MGTF 115 Vs MG-F Mk1 VVC.... a comparison

ok guys totally random thread... would never post this on .org as i'd fear a horrendous slagging match but on the t-bar i think it might provoke some interesting discussion

on tuesday i parked up Bucephalus and got out the tools... not to fix her multitude of long put off niggly jobs but to aid a fresh faced new Fer... he was and is one of my closes friends, who after ridiculing me buying a "hairdressers" car 18 months ago fell in love and decided an F was for him (new house means no TF!)... i called him a looser and pointed out he was buying the less manly version of my hairdressers car... but only a bit... i like gloating but only to a point... plus i knew he was going to have more BHP than me so i could hear the counter gloating a mile off...... anyway...

after some miss directed searching on flea-bay and auto-trade-off he swallowed his man-pride and asked the MG god himself (i'm talking about me by the way... i like to think i'm great... i think a little self delusion is helpful when reality is hard to face) to find one for him

being a useless deity and having the omniecant properties of a ripened parsnip i immediately PM'd VVC_Steve for help

thankfully he's a much more effective MG god and within 3 weeks i got a PM back advising me he had a lovely VVC F with loads of service history... HGF fixed with all the bills... MOT/TAX whole nine yards...

needless to say i advised james to buy the car asap and he flew down from teeside to pick her up... 3 days and a service from me later and we both went for a drive

the car looked stunning after 4 hours polishing the day before....... all by james other half i should mention... we had manly things to discuss like when he asked what VVC ment...... i gave a manly answer.... that is mostly a load of tosh mixed with more offers of a beer


anyway the drive and the point of this half drunken ramble

a very interesting experiance

Steering:
Can't say i liked it from a "sports car" Point of view... a bit vague, might of been the age of the car (its a 1998) but it wasn't finger tip sharp like the TF... it was however much easier to park

The gear change:
In a word... Long... maybe because i took a hacksaw to my TFs but still the stick stuck up very high and the change suffered... however the gate was much more precise and the box end seemed more willing to go in without allot of rev matching on down change like my TF needs... reverse however would NOT engage half the time and was very loud... didn't seem a problem just didn't like reverse... allot like the ZRs i've drove

Seating position:
I've gave him the runners off my TFs seats.... enough said

Trim and build quality:
I have to say better than my TF... seems like they took more time putting his car together.... hard to quantify but the car just seems "better" really odd to describe... must mention however that his subframes have allot less rust on them in spite of the car being twice the age of mine!

Engine, gearbox, clutch and a good thrash:

engine - wow.... thats all i can say... first a base line, my TF is tuned... enclosed carbon fiber cone.... stainless de-cat... smoothed 52mm TB.... and de-baffled back box, all round good for at least 10bhp i'd say and thats very conservative, most figures quote around 10bhp just from a de-cat... so lets say my car has 125bhp which i think is conservative (honstly i think over 130 but this isn't about my car...... really.....) so 125 thats 18 less than james newly serviced VVC F (hopefully after a full service... fuel, air, oil filters, oil and spark plugs its running close to its true bhp)

so say 125 vs 143 bhp.... it felt allot more than 18bhp!... not because of a vast rush of power but more that you didn't notice it... the car went from 1500rpm to 7 without hesitating, the engine was immensely smooth... especially around town, i'm not sure if it was the plastic TB but the car just didn't jerk with the accelerator like the TF does... yes this was disappointing when i floored it as i was expecting a surge like i get in my car but it just made the constant un-ending power all the more impressive

the car seemed to pull less around 2.5-5k rpm than mine does but where as mine tails off its power band by 4 and a bit the VVC shows its umph and keeps going, i'd say the two engines pull the same but the Fs pulls longer if that makes sence... less fun but more impressive, odd but true

clutch - mine is perfect for me, longish travel and heavy enough to know your driving something more than a corsa.... the F? travel very short which makes snap gear changes and heel and toe changes easier but makes driving around town a pain... not allot to choose but i'd go for the TFs personally but that might just be because im used to it

gearbox - love it and i want it on my TF! i thought they were all more or less the same but james's gearbox seems to have closer ratios... i can nudge 95----errr 65 in mine in 3rd... james nudges erm how shall we say... a mile stone figure in fourth.... so much more usuable than the 1.6 TF box.... can i have one please! would be so much better in the twisty stuff! i feel like is spend my whole life in 2nd as it pulls from 20mph to 60 yet there is no engine braking back to 20!!!! how annoying!!!!

sorry rant over


all round i throughly enjoyed my drive in the F and i've i had to advise someone between a 160 trophy and 1.6 TF for the same pennys i'd advise a 160 Trophy

if between a TF1.6 and a F143 i'm not sure

but all i can say is for £1000.00 there is no better place in british motoring to spend your pennies... my god did he get some bang for his buck!

did your mate really fly to pick up his f cos thats really cool
i cant comment on the comparisons as ive only ever driven my f (mk1 vvc) but your description of the engine\gearbox is spot on. probably the reason i grin like an idiot

I have owned a TF135 as well as my VVC, in fact I have owned about six F's, but I have kept my original VVC for over seven years and if I had bought a Trophy160 or a TF160 it would have every chance of being replaced BUT as I now have 175HP out of it and use it on track days, I will be keeping it for as long as it survives. A TF160 could join it as an every day car, but would be left standard and enjoyed as a touring car.

jonnocash;11671 wrote: did your mate really fly to pick up his f cos thats really cool
i cant comment on the comparisons as ive only ever driven my f (mk1 vvc) but your description of the engine\gearbox is spot on. probably the reason i grin like an idiot

yep he flew down from Durham Tees Vally to VVC_Steves and then drove back

train was £140+ the flight was about £27!

think he had quite a day! and the F is awesome!