SyVRS

Sorry! I cant seem to update my profile picture as the file sizes are too large unfortunately and I can’t seem to resize them to something small enough using my phone?

I sorted this now posted in another thread. I reset the stop using the VCDS test and adjusting the stop to get the best pressure difference possible. I then found the car was overboosting massively off the scale infact to the point the MAP sensor reached its limit. This meant lthe actuator rod was too short. So I lengthened it until spec and actual boost matched. The problem was down to my car being mapped which was clear to see once it was logged in group11 and you could see the requested boost figures.

Try taking the filter off the vacuum maybe it’s restricting it? Other than that I’d do whats suggested above and keep the standard airbox and add a pd160 air intake pipe which is the most common mod in this area. You can always try a panel filter with that set up but over oiled ones are known to cause maf sensor issues.

Had similar problems when refitting a standard turbo on my car recently cars been mapped. Tried adjusting the actuator length and stop to all the figures I could find on here but couldn’t get it right going of those. In the end the problem was the actuator rod length. On the standard kkk turbo I lengthened the rod to stop the overboost, adjusted it till it matches the specified boost then you should be good to go. Not sure if you have to shorten or lengthen the rod on the pd150 as I think the Garrett turbos work in the opposite the direction to the kkk ones due to the vacuum being applied to the opposite side of the diaphragm on the actuator. I could be wrong on that though. I’d suggest adjusting the rod length. A couple of turns then go out and log it and see how it’s changed. If it’s made it overboost more wind it back in the opposite direction, if it stops the overboost then adjust it Until the requested boost and actual are pretty much the same. It probably only needs one or two turns either way to get it right. HTH

You don’t NEED any of the above modifications. You could say you only need any of the above modifications if you are continually driving hard to make them worthwhile. Replacing tired parts for OEM will make a difference in a car that feels baggy after 12 years on the road BUT the OP asked what improvements can be made to improve ride and handling. All of the above mentioned modifications do that including the brakes unless you know something different? It’s nothing to do with a lack of confidence or judging stopping distances it’s about improving the feel of the brakes on your foot to improve your driving experience. FWIW the brakes were the first thing I changed when I got my VRS because they were pish poor. IMO they felt like they took an age to stop and I didn’t like the feel of the pedal. Maybe it’s because I was used to driving my m3 as a daily before I got the Fabia or maybe it’s because my Fabia has been remapped and felt like it took longer to stop. Either way changing the brakes improved the drive considerably for me. Not only did they improve the drive of the car they also look better than then standard brakes too so you get performance and aesthetic improvements. Brilliant mod.

Yeah sensorless pads will be fine, my vrs (2005) didn’t have them. What retro says is correct the pads will fit other cars that have sensors along with the same brakes. Just cut them off of you if don’t need them.

Nice work, just need the discs like your say but no point in changing them until you need too! Look forward to seeing your wheels next

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I understand where you’re coming from, personally I wouldn’t touch a car that had been modded by someone else if I didn’t know exactly what had been done and by who. It still could be worth having a look at, you don’t have to buy it but you can get a feel for what you’re looking for. I looked at a couple before I bought mine the first one i went to see was laughable, I’d tell you the story but it wouldn’t be appropriate for an Internet forum haha!

It looks clean on them pictures it’s defintely worth going to have a look at. The seats look good as well as the bolsters are normally torn to shreds. I wouldnt decide that I was buying it though before seeing it in person. If you have already seen it and it’s mechanically sound then go for it if you like it. If you’ve not already been to have a look at it make sure you have a test drive and a good look round it, make sure it boosts ok and listen for any suspect noises especially from the turbo. Check for any blue smoke coming out the back some black smoke is normal. Check the clutch feels ok as these are the sort of things that will start going with age if you’re lucky they may have already been done. Look through the history and make sure it’s had a timing belt change and if there are any other reciepts for any work carried out. These cars are getting on a bit now so make sure to look for the usual signs of wear and tear for a car of this age suspension knocks etc console bushes are known to be poor on Fabias, generally just make sure everything works as it should electric windows, rear wiper washer, heater etc There are other things to check for too plenty of threads on here about them I can’t think of them all off the top of my head but I’m sure someone else will say anything I’ve missed.

Sorted this now. Actuator was far far far too short and car has almost definitely been remapped so trying to achieve the standard figures on here for setting the actuator is obviously going to be no good. All is well again.

Update for anyone interested fixed this now the actuator arm was far too short think the issue I had was because the turbo had been set up for a standard car and mine seems to have been remapped from the previous owner so I had some messing to do to get it right. I disregarded the figures which I read on here for setting the actuator and just made sure my required and actual boost were the same. Pulls like a train again now. Happy days.

Hi mate not sure what you mean, to remove the shock absorber from the arm it should be one bolt at the bottom then the two bolts at the top on the mount to remove the shock Absorber. You shouldn’t have to remove the mount from the shock absorber to change the rear arm? Or do you mean you are changing the shock absorber and can’t get the old mount off the top once the shock absorber is off the car because it’s spinning? I think when I changed mine I just gripped it in a vice to stop it turning using a towel so I didn’t mark it. Should come off easily.

I’ve been having some issues since installing a recon turbo wth boost coming in late. I’ve made a thread about it on the mk1 Fabia owners board here: https://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/453949-vrs-turbo-woes/ My question is does anybody know what test procedures or logs I should do to check that my MAF, N75 and MAP sensor are operating correctly? Ive already made some adjustments to the actuator, tested the vac lines, checked for boosts leaks etc and logged it along with doing the test to set the stop correctly but I can’t quite get the figures commonly stated on here which ive gone into more detail about on my other thread, so I was wondering if one of the above sensors/control units were giving a poor reading or not operating correctly it could affect the figures that I’m trying to achieve whilst setting the actuator up. I need to check these are working before I make any more adjustments. Thanks For any help

After replacing my turbo with a reconditioned unit standard kkk I just can’t seem to get it running right at all. The boost seems to come in late with a big spike around 3000rpm in third gear. In first gear boost doesn’t really kick in as the engine revs up much faster and it’s time to shift gear before you produce boost. Same in second but not as bad. Cars seems very smokey under hard acceleration compared to before but this clears once the boost comes in (lack of air, turbo lag?) and it’s fine whilst doing cruising speeds on the motorway and around town. Mpg is also ok on a motorway run but probably not as good as it should be round town. Ive done 3rd gear WOT runs and logged it. I’ve set the Actuator up the best I can using vcds to adjust the stop but I can’t seem to produce the figures which are commonly stated on here. For example: i cant seem to produce the 130-150mb pressure difference when setting the stop the most I can get is 120mb (960-1080) if i wind it out anymore I can get 132mb (960-1092) and the veins jam. If I wind the stop either way of the point I have it set now the pressure either drops lower or goes up to the point of jamming. I’ve tried shortening the rod to bring the boost in quicker but it seems to make no difference other than causing the car to overboost massively like 1.9bar before the vacuum cuts it off and then it comes back down and meets requested boost and stabilises and the duty cycle is around 63% at 4000rpm butndont want to shorten the rod any more to bring the duty cycle up due to how high the boost shoots up before coming back down. All boost pipes have been replaced for hard pipework and a FMIC after having leak problems after fitting the recon turbo but will check for leaks again. Ive had a mity vac on the vac line to the turbo and checked for leaks there are none and the actuator moved freely up to the stop. My next point of call is to check all vac lines from the vac pump as I’ve noticed a hissing noise from the side of the engine where the exhaust on the vac pump is but if there was a problem I would expect to feel on the brake pedal? Could it be a fault with the MAF sensor giving a dodgy reading? The n75 valve seems to operate the actuator ok but maybe it’s not working to it’s full potential how can I check this? I have noticed that it buzzes quite a while after turning the ignition off and the duty cycle at idle is really low about 23% and I was told it should operate no lower than 30% is that correct? I don’t know if the car has been mapped by a previous owner and if it had would it cause issues like this when trying to set up the turbo? there are no codes stored in vcds and no warning lights on. im getting fed up now just want it running sweet again like it was before the turbo went bang. Is there anything else I’ve missed which could cause this that I can check? Any input is greatly appreciated, if any of the information I have written is incorrect please feel free to correct me or if any more information is required please ask, I can supply graphs of my logs if needed. Thanks in advance. *note it’s an ASZ engine

312mm brakes First thing I did when I got mine

Yeah I wanted mine darker than gun metal grey or charcoal but not black, i took it into the bodyshop and my guy recommended that colour to me it’s a Ferrari paint code Grigio something or other. It also has like a metal fleck in which makes the wheels change colour when the light hits it from different angles with a sort of purple look to it like you say you want. Looks good especially after a clean when the light hits it. The badges on the brakes are good too I didn’t expect them to last as they looked quite flimsy when I put them on but they are still going strong two years later.

Sounds similar to mine should look something like this to give you a rough idea:

Are you replacing the actual plastic centre cap or just putting a new sticker on the outside face?

No problem, I had a lot of messing about to get it right and found most of the information I needed on here so it’s only fair to help others out! Yeah I knew about the Different EGR wasn’t sure about the turbo I’ve seen some ASZ engines come with a Garret standard but thought it was mainly the BLT engines with them so maybe it’s just pot luck i found fitting the hard pipework for my fmic a bit of a pain. Although the quality of them was good the welds etc one of the bends wasn’t enough so I cut it and re welded it for a better fit. I think the hard pipes I got were 57mm O.D. So to fit them into the turbo outlet hose I previously bought I chopped the end off and turned a reducing piece that was tapered on the inside and welded it in worked a treat. if you decide to go for a hard pipe kit try and make sure that all the sizes match up when you order to avoid the ball ache I had. I’m lucky I can do the work myself others might not be so lucky! Here’s the pipe I welded a piece in to to reduce the size: And the hard pipes on the car.

Sorry mate just noticed yours has the BLT engine probably has the Garrett turbo on mines the ASZ with a KKK so I’m guessing the outlet pipe maybe different.

Hi mate I’ve recently had the same problem after changing my turbo, bottom boost pipe was blowing out of the intercooler and there was a hole in the silicone turbo outlet pipe. Same as you thought the crappy oem ones were too pricey so I decided to make up new bottom boost pipe with silicone hoses and a piece of hard pipe all bought off eBay it probably cost me about £80 to do. Even after I changed the bottom pipework the new coupler still kept blowing out of the side mount intercooler because it was either damaged where the coupler went into it or blocked and causing a back pressure, so I just bit the bullet and ripped the lot out got a FMIC and hard pipework so it was a bit of a waste really. Fortunately when I decided to go for the FMIC and hard pipework I still managed to use the turbo outlet hose and coupler I bought. heres the parts I got to replace the standard oem bottom boost pipes from turbo outlet to intercooler. That’s the outlet hose I used with the couplers. https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F253181278293 That should join up with the standard pipework but I didn’t check as I made up complete new bottom pipe. Using this 51mm o.d 90degree : https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F152148842194 it required cutting down to the correct length then a bead putting back on the end there’s a how to on YouTube for the bead. I then used another 90 degree silicone elbow 51mm I.D. : https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F151788765877 Then the coupler that went into the intercooler was a 60mm-51mm https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebay.co.uk%2Fulk%2Fitm%2F171266960379 I used jubilee clips to hold it together I know people recommended mikalor clamps but due to previous experience with these I tend to just stick with good quality jubilee clips. There’s a picture of it on the car:

Did you get the brakes off a Quattro TT? I seem to remember when I did the conversion on my Fabia that the carriers off the Quattros or 4motions etc were different and wouldn’t fit. They had to be off a front wheel drive car, mk1 Octavia Vrs etc I can’t remember if this was just for the rear carriers only or the front too. Might be worth checking. There was definitely a spacing issue with carriers that came off a 4wd car.

Hi mate thanks for the reply, I’ve not bothered with the pd150 just went for a standard turbo couldn’t be bothered getting involved with the egr delete etc. Didn’t want the EGR delete because I’d have to remove the ASV also. I just thought it would end up being more hassle than it’s worth. Having said that after fitting the new turbo had the boost leak issues from the old pipework and intercooler so decided to replace it for hard pipework and a fmic anyway because I ended up getting royally p****d off with it. Managed to cure the boost leaks but it’s still not running quite right I think the actuator needs setting up correctly as it’s only been set up by the company that sold me the remanufactured one. So in the end maybe I should have just got the pd150 done the egr delete and sent it for a remap but I would have ended up spending more than I wanted to really as the car is just my daily runner.

Halfords rubbing compound works fine £4.70 for a tube. Use it with a hard compounding pad on a buffer Wet the pad first. Then a medium pad and then a polishing pad with polish to finish. If you don’t have a buffer you can find pads that work with a drill on eBay or they usually come in headlamp restoration kits along with the compounding paste. I decided against a kit as I had most of the stuff already to do it just needed the rubbing compound. Bare in mind I took my headlamps out if you do it whilst on the car mask around the edges to protect your bonnet, bumper and wing. It’s really easy to do I was surprised at how good mine came up and it really did make my car look 1000 times better.