Making my fabia faster

[fabdavrav]

I'm not saying iridium plugs are bad here, far from it, I fitted a set (nearly £40 they were.. Strewth) to my beetle the other day, as a long life fit once and forget service repair, they were an almighty ball ache to get to on the azl (as you may or may not know?) engine code so well worth it.

 

Glad even you fork out & fit Iridium plugs,

 

 

oh & the worst plugs I've had to change were the ones on my mates MK4 Golf R32......................nice & easy............ :no:

[TeflonTom]

The r32 ones can be quite tricky, the hard bit is releasing the wiring plugs from the coils, best trick is to bend a metal wire coat hanger into a hook to lift the coil out of the bore, the plastics used is really poor quality and sometimes they break off flush with the rocker cover which is a proper ovary ache.

[RunningStrong]

Ditch the 16inch wheels, get some lightweight 14inch wheels.

[fabiamk2SE]

The HTP never was a high performance engine and never will be. Its good st what it does, but that isnt tuning.

Naturally aspirated engines never do give you much to play with.

My advice would be, dont bother. Get a faster car if you want one, dont throw money at something trying to make it something it isnt.

[pip_vrs]

Here's my 1.2 12v..

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[vRSAnt]

Can I have an amen to common sense on this thread ! Thanks TeflonTom, ToxicVrs, fabiamk2se

 

Theres nothing wrong with the 1.2 (12v especially) and its a great car in the mk2 particularly for bundling about in which is why my wife has one, and I won't knock this great engine.

Very acceptable day to day performance (80hp one we have I think).

Very clever engineering to provide low speed torque so its a great town car.

If combined with the turbo form I'm sure its even better, never tried those (110 hp max or something, 2 different map levels?)

 

Far better than the slugglish 1.4mpi I once had in its standard guise, that was a horrible slug.

But tweaking for performance? Stop now please, you obviously have too much time on your hands! I'm sure there are equal things you could be doing like making your own wallpaper for the hell of it.

[mattbvRS]

I know this wasn't what you asked but personally I'd be putting my money into improving the handling and brakes first. 

 

Power wise it's pretty pointless spending serious money on the current engine because you just won't see the gains for the outlay you'd have to put into it. You could add an air filter and exhaust but honestly you'd be lucky to see 5bhp and that's being optimistic! 

 

The best and most cost effective option for bigger power while keeping it as a daily (Guessing you don't wan't something that's going to make your ears bleed in terms of noise) would be looking into what's been done above, dropping a 1.8T BAM engine in. 

[GentleGiant]

Are you trying to say that iridium is a better conductor than copper? As far as I can tell from experience the only advantage of platinum or iridium tipped plugs is that they last longer than standard copper ones, but they do have a major disadvantage in that they are very expensive. Ideal if they are in a hard to reach location, but being sold as a 'high performance' horsepower raiser is just another marketing gimmick to lever money out of boy racers.

 

 

Yeah, I have read the opposite is true, they last longer but are poorer conducters so give less of a spark. Over on the LPG forum they suggest SILVER electrodes are best for power and fuel efficency - suggesting 20% for LPG and 5-10% for petrol cars., albeit with a reduced spark plug life

 

I had iridium plugs fitted as standard to my Toyota, to be fair there was no visible wear on them when I changed them at 140,000 miles, and the replacements were still going strong when I sold the car at 254,000 miles, however the Toyota was a special case - changing the sparkplugs was listed as 20 man hours in the service manual (they usually cheated and dropped the engine out to do it in 12)

[GentleGiant]

Back On topic, you say the car is your daily drive, but there ARE things you can do to lighten it that wont really effect your daily commute, replace the spare with a can of tyre Weld; take out the rear seats if you arent carrying passengers, strip out some sound proofing if you dont mind the extra road/engine noise,.

 

Beyond that, replacing side/rear windows with perspex, replacing front seat with a lightweight racing seat, remove the carpet underlay and possibly replace the carpet with something thinner - these will all make a difference - but with only a 1.2HTP to play with, you are never going to be the fastest kid on the block.

 

Just dont do what the kids round here do, load the car down with so many body kits and spoilers, than the average 50cc scooter can burn you off at the lights.

[vindaloo]

1) Maybe look for a classic set of 15" or 16" VAG split rims, then get decent tyres on them.

2) Consider a RARB, probably Whiteline.

3) Change the console bushes for SEAT Ibiza Cupra solid rubber ones.

4) Fit a moderately sporting set of brake pads and change the brake fluid if it hasn't been done recently.

 

J.

[Alexandru]

Fitting a nitro system might improve the performance as well.

Edited 12 October, 2015 by Alexandru

[sepulchrave]

A typical sequence for modification to achieve a respectable increase in power might consist of:

 

Reworked cylinder head to improve gasflow and fit larger inlet valves.

Fit stronger and lighter conrods and pistons.

Manufacture and fitment of a new pair of camshafts to allow an extended RPM range.

Fabrication and fitment of bespoke exhaust manifolding and exhaust system to suit cams.

Fitment of a set of Triumph Daytona triple injection throttle bodies together with piggyback interceptor ECU to control fuelling and ignition and an air box from a more powerful model.

 

Conservative estimate of development cost involved is about £15-20K, 3 month timeframe with a power output approaching 140BHP. Barely road legal.

Worth it?

 

No.

 

Edit: Oh, and I'd want the money up front as well.

Edited 12 October, 2015 by sepulchrave

[theezenutz]

N/a cars are very expensive to tune for relatively small gains yet alone a tiny 1.2. Imo you two choices, fit a different engine or buy a different car anything else is just sillyness.

[poiuytre111]

I presume that in Malta the initial acceleration is what you want and top speed not so important.

If so, you might consider buying your next set of tyres with a smaller circumference to reduce the gearing a bit i.e. from 185/70 to 185/55 or whatever.

[Alexandru]

Imho, a little Fabia shouldn't be able to pass 120.

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[SkUG]

Easy, remove anything that weighs anything 

[stevobeavo]

Could you not find someone selling the higher out put 1.4 (120bhp) engine and do a swap? Not sure how much you'd have to change though.

[theezenutz]

Easy, remove anything that weighs anything 

Including the car. lol

[fabdavrav]

Could you not find someone selling the higher out put 1.4 (120bhp) engine and do a swap? Not sure how much you'd have to change though.

 

only 100bhp 1.4lt16v...............however with a remap, NGK iridium plugs, better ignition lead, mild cams, drop in filter, ABT got 140bhp...................on factory air box & exhaust!!!!

 

 

1.6lt version VWR got to 220 ish bhp max..................1.4 version 180bhp is max...........all no turbo, just cams, maps, porting etc....lighter in weight than the 1.8T & will fit in the engine bay easier...................

[stevobeavo]

only 100bhp 1.4lt16v...............however with a remap, NGK iridium plugs, better ignition lead, mild cams, drop in filter, ABT got 140bhp...................on factory air box & exhaust!!!!

 

 

1.6lt version VWR got to 220 ish bhp max..................1.4 version 180bhp is max...........all no turbo, just cams, maps, porting etc....lighter in weight than the 1.8T & will fit in the engine bay easier...................

I'd put money on it that theres a 120 bhp 1.4 model. It's been bought up here before

[fabdavrav]

I'd put money on it that theres a 120 bhp 1.4 model. It's been bought up here before

 

Not a factory version, but people have tuned their own cars so yes it will exist...................

 

 

[hutchysrs50]

There we go...

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/skoda/fabia/hatchback-2000/

[Breezy_Pete]

^ Blimey! 41 different variants not including vRS.

[fabdavrav]

There we go...

http://www.parkers.co.uk/cars/reviews/facts-and-figures/skoda/fabia/hatchback-2000/

 

115bhp not 120bhp......................

 

& that's the "mustang slayer"................2lt 8v heavy old dog............

[hutchysrs50]

115bhp not 120bhp......................

& that's the "mustang slayer"................2lt 8v heavy old dog............

I know, I agree with you, that's why I posted it.