RE: Shed of the Week: MG ZS 180

[mrpenks]

I should probably like this more than I do. Not sure why I dislike them - maybe a hangover from the MGF I once bought and regretted.

[QuadrifoglioVerde]

Seriously exotic stuff this - shares parts with a Zonda!!

[chow pan toon]

dlockhart said:

Also how did they only manage to get only 175 bhp from a 2.5 v6 in 2001?

I don't think that is too bad for the time. BMW only got 15 more from the E46 325

Edit, Kambites beat me to it above

[X5TUU]

QuadrifoglioVerde said:

Seriously exotic stuff this - shares parts with a Zonda!!

Maybe so but that's a nail in the coffin for Zonda rather than kudos points for the MG

[stedale]

I like it

[s m]

chow pan toon said:

dlockhart said:

Also how did they only manage to get only 175 bhp from a 2.5 v6 in 2001?

I don't think that is too bad for the time. BMW only got 15 more from the E46 325

Edit, Kambites beat me to it above

....and more than the E46 323 ( which was a 2.5 ) - 170bhp

Plus Rover did get more from this engine - 190bhp in the bigger ZT(75)

[VolvoT5]

Potentially a great value shed. Shame they are fwd but still.... more interesting than the usual German sheds.

[confused_buyer]

Spannerski said:

MG Rover cars were very underrated vehicles.
Their downfall was not building cars for Motoring Journalists, like just about every other manufacturer does.

The ZS 180 was actually one of the motoring journalists favourites.

[confused_buyer]

s m said:

....and more than the E46 323 ( which was a 2.5 ) - 170bhp

Audi 2.4 V6: 167bhp
Mercedes 2.6 V6: 170bhp

etc.

[JohnGoodridge]

kambites said:

dlockhart said:

Also how did they only manage to get only 175 bhp from a 2.5 v6 in 2001?

There was a 190bhp version of the same engine in the ZT. Still only 76bhp/litre but I don't think that was particularly low for a mainstream engine of the era? It's about the same as the E46 325i and 323i which were BMW's two 2.5 six-pots at the time.

Edited by kambites on Friday 13th May 09:26

And IIRC both are quite restricted at the top end. If it's important to you, another 10% or so may be available with a filter and chip. Given passing muster at inspection this is a cracking car for £800 notes.

[rtz62]

Shambler said:

I remember when these first came out and we tested them up at knockhill, within two laps on road tyres I set a lap that would have put me in 2nd place for the touring cars. A chap in a Porsche 911 turbo was so depressed when I sailed past him on the straight. Epic epic car

I take it that the 911 had wrong-slotted, and got 5th or 6th instead of 2nd or 3rd, and was totally off-boost????

Anyway, my friend and I have had 2 MG ZT 190's and 2 ZS 180's between us.
Personally I prefer the ZS as it feels more nimble and has better handling characteristics, but I guess that's a matter of choice. The first ZS was the face lifted one with the 'faux' wing vents which to be honest look ridiculous, but other little details actually made the car look and feel better resolved.
My friend recently bought a ZS 180 as a run around, 88k from new and with 10mths MOT on it. No rust, no issues, and it drives so well for so little cash.
He came round the other day and announced that he has had his fussy out of it and bought an MG F (coughs apologetically...) so ithe ZS will be up for sale soon.
And then, when it's sold, he will start looking for another one. Again.
As said elsewhere, such a good little car for so little money; good shed sir.

[gdaybruce]

A fun and practical car for not much cash but I recognise the comment about the clutch master cylinder. It failed on my brother's ZS180 just outside Le Mans a couple of years ago, necessitating a journey home of some 600 miles with no clutch. Boarding the ferry up a long steep ramp, in traffic, was interesting... Still, on the positive side, getting the car underway by using the starter motor in 1st gear after every stop proved just how robust that item is!

[thespannerman]

If I had the space for this I'd have snapped it up! Been on my radar as a potential daily driver for a while!

[300bhp/ton]

Tony Middlehurst said:

Under the bonnet, a 2.5 V6 with VIS, MG's version of VTEC

[300bhp/ton]

dlockhart said:

Also how did they only manage to get only 175 bhp from a 2.5 v6 in 2001?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1594198




PEAK numbers aren't the most important. Look how the KV6 massively out performs the FA20 engine.


And maybe you could list some other 2.5 V6's of this era in mainstream cars with their outputs and see what sort of power they made.

[Buff Mchugelarge]

Shambler said:

I remember when these first came out and we tested them up at knockhill, within two laps on road tyres I set a lap that would have put me in 2nd place for the touring cars. A chap in a Porsche 911 turbo was so depressed when I sailed past him on the straight. Epic epic car

Generic 'not sure if serious' JPEG.

[Valgar]

I really liked these, especially the saloon version with the big wing, handled well and sounded decent too. I need a new 4 door run around in the next few months and one of these just might fit the bill.

[anonymous-user]

300bhp/ton said:

dlockhart said:

Also how did they only manage to get only 175 bhp from a 2.5 v6 in 2001?

http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&f=23&t=1594198




PEAK numbers aren't the most important. Look how the KV6 massively out performs the FA20 engine.


And maybe you could list some other 2.5 V6's of this era in mainstream cars with their outputs and see what sort of power they made.

That was pretty much what you'd expect. The Ford Duratec V6 in the Mondeo was around 170bhp, as was the Vauxhall 2.5 V6, Mercedes with the M112 got 170bhp from 2.6 litres. The only two that spring to mind as producing more power from a similar displacement are the Alfa Busso and the BMW I6.

The KV6 is a lovely engine, one of the best V6 engines of the time. I seem to recall the earlier (extremely fragile) version in the Rover 800 was even more enthusiastic to rev too, although the car itself was a poor home for it.

[Limpet]

Brilliant cars! A friend has one and they are rapid, sound great and handle brilliantly. Some spares are hard to come by though. This one needed a new radiator a couple of years ago and no new ones were available anywhere. It's a unique to the model part and the four pot rad, which is plentiful, can't be substituted. Eventually a breaker came to the rescue.

Fantastic shed! I seem to remember Tiff Needell calling it the best front wheel drive chassis he'd ever driven back in the day.

[Mr2Mike]

Shed Advert said:

Cambelt changed

There are three timing belts that need to be changed, I wonder if that was a typo or not? Changing the water pump at the same time is also very advisable and tensioners/idlers go without saying.