MG TF Track tires And Chinese MG TF

[Indystar]

HI,

This is my first post on the board, i'm seeking some info on tires. I see there is alot of discussion around tires and the possible consequences of choosing the wrong tire. However most of these threads refer to road going tires. But a couple of questions:

1) Michelin Pilot Sports 3/4 any good on the tf? I don't think i will be able to get a hold of the Goodyears DS2 in China, in fact being that the roads suck here sometimes you can only find ASIAN versions of tires that are specifically made to be quieter and more comfortable (squishy) to appease the appalling roads.

2) I wanted to know if anyone has any experience using a dedicated track tire? if so what should i be looking at?

And some background cos it may be important. Im originally from the UK, but i live in china. since china has a sever lack of rwd manual cars that are a reasonable price to choose from the mg tf is probably the cheapest. It would cost around 6K gbp to buy one here secondhand. It would be the chinese version, so i believe the uprated n-series from SAIC with the HG problem resolved. is there any other info i need to know that applies specifically to the Chinese produced MG TF 2007/8 onwards.

Thanks
Will

[talkingcars]

Hi and welcome to the forum.

Sorry, I have no idea about tyres.

James

[Mike H]

FWIW - my 2010 plate TF is primarily my weekend toy, but does get 'tracked' periodically. It's shod with the recommended Falken Ziex's, which, for me, are great for UK potholed road use, but equally offer track performance probably greater than my abilities These replaced my last set of GSD2's, which are incidentally no longer manufactured.

[Bazzajay]

There may be alternative ways of tackling this.

Suspension: Is your car fitted with the 'comfort' softer springs? I suspect it may be as it is a late model.

Wheels & Tyres: I suspect your car is fitted with 16" wheels and the thin tyres. You could fit the earlier 15" wheels with the higher profile tyres, which have considerably more give in the sidewall, leading to a more comfortable ride.

[Rob Bell]

Hi Will,

Welcome to the forum How are you finding life out in China - whereabouts are you?

Tyres:

I use Federal 595RSRs on my Sprint car. Brilliant. I have also used a whole variety of non-standard and non-recommended tyres over the years. This has included Goodyear Eagle F1 GS-D3s - which generated a lot of advisories at the time. However, if you use the same tyres all round, then my feeling is that you are unlikely to become unstuck.

As my tyre choices are largely limited by the Motor Sport Association "blue book" of 1A or 1B tyres, I haven't tried Michelin Sport tyres - but they're good. They'll generally come in much higher load ratings than you require, but that is a good thing: a mid-engine car needs a tyre with a much stiffer side wall; the Michelins should be ideal.

I haven't quite decided on what I am going to do for this year's season of motorsport - but if unlimited, the Michelin Sport tyres were high on my list of tyres to consider

Chinese TF

The Chinese domestic market TF is very similar to the UK assembled cars, other than the fact that they are left hand drive (obvs) and use the original style front bumper clip. The engine is not SAIC, but Nanjing Motor - a more direct offspring of the K-series. The SAIC version is the "TCi-Tech", found in the MG3, 5 and 7. Also the Roewe 750 etc. There are differences between these engines, but in terms of head gaskets, it was said at the time that the engine would blow before the head gasket, and to be honest, I've not heard of anyone reporting head gasket issues with these engines.

The only downside is that the Chinese never got the VVC version, and the Chinese never upgraded the cylinder head to the VVC port spec. A missed opportunity, but hey - that's the story of MG-Rover.

Overall, I think the news is generally good about these cars. You may have noted that your instrument panel has a service light indicator. DIY home maintenance is not a common thing in China (so I'm told), but if you need this reset, my understanding is that the pscan tool can reset this as well as read all of the car's ECUs* (not sure whether the ABS unit on Chinese cars is different from the UK Bosch units?)

Hope this helps - hope you can post a picture or two of your car! Oh, and do register your car on the MGF Register vehicle database - would be good to include some Chinese market cars!

[RobboMC]

Yokohama make a 'track tyre' called Advan Neova. They are made in a wide variety of 40,45 and 50 profiles.
If they have the correct size then I'd be trying them.

I haven't driven on the Advan's, but the Yokahama road tyres I have on my mini van absolutely excellent, and the Advan's are meant to be better.

[flyingbanana]

I use R888Rs on my race car no complaints in the wet - not had a wet race...yet.