Soft Ride/Comfort Suspension Kit

[phillh]

I had been finding my TF160 ride a little hard and jiggly and quite rattly, particularly with the hood up.

So I bit the bullet and fitted the soft ride suspension kit. The front was very straightforward, access very easy. The
rear a little more challenging but I managed it (with help from my son to depress the rear hubs to attach the lower
damper bolt).

The result is a much improved ride, the car still handles very well but is much smoother, refined and quieter. Very
pleased.

[Fisher]

Yes did mine 2 months ago and agree a far better ride. I did have a problem with one of the uprated bolts snapping, no good!

[c13amb]

I've always thought what one of these kits would be like..sounds good from what sources I've heard. One question to ask can you match the softer dampers with some eibach lowering springs? Currently I have standard dampers but lowered on eibach springs. These can be a bit harsh so I wondered if there was a compromise to be had but keep the lower stance?

[phillh]

Yes did mine 2 months ago and agree a far better ride. I did have a problem with one of the uprated bolts snapping, no good!

Oh dear thats not good. I must admit, just cleaned mine up and reused them, no problems so far!

[Stuart1]

Yeah it’s a great upgrade and what the car was developed to have...before the bean counters stepped in and cheaper dampers were specified

[Rob Bell]

Yeah it’s a great upgrade and what the car was developed to have...before the bean counters stepped in and cheaper dampers were specified

Yes, Andy Kitson said that the TF was developed with Bilstein dampers in mind. But the cheaper versions (with supposedly the same specification) were dreadful. Fit the dampers the car was designed to use, and the car is transformed.

I think this retrofit kit is essentially an engineering "I told you so"!

[colintf]

I have this on my TF. it's now as it should of been when built at the factory

[paul_mgb]

On the Comfort springs the rate of the rear was reduced to 2/3 of the original TF. I don't know what was done, if anything, to the front. I have an 05 MY so mine came with Comfort Pack and I have to say its still hard with 15" wheels and therefore thicker tyres. The dampers are Monroe and I've had to replace the rear springs and dampers with the same 05 spec from MGFnTFbitz. The back is firm but tolerable but the front still crashes over bumps, a sign of its Metro heritage no doubt (short travel). Andy Kitson will know exactly what was done and perhaps Ian Pogson.

[Rob Bell]

I would love to try cars fitted with standard, comfort and Bilstein dampers to compare ride handling. Also, it would be great to compare with the Chinese-era TFs, which have a different spec again.

My hunch is that the Bilstein damper with standard springs is the best compromise, but it would be an interesting exercise and address a question that I don't think has ever been really been answered

[ArntyR]

Hi Rob, I have a '10 Chinese-era TF135.

I can categorically say that the 'softride/comfort' f + r susp on my '10 TF135 (green front - yellow rear springs), 'soft' dampers(?) and 'normal' a/roll bar thickness is *(was) exactly the same as my previous '05 TF with 'MGR soft ride/comfort' susp...(yes, green/yellow springs)...

I think I'm right in saying the '05 -> TF suspensions were uprated to be softer than the blue/red-flashed stiffer springs of their predecessors; I can't seem to find out if the dampers were any different, tho'.

I gather the Chinese-era '85 Anniversary TF135 had Bilsteins, a thicker front (and rear?) a/roll bar and green/yellow 'comfort springs' and I suspect that this is the softride/'comfort spec' that is currently advertised - since I understand that it's the ultimate spec that TF engineers were aiming for.

I'm not sure about the other Chinese-era spec offering which is the LE500, but I suspect it was the usual 'MGR' comfort spec with standard g/y springs, soft standard MG dampers and standard thinner a/roll bar. I'd be happy to be corrected, tho'.

I'm listing this in the hope that my confusion can be verified or improved upon - because I (for one) am a bit befuddled by the way we seem to slip between the two different iterations of 'Softride/Comfort Suspension Kit' (sorry for the number of quote marks.

phillh, is your upgrade like the MGR '05-> comfort kit or the newer Bilstein comfort iteration?

Please can anyone help me sort my thoughts on this with first-hand info? eg.LE500 owners? softer damper knowledge? pre-05 TF-ers?

*Also, are Chinese-era MGMotors springs (or are they merely current Rimmer replacement springs?) different? My recent Rimmer rear replacements were soft ride', red-paint dotted but not yellow flashed...and my nearly recent FnTFBitz fronts were soft ride but green flashed. New stock/old stock? Phew... (I can provide pics of the colour flashes)

[mgtfnut]

I would love to try cars fitted with standard, comfort and Bilstein dampers to compare ride handling. Also, it would be great to compare with the Chinese-era TFs, which have a different spec again.

My hunch is that the Bilstein damper with standard springs is the best compromise, but it would be an interesting exercise and address a question that I don't think has ever been really been answered

Not much help, but I fitted Bilsteins back in 2008 with the original OEM springs: blue in front and red at the rear. I picked them up from Andy Kitson's house when he did a drivers seat pan swop and got a bit of insight. It's best not to lower the ride, unless it's just for cosmetic reasons, as although there are three ride height options on the VHS Bilsteins, you can run out of damper travel and bottom out, which could be dodgy on a yumpy corner. The damper travel is designed to be optimised at OEM ride height. I got caught out once when on a run round some Swiss/Italian alpines passes fully loaded before I twigged what was happening and then re-distributed the load a bit
The only way to lower properly is to relocate the body/suspension spring/damper location dimensions (not really practical), or buy an aftermarket setup with adequate damper travel to suit the required suspension travel.
So, yes you're right Rob, although any combination of spring/ damper would be better than the original 2002 TF onwards version. I've grown very accustomed to my arrangement.

[phillh]

Hi ArntyR,

Mine were bought off ebay, not bilsteins.

Link below

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MG-TF-SOFT-C ... 2749.l2649

phillh

[ArntyR]

Ah, they're the '05 TF-> green/yellow softer spring upgrade then...

[paul_mgb]

My understanding is that the 85th anniversary cars went back to the stiffer rear springs but with Bilstein shocks and bigger anti roll bars. This is supposed to be the ultimate suspension spec, but is it comfortable ?

[Rob Bell]

My understanding is that the 85th anniversary cars went back to the stiffer rear springs but with Bilstein shocks and bigger anti roll bars. This is supposed to be the ultimate suspension spec, but is it comfortable ?

That's my understanding too - basically the suspension the 2002 TF should have come with from the outset, except some bean-counter decided they did not want to pay for Bilstein shocks...

[Chrismg2]

I have 2002 TF135. Am attempting to fit Rimmer soft sus' kit. Having great difficulty lining up the rear bottom damper bolt with the upper sus' arm. The tapped hole in the suspension arm is about 9mm too high and cannot move the hub any lower or the new spring/damper any higher. Can anyone help with this?

[talkingcars]

I converted my MGF to TF subframes from a pre-production TF but using a softride kit from Rimmers. Unfortunately I was unaware of the upgraded rear bolts and had both fail. The nearside went 30 miles from home which made for an interesting drive back. The the offside one went 300 yards from home and took out a tyre that had done 3 miles!