MGF/TF User Recommended Tyres for 15" & 17" wheels

I thought I'd separate these from the other tyre info, for ease of use. Click on the table.

Oh dear, mine came with the conti's. Would that explain the odd scary roundabout moments in the wet then. :ohmy:

rog1963 wrote: Oh dear, mine came with the conti's. Would that explain the odd scary roundabout moments in the wet then. :ohmy:

You have got it in one!! The MGFs and TFs were designed to use Goodyear tyres only, then they approved Contential Premium Contact 2 as an acceptable alternative and were fitting them to a lot of later TFs from new. i have many stories of "skittish road holding" and "like driving on ice" because the wrong tyres have been fitted by tyre dealers just wanting to sell you anything or unsuspecting owners thinking the so called experts are fitting the correct tyres. The experience of other F & TF owners is a good guide. Also, David A had stated before that its not always the tyres at fault, other suspension items should be checked too. :whistle:

I wanted to add that if anyone has experience, good or bad, of tyres not on this list, I will be happy to amend this table.:yesnod:

david aiketgate wrote: I wanted to add that if anyone has experience, good or bad, of tyres not on this list, I will be happy to amend this table.:yesnod:

Responding to your request for information about good and bad tyres on Fs and TFs I would like to offer the following. I asked various club members about the tyres on their cars following the article written by Roger Parker MGOC about the tyre sensitivity on both models.
GOOD ~ Toyo Proxies on a 1997 F, suspension pumped up and tracking done. Replaced with same tyres.
GOOD ~ Avon ZV5s on a 2000 F - There were four different makes of tyre on this F when it was bought (two were cheapo budget tyres) and the owner said it was very skittish and like driving on ice!! The Avon’s were fitted about a year ago and they are good. Suspension pump and tracking also done.
BAD~ A former member with a Trophy running on the original Goodyear’s needed a replacement tyre following a blowout. The equivalent Goodyear was un available and “another” make fitted, this altered the handling so badly that a new correct Goodyear was immediately sought and fitted.
BAD ~ When forum member Kimshros bought Della, her 2004 MGTF 135, she Della, not Kim, was fitted with two Continental Premium Contact’s on the front and two Pirelli P6000s on the rear. The handling was appalling and extremely skittish.
GOOD ~ Kim bought four new 12 spoke, 16” wheels which were shod with Falken ZE912 tyres, the improvement in the ride and handling has improved considerably.
:lol: :woohoo: :whistle:

Ahhhh! worried now, just put on a pair of Conti's dry handling seems OK but it hasn't rained yet so may not be making another post...

Tourbillon wrote: Ahhhh! worried now, just put on a pair of Conti's dry handling seems OK but it hasn't rained yet so may not be making another post...

Remember that these are guides put together from members' experiences with various tyres. Obviously, only people who commented are included. I'm sure that there are a lot of people driving on Contis who are quite happy with them.

Honestly, suspension setup is much more important.
Oh......:welcome2: :thumbsup:

Any thoughts on putting 205-50-15" on the front? the arches and clearances seem big enough to take that size, is it there another concern?

Tourbillon wrote: Any thoughts on putting 205-50-15" on the front? the arches and clearances seem big enough to take that size, is it there another concern?

As I understand it the thinner fronts were to induce a little understeer and reduce tramlining.
In theory, there's no reason why not 205 fronts, but of course following MGR's recommended tyre setup is the safe way to go.
But a lot of people fit 195/50/15 on the front as this is a cheaper option than the 185/55.

On 16" wheels, for example, the F is on 215/40 all round. The F Trophy and TF has 195/45 fronts and 215/40 rears.:shrug:

Thanks, otherwise its back to the tyre place to spend another £190 on changing the rears and exchanging front to back.

I guess it makes sense what you have suggested as the front appears much more secure now ( no understeer). However the tracking was all over the place and the old tyres shot.

Tourbillon wrote: Thanks, otherwise its back to the tyre place to spend another £190 on changing the rears and exchanging front to back.

I guess it makes sense what you have suggested as the front appears much more secure now ( no understeer). However the tracking was all over the place and the old tyres shot.

I think it was because the car was released into a world where front wheel drive had taken over and people were not used to rearwheel drive over steery cars.

Our F runs on 215/40/16 all round and sticks to the road like the proverbial to a blanket.:lol:

I have just fitted Uniroyal Rainsport 3's to the rear. turned the car into a handling mess and contributed to me crashing it so not recommended.