Napastar

Many thanks to all above for taking the time to reply - all good advice. From the point of view of insurance I've got that covered as spent a career in motor claims insurance heading up the claims department for a large UK motor insurer so I've made sure he's declared and will continue to declare modifications. I've liked and owned relatively fast cars all my life and so has my wife so I guess its in the genes and its a case of trying to rein in my 21year old. The advice to save the money and put towards the next car is often the advice I've given others, but with 4 years NCD he's getting itchy feet and the logic of semi supporting his remap intentions is that it will hopefully delay his desire for a much faster car for a little while longer until he has a few more years driving experience. I'm painfully aware of the financial and sometimes tragic consequences of young inexperienced drivers (both genders) driving around in Golf R's thanks to cheap lease deals and living rent free with parents. I was predominantly interested in gearbox/clutch reliability and I'm a little concerned by NavyW's post that the gearbox is only rated tp 200nm as his standard car has 200nm. I'm now going to spend some time reading the info on the links kindly provided nta and ootohere

My son has a 2017 1.0 110ps Monte Carlo and is desperate to remap it. I've had experience of remapping in the past with mixed outcomes - on both occasions it delivered the claimed increase in engine output but on one of the 2 occasions it overwhelmed the clutch. Has anybody on here remapped a 1.0 110ps Fabia and is so has the standard clutch coped. (if not is there an uprated clutch option for the car). The map he is looking at is not extreme and will add 22bhp and 27lb/ft of torque Any insight would be really appreciated

Apologies for delay in replying - long story The issue turned out to be as Rum4mo suggested - a wire had broken in the loom contained in the concertinaed rubber sleeve between the hatch and the cars main body. I ended up splicing in a new short piece of wire using a soldering iron and heat shrink. Worryingly most of the other 7 or 8 wires showed significant cracking to the wires plastic insulation sleeves so tried to add protection to them with heat shrink. Clearly the quality of wiring used is not up to the

The rear wiper on my son's car no longer works when the Hatch is closed, but strangely if you open it above horizontal and try the wiper again, it works. Anyone got any ideas

He used Pipewerx who are based in Lathom near Ormskirk in Lancashire. They are highly regarded on the Biker scene, but also have a smaller operation making customised exhausts for cars. The car section is run by a guy who was number 2 to Ian Birch who used to own and run Dubsport ( very well know in the VW Tuning scene in the 1990s). Ive used them before when I asked them to make Stainless "copy" of the exhaust system on my wife then Alfa 159 and both then and now the quality of the work is the best Ive seen Hope this helps

My son has just had a custom made stainless steel full exhaust system fitted to his 1.0 Monte Carlo and Its transformed the cars pick up right through the rev range in all gears. The biggest improvement has been the near elimination of the significant flat spot around 1200 revs. Thankfully he opted for a resonated system with twin round tailpipes and as such it has a sporty but subtle note. The exhaust specialist he used has made such a neat job of the cut out to the diffuser that you cant tell its not factory. If anyone is considering having this done but is uncertain, I'd encourage you to take the plunge as I'm sure you wouldn't regret it

Yes it was a full kit ie springs and dampers. I Agree that It certainly doesn't have the ridiculous "slammed" look as this wasn't something my son was trying to achieve. One thing for certain is that its significantly lower than the very high standard set up. In fairness to Vogtland they state that the 35 mm drop is measured against standard Skoda suspension and that if the car comes with a lowered suspension from the factory the drop will be less. I assume that my son's car was never specified with the option sports suspension based on its prior appearance

Apologies for the delay.Before and after photos of my sons now lowered Monte Carlo

If anyone is looking to lower their Fabia I can recommend the above. My son has a 2017 1.0 Tsi Monte Carlo and from day 1 he has banged on about lowering the car. ( In my mid 50s I'm not a great advocate of lowering cars, but I have to admit that the standard set up does look a bit high - especially the rear) . With an advisory of a weeping rear shock on his MOT a couple of months ago, this was the excuse he needed and against my better judgement, ordered the above kit at just over £300. Now fitted it has transformed the cars handling - no body roll with the only compromise being a barely noticeable deterioration in comfort over rough surfaces. My wife has a 2016 Polo GTI which has fantastic handling but drive over Cats eye and your likely to loose a tooth filling. To be honest with a 35mm drop all round, the car does look better

I'm afraid not Toot as yet again it started raining so I didn't want to hang about (I had already used a feeler gauge to check the new plugs indoors) Quite agree nta that the performance of parts like plugs do deteriorate over time/with use even if there is not visible exterior deterioration. I've just not experience such a difference when plugs have been changed. The old plugs I replaced were the originals and so 1 year past the recommended change interval - it turns out that the previous owner had declined the Skoda dealerships advice that they should be changed

Finally managed to get the plugs changed. Visibly all 3 of the old ones that are 5 years old and covered 40k look fine. Gap looks pretty good, electrode not worn and no tracking of the plugs exterior. To my surprise their is a noticeable improvement on pick up from low revs.

To Be honest with 1 electrical connector refusing to budge and it getting very dark I Put it all back together and will have another go on the next dry day when Ive got a spare hour or so. It should be quicker next time now I know where all the Tork Screws/ Clips are to remove the airbox ducting etc. Once done I'll report back

I've just spent an hour of my life that I won't get back trying to change just 3 spark plugs. Starting at around 3pm this afternoon I though I would have plenty of time but how naïve was I as I had only just removed the airbox, intake pipes and ducting and electrical connectors when darkness overtook the proceedings. I cant believe how unnecessarily complex VAG have made what should be a simple job. Amongst other cars, I'm lucking enough to own a 40 year old Gold GTI and without exaggeration changing its 4 spark plugs takes 10 mins the world has gone mad! Happy New Year bye the way

Much appreciated - made my day

My son has a late 2017 Monte Carlo 1.0TSI 3cyl 110ps. Can anyone confirm if the water pump runs off the cambelt