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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - Diesel Tune up

OK guys what is the cost and benefits of tuning up the ZT CDi engine?

Neil

Neil,
had mine chipped by upsolute, cannot recomend highly enough. Huge increase in power and torque,i had the 118 bhp model so the difference was just night and day after the upgrade.Fitted by simon of cc tech,great guy,comes to you, takes an hour or so to fit and he is very knowledgable and professional.The only downside is my 'F' now feels much slower than the ZT so i'll have to spend money there! Check the mgrover.org forum for others that have been down this route(all positive feedback), best £300 i've ever spent on a car.

HTH Kev.
K A KEENAN

Whats wrong with you Neil, tune the 260. I need someone to do it before I decide. I know what the Dreadnough does, I'm waiting to see feeback from the Sindex charger.;-)
Tim Hayton

Nothing wrong with me mate!
ZT260 going great guns with its S&R pipes!
all cars should sound this way!

The question is for a guy with whom I work, who has a CDi Rover 75! and I know that there are huge improvements to be had from rechipping them!

Conversely there doesnt seem to be a lot of people about willing to tune the V8 up for low cost.

the obvious step for this engine is the supercharger route, which costs a lot from Dreadnought (unfortunatley) although I understand it is a superb job. I dont have £5000 to burn like that!

shame there isnt a £250 tweak like chipping that would give you a nice 10% increase, the car could do with 300+ horses really



Neil

Neil, Dreadnought have a menu type drop down when you go on their site. Alterations to the throttle body, etc for a few hundred quid would get you close to the 300 mark.
Tim Hayton

but I am sad I like the horsey emblem!

Neil

We're sad together, so do I.
Tim Hayton

>> had mine chipped by upsolute, cannot recomend highly enough. <<

How long has your car been running like this Kev? A diesel tune could be just what the mummy-barge needs :o)
Rob Bell

Tell me more about upsolute Rob
Neil

I don't know much more than you Neil - I was hoping that Kev would be able to fill us in? :o)
Rob Bell

PEOPLE!!!!

THINK!!!!

The V8 for anyone who has one is an American Ford lump that is in everything from the mustang to pick up trucks.

Check out any american website for tuning equipment!!! it will be 30% cheaper than anything here.

There is a mountain of stuff available rods cams heads valve stroker kits.
This stuff isbasically the stuff that rover themselves used in the really high power versions of the cars


There are also big block conversions. If you want to be frightened search for the 10 litre (yes really!) Ford boss mustang....
leon ruddick foster

Rob,
been away on holiday so sorry for the delay in replying.Had mine chipped after MGR went bust (no warranty)and have had no problems with it just a big difference in performance with no drawbacks.I was a little dubious of all the claims etc made by the chipping companies but seeing as i had a 116bhp model it made more sense than getting the MGR 135 upgrade both in terms of power and value.The guy who fitted it said that with the BMW engine most people saw a small drop in economy after the upgrade but the ZT continues to give 600 miles to a tankfull no matter how much welly i give it.The difference in performance really is night and day (they quote 167bhp),no black smoke when i boot it,same economy,no need to change down to overtake,as soon as i put my foot down the car just surges fwd :o).Oh just remembered,as i said before there is a downside my MGF now feels slower so i'll need to think about some more upgrades for that;o)
K A KEENAN

That sounds encouraging Kev :o) How many miles so far?

And how does one tell whether one has a 115 or a 135? I was sure that I had a 135, but the on line insurers listed my car registration as belonging variously to either a 115 or 135... confused? I was! How do I tell?

Rob Bell

Rob,
look at the drivers side door pillar,you'll see a badge/sticker there giving you power and model info.My insurance listed mine as a 135 and didn't even recognise a 116 as an option.Done just under 8k since the upgrade (120 mile daily commute plus a few glasgow to portsmouth runs)with nothing to report,fit and forget and enjoy the performance :o)

Kev
K A KEENAN

Thanks Kev :o)

Have you had the car on a rolling road since the conversion to see what power/torque it is now running?
Rob Bell

Rob,
not had it on a rolling road so i couldn't confirm upsolutes claims (i'm always very sceptical about the claimed gains that are made by tuning firms),however the difference in power/torque is so obvious that i dont really feel the need to. Would be fun to find out a before and after figure though ! :o)
Kev
K A KEENAN

Kev - I never believe the claims either! ROFL

BTW, I did go out and check the driver's side door pillar as suggested. There is no engine information to be been. There is a commision plate, stating that I have a ZT, and the commission number - but no power output quoted? On the passenger side, there is a chassis plate, providing the chassis number, plus paint and trim codes. But again, nothing to identify the engine?

Given the way that the engine is able to hold a comfortable 90mph cruise (on an Autobahn, obviously), I suspect that mine is a 135 - but it would be good to confirm. :o)

But if a 115, then a re-chip will definitely be the order of the day! :o)
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed between 13/07/2005 and 09/08/2005

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