The MGF and MG TF exhaust system is a mid-engine installation with specific long-term ownership considerations, as the mild steel components corrode, the rubber mountings perish under heat, the steel fasteners seize, and the engine bay itself runs hot because of the confined layout. This section splits into four areas, each addressing one of these identified weaknesses with a targeted upgrade.
Stainless Steel Exhaust Systems
The single most significant exhaust upgrade is a complete Double S stainless steel system replacing the factory mild steel installation end-to-end. Two specifications are offered, Standard reproducing the factory exhaust note and Supersports a freer-flowing design with a more characterful tone, both carrying a lifetime guarantee. For any car where the existing exhaust has multiple sections approaching end of life, the stainless system's longevity makes the economic case compelling, as the system will outlast the rest of the car and the labour cost of fitting it is the same as fitting a new mild steel exhaust that will need replacing again in seven to ten years. The stainless system requires a connector elbow with integral lambda sensor boss, and for cars originally fitted with the TF 135 and TF 160 dual-mode silencer, a small amount of vacuum-feed blanking work.
Manifold Wrap & Thermal Management
Glass-fibre exhaust manifold wrap is a popular thermal management upgrade on mid-engine cars specifically because the engine bay is a confined space where radiant heat from the manifold has nowhere to escape. Wrapping the manifold reduces radiant engine-bay temperatures, benefiting adjacent components such as intake ducting, wiring, and coolant hoses, and producing a cooler intake air charge for marginal airflow efficiency. The honest tradeoff is that wrap retains heat in the manifold itself, which can accelerate long-term cast iron degradation, so owners committing to wrap should accept this and inspect the manifold periodically for signs of thermal fatigue, while for cars maintained to concours standard where the manifold is expected to remain serviceable indefinitely, ceramic coating is the longer-lasting alternative.
Polyurethane Exhaust Mountings
The factory exhaust mount rubbers age and perish under sustained heat exposure, eventually losing their grip on the exhaust hangers and allowing the silencer to droop or the whole system to transfer vibration directly into the bodyshell. Polyurethane replacement mountings replace the rubber items with a denser polymer that maintains its shape and mechanical properties for far longer at exhaust-adjacent temperatures. The tradeoff is marginally increased vibration transmission compared to new rubber, as the material is stiffer so small exhaust movements reach the body with less damping, but in practice the difference is subtle and most owners who have fitted them consider the longevity gain worth the slight character change.
Upgraded Exhaust Fixings
The seizure of steel exhaust manifold studs in the aluminium cylinder head, and of steel fasteners throughout the system, is one of the characteristic long-term ownership issues. Stainless steel replacement studs and brass replacement nuts address this by changing the metallurgy at the heated fastener positions, brass nuts on stainless studs being significantly less prone to seizure than the original steel-on-steel items after years of heat cycling, because the galvanic and corrosion mechanisms that weld steel fasteners together do not apply to the same degree with dissimilar non-ferrous combinations. Fitting them at the time of any manifold or exhaust work adds little to the parts cost but transforms the future serviceability of the installation.
For owners planning multiple upgrades simultaneously, the sensible sequence is to fit the stainless system, fit polyurethane mountings with it, specify stainless studs and brass nuts at the manifold end, and consider manifold wrap separately as a thermal management decision.