MGF 15 inch tyres

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GJO
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MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by GJO » Fri Mar 24, 2017 4:51 pm

Several manufacturers including Avon appear to have ceased production of MGF 15 inch tyre sizes in full sets. This is disappointing because I have had Avon ZV5s fitted to one of our cars for the several years and they have performed really well and also wear very well.
The current choice includes the following:

Tyres (front)
Continental PremiumContact 2 185/55 R15 86V XL £69.60 (Made in Germany and other European countries)
Falken Ziex ZE914 185/55 R15 86V XL with rim protection (MFS) £50.90 (Made in Thailand)
Semperit SPEED-LIFE 185/55 R15 82V £58.00 (Made in Romania)
Vredestein SPORTRAC 5 185/55 R15 82V £55.00 (Made in Holland)
Toyo PROXES T1-R 185/55 R15 82V with rim protection ridge (FSL) £43.60

Tyres (rear):
Continental PremiumContact 2 205/50 R15 86V £77.70 (Made in Germany and other European countries)
Falken Ziex ZE914 205/50 R15 86V with rim protection (MFS) £57.10 (Made in Thailand)
Semperit SPEED-LIFE 205/50 R15 86V £71.90 (Made in Romania)
Vredestein SPORTRAC 5 205/50 R15 86V £69.20 (Made in Holland)
Toyo PROXES T1-R 205/50 R15 89V RF with rim protection ridge (FSL) £48.60

The prices are from a well known on-line retailer.
I know that many seem happy with the Toyo PROXES and we have the Falkens fitted to one of our cars - they drive very well but wear quickly.
I do not know how the other brands perform.
Graham
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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Andrew Regens » Fri Mar 24, 2017 8:25 pm

My choice
1st Toyo by a mile
2nd Falken
Piper 4-2-1 Manifold, Daytona Back Box, Stage two Remap, Bilstein Shocks, thicker anti roll bars, PG 1 gearbox Caged bearing with type B Ltd Slip Diff. Large rear brake Kit, Toyo R888R Track/road tyres. Half Roll Cage, 4Point Harness.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by talkingcars » Sat Mar 25, 2017 8:43 am

I've been using Toyos for over a decade and see no reason to change.
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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Reckless Rat » Sat Mar 25, 2017 3:06 pm

I agree. Toyos are great. Falkens on my Merc give good mileage.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Mon Mar 27, 2017 2:36 am

I believe Yokahama Advan's are available in both sizes,
however these have been described to me as 'street legal race tyres'
so I guess the wear rate is pretty high.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by GJO » Wed Mar 29, 2017 5:22 pm

I have found the wear rate is quite high on the Falkens that we have on one of our cars. The old Avon ZV5s have given excellent service and seem to provide excellent road-holding on the pot-holed country lanes that we have to use. ATS may still have some of the old 205 50 R15 Avons still in stock.
Avon was a British manufacturer although their ZV5s were made in China.
Graham
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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Kasper » Sat Apr 01, 2017 1:34 pm

RobboMC wrote:I believe Yokahama Advan's are available in both sizes,
however these have been described to me as 'street legal race tyres'
so I guess the wear rate is pretty high.
Yokohama S-drive would be the most logical option if you want to go for original sizes on a 15" rim. Not the cheapest option but I prefer them on my MGF. Don't care about the mileage, never checked, as it is a Fun car rather than an every day car as the TF is.
Reliable, doing quite well in rain, good handling, better in regards to many if you consider driving as being the goal.

In a few weeks I'll replace these tyres by a new set, don't bother to swap brands.
MGFvvc - 90FVBG - charcoal - you might think it is original - (1996 nr:8204)
MGTF 120 - 57RNJ7 - BRG - every day is an MG day - (2005)
MGC CGT - SJ08DY - tartan red - 1985 restauration fairly original - (1968 nr: 4137)


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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Rob Bell » Mon Apr 10, 2017 12:55 pm

Falken Ziex ZE914 are what MG Motor recommend for the TF, and will work well on the MGF too.

Not tried them myself, so can't comment further.

I confess that tyre longevity is not a priority for me for a few reasons: I live in London, my commute is by foot/underground and my annual mileage is racked up among a variety of cars (costly but fun!); my priority is towards high performance than cost - by which I mean dry and wet grip and braking performance over durability.

I use Federal RSR's on my track-biased Project Shed MGF - and have been really pleasantly surprised as to how good they are - to the extent I might get them for my now more road-orientated MGF! I am on 16" rims, and using non-standard tyre sizes holds no real fear (and declared to insurance). :)

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Mike H » Mon Apr 10, 2017 2:34 pm

I eventually replaced my last GSD2's with Falkens about a year ago. With about 3000 miles since put on the car, including a couple of track days, they currently show no visible sign of wear.

I haven't tried Toyo's since the days I had my F, but I hated them because of the poor track day wear and performance. In my book I would rate the Falkens above the Toyos for longevity in my use of the car.
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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Rob Bell » Mon Apr 10, 2017 3:10 pm

Not a massive fan of the Toyo T1Rs either, but the tread lasts for ever. Which is annoying ;)

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Tue Jun 06, 2017 4:08 am

My front tyres are showing me that I will be buying tyres soonish, and I'd like to go back to the 'proper' sizes front and rear so that means Falken or Toyo.

BUT the powers that be in Toyo Australia do not import T1R's in the 185/55-15 size. They do however import the 195/50-15 size
which is currently on all 4 corners of my car ( not Toyos, some other brand )

I could get 185/55-15's from a European source and pay the freight, probably ends up about the same price anyway, but pretty easy
in this electronic age, or I could get 195/50 on the front and 205/50 on the rear.

So is it worth the effort to import 2 front tyres to get ( I assume ) slightly less grip?
I can get the 205's for the rear here without problem.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by Charless » Tue Jun 06, 2017 1:33 pm

Have you looked for 195x45x15? I think I had T1Rs in that (more common) size once when 185x55x15 were not immediately available - they were also slightly cheaper.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by BodgeItAndScarper » Tue Jun 06, 2017 2:03 pm

Can you get the Contis listed above? The internet didn't have a good word to say about them on the MGF, but all the reviews seem quite old. I didn't have much choice so I had to get them, and I can't say I find there's anything wrong with them at all unless it's that they're a bit too grippy - cornering speeds are license-losing high - so maybe they've changed the recipe.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Fri Jun 09, 2017 3:28 am

Charless wrote:Have you looked for 195x45x15? I think I had T1Rs in that (more common) size once when 185x55x15 were not immediately available - they were also slightly cheaper.
Not out here, Toyo Aust only list 195x45x16. I guess nothing with them as OEM was sold here.

The Continentals are quite expensive over here, however they don't bring in the 205/50's for the rear, so it's the same problem in reverse,
only one size is available. Falken 914's are the same. fronts but not rears. :evil: :twisted:

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Wed Jun 14, 2017 4:02 am

I have some decent but unhelpful communications with Toyo Aust.

It seems the entire tyre industry here views a 55 profile tyre as a standard every day tyre for mums' Mazda 2,
whilst they view a 50 profile tyre as a motor sport tyre. They have drawn a line and never the two shall meet.

There are plenty of different brands in both sizes, but
no brand is available in the same tread pattern except the Yokohama Advan race tyre.

I could get 195x50 for the front, my calcs show I would lose 4-1/2 mm of ground clearance,
or run 205/50 all round, or be pig-headed about it and start importing.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by la_guillotine » Wed Jun 28, 2017 12:57 pm

Hi all I'm looking at tyres for the 15" too so am facing the same choice

But I was wondering whether to go 195x50 all round so I can rotate the tyres or stick with the 185/55 & 205/50 set up?

My logic was all four wheels are the same width so why not run the same tyres all round and adjust the pressures front to rear if needed. My Jag has wider wheels on the rear so then it makes sense to have different width
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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Mon Jul 03, 2017 3:43 am

Look around at things like Lotus and Ferrari.

Mid-engined cars work better with more rubber on the rear the the front.
If you are going to drive at anything more than shopping trolley speed then IMHO stick with the makers tyre sizes.

I know many are running 195/50 all round but since it's easy to get the right size in England. In the end it's up to you.

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by bobvvc » Mon Jul 03, 2017 2:20 pm

This is probably no help to you Robbo but I have just had a set of Falkens of the correct size fitted and it has transformed it I hope you can get a set down under

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by RobboMC » Mon Jul 10, 2017 3:30 am

Thanks Bob that is a great help, it increases my motivation to get the right size from the UK.

Since the Aussie tyre companies rip us off so much and I don't pay GST ( our equivalent of VAT ) as a private importer it isn't that much more costly to get them flown out. I know others have done it.

But I'm guessing new tyres of any size would change the car anyway, who is ever going to be able to compare new 185's with new 195's without having two identical cars in the garage?

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Re: MGF 15 inch tyres

Post by hilly » Fri Jul 14, 2017 11:34 pm

Hi All,

As part of my.... 'Get Her Back On The Road After 2 Years' project, I've gone for the Toyo's..... Would have obviously loved to have had GSD2's but that ship sailed years ago.

If you've a Protye depot near you (part of the Micheldever Tyre Group), they'll give you a good price too....... Ok, I'm a bit bias as they've been a long standing customer of mine ;-)

But talking to a lot of their guys and other's in the market, they all seem to go to the Toyo's as soon as you say the letters....... M, G, & F!
Why do I always get out of my 'F' with a smile on my face ! ;-)

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