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MG MGF Technical - Ride height adjustment and wheel size

Can someone tell me if it possible to bleed the hydragas in order to lower the ride height. If so would it be a safe job for an amateur to do if done very carefully, little by little, long settling periods etc. I recently had the suspension 'blown up' as it was seriously underinflated when i bought it, but now it looks too high and i read somewhere that the correct rideheight is 360mm from center to wheel arch is this correct as my car is riding at something like 375mm.

Also my 1996 1.8i was purchased with Pirrelli 205/50s on all the way round, I know the original spec was narrower tyres on the front, does this have a detrimental effect on the handling i.e. should i purchase new front tyres. My local MG dealer says that later Fs came with 205/50s all the way round?
DM Wood

D M I had mine pumped up a few weeks ago and wasnt happy as the car sat like a 4x4. YES...its an easy job to release some fluid to lower the height in the short term as I did. Ideally to lower the height it should be done using lowering knuckles etc.


Remove the black plastic panel under the bonnet and you will see 2 valves similiar looking to valves on your wheels. These are for each side.
I pressed the valves using the end of a screwdriver but be careful !!!!!!!!!!

Rememebr the fluid is pressurised to about 400psi and comes out at a fair rate. I wrapped an old rag around the valve to soak up the escaping fluid.

ALSO>.... the car drops very dramatically so do not press the valve continously or it will be undriveable within seconds. Short bursts seem to work best.

Once at a happy height leave for an hour or so and measure both sides. You may need to to some fine tuning to get both sides even. I suggest work on one side until happy and use that height as a guide for the second.

Hope this helps.........and remember its a quick easy solution, but not the best !!
D Jamieson

Rob has some good stuff on his website - well worth a read. :-)

>> http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/lowering.htm <<

SF
Scarlet Fever

This'll help too...

>> http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/howto_lower.htm <<

SF
Scarlet Fever

cheers for the advice, I'm not trying to lower it to cut the daisies off a putting green just to get it to its off the production line height as I think the MG garage I took it too was a little over zelous with the hydraulic fluid.

From what you say it sounds as though making such adjustments should only be a temporary measure, but if i get it to the original 'correct' height using the method you've given me then that should be it for quite some time shouldn't it?

just as an idea how high do you ride yours (360mm?)and how do you measure it (i.e. from where to where, would it be a good idea to use something resting on the tyre as a reference marker) Obviously my concern it that I screw up the handling.

any further advice would be much appreciated
DM Wood

D M I cant measure mine right now but im sure im right in saying its measured from the wheel center to the lip if the wheel arch. If you want to see how low mine is just by releasing fluid you can see pictures on www.csmgf.dsl.pipex.com its the Red MPI A6 DVY
D Jamieson

...and if you look really closely you can see where the wheels have fouled the arches ;-)

Under inflated hydragas can cause real handling problems too, be careful not to go too low.

Money spent on lowering knuckles and getting the job done properly can save you money in the long run.

David, when you going to get lowering knuckles m8?



paul weatherill

Lowering knuckles wil be purchased when I can kick this habit of buying tyres :-(
D Jamieson

Can't measure my F either, she currently looks like this...

>> http://www.sfforever.co.uk/viewgallerypicture.asp?id=23-24-173-174-175-176-177-178-179-180-181-182-183-184-185-186-187-188-189-190-191-192-193-194-195-196&queryon=20 <<

But i can tell you that with lowering knuckles i used to have her set to between 340 and 345mm - this i found was a good compromise between ride comfort, grounding out and ultimate handling. At the end of the day, if you choose to go 'off spec' with your ride height then it is a personal decision to suit your driving style, location and what you want from the car.

SF
Scarlet Fever

Hi David,

>>Can someone tell me if it possible to bleed the hydragas in order to lower the ride height.<<

Yes it certainly is - as the others have mentioned! :o)

>>If so would it be a safe job for an amateur to do if done very carefully, little by little, long settling periods etc.<<

Yes, as you say, a methodical approach needs to be applied to get the best results. Remember the rule of thirds, and you'll not go far wrong :o)
All described on the link that Andy mentioned above: http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/howto_lower.htm

>> i read somewhere that the correct rideheight is 360mm from center to wheel arch is this correct as my car is riding at something like 375mm.<<

Correct height is 368 plus/minus 10mm. So 360 is a perfectly acceptable ride height to aim for.

>>Also my 1996 1.8i was purchased with Pirrelli 205/50s on all the way round, I know the original spec was narrower tyres on the front, does this have a detrimental effect on the handling i.e. should i purchase new front tyres.<<

No need to purchase new tyres. I've used 185, 195, 205 and 215 tyres on the front, and the 195 and 205s were the best options IMO. The original specification for 15" wheels was 185/55 R15.

>> My local MG dealer says that later Fs came with 205/50s all the way round? <<

He's confusing himself with the 16" option which used 215s all round. 205s were NEVER specified as standard on the MGF - or indeed on the TF.

Hope this helps! :o)
Rob Bell

This thread was discussed on 20/05/2003

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