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MG ZR ZS ZT Technical - getting more power from a ZS180

Ive got a zs180 and im a bit dissapointed with the power from it.

So far ive put an induction kit and a de-cat pipe on it but wanted more power still.

I spoke to motobuild and there offering a chip (£500 ish) and a set of cams (£500ish) but both of these only adding 5-10 hp each which i thought was a lot of money for a small gain.

Just wondered if anyone had any other ideas??
P J Bradley

PJ: When I complained about the 4 cylinder ZS needing more than 120 HP,some said this was enough for them,others said that I should get a 180 -and now you say that even a 180 is not enough!!
Tony

Its a strange phenomenom that no matter how much power your car has its never enough.

Ralph
Ralph

>> Ive got a zs180 and im a bit dissapointed with the power from it. <<

Get the car checked out - on some other forums, the ZT190 is reported as having a lack of power possibly due to a problem with the inlet manifold slider. It's possible that your ZS doesn't have the full compliment of 180 horses!

Beyond that, how much power do you want, and how much are you prepared to pay?

A decent exhaust manifold is a must - the standard item being a bit poor (understatement). Cams will certainly help. Thereafter you're looking at head work - I know that DVA has ported the KV6 - although the port design is pretty good straight out of the box (being very similar to the VHPD head).

RSM may also be a good place to go and talk KV6 too :o) I'm sure that George will have some ideas that'll get you on your way...!
Rob Bell

Yeah get it checked first 180 is a good number of horses for the ZS

The slider thing is a notorious problem

after that have a chat with George about Nos! he got 260bhp out of a ZT190


Neil

>>A decent exhaust manifold is a must - the standard item being a bit poor (understatement). <<

i dont think the car car is down on power -it's just that i want more!

the de-cat pipe and induction kit made quite a bit of difference -its now quicker in the mid range than my mates scooby WRX

when the car was up on the ramps having the de-cat pipe done i did notice that the exhaust front pipe seems to double back on itself which cant be good for the flow. Are there any places to get a free flowing one off the shelf or does one need to be made up?

>>have a chat with George about Nos! he got 260bhp out of a ZT190<<

who is george? and how much does it cost? :-)
P J Bradley

PJ,
Where did you get your induction kit and de-cat pipe from ?

Does anyone know if the ZT 'inlet manifold slider' problem can effect the ZS 180 also ?

Charlie.
Charles Goozee

http://www.rovasystemsmotorsport.co.uk/

g_mackmurdie@hotmail.com

he'll help

have a chat

Neil

Use him at your own risk.
Steve Tyler

Charles Goozee, West Sussex, United Kingdom, Charles.goozee@macro4.com
PJ,
Where did you get your induction kit and de-cat pipe from ?


Induction kit is an old K&N i made fit

De-cat pipe was made up at a powerflow type exhaust place


Steve Tyler, Essex, United Kingdom
Use him at your own risk.

why do you say that, is he not very good?
P J Bradley

In a word, no.
He's been trading on and off since about 1995 and I made the mistake of trusting him back then. I thought i'd give him a chance as he was local then and why not give a new business some support - wrong thing to do. Before then I used Moto-build Racing for all modified parts and now regard Darryl Davis and Motobuild as probably the best MGRover Tuners around but even now I still feel guilty about dropping them for George Macmurdie at MPI Motorsport or RSM (whatever his called these days) even after Darryl had warned me about him.
Even now as a MGRover Mechanic i'm still sorting cars that have been touched or had parts supplied by RSM.
This is obviously my own personal opinion which I can express on these forums and anyone can make up their own mind about certain companies and i'm sure that now this is posted there will be replies about RSM being ok and Moto-build being hard to get hold of on the phone etc but take note of all replies and why not ask for feedback on RSM on other MGRover forums.

For your ZS Upgrades check out www.moto-build.com
Steve Tyler

PJ, not sure who is doing off-the shelf exhaust manifolds for the K, but I suspect that QED will know - http://www.qednet.demon.co.uk/ - they've done quite a lot of development work for racing KV6s - mostly for the 2.0 litre class, but they'll know plenty about the 2.5 litre in your car as well.

What's your budget?
Rob Bell

I'd also recommend contacting QED, they do have some very interesting things in the pipeline. The problem with QED is that they only work on engines, they do not have the facility for cars (i.e. you'll need to remove the engine before taking it to them). The alternative is to get the parts from them and get someone else to fit them.
I'd tend to steer clear of NOS. Most people who are after extra power want it available anytime, not just when you've had a (costly) refill of your NOS cylinder.
As has been said, some people rate RSM, others don't and have a tale to tell. I'm satying neutral on this one (on this forum anyway).
JLD

The man is banned on XPF!
Gareth

That above post was not me for legal reason, just wanted to clarify.
G.K

This thread was discussed between 23/11/2004 and 18/12/2004

MG ZR ZS ZT Technical index

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