Recommended Tyres for my MGF

Hi Bryan,

Yes, my car currently has 4 Pirelli P6000s, and they came with the car when I purchased beginning last year, for my wife. Infact, at that time, the tyres were new.
I am also aware that the sizes are different front & rear, and I'll remember to track all 4 together.
I don't have a lot of idea about the suspension, sorry am not familiar with these things.
The power steering seems to be ok, and it does not pull to a side when started.

I have a feeling that atleast a couple of the tyres have worn (mainly the front ones) and hence am looking at replacing them. But, like most of you have advised, tyre choice seems to be tricky here.

Slightly off topic, but, I live in Gloucester.. Anybody knows any reliable mechanic / service centre for MGF?

How are the front tyres wearing? Inside/ outsides/ middle?

The suspension height can have considerable influence on tyre wear and handling.
If the car is a standard F the ride height measured from the centre of the front wheel to the edge of the wheel arch should be 368mm +/-10mm. (It will look too high, to be honest)

If the car is an F Trophy it should be 20mm less than that figure.

The front tyres have worn evenly, and my suspicion is because of the tread depth.. it's quite less..

I think my car is the standard F 1.8i Sport, I think.. I'll measure the height tonight and post back..

dg170775 wrote: The front tyres have worn evenly, and my suspicion is because of the tread depth.. it's quite less..

I think my car is the standard F 1.8i Sport, I think.. I'll measure the height tonight and post back..

If you give us the full Vin Number starting SARR ?????? i can give you the exact spec for your car,

By the way Pirelli P6000's are by far the worst tyres that can go on an MGF or TF because the sidewalls aer too soft. from experienc of other drivers the handling must be a nightmare.

Another forum member KIMSHROS has a 2004 TF which had Continental's on the front and Pirelli P6000's on the back and the car handling was like driving on ice!! the Pirellis still had about 6mm of tread left.

I would personally ditch the entire set of Pirelli's and go for a tyre that matches the car. David swears by Nexen, others Toyo Proxies, Avon ZV5's , Falken, Yokohama or back to the Goodyear Eagles that it was originally supplied with (they will be the most expensive)

BTW. Kim fitted 16" wheels and Falken tyres and it is good. :whistle:

I think it is important to get tyres with reinforced sidewalls. Higher speed rated tyres usually have this.

Interestingly the Toyo T1-R comes in two load ratings, if you go for them make sure you get the higher rated ones.

bryan young wrote:

dg170775 wrote: The front tyres have worn evenly, and my suspicion is because of the tread depth.. it's quite less..

I think my car is the standard F 1.8i Sport, I think.. I'll measure the height tonight and post back..

If you give us the full Vin Number starting SARR ?????? i can give you the exact spec for your car,

By the way Pirelli P6000's are by far the worst tyres that can go on an MGF or TF because the sidewalls aer too soft. from experienc of other drivers the handling must be a nightmare.

The problem is not Pirelli but incorrectly rated Pirelli, the issue in question is about ensuring that whatever the make of tyre they have the correct level of sidewall stiffening this is indicated by the load index (the number on the sidewall before the W or V speed rating) this should be at minimum 80 for the front and 82 for the rear (these relate to the individual corner weights for the car 450kg front, 475kg rear). The stories of tyres not suiting certain cars are generally anecdotal and not scientific fact, quite often it is down to wrong spec tyres rather then the wrrong manufacturer. A bit of an urban myth I`m afraid.
Chris

quicksilver wrote:

bryan young wrote:

dg170775 wrote: The front tyres have worn evenly, and my suspicion is because of the tread depth.. it's quite less..

I think my car is the standard F 1.8i Sport, I think.. I'll measure the height tonight and post back..

If you give us the full Vin Number starting SARR ?????? i can give you the exact spec for your car,

By the way Pirelli P6000's are by far the worst tyres that can go on an MGF or TF because the sidewalls aer too soft. from experienc of other drivers the handling must be a nightmare.

The problem is not Pirelli but incorrectly rated Pirelli, the issue in question is about ensuring that whatever the make of tyre they have the correct level of sidewall stiffening this is indicated by the load index (the number on the sidewall before the W or V speed rating) this should be at minimum 80 for the front and 82 for the rear (these relate to the individual corner weights for the car 450kg front, 475kg rear). The stories of tyres not suiting certain cars are generally anecdotal and not scientific fact, quite often it is down to wrong spec tyres rather then the wrrong manufacturer. A bit of an urban myth I`m afraid.
Chris

Falkens i have on have a load rating of 84 and have had no problems so this seems to tie in.

TOYO PROXES T1R
Mine is a 1998 'S' Reg VVC with 15' wheels.
I put 205/50/15's on the back and 195/50/15's on the front in August. No regrets at all.
Rover recommendation is 185/55/15's on the front. Thats the original size, but mine are fine.
She now sticks to the road on everything but ice and snow, so I keep the speed down a bit for those days.

Another vote for Proxes.
That's good news as I will be fitting a set on my F in a couple of weeks.

So how does all of this info work when you go for bigger rims. My new ones are 17" and I need to get tyres!

This is the page I found most useful when looking for my tyres:-

http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/tyres/

I'm afraid I can't advise on 17" rims but this will show you the best overall thing, also front and rear sizes.

bryan young wrote:

dg170775 wrote: The front tyres have worn evenly, and my suspicion is because of the tread depth.. it's quite less..

I think my car is the standard F 1.8i Sport, I think.. I'll measure the height tonight and post back..

If you give us the full Vin Number starting SARR ?????? i can give you the exact spec for your car,

I have now measured the height and its just under 350mm.. Does that look like the height was lowered? The Pirellis I have are 185/55 R15 82V in the front, and 205/50 R15 86V for the rear.

Brian, the VIN for my car is SARRDWBGBYD515783. So, what's the spec?