Cheekymonkey

True... a set of wheels always makes a difference. It is very different to the fabia. Much faster, sounds great, handles much better - the dry weather grip is amazing... in the wet it is good fun! I love the seating position as it's so low down and you're looking over far too much bonnet! Economy is pretty good - am averaging about 30mpg. Build quality is good, but I do have a rattle that is due to be sorted. Skoda I would say are on a par with BMW when it comes to build quality/fit and finish. All in, I'm very happy... but then I should be given how much it cost in comparison to the furby! I still have a soft spot for the old car though... it's living on through yours now! D

Hope it all gets sorted asap mate... After all that farting around, I didn't get a 350z in the end. Picked up a BMW Z4 Coupe instead. After driving a whole load of similar cars, it's the one that ticked the most boxes. Am not going to mod this one though... or at least that's the plan at the moment!

Irf, Bad **** mate... sounds like you could well be dealing with an uninsured driver! Surprisingly common these days unfortunately. Real shame about the car as I know how tidy you keep it! Wheels still looking good though!!!

Ha ha ha... you're right though, half the fun is tracking down the kit and seeing the car take shape. I'm sure you'll find another FMIC floating around - tend to see them every couple of months. You going to go down the hybrid turbo route or draw the line before then??? I sold my fabia a while ago and was car-less for a month or so whilst my new toy was being built... and here it is! Had it about a month and already have nearly 3k miles on it for various reasons. Trying hard not to drive it very much for a while so i can bring down my annual average to 10-12k pa, not 36k!

Mr Ward! I haven't been around for a while, but I see you have a Fabia again!!! Never cease to be amazed with your constant car shenanigans! You should have kept the stuff I sold you last time round - saved you looking for it again! All well with you I take it? D

I've taken a couple out - one with s-tronic, the other with manual box. The s-tronic is definitely the way to go, as the throttle mapping is very aggressive and the auto box irons this out well. It's also a very good gearbox! They are indeed impressive cars, and with magnetic ride, the body control is both sharp and compliant. The engine sounds good, although the note is a bit monotonous at times. Well specced and well put together. My only issue was that it still felt a bit like driving a 'normal' car with a big engine. It reminded me of the mk V R32 I drove, perhaps not overly suprising. If you're after a capable, practical and good looking sporty car, it will no doubt fit the bill. If you're after something a little more focused, it might not hit the spot. A lot of testers have rated the 2.0T above the 3.2. TBH, although you could easily map a 2.0T to the same power, I would still go down the 3.2 route - its about the whole experience and as impressive as the 2.0 engine is, it still isn't a V6. Definitely an improvement over the mk 1 - grab a test drive and find out for yourself!

We'll I've just taken mine off my car after 2 years on and I must say that the difference is quite noticeable, even on my now standard suspension. There is actually quite a lot of flex in the fabia's chassis, and this is felt when you make some sharper moves with the steering wheel. Without the strut brace, there is definitely more of a delay before the car (and suspension) loads up and begins to tip into a corner. With a strutbrace, the two suspension turrets under the bonnet are held a fixed distance apart, increasing rigidity. This is why a car with a very stiff chassis and suspension set up with seem very direct in comparison. The other difference I noticed with the strutbrace was that the steering felt more meaty - it feels noticably more woolly and vague without it. And it looks good in the engine bay... All in, for the money I think it is a great mod.

I've had this as well... not sure what it is though. I thought it was the rear seats too, but maybe it isn't after all. Other guess would be suspension bushes...

It looked nice and flat as I was following Mr Ward the other day - a great mod to a very light car... I would imagine it handles better than the fabia with the same mods. What do you think Steve?

Looks good mate... bet it will look even better lowered... grrr I'm only jealous...

Thanks for that Bryan - I couldn't remember what they looked like. I can probably find some old self tappers somewhere and put them in. I was wondering whether I needed some form of stepped profile screw, but obviously not! Cheers,

Guys, I'm due to be taking off my FMIC at some point soon and will be putting the old one back on, however I can't find the two retaining bolts that are used to hold the MAP sensor in place on the stock intercooler. Does anyone know where I can get a pair of these screws? Will a dealer be able to supply them? Cheers

The engine bay alone is a work of art! Are you pretty handy mechanically? I would love to have something like this but my concern has always been that to own something so specialist would require a good mechanical knowledge, or very deep pockets! Bet it's amazing smoking porsches in a '72 ford!!!

Nice....

It doesn't... I've tried!