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7.0...hmmm. I don't think so..

2.6K views 24 replies 11 participants last post by  Chris T  
#1 ·
Third post in half an hour - sorry i'm an excitable newby !!

I did something sad on the weekend - from a standing start i thrashed my way to 60 with digital watch on steeting wheel so i could see what time it went through 60. Now, I've got a K&N and 52TB - i got good take off and it was somewhere inbetween 7 and 7.5 seconds. It is only MG who give those figures, all other mags etc have tested it at closer to 8. As for 7 - they must have tested a freak car !!
 
#2 ·
0-60 times can depend on so many variables though (tyres, road surface, weather, fuel load, driver ability, engine temp etc) and I've always personally taken them with a pinch of salt.

I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of manufacturers overstate the ability of their cars. At least one manufacturer that I'd heard of actually quoted a 0-60 based on a computer estimate of what the car was capable of presuming everything was working to the optimum.
 
#5 ·
Venom said:
0-60 times can depend on so many variables though (tyres, road surface, weather, fuel load, driver ability, engine temp etc) and I've always personally taken them with a pinch of salt.

I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of manufacturers overstate the ability of their cars. At least one manufacturer that I'd heard of actually quoted a 0-60 based on a computer estimate of what the car was capable of presuming everything was working to the optimum.
Also if you think about it, at launch, you basically need to be able to judge EXACTLEY the right amount of throttle so that you are right on the slip limit just before wheel spin starts. Its impossible, when you find you've reached max traction, the wheels will probably be spinning. No wheelspin probably means not enough, but if you get spin its too much, you will never know that you've got it just right, too many variables.
 
#8 ·
Oh Emma - please say your joking and not as sad as me - when my wife asked me where i'd been I just couldn't tell her - in the end i did and got the deserved reply "christ your such a nerd" - of which i nodded
 
#9 ·
scuzza said:
Oh Emma - please say your joking and not as sad as me - when my wife asked me where i'd been I just couldn't tell her - in the end i did and got the deserved reply "christ your such a nerd" - of which i nodded
:lol: I'm still here, had to stop myself going out. I admit I'm probably pretty sad when it comes to my car, some might say boring! :err:
 
#12 ·
a friend of mine runs the essex roadsters and too me to one of their meetings a few weeks back - guys where debating about what white pen to use to sharpen up the edges of the writting on the tyres - I keep telling myself if i'm ever this bad i'll simply have to sell it
 
#13 ·
scuzza said:
a friend of mine runs the essex roadsters and too me to one of their meetings a few weeks back - guys where debating about what white pen to use to sharpen up the edges of the writting on the tyres - I keep telling myself if i'm ever this bad i'll simply have to sell it
Oh small world. Who are you? I'm up there regularly (usually arrive late though) Although not strictly from Essex, I should be a Kentish Roadster really.
 
#16 ·
Wow Emma what a small world - I don't know if you remember me but I was there with Kieron and came inside for a beer - it was dark and lots of people... My problem is EXACTLY the same as yours so your site is really interesting - I keep meaning to have a go at mine but have not been brave enough - so i guess it's just sand it back - whack the rust killers stuff on - sand it flat, prime and paint right ?
 
#17 ·
Sure is, I don't remember seeing you as I literally pulled up (having arrived late) got out of the car and promptly directed by Scarlet over to your car, I didn't have a clue what was going on! :lol:

scuzza said:
so i guess it's just sand it back - whack the rust killers stuff on - sand it flat, prime and paint right ?
That's pretty much it. Although I didn't technically sand it back, I used the rust killer and a scouring pad to take it right back to the metal. Budget a few hours to do this, it is a very slow process. Don't be afraid to have a go yourself. I don't really know what I'm doing when it comes to cars but that doesn't stop me having a go. Just remember that if you mess anything up, that area is covered by the rubber strip anyway, so you can't see it when it's finished.
 
#18 ·
problem is, mine has come through to the front of the arch more than the area behind the strip, it was caked with mud from behind so i guess this corroded away at it over a period of time. I will come again on a thursday so can meet you properly next time - these kin of things are not really my bag but for some reason i'm quite into this since buying the MG - Probably ust a phase (as my mother used to say)
 
#19 ·
Venom said:
0-60 times can depend on so many variables though (tyres, road surface, weather, fuel load, driver ability, engine temp etc) and I've always personally taken them with a pinch of salt.

I wouldn't mind betting that a lot of manufacturers overstate the ability of their cars. At least one manufacturer that I'd heard of actually quoted a 0-60 based on a computer estimate of what the car was capable of presuming everything was working to the optimum.

Most manufacturers quoted 0-60 times are far more accurate than a digital watch on the steering wheel.

They tend to use expensive timing and speed measurement gear on a test track (MIRA in Nuneaton being a good example), however the most important factor in these tests is the driver. They would generally do this at the cars kerb weight. IE empty boot, full tank of fuel, with an expert driver. they would be done in deal conditions, ie dry weather, expert driver, good road surface. I certainly haven't heard of any manufacturer putting a computer simulation down as the actual 0-60.

In fact the quoted times would have to be achievable (trade descriptions act)
 
#20 ·
cjmillsnun said:
Most manufacturers quoted 0-60 times are far more accurate than a digital watch on the steering wheel.

They tend to use expensive timing and speed measurement gear on a test track (MIRA in Nuneaton being a good example), however the most important factor in these tests is the driver. They would generally do this at the cars kerb weight. IE empty boot, full tank of fuel, with an expert driver. they would be done in deal conditions, ie dry weather, expert driver, good road surface. I certainly haven't heard of any manufacturer putting a computer simulation down as the actual 0-60.

In fact the quoted times would have to be achievable (trade descriptions act)
Yeah, I dont think they can "guess" based on the theory. They almost certainly, as you say, give the car the best possible conditions- even if this, in reality, makes the quoted times a virtual impossibility (except perhaps in automatics? Its one less rather large variable removed)
You wouldnt be able to change gear fast enough- not without smashing it all anyway.
 
#22 ·
though in principal i agree, if what car, top gear, autocar and a couple of other i can't think of off the top of my head are saying the VVC accelerates to 60 at between 7.7 and 8.4 secs and only MG who have profit to make by such figures state 7.0 I know who i'd believe - unless MG are the only people to have 'expert drivers' of course...
 
#23 · (Edited)
Another point here is that the MG F/TF can JUST reach a real (as opposed to indicated) 60 mph (97 km/h) in second gear, almost exactly at the moment when you hit the rev limiter (on a VVC / TF 160).

To reach 62 mph (100 km/h) you need to engage third gear, which explains why the 0-100 km/h times quoted in Europe for the F/TF are about half a second slower than the UK 0-60 mph times.

Per