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MG MGF Technical - back end swung out causing spin

Taking a right hand bend on friday around 30-35mph, road slightly damp, my mgf back end swung right out and caused us to go into an uncontrollable spin. Thank God road was empty and boyfriend a great driver or who knows! We're both fine by the way. Just had MOT, 2 new front tyres, but ball joints have play. could this have caused it? Scared to drive it!
Janie Hunter

New front tyres mean better grip on the front - never a good thing in a RWD car.

Usually in the damp it is not the speed, but the acceleration that gets you, go easy with the right foot (and I include removing the right foot suddenly too). If you want to suddenly cut drive to the back wheels then use the clutch.

The ball joint also will not have helped and will make the car feel less stable - which won't help your confidence,
Will Munns

Hi Will, thank you so very much, sounds like perfect sense to me! Its going in on Thursday to get joints done. Roll on!

Janie
Janie Hunter

What make, type and size of tyres do you have fitted to your F?
Ralph Gadsby

Hi ralph 185 55 colway
J Hunter

Low Budget Retreads on an 'F' are most definitely not a good idea.
Geoff F
G. Farthing

Jannie, Tyres are very important on an F so a good make and the right size are very important. Toyos I find are excellent.
Andrew W Regens

Janie, have a look at the thread I started a while back, 'tyre selection'. A lot of guys more knowledgeable than me have put some good information on there. Adam
A. H. Price

Ted Newman, can you please read this?
Tony Harrison

Whoever sold you the tyres should have:

1 - been aware that MGF's are very susceptable to having incorrect tyres, were you warned?

2 - known putting new tyres on the front of a car can lead to rear-end skids, this is also exasperated with rear wheel drive cars like the 'F'.

Sorry, after driven an F with crap tyres, I think the safest option for you to do is either : fit 4 new tyres on front and back, or, at the very least, get the grip back up on the rear. I can't imagine the colways are the grippest of tyres, so 2 new proxies on the back should help. Actually, strike that, F's are ropey with their tyre choice at the best of times, ditch the colways too. And read Rob Bell's tyre bible for a useful guide.

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

Hope this helps. Also check out the csmgf website forum for a more local tyre fitter supplier (Central Scotland MGF). Some chap in Glasgow as I recall's cheap for Toyos.

www.csmgf.co.uk

Leigh

Was there a diesel spill or the like on the road. Was caught out my motorcycle once by that menace !
Bad as ice !
J M Brown

I'm with all the others in thinking it's the tyres. I used to have alarming rear slides until I put Toyo T1-R on the rear wheels. The car is now beautifully controllable and doesn't frighten the life out of me any more.
Mike
Mike Howlett

also a £10 investment in a set of compliance washers (and an hour of boyfriends time to fit them) would be particularly worthwhile, they cured the mid corner lurch that my F came with as standard

mike
mike roberts

Mike, what are compliance washers? Adam, Not Afraid To Show His Ignorance, Price
A. H. Price

Tallk to B&G about compliance washers. Believe it.
C.R.B. Simeon

Adam, The rear suspension on the F is prevented from moving backwards and forwards by a tie bar that passes through the lower arm with rubber pads to cushion it. These pads allow quite a lot of movement, which means the rear wheel can squirm forwards and backwards as you drive. The compliance washers simply take up the slack and keep the wheel in place.
Mike
Mike Howlett

Thanks for the info. Adam
A. H. Price

Colway make good rallycross tyres, but I believe they're popular mainly for their durability, i.e. not so much for their grip... Treat yourself to a good pair of tyres, chosen on the feedback of people who have used them on the MGF (as discussed, you'll struggle to find a car that is more sensitive to tyre choice), and you'll be whipping around corners again full of confidence 8-)

While MGs On Track have a quite spooky luck with the weather, there have occasionally been some wet track days and it's always interesting to see which cars keep the marshals busiest. The Bridgestone & Goodyear shod cars always seem to be much better behaved, so they appear to be worth the extra investment ;o)

Adam, if you can get hold of a copy of the MGoT video that Jonathan Lee produced, there's some footage from a camera looking back past the rear wheel on Bedford circuit, shot from two different cars - one completely standard, the other with all the rubber bushes replaced with stiffer poly bushes. Compare the two, and you'll see how much movement there is on the standard setup. Fitting compliance washers will reduce that movement by around half, which sharpens the handling nicely, but the big benefit is next time you have to stand on the brakes the rear won't be trying to overtake you...
Mike Hankin

" Thank God road was empty and boyfriend a great driver or who knows!" ?? Maybe it wouldn't have happened to a really great driver. I would suggest being a really great driver would include knowing the limits of the vehicle under the conditions at the time. Fortunately you didn't collect a motorbike or someone else minding their own business and being in control coming the other way !!
SGG

This thread was discussed between 26/06/2007 and 07/07/2007

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