I drove an MG3 the other day. No big deal? Perhaps, but this was a rather special MG3. For a start, pulling away from the workshop for a brief test drive revealed a less ‘hair-trigger’ throttle action. Driving slowly down our access road was smooth, intuitive and devoid of the ‘kangaroo’ hop often encountered in MG3. Starting our test route proved that the first pull-away had not been a fluke. What is this? Linearity, semblance of torque delivery, ease of smooth gearchanges. Time to hunker down in the seat and get to know this car.
We had spent a happy few hours chatting to the owner (and his colleague, both rather well known in MG Car Club circles) whilst fitting our MG3 VHS sports suspension kit. This consists of a set of Bilstein monotube struts and dampers made to our requirements, offering significant body control and ride quality improvements, and a set of Eibach springs offering improved stance and a more agile handling balance. The owner had decided to add this package to his already modified MG3, which has a performance sports exhaust (which sounds great!), improved inlet breathing and (most importantly for me) a revised engine calibration. He and I were both keen to see how it worked together, so off we went.
It was only a brief drive as I wanted to demonstrate the ride, refinement, response and handling of our new suspension over our short but challenging ‘dynamics’ route. But it was made so much easier by the engine calibration. The original MG3 as sold to customers had numerous calibration problems which led to driveability issues. It was easy to stall which meant that too many revs would be used to pull away. Then the over-sharp throttle response made driving at low speed/in traffic a rather jerky affair. But what really annoyed me was the various stumbles and hesitations felt when (say) accelerating at full throttle in 3rd gear from low speed through the rev range. It was horrible, feeling strangled and under-developed. So, what a pleasure to try the new calibration and the breathing mods. The car is transformed in terms of drive quality and now feels ‘peppy’. Fundamentally, the problems with the original car have been resolved. There is also the benefit of enough performance to enjoy the ride and handling!
If only the MG3 calibration had been like this from the start. The good news is that it can be now. Contact www.mgandamcparts.com for more information.
Obviously, we are also happy to discuss the MG3 sports suspension kit (or our lowering spring kit, or our rear axle comfort kit….). A client in Australia kindly sent us a picture of his car following fitment of our lowering springs (and I’ve avoided the obvious reference to kangaroo hop…..). We can’t claim credit for the wheels, but isn’t it great that MG owners globally are enjoying and personalising their cars?
When two become one. I drove an MG3 the other day and loved it.