Discussion
I've fancied one for ages but the big engine (poor MPG) has always put me off as a daily driver/family car.
My daily (Passat 140TDi Estate) is costing me an absolute fortune at the moment & has proved to be somewhat unreliable over the last 2 years (A modern VAG, really?
) so I'm thinking about jumping ship.
What are the vairous pitfalls of owning these things, do they respond well to LPG & a mapping session, how easy is it to extract power (without resorting to super charging), parts availability, what are they like to drive & what are the various specs?
By the way, I'm fanciying the later face-lifted version, if that makes any difference.
Another thing to consider is the insurance & tax side of it, I don't want to get stung for £1000+ for FC cover, £400VED isn't exactly to my tastes either, so are there any specialists & MYs to bear in mind?
To me it's a 'proper car', I've got to have one, I just need to know the facts first
My daily (Passat 140TDi Estate) is costing me an absolute fortune at the moment & has proved to be somewhat unreliable over the last 2 years (A modern VAG, really?
) so I'm thinking about jumping ship.What are the vairous pitfalls of owning these things, do they respond well to LPG & a mapping session, how easy is it to extract power (without resorting to super charging), parts availability, what are they like to drive & what are the various specs?
By the way, I'm fanciying the later face-lifted version, if that makes any difference.
Another thing to consider is the insurance & tax side of it, I don't want to get stung for £1000+ for FC cover, £400VED isn't exactly to my tastes either, so are there any specialists & MYs to bear in mind?
To me it's a 'proper car', I've got to have one, I just need to know the facts first
VB said:
I've fancied one for ages but the big engine (poor MPG) has always put me off as a daily driver/family car.
My daily (Passat 140TDi Estate) is costing me an absolute fortune at the moment & has proved to be somewhat unreliable over the last 2 years (A modern VAG, really? ) so I'm thinking about jumping ship.
What are the vairous pitfalls of owning these things, do they respond well to LPG & a mapping session, how easy is it to extract power (without resorting to super charging), parts availability, what are they like to drive & what are the various specs?
By the way, I'm fanciying the later face-lifted version, if that makes any difference.
Another thing to consider is the insurance & tax side of it, I don't want to get stung for £1000+ for FC cover, £400VED isn't exactly to my tastes either, so are there any specialists & MYs to bear in mind?
To me it's a 'proper car', I've got to have one, I just need to know the facts first
In terms of HP vs performance vs weight of car vs the age of the car, the mpg isn't that far out. Not the best, but certainly not as bad as some make out.My daily (Passat 140TDi Estate) is costing me an absolute fortune at the moment & has proved to be somewhat unreliable over the last 2 years (A modern VAG, really?
) so I'm thinking about jumping ship.What are the vairous pitfalls of owning these things, do they respond well to LPG & a mapping session, how easy is it to extract power (without resorting to super charging), parts availability, what are they like to drive & what are the various specs?
By the way, I'm fanciying the later face-lifted version, if that makes any difference.
Another thing to consider is the insurance & tax side of it, I don't want to get stung for £1000+ for FC cover, £400VED isn't exactly to my tastes either, so are there any specialists & MYs to bear in mind?
To me it's a 'proper car', I've got to have one, I just need to know the facts first
In terms of ownership, I think some bits are very reliable. But they were a low volume production car, so a little TVR'ness might be expected from time to time. I suspect they are largely bullet proof in terms of major components, but niggles a plenty with a few bespoke parts.
Tuning wise, well remember this is the main engine found in the sn95 1996-2004 Mustang GT. There are more tuning parts for than you can shake a stick at.
The only down sides is the cast iron 2v SOHC 4.6 modular motor isn't the pinnacle of Ford's engineering department.
It will respond to mods, but not hugely. Cams, head work and bolt on's should see around 330hp though. But cams are pricey and I don't believe the ZT had enough room to fit proper long tube headers in.
These engines do respond well to supercharging and can see around 450hp on stock internals and around 700hp with beefed up pistons and rods.
But it ain't cheap.
Personally I'd say your best bet would be some high flow cats, free flowing catback and some induction work. Then slap on a 100 shot of nitrous for when you need it.
They aren't slow stock, easy Civic Type R pace and have a sorted chassis, a few mods and the nitrous would be you could really roll with a lot of exotic cars for not a massive outlay.
I want reliability, after having the Passat that's needed x2 wheel bearings, turbo, x4 injectors & wiring loom, air bag, radio faults, electric handbrake components, radiator, 4 wheel alignment needed every 6 months to stop it eating the tyres faster than usual, on top of the usual service items & the RUST!!!!! It's just got to go and be replaced by a reliable car that's a bit of fun.
I've thought about most others, I'd really like an Evo or WRX but the wife says i'm not allowed to park it on the driveway
The garage is home to the bike & i'm not kicking it out for a 'chav wagon'.
It was this video that made me start looking for a 260
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N68NdhJyhRM&fea...
I've thought about most others, I'd really like an Evo or WRX but the wife says i'm not allowed to park it on the driveway
The garage is home to the bike & i'm not kicking it out for a 'chav wagon'.It was this video that made me start looking for a 260
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N68NdhJyhRM&fea...
Edited by VB on Tuesday 25th October 14:32
I think Bill (a moderator) has or had a ZT260, might be worth sending them a PM.
I've owned or experienced a lot of Rover cars over the years and I'd say without exception all of them have been very good.
The 260 is a bit of a special case, but it's bound to be a classic, so worth persevering with I'd have though. And I'm not convinced any car can be guaranteed to be trouble free.
I suppose a Mazda 6 MPS would be a toned down Evo alternative or maybe an Audi S4 B5.
But the big Rover does have bags of charm and appeal. I test drove one when new, at the time I was driving a 200SX turbo (s13), the Rover was a lot more grunty, although not hugely faster in a straight line. But it felt 10x's taughter and was really chuckable. Amazingly so for such a big car. Felt like a brawny oversized go-kart, you really could play and be a hooligan non stop in it, or simply sit back and relax with near Jaguar level smoothness and refinement.
I've owned or experienced a lot of Rover cars over the years and I'd say without exception all of them have been very good.
The 260 is a bit of a special case, but it's bound to be a classic, so worth persevering with I'd have though. And I'm not convinced any car can be guaranteed to be trouble free.
I suppose a Mazda 6 MPS would be a toned down Evo alternative or maybe an Audi S4 B5.
But the big Rover does have bags of charm and appeal. I test drove one when new, at the time I was driving a 200SX turbo (s13), the Rover was a lot more grunty, although not hugely faster in a straight line. But it felt 10x's taughter and was really chuckable. Amazingly so for such a big car. Felt like a brawny oversized go-kart, you really could play and be a hooligan non stop in it, or simply sit back and relax with near Jaguar level smoothness and refinement.
The 260 isn't too expensive on fuel as a daily drive. There's little you can do to extract noticeable amounts of power without supercharging. (Different TB, cold air inlet etc. Possibly one or two firms doing a remap). There are a few LPG ones about but to modify one will cost about 50% of it's value. Some parts can be very difficult to source, and expensive!
I won't go into the reliability, I've already generated enough enemies in the MGR community!
I won't go into the reliability, I've already generated enough enemies in the MGR community!
RobM77 said:
A friend of mine had one of these for a while and really liked it. From memory the only downside was that it was only doing about 26mpg, whereas a BMW 330i with a similar FE/RWD layout would do 30-40mpg and produce slightly more power.
You mean slightly less power? the ZT should be making 260bhp SAE Net (or at leas the 4.6 does in every other application its used in). Also makes over 300ft lb of torque which is well beyond the 330i.VB said:
No please do! I'm really keen to hear from owners past & present
For a biased view against:- http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...For a biased view for:- http://www9.mgcars.org.uk/mgoc260/f0rum/
VB said:
The 330i is the obvious comparison to make. I've thought about it & although it would be a much saner choice, I just look at a 330i & think it's just another car, I see a ZT260 & go wibble.
I think the 3-series is smaller than the ZT, isn't it? I'd have put the ZT about half way between the 3- and 5-series? 300bhp/ton said:
I think Bill (a moderator) has or had a ZT260, might be worth sending them a PM.
Bill's car was lovely - ZT-T 260 Estate that had been to see the chaps at Dreadnought for a supercharger. It looked and sounded great, but he no longer owns it IIRC 
Kermit Power also had one I think.
300bhp/ton said:
RobM77 said:
A friend of mine had one of these for a while and really liked it. From memory the only downside was that it was only doing about 26mpg, whereas a BMW 330i with a similar FE/RWD layout would do 30-40mpg and produce slightly more power.
You mean slightly less power? the ZT should be making 260bhp SAE Net (or at leas the 4.6 does in every other application its used in). Also makes over 300ft lb of torque which is well beyond the 330i.RobM77 said:
o, slightly more power: the post '07 E90 330i makes 268bhp. Regarding the torque, yes, the ZT 260 produced 302lb-ft, whereas the BMW was 236lb-ft. The 335i of course makes 302bhp and 295lb-ft and still goes more to the gallon... It's the most obvious downside, but that shouldn't put someone off owning the car they want to own. Everything's got a price, and the MG might even be cheaper in the long run based on purchase price and depreciation
Hadn't realised the M54 made that power in the e46. Cheers.The 4.6 in SOHC guise certainly isn't the greatest motor in the world, but it gets the job done on a budget and is fairly stout. The DOHC variant is much better, but I'm told it won't fit the ZT engine bay. 305-320hp from those with the same economy and slightly better torque.
RobM77 said:
PoleDriver said:
RobM77 said:
Everything's got a price, and the MG might even be cheaper in the long run based on purchase price and depreciation
If you love cars then your heart should get a say as well as your head.I have found mine to be quite reliable, the only realy difficult bit was the heater control which siezed after I had left mine idle for a year whilst I was abroad. I got a replacement part from the chap on the twosixtys website and it was much better engineered and is working great.
Changing the standard 68mm throttlebody for a 75mm Accufab did increase the drivability of the carand made the engine much more ready to rev above 5000rpm, next I had the Dreadnought supercharger fitted and over long runs I get around 29+ mpg using the car's capabilitys that drops to single figures and can be as low as 3mpg without trying too hard on the track. On the road I have seen as low as 7mpg while still keeping the car under the speed limit but using the gears a lot. The gear change is not the fastest in the world but lightyears in front of the '04 Mustang, MGR also changed 5th gear as the Mustang had a very high overdrive style 5th.
With the supercharger the car does about mid 4 second 0-60 and tops out at just under 180mph, if you push it into the red it will get to 180 but not recomended.
Changing the standard 68mm throttlebody for a 75mm Accufab did increase the drivability of the carand made the engine much more ready to rev above 5000rpm, next I had the Dreadnought supercharger fitted and over long runs I get around 29+ mpg using the car's capabilitys that drops to single figures and can be as low as 3mpg without trying too hard on the track. On the road I have seen as low as 7mpg while still keeping the car under the speed limit but using the gears a lot. The gear change is not the fastest in the world but lightyears in front of the '04 Mustang, MGR also changed 5th gear as the Mustang had a very high overdrive style 5th.
With the supercharger the car does about mid 4 second 0-60 and tops out at just under 180mph, if you push it into the red it will get to 180 but not recomended.
Alicatt1 said:
I have found mine to be quite reliable, the only realy difficult bit was the heater control which siezed after I had left mine idle for a year whilst I was abroad. I got a replacement part from the chap on the twosixtys website and it was much better engineered and is working great.
Changing the standard 68mm throttlebody for a 75mm Accufab did increase the drivability of the carand made the engine much more ready to rev above 5000rpm, next I had the Dreadnought supercharger fitted and over long runs I get around 29+ mpg using the car's capabilitys that drops to single figures and can be as low as 3mpg without trying too hard on the track. On the road I have seen as low as 7mpg while still keeping the car under the speed limit but using the gears a lot. The gear change is not the fastest in the world but lightyears in front of the '04 Mustang, MGR also changed 5th gear as the Mustang had a very high overdrive style 5th.
With the supercharger the car does about mid 4 second 0-60 and tops out at just under 180mph, if you push it into the red it will get to 180 but not recomended.
Changing the standard 68mm throttlebody for a 75mm Accufab did increase the drivability of the carand made the engine much more ready to rev above 5000rpm, next I had the Dreadnought supercharger fitted and over long runs I get around 29+ mpg using the car's capabilitys that drops to single figures and can be as low as 3mpg without trying too hard on the track. On the road I have seen as low as 7mpg while still keeping the car under the speed limit but using the gears a lot. The gear change is not the fastest in the world but lightyears in front of the '04 Mustang, MGR also changed 5th gear as the Mustang had a very high overdrive style 5th.
With the supercharger the car does about mid 4 second 0-60 and tops out at just under 180mph, if you push it into the red it will get to 180 but not recomended.
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