harsh ride

Hi All
I have recently fitted some Spax adjustable dampers to my TF, I am quite disappointed with the result, even though I have them set to the ''softest'' setting, I.E the adjuster turned fully anti clockwise, to me they do not seem to have made much, if any, difference to the harse ride.
I still have to negotiate my way on the road, trying to miss any small potholes or even small depressions, I spend more time looking just in front of the car then I do looking further ahead.
I also don't like the heavy thumping that comes from the tyres over small lumps or bumps.
Also the steering is very ''skittish'' especially at high speed, I have 16'' ''Abingdon'' wheels fitted, would a set of 15'' wheels be any better.
I have had several different sports cars in the past and haven't had any of these problems, to be honest I am quite disappointed in the MG.
I regularly drive a medium size van and find the ride on it to be far superior to the MG.
Am I the only one that thinks the ride is awful on these cars.
Geoff

That is very interesting because I have also just fitted the Spax adjustables to my TF 135.

Initially I had them set on the softest setting but found that too soft. After experimentation I have settled on a setting of 16 at the rear and 12 at the front.

On my car at least, this gives a noticeably better ride without sacrificing the sharpness of the handling.

The improvement is not huge but it is definately there and has taken out the harshness of the ride. It is still a hard ride compared to my Octavia though - at the end of the day it is a sports car.

I wonder what other factors effect ride harshness? maybe the dampers are only half the story?

I know some people find the TF's ride to be harsh. I'm surprised the new shocks haven't made a noticeable difference.
I'm afraid you'll have to wait for a TF owner for more exact comments as the F is a different animal ride wise.

I can say, however, that changing to 15s will soften the ride considerably. The bigger sidewalls on the tyres add a lot more compliance.
When we change from summer 16s to the winter 15s the change in ride is very noticeable! :yesnod:

I'm very happy with the ride on 15" wheels. I just have a standard setup so can't really comment on your upgrade. However, I have experienced extreme harshness in the past in a lowered pug 306 cabrio I had. So, I know what you mean when you say that you're watching the road under you, rather than the road ahead.

For me, the standard setup is great. Even large speed bumps are no issue at speed. Hopefully another TF owner, perhaps with your same setup, can advise you better. Good luck.

Just so we know where we are starting from here - what are your ride height measurments?

Geoff, what make of tyres are you running on the 16" wheels, how old are they and what pressures are they set at?? Contenintals are a very hard tyre and some combinations can cause a skittish ride. i am also surprised the spax didnt improve the harshness, although i understand the Bilstien comfort pack is better. the Bilstien shocks are fitted to the later TFs and many have told me that the ride is far more pleasant

:rant: :thumbsup:

Hi Laz
Thanks for your reply.
To be honest I don't know what the ride height is, I have tried to measure it as per the handbook but to be honest I didn't know where to measure it from under the front of the car.
Geoff

Hi Bryan
Thanks for your reply.
There are four different makes of tyre fitted on the car, this is how it was when I bought it a couple of monts ago, but I don't recognise any of the makes!
At the moment the tyres have 26lbs all round, this is what they were when I got the car, so decided to leave them as they were.
To be honest I suppose I can live with the ''bumpy'' ride, but I just can not stand the crashing noise when I hit a bump, for example a ''sleeping policeman'' it sometimes sounds as if there is something wrong with the suspension, even though I have checked it out, and the car only had n MOT about four weeks before I bought it.

The ride height measurement is really only relevant to the F with hydragas suspension.

Tyre pressures on the TF should be 26front 36 rear.
See here.

MGTF MGRover RECOMMENDED TYRES and PRESSURES – All models

The TF has a totally different suspension setup to the MGF and the MGF Trophy. (Be careful that you know which figures apply to your car.)


MGTF Wheels and tyres -(no other arrangements are recommended):

185/55 R15 V Continental Premium Contact fit to 6 x 15 alloy wheels - FRONT only
205/50 R15 V Continental Premium Contact fit to 6 x 15 alloy wheels - REAR only
195/45 R16 Z Goodyear Eagle F1 fit to 7 x 16 alloy wheels - FRONT only
215/40 R16 Z Goodyear Eagle F1 fit to 7 x 16 alloy wheels - REAR only

175/65 R14 T fit to 5.5 x 14 - steel spare wheel only
195/45 R16 Z Goodyear Eagle F1 fit to 7 x 16 - alloy spare wheel


MGTF Tyre Pressures

Normal driving conditions lbf/in bar

195/45 ZR16 (front) - 26 lbf/in ......... 1.8 bar
215/40 ZR16 (rear) - 36 lbf/in ......... 2.5 bar

185/55 R15 V (front wheels only) - 26 lbf/in ......... 1.8 bar
205/50 R15 V (rear wheels only) - 36 lbf/in ......... 2.5 bar

On an MGF this is where the ride height is measured.

368mm+/-10mm.

Or on an MGF Trophy 338mm +/ - 10mm

Geoff,

Odd tyres are not the best idea on these cars. Try at least to have the same tyre on each end of the axles.

What year is the car, what are the tyre sizes and what engine version?

geofff wrote: Hi Bryan
Thanks for your reply.
There are four different makes of tyre fitted on the car, this is how it was when I bought it a couple of monts ago, but I don't recognise any of the makes!
At the moment the tyres have 26lbs all round, this is what they were when I got the car, so decided to leave them as they were.
To be honest I suppose I can live with the ''bumpy'' ride, but I just can not stand the crashing noise when I hit a bump, for example a ''sleeping policeman'' it sometimes sounds as if there is something wrong with the suspension, even though I have checked it out, and the car only had n MOT about four weeks before I bought it.

Sorry to have not replied before, David has answered your questions very well indeed, but as he has said it is not a good idea to have "odd" tyres on these cars. can you give us the details on the side wall of the tyres, maker & size eg 185/55 R15 or 205/50 R15 and the year of the car and engine variant ~ the full VIN would help SARR........... would enable us to get the exact spec for your car. The crashing noise does not appear to be right :rant: TF suspension is stiff but it should not "crash" :rant: