whats up with my new car

hi i was hoping some one could help ive just got my self a mgf and all is good apart from when i get above 50ish the car is all over the place its got no road holding and feels like the things going to fly off the road ive adjusted the stearing as it turned to the left the only thing ive still got to get looked at is the left side front is slightly lower than the right about 10mm if any one could help that would be fab

HI, The F is VERY sensitive when it comes to wheel alignment. Might be worth having it laser checked for FOUR WHEEL alignment.

Also worth checking the rubbers that hold the shock absorbers to the hubs.. the rubbers there need to be nice and tight. The steering could be the electric power steering motor - which is a DIY (Albeit not very easy one) fix, or easy swap for a working one.

The suspension sounds like it needs pumping up (can also effect steering stability). Get it done at any MG equipped garage or a place that deals with old mini's and metros (as they have the same hydrolastic suspension). The distance from the centre of the wheel to the edge of the wheel arch top shoudl be 368mm (+/- 10mm).. any less than this and it definitely needs a pump up.

Also do you have a spare wheel in the front well under the bonnet? If not then get one as this extra weight REALLY helps!

WELCOME on board by the way!

As it's an F you should get the ride height checked and pumped up if necessary. Too many people lower the ride height by letting the pressure out of the suspension. It may look like a lowered racer, but it wrecks the handling, the tyres and the suspension components.

After that I would check the tyres. They should be correctly inflated, not too worn and be of an approved brand (Toyo/Goodyear etc). Ideally they should be the same make all the way round, but definitely DO NOT mix makes on the same axle.

Next I would check the wheel bearings by seeing if there is any play on any of them. Also check bushes on the linkages for wear/play.


After that , check to see if the rear calipers are binding. Lift the car and see if the wheels are free to turn with the handbrake off.



If that lot checks out, we will come up with some other ideas.

I agree with comments so far, as I had similar experiences whne I got my MGF last August. Important note though. Don't have the wheels aligned until AFTER you have finished levelling out the suspension. Also check the tyres for excessive wear on the inside ( a result of TOE-OUT) commonly the effect of improperly lowered suspension. I set my suspension to 400psi, have proper lowering pins on it. Four new tyres/wheels, and THEN got it aligned. It's like a new car

hi,same problem with my car,going into brown and gammons to have the thingymabob in the steering coloumn sorted.If you raise both front wheels off ground and start engine do your wheels steer to the left and finish with a clunk?if so it could be same prob as mine,being done on 5th August,will let you know how it all worked out.

a big thanks to everone had the Hydragas done a much much better still the tracking to do but a lot better

Trophy splitter makes a difference, and looks cool!

Get the hydragas system checked, and ensure it is at the correct pressure, then have a full Geo done on the car by someone like Back on Track, or any other tuning specilist...
Full Geo makes a massive difference! try to have my lotus re-geo'd every year, and the F every other year (as it's not tracked so much)... there is a night and day difference!

also check tyre pressures are equal side to side... (doesnt matter too much if rear and front have a little difference, but left and right will cause instability)

MacGeorge;14601 wrote: I agree with comments so far, as I had similar experiences whne I got my MGF last August. Important note though. Don't have the wheels aligned until AFTER you have finished levelling out the suspension. Also check the tyres for excessive wear on the inside ( a result of TOE-OUT) commonly the effect of improperly lowered suspension. I set my suspension to 400psi, have proper lowering pins on it. Four new tyres/wheels, and THEN got it aligned. It's like a new car

as mentioned above Toe out will help initial turn in, but will make the car worse at the apex, and feel very pointy... i know this as i run my lotus with a little Toe out... however with all the pot holes round here recently it seems to have got even more toe out... heres my last set of R888's...



lol made me laugh when i took them off the front! glad i changed the tyres before the last track day! (and had a full Geo and it was back to its old self again)