Now I don't want to turn it into a chav-mobile with a body kit that is a foot wider than the car, but I'm looking into lowering it as the handling is a joke (body roll mostly), especially for an enthusiastic 18 year old like myself :P What kind of springs should I be looking at? I looked on ebay, and there's thousands to choose from, I didn't know where to start. Money is a bit of an issue, but I am saving. I'm also looking to upgrade the engine. The 1.3 MPI it has now isn't bad at all, doesn't get embarassed or anything, I'd just like a bit more, you know? Where should I start with that? Induction kits? Air filters? Clearly when it comes to cars I don't know my **** from my elbow, but I learn quickly And the final thing would be to get rid of the standard wheels, but I'm good with aesthetic stuff so don't really need help with that.

I think a few bits can be done to the 1.3 - although if you want more power overall a Felicia 1.6 is the next best step. I had a Favorit 1.3 and a Felicia 1.3 - changing to a 1.6 was a big difference and it could easily keep up with most modern cars.

Handling wise they could do with improvement - although you can push them a fair way before they will do anything drastic. A number of people on here use coil overs etc - I m sure someone will post with more info on those - I haven't anymore pointers as I m quite clueless aswell!

hi john i have lowerd mine 40mm all round on fk automotive springs and done a few other bits... where abouts are you from?

Well, there is one member who's installing a 2.0l in a Felly, and Awesome GTi have put a VR6 engine in one, so engine tuning is a question of how much you can afford! Actually, at 18 I'd suggest leaving the engine alone as the insurance will get well and truly painful!

Cheers for the replies. Unfortunately upgrading to a 1.6 isn't really an option, the car's taken so much abuse from me, from the windscreen leak, the bumper being smashed, going 100mph down the M5, doing donuts on frozen carparks, I feel the need to give it something back lol

I was looking to lower it 40mm all round too. What's the difference like from stock? I want to be able to take corners faster than 30mph without the car going on two wheels. Would the stock wheels/tyres be adequate enough with the suspension, as I can only really afford to do things 1 at a time. I'm from Kent.

Would fitting an air filter and induction kit and maybe playing with the exhaust really effect the insurance that much? A lot of people my age seem to do them with their cars.

I lowered mine 40mm all round, for springs + fitting it came to around £120 on Jamex springs

Now I don't want to turn it into a chav-mobile

the car's taken so much abuse from me, going 100mph down the M5, doing donuts on frozen carparks

Sounds like the chavs already in the mobile ;)

lowering it and stiffening the suspension will make loads of difference even on stock wheels:)

"Would fitting an air filter and induction kit and maybe playing with the exhaust really effect the insurance that much? A lot of people my age seem to do them with their cars."

I remember putting a straight through on my Favorit, and it did 100% pull a bit stronger, but as far as induction kits are concerned I wouldn't bother unless you get a re-map as it wont do anything!

annd they don't tell there insurance thats how they can afford it

I learnt the hard way, tell insurance everything.

Would fitting an air filter and induction kit and maybe playing with the exhaust really effect the insurance that much? A lot of people my age seem to do them with their cars.

On a previous car I toyed with the idea of fitting a K&N air filter, insurance company I was with said they would cancel my insurance straight away if I did. Next quote was about £200 more, needless to say I didn't bother.

I also echo the sentiments of tell your insurance company everything. Some of your mates may say things like "how will they find out?" or "If you crash, just take the mods off" however, what if you crash and, for whatever reason, you're unable to de-mod your car? I've also heard rumours of police forces going around and pulling kids in modified cars and checking with the drivers insurance that all mods are declared.

on mine i used kf automotive springs all round 40mm which seem to be good springs got them off ebay for £40 and fitted them my self, put 17" wolfrace katona alloys on with 215/45/r17 with avon tyres, she sticks very well then an induction kit and straight through pipe from manifold to the back box, one of my mates has a 1.2twinport corsa and he cant keep up on the country lanes or on straights for that matter :P

Sounds like the chavs already in the mobile ;)

lowering it and stiffening the suspension will make loads of difference even on stock wheels:)

Lol fair enough. You have to admit though, driving on ice in an empty area is so much fun. Some how my Felicia performed a lot better than my mate's brand new 08 Fiesta, another mate's T reg Fiesta which has better tyres than me. They kept getting stuck my good old beater had no trouble. Sounds good on the rev limiter too

And that's good to hear.

Also with regards to engine modding and insurance, I will give it a miss, the modding that is! Just really need the suspension and some better looking wheels and I'll be satisfied. It's never gonna be a world beater anyway is it?

skodafelicia: is fitting suspension yourself hard/tricky and what sort of equipment will I need?

hello.

i'm using HPspoting coilovers on mine, with 15" golf G60 wheels (the steel ones)

i have a 22mm anti roll bar on the front and i'm in the middle of tuning an R32 golf front ARB into a beafy rear ARB for the felicia.

as for the engine, i have a 1600 with an induction filter, a skimmed head and an 1"5/8 exhaust with nothing but a single resonater at the back.

as a result, it goes round corners, and has a good power to torque mix.

but i do need to get the tracking sorted cuz something is a mis there

as for the insurance.i had a quote from hastings on the car as standard = £640

got a quote from adrian flux as fully modded = £340

go figure that one??????????

I presume from the budget that we're talking about lowering springs, not coilovers. In which case you need the following to fit them:-

Socket set and open ended spanners (based on the spring compressors I saw).

A big bench vice or a couple of Stilson wrenches

A set of spring compressors.

I'm not sure whether the rear ends use struts or not, but if they don't you can use a jack to control the way the rear end drops and may not need the compressors.

To use the compressors, remove a strut from the car, and fit them over about half the coils on the spring. Wind them up about half a turn at a time each until the spring clears its seats. Remove the top spring platform and spring (this may require the use of the Stilsons or vice).

Loosen the spring compressors half a turn at a time until they come off the springs naturally.

Fit the compressors to the new springs and nip them up but no more until you find out how much is necessary. Mount the new spring and seat it properly to the spring platforms (obvious when you're looking at the parts) and reattach the top platform (You may or may not need to tighten the spring compressors).

Once all springs are fitted, have a competent person do a full alignment check since you will have changed the front camber and castor angles (and maybe track angle too), and may have changed the rear geometry.

As for PinkSkud's insurance quotes, welcome to the insewerants random number generator!!

I'm not sure whether the rear ends use struts or not, but if they don't you can use a jack

yeah, macpherson type, the same as the fronts