New Owner- Tyres

[JeremyC]

I've just bough an F to have some fun in while my AH Sprite is off the road for an engine rebuild. The F is an early one, chassis number under 2000, supplied Feb 1996. I'm the third owner and it's done 42k.

It is on 15" wheels and currently has 205 Rotalla Setula on the back (virtually new, put on by the previos owner to get it though an MoT) and ten year old 195 on the front. I defnitely need to change the fron ones but I am also minded to do the back ones as I understand the car needs tyres appropriate to being mid-engined. So I have some questions:

i) Is the 205 Rear, 195 Front really necessary or can I go 195 front and back? (or 205 all round though I don't like too much tyre (that said, it's only 5%))
ii) The Toyo Proxes TR1 seems to be a popular choice at the moment. Should I be considering anything else?
iii) Anything else I should know about tyres for Fs? What pressures do people run?

Many thanks.

[RobboMC]

G'Day Jeremy,

When I bought my car it had 195/50 tyres front and rear. They were quite new so I drove the car for 2-3 years until I wore them out.
I decided to go for the 185/55 Front and 205/50 rear set-up as listed on the tyre placard in the car.

I could tell the car felt so much better already on the way home from getting the tyres fitted!

I got Falken ZE914's and I find them very good. I understand Yokohama now have tyres in these 2 sizes ( V701 ?? ) ,
my son has them on his MR2 and says they are fantastic. I think they will wear faster than the Falkens though.

For my money - get the 185/55 Front and 205/50 rear if you can.

As for pressures, use whatever is on the tyre placard in the centre console. Generally the fronts are lower than the rear.

[JeremyC]

Thanks Rob, much appreciated.

HAving slept on it I've decided to replace the fronts now (probably with the Toyos as they seem much more readily available) and see how the Rotalla's on the back perform. They seem to be a mid-market tyre rather than budget so they may be OK. Plus having just bought the car another £180 is more palatable than another £400.

[Notanumber]

I have Toyos on the front of my TF (16") and Greenlanders on the back. 26psi front 36psi rear. They are really sure footed, good cornering. I will reduce the rears to 33psi soon as many have said it softens the ride without any downside.

[mgb281]

I just checked and Toyo Proxes TR1 205/50/15 are £82 each from the RAC including fitting, 185/50/15 TR1's are £64.39 a total of £293 for four tyres.
These prices were straight off Ebay and were the cheapest ones including fitting. If you are prepared to do the leg work it can be cheaper to buy them posted to you and then find a local tyre fitter.

[Rob Bell]

Keep with the standard tyre pressures (I typically run 28psi front and rear on an MGF - the TF is quite different).

For tyres, the answer is what is your budget. I'd typically replace all four at the same time, and go for the best performance tyres you can find in the correct sizes. 185/55 R15 has been a rare size for some time, but you can use 195/50 R15 without problems. I've even used 205/50 R15 front and rear without issues, but I did not like the steering feel so much with that combination (although it is hard to disentangle the tyre size from the brand/tyre type in my comparisons).

For fun, you can see the results of my previous experience and tyre surveys here: http://mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/tyres/index.htm

Unfortunately, these surveys are also very old. The tyres on my MGF currently are 205/45 R16 Michelin Pilot Sport 3s front and rear - and these seem to suit the MG very well Sadly Michelin Pilot Sport 4/ 4S are not available for MGF tyre sizes when I last checked - and this [lack of available ultra high performance tyres for the MGF/TF] may be an increasing problem going forward