice lunch at the nearby pub!)
David Grant

Nice one David :o)
Rob Bell

Took the plunge as well....Both the X Power springs and the induction kit were received at my dealer in France this very morning... So I expect everything to be fitted by this saturday. Can't wait and will drop you a line once I get a chance to sit behind the steering wheel of my XPowered TF! Anxious though to see how the ITG compares to my pipercross....

To mention as well, I was in touch with a MG Sports & racing gentleman named Johnatan and he's been extremely helpful.

By the way - my dealer reckons thar by MGR standards it will take a solid 5 hours to fit the springs (1.30 for each rear wheel and 1h for each front wheel). Does this make any sense to you?

thanks in advance
Stéphane

Stephane, My dealer quoted 2.2hours all in.

Steve
Steve

Thanks Steve,

What does this say about my dealer....
Stéphane

Hi David
Well done and thanks for the posting. Good to meet with you on the SEFs.

I might have to break my rule and traverse over to the darkside too.
David
david stonehouse

Any specific advices drawn from springs fitting experience I would need to give to my dealer on Friday? MGR Sports & racing says the kit can be fitted as it comes.
Stéphane

As the kit lowers the car slightly, it would be best advised to get the tracking reset following the work (use standard-spec toe-angles) Stephane.
Rob Bell

Rob,

thanks - I presume the dealer will undertake the tracking reset. Would you have the standard spec toe-angles?
Stephane

0 degree front (ie parallel), 0 degrees 15 minutes toe IN (per wheel) rear Stephane.

Data summarised here: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group1/facts_and_figures/tracking_data.htm

HTH
Rob Bell

MGR quote 2.2 hours book time to fit the springs. Then tracking afterward. Techspeed did the whole thing in a couple of hours, gave us a lift to and from Warwick, a cup of coffee and a good look round the MGF cup TFs and touring cars. Oh and it was considerably cheaper than MG quoted. So a great job, an improved car and a good day out. :)

And yes David Grant - I have to say I did fall into the "I told you so" trap. :)
David Mills

>>I might have to break my rule and traverse over to the darkside too.<<

David, let me know if you decide to get them done, and if your going to Techspeed for the work as I live just up the road from them so we could meet up.
PS. Go for it, you'lll need them to keep up with me on next years Treffen.....;)
Steve White

Cheers steve.
I am already looking forward to next year's Treffen.

Still awaiting pics from this year though - any chance of a CD rom.
David
David Stonehouse

David Hi,
believe we had a chat ref the springs at the recent SEF trail (just don't reveal my score!!). I went and Got them fitted at Tech-speed as planned, my new GPS faithfully getting me to the door. Haven't posted here yet as I'm still waiting to use them for a little more than commuting.

But... already the difference is worth the money. My one fear was that they would make the car too soft but the stiff sports car feel is still there. The difference is that the car feels more settled instead of bouncy and skittish. There are several corners near here that, even at 30mph, felt a little treacherous, the car would feel as though it was jumping and unstable on the poor surface. Now it feels more glued to the road than ever before. I recommend anyone who is considering them to take the plunge. Equally I would whole-heartedly recommend you get Tech-speed to fit them - I travelled from Portsmouth to do so. (You might be able to collect my originals which I also left behind in my haste to try the new ones!)
Insurance with the mods seem to differ; a few charging approx £120 for them, some refusing insurance at all. I tried MGR who I thought didn't charge for XPower upgrades but sales-woman had no idea what I was on about (described TF to me as 5-seater!!). Eventually I found one who was offering me a lower price than last year, mods included - they won.

I promise, if you get them you won't regret it.

regards
Pip

Note: Promise not guaranteed if day of reading post has a "y" in it.
Pip

So yep, that's it car fitted with Xpower springs & induction kit... Drove back from my dealer on sat morning (30 miles) and what a drive!!!!
Springs first - I can ony confirmed what everybody said here. The TF160 take no prisoners ride suddenly becomes more progressive (but make no mistake this is still very firm) and the handling has dramatically improved (this is not yet an Elise but having driven a markI it feels close in terms of being glued to the track). From a pure cosmetic perspective (as if it mattered...well, yes it does actually!) what a beautiful stance. This car lowered down perfectly looks just like it should have looked from day one when it came out of the production line.
Induction kit - Replaced the Viper pipercross with the X Power ITG. To be perfectly honest I do miss the Pipercross sound. The ITG is nowhere near... The ITG roars more but does not offer the unique Pipercross burbling sound (unfortunately). When it comes down to performance though and bearing in mind the difference in price tag you would expect the ITG to perform better. Somehow - even though this is hard to substantiate over than through a rolling road session- well to me it does. It is not dramatically better but it feels like the ITG process enable more breathing in / air sucking...which is what it's all about.

So all in all, a worthwhile investment...down to every penny. The car is now a different car. It's a simple as that. Looking forward to get on the road again. And if anything it reinforced this conviction I had that here is no way this TF and I will go our separate ways.

X Power... Go for it, you will just now regret it!



Stéphane

Great result Stephane! Glad that you're delighted with the upgrades :o)
Rob Bell

Thanks to everybody on the BBS for all the advices!
Stéphane

Some additional comments further to more driving with the kit. The feeling I now have is that the ITG seems to work accross the whole rev range and gives immediate throttle response at any point in time whilst the Pipercross really kicked in at the top of the rev range.
I
Stéphane

Thank the supply of cold air Stephane. The ITG 'box seems to do the job extremely well.

What else do you have planned for your MG? X Power exhaust? The whole 172 kit? (You already have the induction kit fitted, so should be cheaper for you to do now)
Rob Bell

Rob - what do we get on top to reach 172bhp? are these costly mods? Which mods would you undertake next? I like the exhaust. It does look great and seems to sound fantastic but for some reason I have never been convinced by the penny/bhp ratio on any exhaust.. Maybe now is the time....
Stéphane

The 172 kit comprises of the ITG that you've got, a 4-2-1 exhaust manifold and the exhaust back box. You're right that the cost/bhp ratio is not as favourable as the airfilter modifications, but it is cheaper than getting the cylinder head ported :o)

not sure on costs, probably something like 800 quid?

But if I were in your shoes, then these would be my next set of modifications. After that, I'd be looking at changing the exhaust cam and have the cylinder head flowed (although the 160 head on your car is already pretty good). Perfectly possible to get to 180 bhp with the engine you have - and even comfortably beyond if you replace the VVC mechanism. It all depends on your budget. The good thing about the 172 kit is that it is warranty friendly - as like the springs etc, they're official X-Power parts :o)
Rob Bell

Rob,

perhaps you had better talk to Stev again and see if he ever got those 172 horses. AFAIK he is still not happy with the upgrade meeting it's claim.
David Mills

David, you're right; he's getting intermittent illumination of the MIL suggesting some problem with one of the Lambda sensors. If the Lambda readings are off, the MEMS retards the ignition and locks out the cam phasing on the VVC - and looking at the power curves we got at G-Force, this seems to be a good explanation of what we saw.

Unfortuntely, his dealer still hasn't found an adequate solution... :o(
Rob Bell

In addition to what Rob said, the 172 kit also includes a sports cat. Its also worth noting that in the latest X-Power catalogue the 172 kit is no longer listed ?????

>>Unfortuntely, his dealer still hasn't found an adequate solution

Main reason for that is the car still hasn't made it back to the dealer yet ;)
What with holidays working away from home and the odd trackday, I've just not had the time.
Don't think the problem is quite as simple as you say Rob as the car still drives like a VVC (and not a non-VVC) as I would expect if that was the case, plus it still has the 160 horses, just not the 172 it should have ?confused?

Hopefully will get time to get it too the dealer/X-Power in the next few weeks, will keep you updated.
Steve White

Steve - you could be right there - afterall, this may have been an isolated problem, or a problem that only manefests on a rolling road (heat etc being a killer - especially if the intake temperature soars)
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 12/10/2004 and 25/10/2004

MG MGF Technical index

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