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MG MGF Technical - Induction kit or not?

Afternoon all,

Please bear with me here, I'm extremely new to this.

I've recently bought a 2001 Trophy and although I'm amazingly happy with my first MG, I am wondering whether or not to add a K&N 57i Induction kit?

The thing is i've had a lot of mixed responses to this.
Some say it will boost bhp by approximately 5-10 while others say that the Trophy has already been fettled to produce more power and that this mod will in fact lose me power???

Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

Many thanks.

Kris Ford.
K Ford

depends on the kit, and what you want from it.

The k&n will lose you power due to getting hot engine air, but the noise will make it seem faster ;-)

More expensive enclosed filters may gain you a little, but the money would be better spent on an airfield day
Will Munns

Many thanks for your reply Will.

An airfield day sounds interesting!
Where can I find more info regarding these types of meets?

Thanks again.

Kris.
K Ford

>> Where can I find more info regarding these types of meets? <<

Kris, checkout http://www.mgs-on-track.com - there's a North Weald activity day coming up soon! :o)

Regarding induction kits, the 57i is a brilliant kit for the price, and at least it has cooling ducts that help counter the warm engine bay problem. Many of us have gone to the next DIY stage and have enclosed the filter - see http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/airbox/index.htm for more details :o)
Rob Bell

The K&N is unlikely to produce more power than the standard Trophy air filter and only the Pipercross Viper Evo shows any improvement. An exhaust would add a few more bhp but more importantly make the car sound sportier. And of course there is the Tech-speed suspension upgrade - very worthwhile.
Blue Pocket Rocket

Hi Kris,

Greetings from a former Trophy owner, you've invested wisely IMHO!

The power gains to be had from bolt-on upgrades will as you've spotted be proportionally less, the extra 'Trophy' bhp almost entirely comes from tweaks to the induction & exhaust. Fitting a better element in the Trophy airbox might release a small amount, but I suspect you'd never actually feel it.

As Will suggests, a track or airfield day will produce much more grin per £, and it might lean you towards tweaking the handling, e.g. some better dampers, which won't drive up your insurance as much as 'power' mods do.



Mike Hankin

Thanks all for your answers!
Sounds to me like although the K&N is a good piece of kit, it won't actually benefit me very much!

If anyone has any ideas on a good way to increase my performance then I am all ears! :-)

Are there any particular exhausts that you chaps would recommend for the Trophy or are they all pretty much the same?
K Ford

How about NOS? Ah, you said good ideas - that rules that one out! ;)

Other suggestions to improve performance:
4-2-1 exhaust manifold
DVA head
Supercharger
Reduce vehicle weight
Reduce passenger/driver weight ;)

Ralph
Ralph

I have a Milltek fitted to my Trophy but they all sound different so it's whatever you like the sound of!
http://uk.geocities.com/davidt6dcm@btopenworld.com/BPR160a.WAV
Blue Pocket Rocket

I have fitted to my VVC a K & N filter with cool air tubing, a Milltek exhaust plus 52mm TB all up a big improvment over standard for a modest outlay.
Andrew Regens

Well Kris, depends if you have £10k left in the budget, in which case having a Honda iVTEC & 6 speed box squeezed in by Mike Satur is an attractive option...

Having the head ported & polished by DVA would be my first choice, but while the head is off you might look at going a bit further, depends where you're looking to gain - cams etc boost top-end power, but if you want bags of torque then forced induction (£4k ish) or as Ralph suggests, a nitrous kit. I'd suggest having the engine balanced if you're planning a lot of rev-limiter visiting, it more than pays for itself. With wilder upgrades the Trophy ECU becomes a limiting factor so a replacement would give more scope.

Have a look at Dave Andrews site, it's http://www.dvapower.co.uk/
Mike Hankin

This thread was discussed between 04/07/2005 and 05/07/2005

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