mattbvRS

Why would putting in petrol cause the crank sensor to suddenly fail? Sounds a bit dodgy to me and I wouldn't be handing out £240 notes unless I knew for sure that's what it was! Try disconnecting the battery for a good hour to reset everything and see how you get on. If the faults come back you could do with getting the codes read by someone with the VAG COM software, bit more in depth than a generic code reader and will probably help diagnose the issue better.

What sort of MPG are you getting, is it massively down or about what it should be? I'd say if you can get hold of someone with the VAG COM diagnostic software that could be beneficial. Can read error codes, they don't all bring the EML light up. Check if the cam timing is correct, show live sensor data etc. Should help pin point an issue if it's sensor/electronics/timing related. As for being down on power, do you know anyone with a vRS that can take you out in theirs to compare? When I was looking I test drove 3-4 different ones and each one drove differently and pulled different through the revs. Two of them felt really down on power compared to the other two but had I not test driven a few examples I'd probably not really have noticed as they still pulled, just not as good and as far as I was aware all were standard examples.

Kumho and Falken get my vote as some of the best low end to mid-range tyre out there. Tried the KU31s (now discontinued), the KU39s and the FK453s (not sure they are available in the vRS size yet) on previous cars. Good wear, consistent grip levels and a fairly solid sidewall for good steering feel (important on a heavy front ended car like the vRS) The good thing about the standard 16s on the Fabia is that even the higher end premium tyres aren't too expensive, well, compared to my previous car and I don't mind paying a bit more personally for a decent set of tyres as they are the contact between you and the road. Not worth skimping on in my eyes! I echo about Toto T1R's I've tried them and found them sub standard. They were nice and sticky in the summer when roads were dry but any moisture on the surface and once the temperatures dropped they were rubbish. Also flexed more than I'd have liked in the corners unless you upped the pressure a bit. Good for summer/track use but crap in most other situations! If you look at the chart rating they get a G for fuel efficiency and E for wet grip/braking performance... about the lowest I've seen on a so called "performance" tyre.

Jesus! That's shocking lol. Wouldn't have expected the OEM paper filter to fail like that, the turbo must suck in a hell of a lot more air when remapped! Or perhaps the filter got sodden from water somehow and broke down? Either way it's not good!

Yeah, I do question why some spend money on modifications that don't really add anything. I guess if you plan to go past Stage 1 with hybrids, intercoolers and other things then the extra flow could come into play when mapped in but as it stands the gains you actually get from an exhaust and air filter seems to me that money could be better spend elsewhere improving the handling/braking/clutch/lsd for instance. No point having power if the car is unable to put it down cleanly!

They do seem to hold their value well, especially lower mileage ones. They are a sought after car with fuel prices these days, sporty yet cheap to run/maintain. I'd test drive a few though to get a feel for the car if he hasn't already. When I was looking I test drove 4 examples and 2 of them that I thought drove OK just felt a bit of a let down compared to the other 2... but had I not test driven a few examples I'd have probably bought the first one as I had nothing to compare it against. Incidentally that was also the one with the lowest mileage and full service history strangely! The one I ended up buying had 20k more on the clock but drove a lot better in terms of handling feel and the way it pulled (All were standard). Fantastic car for the money though and generally feels solid, yeah they have their niggles/faults in places (what car doesn't) but overall I'm very impressed with mine.

You will never see huge gains on a diesel with intake/exhaust modifications like you do on petrol engines. They don’t rely on back pressure the same for one. I’ve read somewhere that the standard exhaust system is good for 220bhp before it starts to restrict flow... which I think is well beyond the scope of the standard PD130 turbo anyway? I’m not saying they won’t make a difference when combined with other modifications once you start thinking about going past stage 1 power, but on a lightly modified vRS on their own you will see little if any gains. Maybe a couple of bhp if you’re lucky and a slightly improved throttle response.

The oil from the dealers is plenty good enough and reasonably priced. Quantum Platinum 5w-40 it's called and can be had for around £26 for 5L. If going for another brand it MUST meet the correct manufacture specs VW505.01 or 507 being the latest spec I believe, this is very important as the PD engine requires oil meeting this spec to preserve the life of the camshaft and other components otherwise they can wear excessively resulting in a top end rebuild being needed. You can't really check it's running round the engine as such just make sure the level is correct and run it until warm, should quieten down as the oil circulates. If it's been stood for a while I'd probably suggest giving it a full service fresh fluids and filters etc.

The Shark remaps do sound good from what I've read. Be tempted to get one for mine once I've done a few little mods to make the handling a bit sharper. Think with in the region of 160-170bhp and a nice increase in torque across the rev range it will be some fun! Would it be worth doing a panel filter and cat back exhaust or just leaving it as is, don't make much difference on a diesel I've heard? I've read about the PD160 intake but unless I can pick one up cheap I'm not going to bother, can't justify spending £100+ on what essentially is a bit of plastic pipe lol.

I saw the one on eBay too. Kept an eye on it but there's no way I'm paying close to £100 for what is essentially a bit of plastic ducting that probably won't make much if all difference. Darkside developments sell the kit new for around £100 according to their website... so someone got done over there! £30-£40 is a more reasonable price but because Seat put the price through the roof when they realised it was a popular mod now means second hand they also sell for silly money. I'd rather spend £100 on something more worthwhile that you'd actually notice personally!

Hi, Interestingly I've just swapped from a Corsa VXR Nurburgring to a Fabia vRS SE and there wasn't much difference in the insurance which I was surprised at! There was like £50 in it at the most, I suppose £50 is £50 mind but I expected it to be a bit more given the insurance grouping difference between the cars and the fact the Corsa was 6 years newer and worth double the value lol. Strange how car insurance works! Then again when I swapped from my run about Saxo VTS to the Corsa it actually worked out cheaper too... Should be a little bit less than what your paying now hopefully, my advice would be to shop around and don't just rely on the price comparison websites for a good price. Brokers can and often do get better discounts and deals. Phoning the company up direct you can often haggle too. Remember there are plenty of insurance companies out there and they want your business!

Cheers, I'll be sad to see the Corsa go if I'm honest and I didn't expect to be selling it so soon but needs must. It's the Nurburgring edition so has a lot of extra toys on compared to the standard one. Brembo brakes, Bilstein dampers and springs, lightweight forged alloys and a trick Drexler LSD. Fantastic car to drive dynamically but would cost me a fortune to keep and run with the extra mileage I'll be doing. I agree about the build quality though it not quite as bad as the lower spec models it is a bit plasticy in places, despite being 6 years older the Fabia felt just as if not more solid on the interior. I was fairly impressed with the vRS on the test drive, it's nowhere near as tight as the Corsa handling wise and doesn't put the power down as cleanly, but I didn't expect it to. It's definitely pokey and I think with a few choice mods it could be a very entertaining car. Already been reading up on what can be done to them to improve the handling. Think the first mods of choice are going to be the console bushes and rarb along with a set of decent tyres and changing the brakes as the standard discs look to have a fair lip on them so could well be on the originals. Not sure if I want to be messing around going for the larger 312mm setup may just stick with the standard sized discs and some performance pads for now, keep the costs down as I don't want to be going silly right away on modifying it lol.

Hi all! I'm about to swap my Corsa VXR for a lovely Fabia vRS SE as my work commute is going up from practically nothing to 94 miles a day. Seems the perfect car for my needs - wanted something that was better on the running cost front while still sporty and fun to drive. It was better than expected on the test drive and despite being 6 years older than my Corsa felt just as solid, if not more so in some areas! Was wondering if the previous owner(s) are on here, it's only had two from new and the last owner was a local bloke from Preston, Lancashire according to the place I'm about to buy the car from. The number on the seat was 915 so I'm presuming this is the limited edition number? Thanks.