19/03/2008 21:46:28 Crowler Does anyone have any advice (before I go to Kwikfit etc.! :eek: ) regards to what tyres you would put on MGF VVC wheels - bearing in mind the car is used on road only (dry) weekends etc. and am also planning to do a few more track sessions with it this year? Just thought I'd ask in case anyone knows any good deals or what to look out for etc. etc. Didn't want to shell out and then find could have got something better/cheaper if I had only asked... any advice gratefully received :)

19/03/2008 22:55:40 Dave [quote=Crowler]Does anyone have any advice (before I go to Kwikfit etc.! :eek: ) regards to what tyres you would put on MGF VVC wheels - bearing in mind the car is used on road only (dry) weekends etc. and am also planning to do a few more track sessions with it this year? Just thought I'd ask in case anyone knows any good deals or what to look out for etc. etc. Didn't want to shell out and then find could have got something better/cheaper if I had only asked... any advice gratefully received :)[/quote]Are the original VVC 15" or later 16"? The tyre choices are different.

20/03/2008 09:02:29 Crowler Hi Dave They are 16" VVC alloys on a 97 MGF... Thanks Lee

20/03/2008 09:39:42 Dave [quote=Crowler]Hi Dave They are 16" VVC alloys on a 97 MGF... Thanks Lee[/quote]In that case, I would thoroughly recommend trying to get your hands on Bridgestone SO2 Pole Positions. They are fantastic on the F both on and off track. However, there's a lot you'd have to accept: 1. they aren't cheap - around £100 per corner. 2. they are only in 205x45 profile - so you have to run the same size all round. 3. they don't last too long - at least not on my car! 3. they are difficult to get hold of. I've run them for 7 years - very stiff tyre wall makes for excellent handling but will make you feel a few more bumps on poor roads. Alternatively, stick to Goodyear F1s as long as you get DS2 and not DS3 versions. I'm told that these have been reintroduced after being obsoleted once. They were an OEM tyre for the MGF and work well. Also you can get the 195 profile for the front and either the 205 or 215 profile for the rear - whatever suits you. The F doesn't take kindly to budget tyres or to mixing tyres. Best to stick to the same brand/model all round. Have a read of Rob Bell's site [URL="http://www.mgf.ultimatemg.com/group2/tyres/index.htm"]here[/URL] - it is a bit old, but still worthwhile.

20/03/2008 10:34:25 Crowler Just checked the car and currently have: Front - Goodyear Eagle F1 185/55 R15 Rear - Goodyear NCT 5 205/50 R15 Do these make sense? I'm not really up on tyres. I guess from this I would stick to the Goodyears when replacing to keep the same brand all round?

20/03/2008 13:14:47 Crowler Have found the following tyres (fitted, balanced etc.) from blackcircle.com... Front = Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2 195/45 R16 W @ £63.09 each Rear = Goodyear Eagle F1 GSD2 205/45 R16 W @ £83.15 each Not sure how this compares?

20/03/2008 14:19:44 Steve Hill [quote=Crowler]Just checked the car and currently have: Front - Goodyear Eagle F1 185/55 R15 Rear - Goodyear NCT 5 205/50 R15 Do these make sense? I'm not really up on tyres. I guess from this I would stick to the Goodyears when replacing to keep the same brand all round?[/quote] The R15 indictaes that you actually have 15 inch rims, not 16 inch.

20/03/2008 15:11:47 Dave Steve's right R15 indicates 15". If they were 16" they would be R16. Definitely get rid of the Goodyear NCT 5s - they are poor. Stick with the Goodyear F1 DS2s. Do not mix NCT5s and F1s despite them both being Goodyear, as they are very different tyres. The F can be very sensitive to such mixing - often producing nasty handling!

20/03/2008 15:33:41 Crowler OK, cheers guys - so would you say then... Goodyear DS2 195/45 R15 for the front? Goodyear DS2 205/45 R15 for the rear? If I can track them down somewhere!

20/03/2008 15:41:50 Crowler Seem to find loads of DS3s but not DS2s - are DS3s to be avoided? :confused:

20/03/2008 16:03:42 Dave [quote=Crowler]OK, cheers guys - so would you say then... Goodyear DS2 195/45 R15 for the front? Goodyear DS2 205/45 R15 for the rear? If I can track them down somewhere![/quote]Yep - that sounds fine :) Oh hang on - it should be 195/50 and 205/50 shouldn't it? Checking Rob Bell's site again.

20/03/2008 16:07:17 Dave [quote=Crowler]Seem to find loads of DS3s but not DS2s - are DS3s to be avoided? :confused:[/quote]Yes, best to avoid them. Whilst some people haven't had problems with them, many others have. I believe Goodyear reintroduced the DS2 because the DS3 didn't work for the F.

20/03/2008 16:17:39 Crowler Is there anywhere that anyone knows that has the DS2 available? As mentioned, tried the searching around on the web and they seem difficult to track down :(

20/03/2008 16:20:25 Crowler Yes - it is 50s - will search for them... So looks like the ideal set-up for me is... DS2 R15 195/50 on Front and DS2 R15 205/50 on Rear - if can get them. If not guess I will have to consider a full set of 4 new tyres of a different type :(

20/03/2008 16:59:29 Dave I'm not sure where you are in the country, but the benchmark in the south is Micheldever Tyres ((01962 774437)- a wholesaler who do sell to the public. They are always keenly priced and availability there indicates likely availability elsewhere. Personally, I always get good deals (close to Micheldever prices) and availability from [URL="http://www.merityre.co.uk/"]Merityres[/URL], which is a small chain - again in the London and west of London area. I believe some of the online tyre places will also get F1s if you call them - [URL="http://www.blackcircles.com/"]black circle[/URL] or [URL="http://www.mytyres.co.uk/start.html"]mytyres[/URL] or [URL="http://www.etyres.co.uk/"]etyres[/URL] - those sort of places. Though I have no personal experience with them.

20/03/2008 17:03:37 Crowler Thanks Dave - I'm right in the centre of England in Warwickshire so could travel down south if need be. I'll try those places and see where it gets me. If I have to go for PLAN B and consider a new range of tyres is there any currently that would be advisable for the 15" VVC alloys?