Is there much difference between the MPS4 and MPS4s

[W8BGS]

My front tyres are now 5 years old and have developed UV cracks, although a fair bit of tred left on them it seems wise to change them. They are Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymetric 3 and I am not really a fan of them. I put the size 245/40/19 Y into Black Circles and they have the MPS4 for £170 each fitted. They don't seem to have MPS4s in that size. They also have the Eagle F1 A5, but not sure I want to stick with the Goodyear Eagle F1 route. 

[coldel]

@Ekona

[Ekona]

The MPS4 (which is what I run as I cannot get MPS4S in 17”) are like a perfectly cooked steak with chunky chips, steamed beans and the sauce of your choosing. The MPS4S are like the same steak, but served by a nude Scarlett Johansson offering herself as dessert. 
 

In short, they’re both excellent but you’d be mad to not go for the latter. Just move up a width front and back to suit, they have them in those sizes. 

[W8BGS]

Thanks. Just watched this video and have a better understanding now. 

 

 

[davey_83]

*this ☝️

[W8BGS]

3 hours ago, Ekona said:

The MPS4 (which is what I run as I cannot get MPS4S in 17”) are like a perfectly cooked steak with chunky chips, steamed beans and the sauce of your choosing. The MPS4S are like the same steak, but served by a nude Scarlett Johansson offering herself as dessert. 
 

In short, they’re both excellent but you’d be mad to not go for the latter. Just move up a width front and back to suit, they have them in those sizes. 

Thanks for the advice. I am only changing the front as the rears are only 2 years old and have a load of tread left, they are Goodyear Eagle F1 A4's. 

 

I find the car pretty twitchy at the front so want something that's an upgrade on the Eagle F1 A3's. 

[Ekona]

The car is probably twitchy due to mismatched tyres tbh, or your geo, or both. Read the Sticky about mixed tyres for more info. 

[W8BGS]

31 minutes ago, Ekona said:

The car is probably twitchy due to mismatched tyres tbh, or your geo, or both. Read the Sticky about mixed tyres for more info. 

Thanks, found and read the sticky. I get the point being made, there shouldn't be as big a difference with the as3 and as4 as both rated A in wet, but I do appreciate the tread depths will be different and obviously the compound in the front has deteriorated a lot more. I think after reading that I will change all 4 with the MPS4. It will make all the treads even and of the same pattern and hope it fixes the issue I have with the vague/light steering at the front. If not I will look at eibach arbs and rear alignment bolts. I just want the car to have a better feel, be more predictable and be a bit tighter. 

 

[W8BGS]

Just now, W8BGS said:

Thanks, found and read the sticky. I get the point being made, there shouldn't be as big a difference with the as3 and as4 as both rated A in wet, but I do appreciate the tread depths will be different and obviously the compound in the front has deteriorated a lot more. I think after reading that I will change all 4 with the MPS4. It will make all the treads even and of the same pattern and hope it fixes the issue I have with the vague/light steering at the front. If not I will look at eibach arbs and rear alignment bolts. I just want the car to have a better feel, be more predictable and be a bit tighter. 

 

I will also get the alignment done. 

[Ekona]

Those tyre ratings for wet/dry/noise are pretty much useless, and whilst you could compare a c rated hankook with an a rated Pirelli and find a difference, overall compound and tread style will make a vast difference even between an AS3 and an AS4 (as it should, given rapid tyre development these days).

 

If it’s a tighter feel you’re after, then def do the tyres and geo but I would also give serious consideration to purchasing some chassis bracing instead of the arbs, it made more of a difference on my old Zed than anything else. Gave a lot more feel and pointyness than even I was expecting, and worth every penny. 

[W8BGS]

41 minutes ago, Ekona said:

Those tyre ratings for wet/dry/noise are pretty much useless, and whilst you could compare a c rated hankook with an a rated Pirelli and find a difference, overall compound and tread style will make a vast difference even between an AS3 and an AS4 (as it should, given rapid tyre development these days).

 

If it’s a tighter feel you’re after, then def do the tyres and geo but I would also give serious consideration to purchasing some chassis bracing instead of the arbs, it made more of a difference on my old Zed than anything else. Gave a lot more feel and pointyness than even I was expecting, and worth every penny. 

Thanks, are there any braces you recommend for the 370z? 

 

The MPS4 come out at £735 fitted and Michelin are currently doing £100 cashback on 4 tyres, plus using topcashback and will get 7.7% back by buying at protyre. 

[Ekona]

Check out the Torqen site and have a look at the Ultra Racing stuff, ideally you want as much as you can justify but the front and rear bracing made more of a difference for me than the centre, but tbh I certainly wouldn’t ignore that if you can stretch. 

[nissanman312]

If you want a to tighten things up I'd be looking at all the soft rubber bushing of the 370z than bolting a load of bracing everywhere 

 

Gearbox mount 

Diff mount 

Subrame bushings 

Poly bushing will all tighten the car up and realy give you a more connected feel once all those things are not wobbling around under your arse 

[W8BGS]

15 minutes ago, nissanman312 said:

If you want a to tighten things up I'd be looking at all the soft rubber bushing of the 370z than bolting a load of bracing everywhere 

 

Gearbox mount 

Diff mount 

Subrame bushings 

Poly bushing will all tighten the car up and realy give you a more connected feel once all those things are not wobbling around under your arse 

Thanks, it's something I have thought about before, but my mechanic has had a good look at my bushes and said all are spot on. Also there are so many different bushes I appreciate you have listed 3, but with all the steering/suspension bushes it's a never ending list and I don't have bottomless funds. The US guys seem to suggest changing to coilovers and ignoring braces. There are just so many different opinions. 

[nissanman312]

Yeah its not that there's anything wrong with your bushes its just that they are soft from the factory 

 

The two things I found made a massive difference was the gearbox mount and the subframe collars both those things realy gave the car a more connected feel and you're looking at 300/350 quid better money spent than braces 

 

Just my 2 pence 

[W8BGS]

On 11/05/2021 at 22:45, nissanman312 said:

Yeah its not that there's anything wrong with your bushes its just that they are soft from the factory 

 

The two things I found made a massive difference was the gearbox mount and the subframe collars both those things realy gave the car a more connected feel and you're looking at 300/350 quid better money spent than braces 

 

Just my 2 pence 

Thanks. The biggest issue I have with my Zed is I feel the front end is vague and light. I drove another Zed, it was completely standard before I bought mine, overall the car was in a much worse condition, but it felt stiffer at the front. I bought mine and have changed the tyres, had alignments, had the suspension etc parts checked and all deemed to be in excellent condition. 

Edited August 3, 2021 by W8BGS

[Ekona]

Who did the alignment? What did you ask them to do?

[W8BGS]

11 hours ago, Ekona said:

Who did the alignment? What did you ask them to do?

Was done by Christchurch Tyres with their hunter hawk alignment equipment. 

[Ekona]

Never heard of them, are they a local garage or a performance outfit? Equipment used is irrelevant to a point, there’s pro guys out there that still swear by string (!), it’s all about what you ask for. I would always recommend travelling to a place that understands handling and performance driving demands, such as Center Gravity if you want the absolute best (many other Zed specialists on here can do the same though), and telling them how the car handles now compared with how you want it to feel. They should be able to tailor your geo to you, rather than just use a machine to get it to within default under steer factory defaults. 

[W8BGS]

I told them the issue and that is the settings they used. I will try and find someone local to me in Bournemouth. Christchurch Tyres were the go to place locally for geo, they regularly had Supercars going there for set ups, but as you say it doesn't mean a thing if my car didn't have any improvement. 

 

Just googled Centre Gravity and that is exactly the sort of place I need to visit. Will get the tyres changed and book in with them. 3 hr trip each way, so I hope it is worth it. 

[Ekona]

Honestly, a day there is a true experience. They don’t just set up a geo, they test all your suspension components on road and on machine, they guide you through every step of the process and listen to exactly what you want. They turned my 911 from a cooking version into a car that wanted to wag it’s tail on every occasion, and my 6er from a barge into something that would happily attack corners on circuit. 
 

I cannot recommend them highly enough. 

[nissanman312]

Also check out string theory they are on par with centre gravity and a touch cheaper 

I used centre gravity a few years ago now 

Excellent service but a full set up will set you back £650

Well worth it if you are totally changing out loads of components  but if you are just after a tweek might be a bit rich 

[Shunter8]

I’d second a recommendation for String Theory. Used them back in November and had a full corner weight and alignment done on my 350Z at the time and cost me £400, definitely money well spent and that was just with HSD Dualtechs and standard arms 

[davey_83]

I'm going to have to be that guy - unless you have means of adjusting the front and rear camber beyond the standard camber bolts *rear, paying hundreds and hundreds of pounds for an alignment is a waste.

 

These aren't like BM's that you have to weigh down to do an alignment, road test come back check again. If what can be adjusted on a standard Z has been and is all green on a hunter, what else can be adjusted?

 

From before you said the steering feel issue was resolved...... Have you checked and adjusted the tyre pressures correctly coming out the winter? 

Edited May 12, 2021 by davey_83

[Ekona]

If you think that all that matters is whether or not a machine says the alignment is in the green, then this isn’t the thread for you. 
 

Yes, places discussed above are expensive and for most people unnecessary, but if you want an expert to set your car up in a specific way then that kind of work does cost. Also if you think that places like CG simply give you an alignment then you’re missing the point entirely: I can assure you that there’s a lot more that goes into a session than that.