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MG MGF Technical - Lowering Knuckles.. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

Well, i have just returned from the Splendid Mike Saturs, Had some lowering knuckles fitted. Also had the geometry set up correctly. What a difference, the handling i would say has improved by 40%. I would defenatly reccomend this mod to anyone who hasnt had it done already, and those who have.... well you lot should have told me earlier.

Quality!

Richard
R Jay

I'd like this done myself.

One problem: insurance.

How did it affect yours?
JH Gillson

Had the lowering kit fitted by B&G at the time i was in the Uk. I was with the MGCC insurance (Peter Best) and that did not increase my premium at all - to the best of my recollection.
Was a serious improvement as well - the only downfall being that my standard MGR dealers were afterwards(they always wanted to put std MGF set-up by measuring height...which could seriously damage the car
suspension). So just give a serious word of warning to you dealer when you go for a servicing otherwise....Mike should have actually told you the exact height to apply (since I don't believe MGR dealers use these days a tool to measure the exact pressure within the hydragas and probably still rely insteazd on the old "height" method...)
Stephane

How much did your MS mod cost Mr(s) Jay, of u dont mind me asking (currently planning my own visit;))
Colin Ashworth

Stephane, as you have found with your dealer, advice didn't make any difference;-)
Mike.

mike

Hi all,
maybee a sticker with every low-knuckle set ?
Placed on the underbonnet closing panel it would give vital info to anyone trying to get the car back into "Freelander " mode....

BR, Carl.
Carl Blom

>> well you lot should have told me earlier. <<

I did, i've been going on about this since 1997... :-)

Carl has made an excellent point and come up with a really simple and effective answer. I'm going to get a sticker made up...

SF
Scarlet Fever

Been meaning to get a sticker made for ages...!
Rob Bell

I shall give Peter Best Insurance a phone call presently. Thank you, Stephane.
JH Gillson

iv'e been telling you about mine as well , since 2001, im'e with Pete Best as well, and am pretty sure made no difference in premium,and told all about other mods as well.Dave T6 DCM. ;0)
DC Morris

I think it cost £230 that was for the knuckles, fitting and the four wheel alignment afterwards. Well worth it in my opinion and looking back over some of the experiences of the guys here they all too love it. It made my journey home through snakes pass great fun indeed.
R Jay

I'm about to fit the MS Lowering knuckles and bushes to my F, and this got me wondering about what's actually included in a 4-wheel alignment?

More specifically, if the car is lowered, I would expect that this will have an effect on the camber angle of the wheels. Does a 4-wheel alignment normally cover adjustment of this camber angle, or is this a 'specialist' (ie MS, Techspeed, Dealer) job?

A friend of mine has also suggested that I leave the camber as it is, and align all the wheels parallel (ie 0 toe-in/out). Has anyone tried this, and if so, did it work out ok?

Thanks,

Nigel.

(By the way, can anyone tell me how much of a height drop the lowering knuckles give?)
Nigel

>> if the car is lowered, I would expect that this will have an effect on the camber angle of the wheels.<<

Yes, you can expect that the camber will become more negative. However, the angle is rarely greater than 1.5º, so is nothing to be concerned about.

>> Does a 4-wheel alignment normally cover adjustment of this camber angle, or is this a 'specialist' (ie MS, Techspeed, Dealer) job?<<

Other than adjustments to the trim height, there is no control over the camber angle on standard MGF suspension systems. Mike Satur sells a camber adjuster for the rear suspension only, whereas the front camber is adjustable if you drill out the rivits to the lower ball joints, elongate the lower ball joint mounting holes and bolt things together again. I've not ever seen this done though - which suggests to me that it might not be such a great idea! ;o)

>>A friend of mine has also suggested that I leave the camber as it is, and align all the wheels parallel (ie 0 toe-in/out). Has anyone tried this, and if so, did it work out ok?<<

Read through http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/tracking.htm to get a better feel for what altering the toe-angles will achieve in terms of your car's handling, and why toe-angles should, and should not be changed.

Bottom line though is that parallel all round is a bad idea. The car will be quite unstable in corners - especially if you do not uprate the rear tie-bar bush (http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/upgrading_bushes.htm)

A good compromise is 0º00' front and +0º10' (toe-IN) rear. Increasing the toe-in on the front penalises initial turn-in, but improves steering feel and 'bite' once turning into the corner... for this, try 0º05' toe-IN front.

HTH
Rob Bell

Thanks very much, Rob. I think I'll try +5 min front, +10 min rear.

Nigel.
Nigel

How does the lowering affect the ground clearance? I find the F in standard form is a bit marginal when it comes to getting over sharp driveways or entrances with a steep dip in them - wouldn't lowering make it worse, especially if you have a front splitter fitted?
Mike

Mike, I found that my F with the original specs hit enough of the speed humps that abound here in Auckland, even at very low speed, that lowering it would not be a great idea here. Havn't driven the TF over any speed humps yet, so don't know how it compares. Sue can probably comment on this.
Neil Courtney

This thread was discussed between 26/06/2003 and 11/07/2003

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