MG4 in Australia

[leonkernan]

My car is in for its 2 year service this morning. Should be interesting to see what they do with it (if anything).

 

[Corindikev]

There is a specified list for the 2 year & 4 year service. It used to be on the MG website but you can ask for it when you book the car in.

It also includes all software updates but most of the service is checking things. Mine is due in early September & I will be getting them to rotate the tyres as I don't think that is on the list. I've done over 26,000 km & have not rotated them but I keep an eye on wear and they all look pretty similar.

 

[T1 Terry]

I think the problem can be solved by pumping up the tyres a little more or here's a wild concept: do nothing ..

Unless the tyres are losing air such as from a puncture or damaged valve then just leave it ..

seriously it spits out warnings then you check your tyre pressures with the system on the dash if its dropped .1 or .2 of a bar or at 30 psi instead of 32 i think you will be fine ( be it cold or warm ).

If you're down 10 psi you need to go to a shop to have the tyre fixed !!

Keeping tyre pressure even helps keep tyre wear rates even. I don't wait for a tyre pressure warning to inflate a tyre which loses pressure a bit faster than the others.

This one might work, over inflate the tyres, they will gradually drop to the std pressure and finally, the warning you need to over inflate the tyres again.
Using this method, the over inflation wear is balanced out by the under inflation wear, and somewhere between them, they will wear normally. You will finally reach the point where the tyres need to be replaced, then you can put some decent tyres on and pay the extra to have them filled with nitrogen ..... that way, the tyres that are worth the effort will last longer

 

[wattmatters]

pay the extra to have them filled with nitrogen ..... that way, the tyres that are worth the effort will last longer

There is no evidence nitrogen filled tyres will last any longer than air filled tyres. It's just a waste of money which can instead go towards your next set of tyres.

 

[T1 Terry]

There is no evidence nitrogen filled tyres will last any longer than air filled tyres. It's just a waste of money which can instead go towards your next set of tyres.

Ahhh..... but there's no proof it doesn't Not that expensive, not like health insurance which is a cross between a misnomer and an oxymoron, no amount of money or insurance can insure you remain healthy .... or insulate you against the savage pain of the gap between what is charged and what is refunded .......
a few thousand kms might be well within the +/- average of tyre life, I know it makes a huge difference in race car tyres and even greater in go-cart tyres ..... and it's a great fire suppressant, it doesn't do any harm .... so why not ..... if life has come down to saving the few cents averaged out of tyre life is the difference between eating or paying bills, can you really afford to take the risk it won't say you in the long run?

T1 Terry

 

[wattmatters]

Ahhh..... but there's no proof it doesn't

That's one of the weakest arguments alive.

Nitrogen filling for regular cars is both costly and inconvenient for no benefit to ride, handling, performance, wear rates, or vehicle efficiency/economy.

Just inflate your tyres for free. Or waste your money. I don't care.
Just don't BS people about it.

 

[wattmatters]

With the 1 July electricity price rises, I've changed plan back to the Powershop EV Day plan.

These are our new rates:

Our home battery gets installed tomorrow, so I don't expect to import much energy outside of the free energy period each day.

The daily supply fee is pretty ordinary, but is a lot better than their EV Night plan which was going to be $2.96/day if I stayed on that.

I'm buying the Powerpacks each month as in effect they reduce the daily charge. Depends on the pack value each month but in general it can knock between 25-45 c/day off the supply charge.

 

[Corindikev]

My rates for the just renegotiated EV Day plan are the same but I don't have controlled load. Supply charge though is $1.87/day & I still get the 0.014 FIT. Peak is only 5-8pm Mon-Fri. Shoulder & off peak are the same.

There is discussion among the retailers of actually charging for feed in given the system is awash with power from rooftop solar in the middle of the day.

With a big enough home battery & solar it is getting to the point that many will be considering disconnecting from the grid altogether.

 

[wattmatters]

My rates for the just renegotiated EV Day plan are the same but I don't have controlled load. Supply charge though is $1.87/day & I still get the 0.014 FIT. Peak is only 5-8pm Mon-Fri. Shoulder & off peak are the same.

Yeah - I'm on the solar soaker tariff structure, there's no shoulder tariff. You are still on the now obsolete three rate TOU. It will eventually be retired.

https://www.essentialenergy.com.au/-/media/Project/EssentialEnergy/Website/Files/Our-Network/PriceListAndExplanatoryNotes2025-26.pdf

Essential Energy now have a charge and a bonus structure for exports, with a penalty applying middle of the day and a bonus during evening peak period. Works for those with storage.

For this year the penalty/bonus are both set at 0c/kWh, so in effect it's no different. But those numbers will change in the next couple of years.

I'm going to monitor things for a bit with the new battery, and then I may give Amber Electric a go with wholesale price trading.

 

[Corindikev]

The latest Powershop EV day plan still shows a shoulder tariff. Even if the wholesaler doesn't have a shoulder rate what is to stop the retailer having one when the smart meter uploads are done every half hour. The supply charge has now gone up to 222.91 cents/day from 187.00 cent/day.

Retail margins are very high at 159% when they are charged 18.65 cents/kWh for peak power from the wholesaler & charge the customer 48.35 cents/kWh. No wonder they are clamouring over one another to entice new customers

 

[wattmatters]

The latest Powershop EV day plan still shows a shoulder tariff. Even if the wholesaler doesn't have a shoulder rate what is to stop the retailer having one when the smart meter uploads are done every half hour.

Just to clarify, the three-rate TOU tariff still exists and will continue to apply for anyone (like you) who is still on it. If you look at that link I posted earlier, the second page shows the obsolete tariffs still in play.

An "obsolete" Essential Energy tariff doesn't mean it no longer exists, it means it's no longer available for new customers, those getting meter upgrades or changes in supply requiring a meter change or those requesting a change of tariff assignment. The use of the term "obsolete" is Essential Energy terminology.

However, eventually all customers on obsolete tariff assignments will be transitioned to one of the two new tariff assignments, with the default assignment being the two-rate TOU sun soaker tariff. I forget exactly when that happens by but sometime in the next 2-3 years I expect.

I am on the two-rate TOU sun soaker tariff because we had a meter upgrade a few months ago, the three-rate tariff we were on was no longer an option for us following the meter change.

 

[wattmatters]

Retail margins are very high at 159% when they are charged 18.65 cents/kWh for peak power from the wholesaler & charge the customer 48.35 cents/kWh.

Not really.

For further clarification, that's just the fee DNSP (Essential Energy) levies on the retailer per kWh during peak - that's only a network access cost, not the wholesale energy cost.

This is the cost of the poles and wires (and yes there is also a fixed daily charge for that was well, they recover the cost both with a fixed fee and a fee per unit of energy delivered).

IOW it does not include the actual wholesale cost of the energy from the energy market. That is an extra and separate cost and is a bit complicated as retailer's wholesale energy costs are a combination of longer term wholesale supply contracts and purchases from the wholesale spot market.

e.g. last night the wholesale spot market price in NSW between 5-8 PM was between $200-235 per MWh (it changes every 5-minutes), which is equivalent to 20.0-23.5 c/kWh. That's actually pretty reasonable for the peak period.

On 26 June the average spot price in the 5-9 PM period was $10,273/MWh, or $102.73 $10.273 per kWh*. If the retailer bought energy from the wholesale spot market, that's what they had to pay.

There are also other smaller fees the retailer has to cover, such as network regulator fees, carbon costs and prob a few others I forget right now.

I'm not condoning the process, just explaining it.

* Edit: made an earlier error with the numbers by factor of 10, fixed.

 

[clayton4115]

Ok so I got a spare wheel / tyre a Volkswagen Golf Space Saver Spare Wheel attached photos, I thought this was the correct one for my MG77, I went to Mycar today to get them to make sure it fits and they told me that the wheel doesn't fit and it's scraping the brake caliper. Could this be the issue with the 77 and it fits the 51 and 64?

 

[wattmatters]

could this be the issue with the 77 and it fits the 51 and 64?

Essence 64 & 77 LR use the same 18" wheels (tyre size 235/45 R18)
Excite models 51 & 64 use 17" wheels.

 

[clayton4115]

Essence 64 & 77 LR use the same 18" wheels (tyre size 235/45 R18)
Excite models 51 & 64 use 17" wheels.

ok maybe it will fit the 51 then.

 

[pfaus]

I’ve got what I am pretty sure is the same spare, and it fits my Essence 64. I tested it myself, bolted it on and spun the wheel.
Let me check the part numbers on my one tomorrow to make sure it’s identical

 

[clayton4115]

I’ve got what I am pretty sure is the same spare, and it fits my Essence 64. I tested it myself, bolted it on and spun the wheel.
Let me check the part numbers on my one tomorrow to make sure it’s identical

ok thanks it will be interesting to know.

 

[Jamesrr]

ok maybe it will fit the 51 then.

My vague recollection is that it's the front (possibly the back!) calipers of the 77 that are larger than the 51 and 64 in either spec and that don't fit that VW spare.

I got the braumach spare for this reason.

We have both a 77 and 51 but only take the 77 on long trips (and pop the spare in the boot when making them).

I also got a pack of the "plugs" that you can use to "fix" a typical flat...

Boy scout

 

[clayton4115]

My vague recollection is that it's the front (possibly the back!) calipers of the 77 that are larger than the 51 and 64 in either spec and that don't fit that VW spare.

I got the braumach spare for this reason.

We have both a 77 and 51 but only take the 77 on long trips (and pop the spare in the boot when making them).

I also got a pack of the "plugs" that you can use to "fix" a typical flat...

Boy scout

ok that's interesting maybe I will take it to another tyre shop and see if it fits for the back wheels on my 77. I also have the plugs.

 

[pfaus]

This is what I found on the interweb about brake disc sizes.

MG4 Brake Disc Sizes:

• 2WD 51kWh & 64kWh:
  • Front: 280mm Ventilated
  • Rear: 260mm Ventilated
• 4WD 64kWh & 2WD 77kWh:
  • Front: 320mm Ventilated
  • Rear: 280mm Ventilated
• XPOWER:
  • Front: 345mm Ventilated
  • Rear: 340mm Ventilated

I checked the spare that I have (see photos). It has the same dimensions as yours:
3.5” width, 18” diameter and offset 25.5mm. Interesting that they use both imperial and metric measurements in the one description. The part numbers are different but pretty sure it’s the same wheel to all intents and purposes. The tyre is also the same specs.

So from the disc sizes above it looks possible that it will fit the rear of your 77, but not the front. (I tested my spare on both front and back, must have been feeling energetic that day!).

My impression was that there was plenty of clearance when I test fitted it, but it’s hard to judge the distance with wheel bolted on to the caliper behind it.