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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - wheel arch liners

i have a ZR 105 (not much i know) but i have noticed something which in my eyes is a dangerous design fault, on this road going car. it it 6months old and has 11k on the clock, i have already had the wheel arch liners replaced under warranty (fitted 12/08/02) i have now done 500 miles since and the problem has come back... the rear wheels under heavy cornering, rub on the front of the inner wheel arch liner (that little black bit that doesn't do anything) :-)

has anyone else had this problem?

Chris
Chris

>>>>which in my eyes is a dangerous design fault,
====would you care to elaborate please ?
David

Wasn't it a straight-foward question?

Tyres rubbing on the liner = dangerous...
David

annoying, yes. Dangerous, no, IMO. Rubber on plastic makes very little noise and does not cause the tyre to instantly self-destruct or anything. If the arch liner wears through and metal to tyre contact results, then yes there is a 'potential' problem, but nothing that regular inspection would not uncover. You do check your tyres regularly don't you?
David

Of course i check them regulary, once a week.

i don't see how you can say it's not dangerous... the tyre rotates at a tremendous rate, simple physics, at this speed it doesn't matter if it's hitting plastic, metal, or anything else semi-rigid, it's still going to cause some sort of damage. the only time it can rub/hit is under extreeme load ie, driving like it was marketed to be driven. and if i'm having fun on a country lane/track/airfield i don't want to end up in a bush/ditch because the liner has worn though, and the edge has caught on the tyre!

on the point of regular inspection of the arch... i don't particularly want to change the arch liners every thousand miles or so! when i picked the car up it didn;t do it, so something has worn, a bush has softened or something to allow the tyre to move in such away.
but the dealer does not seem to think so.... rather annoying!
chris

first you say it's a design fault, now you say something has worn - which do you think is more likely and why ?
David

both actually.

sounds to me like you work for a rover dealership!

it is a design fault that the clearance is so little, and a design fault that the wrong bushes may have been used, that wear too quickly. the problem with rubber bushes is that they do move around and don't position everything properly.

i have taken the car to another garage and they have told me that it would be an MOT failure, and if i'm not mistaken the point of an MOT is to test the car for mechanical safety for use on the road... but the rover dealership does not seem to think this way.!
chris

>>>i have taken the car to another garage and they have told me that it would be an MOT failure,
===not in your case, as you say it only does it under extreme driving conditions, and these would not be reproduced under MOT test conditions. Thnking further, I wonder if clearance is so marginal that a different make/model of tyre from original could be causing the problem ? Also,a possible fix is to warm the liner with a heat gun or hairdryer and re-shape to provide more clearance (this has been done successfully on MGFs in situations where oversize wheels have led to a similar problem). And no, I don't work for a Rover dealer, just interested to separate the mechanical facts from the whinges - not that you aren't entitle to whinge if you've got a problem with a new car. but apart from possibly making you feel better it does not help find solutions.
David

the garage noticed the rubbing marks on the liner and identified the problem. the tyres are the standard fitment tyres and after 11k they have worn down a tad :-) EVERYTHING on the car is standard.

it sounds to me like you have an attitude problem with people who afford new cars.

the reason i bought the MG was to have fun at work because i do a lot of driving (around 30k per year), i wanted a new car (apparently no hassle, not in this case!), i also build various cars to play with and race, and it is quite a main consideration that no moving part can make contact with another. so one can only conclude that the designers for the ZR suspension may have rushed this section and therefore overlooked it. and i would not have every allowed it out into the factory. my main beef is that my rover dealer does not comprehend this as a problem, and are unwilling to react with any efficiency.
chris

>>>it sounds to me like you have an attitude problem with people who afford new cars.
===not at all, you have my sympathy, because I don't have to pay for my new cars (our company scheme is a Revenue-approved non-taxed scheme too). I have offered a potential fix, which you seem to ignore.
David

>>>>Rubber on plastic makes very little noise

You've not heard the ZS120 on full lock over uneven terrain then David?
Paul

no, I've only heard it on a F**d XR2i....
David

Do the tyres rub on your ZS120 then?

i found out over the weekend that if i have passengers in the back, they rub even more often.

is that your company car then david? :-}
chris

Yes the tyres do rub the wheels on my ZS120 Chris, but only the front wheels on full lock over uneven terrain. It rubs where the wheel arch liners are attached to the flange of the wheel arch apex. It makes quite a loud noise as well, as the tyre tread is obviously perpendicular to the wheel arch on full lock.
An MG Rover area technical bod checked out my colleagues car last week (same car) and admitted there is a fault and cited other cases.
Thats where the story ends i'm afraid, but heres hoping something gets sorted out soon.
Paul

I asked for that :-)
actually it's my student son's - whoever thought they are poor ?
David

This thread was discussed between 11/09/2002 and 17/09/2002

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