MG-Cars.info

Welcome to our Site for MG, Triumph and Austin-Healey Car Information.

Parts

MG parts spares and accessories are available for MG T Series (TA, MG TB, MG TC, MG TD, MG TF), Magnette, MGA, Twin cam, MGB, MGBGT, MGC, MGC GT, MG Midget, Sprite and other MG models from British car spares company LBCarCo.

MG MGF Technical - AP trophy Brakes on Mgf 1.8i

Hi
has anyone ever fitted the Ap brake discs and calipers from the trophy to a standard mgf 1.8i . Did you ever have any compatibility problems at all or was it just a straight forward swap over. i am interested in upgrading my discs and calipers and wish to know if anyone else had problems?
I know about having to upgrade wheel dimentions to 16" rims and am looking for some trophy stile wheels at the moment. Anyone needing a average set of 15! rims from the standard 1.8i 6 spoke there maybe some going later ...as soon as i have sourcd some 16s.
Allso could you tell me what you done with the rear discs as an upgrade ?
many thanks
Jonathan
JR LEE

Hi Jonathan,

Yep, just done this. Fitting is a breeze, although you may have to get quite aggressive with the old discs to get them off the hubs. I went for Goodridge braided lines too, a little more work but worth it IMO.

As for the rears, I've stuck with the standard calipers but fitted Mintex 1166 pads to help compensate for the more powerful braking from the AP fronts. No imbalance issues that I can find, and I tested them pretty thoroughly around Castle Combe last week.

You'd better check the cameras don't fly off when you brake!
Mike Hankin

Jonathan,Trophy wheels are as rare as hens teeth,I've
managed to get a set from MGF Centre but have waited for ages. TF 160 wheels are more common.There's a set
of AP calipers and discs on e-bay at the moment.
Good luck Andy
AndyG

Thanks to you both!
Will be looking for some hens teeth very soon and will probabley wait until i have them on the car before i spend the money on the discs etc.
As for the Ap calipers ....what is the part no for the pads?
How did castle combe go the other day then Mike?
Do you know if you Will be going to bedford. I have been luckey enough to be offered a ride at bedford. Will be takin a bit more fotage for the BIG video!!!
Intro has been made already!
Cant wait to get those hens teeth on my F . might just have to oppt for the New TF Trophy wheels. I nearly had a set sunday £350 with only part worn tyres. Bargain! only problem is that i didnt have the cash on me at the time and the guy never took Cards of any sort!
Can you believe it in this day and age!!!!
Well i was thinking about the braided hoses as well anyway , might as well as im doing it anyway ....

I was thinking about the EBC big brake Kit ...but i just love those calipers through the rims!!!of the ap brakes.
Are the pads that come with the ap calipers Mintex?

regards
Jonathan
JR LEE

Jonathan,

As Mike said the swap to AP calipers should be straight forward, although when Techspeed fitted mine they found that the braided hoses I'd already got were a bit too short and had to have some longer ones made up - not sure why that was. On the rears I run roversport grooved discs with Mintex 1144 pads. However, Rob Bell has persuaded me to give 1177s a try next time around and these are currently sitting in my garage waiting their turn. Good luck with the Trophy wheels, as they are so much nicer than the TFs IMHO.

Dave
Dave Livingstone

Jonathan, I must get around to copying your camera setup, the footage I got of a friend fishtailing & sadly losing his MR2 Turbo into the armco left a lot to be desired - unlikely to be able to fund his rebuild with the broadcast royalties...
Combe is fun around the twisty bits but the long straight is a little dull unless you have some extra horses installed. Without wishing any misfortune on anyone, I'm hoping someone will drop out of Bedford so I can take their place - I'm 1st on the reserve list.

A cheap route to brand new Trophy alloys is to buy 4 of the orange coated 'spare' versions, and have them re-coated. Talk to Victoria at the MGF Centre about this. Sellers on eBay have a tendency to understate the amount of kerbing marks, and are sometimes a tad optimistic about the condition of the tyres..!

Re the make-up of the standard pads (sorry, dunno the part no.) for the AP calipers, I did hear a rumour that they closely resemble the Mintex 1144 compound, but the MGR price (if you can indeed get some now) closely resembles them too so I'd be inclined to go straight to the Mintex - they certainly seem to work well on Dave's car. I'm experimenting with some SBS Ceramic pads at the moment, not great until they warm up but then they're monstrously powerful - was close to having a VX220 as a bumper sticker on a couple of occasions ;-)

Hopefully see you at Bedford, I'm hoping to come along even if I'm not driving. If I can help you bolt any bits on let me know & I'll bring the necessary tools.
Mike Hankin

Mike
If you go to bedford i will bring a portable dvd player so you can watch the video colin has made.
And ill bring a copy of the brands dvd for you .

Im going to get EBC turbo grooved discs for the rear with greenstuff for the moment ...see how i get on with that lot!
or i might revert back to just standard mg dics later!
You could always borrow a camera to fit up to your F if you get a drive!
Keep us informed if that comes about!

regards
Jonathan
ps
nows the hard bit ....paying for it!!!!!!lol


JR LEE

Might not feel like it at the precise moment the credit card bill arrives, but having good brakes that can easily cope with track days is well worth the investment! Hang on to the stuff you take off, if you sell the car you'll get a fair chunk of your money back by re-fitting it & selling the AP kit separately.

In the longer term I think you'll actually save money - I discovered I could make standard pads crumble in just 2 track days, but maybe that's just my heavy right foot ;-)

I'll look forward to seeing the video - Brands was one event where I kept it on the tarmac and facing roughly the right way! A drive at Bedford is still unlikely but I'll let you know.

Mike
Mike Hankin

This thread was discussed between 17/05/2005 and 22/05/2005

MG MGF Technical index

This thread is from the archives. Join the live MG MGF Technical BBS now