my head is battered at the moment, and i just dont know what to do

basically i want to do something to the car but i dont know where to start with it all, i generally dont find the brakes that good, but, im pretty sure im on original discs and having done near 60k they are ready for replacement, not sure what pads i have on at the moment, one thing i also dont like when braking is how much the front end bobs down, it takes away a lot of the feel/control from braking, you just cant tell properly by how much your slowing down, i have very very nearly bought a 312mm setup off Ebay but so far i havent

one of the other things i have a problem with is the cars poor handling and 4x4 like ride height, im coming from a heavily modified mk1 Clio which could out handle nearly anything, but, i dont really want such a firm ride anymore, i REALLY enjoy the comfort of driving the Fabia its great and id be gutted to lose that, ive been thinking of getting some Eibach/H&R springs, but if i dont find what im looking for the next logical step would be some FSD's, but then i could have spent £600 on some coilovers and set them to soft ???

the cost of it all too is an issue, i now have more of a normal life, in the past ive spent every penny i had on my car and doing things to it, but now im enjoying the lower tax, better mpg, and comfier ride, and me and the mrs are going for more meals out etc, i dont want to be spending loads of money changing the car, but there are no perfect cars out there, everything is a compromise and im happy with the Fabia and dont want to sell it

also, everyone keeps asking when im going to get it remapped, im happy with the power but i wouldnt mind a little bit extra, but the mpg worries me, i wouldnt want it to go down !

see if i do the brakes properly im looking at a 312mm setup which fitted is gonna set me back £400, springs plus fitting and setup would be £300, and ive got to have an interim service soon as part of my warranty, another £150, i dont have that kind of cash anymore to dedicate to the car, i want to move out in a few years, i need to grow up lol

from all your experience with your cars and reading things on here, would i be happy with just some springs and possibly some uprated pads on new OE discs, that would keep the costs down a lot and hopefully make some difference, im way past my previous modifying days but its still niggling away at me to mess with my Furby

Edited 14 March, 200917 yr by BRUN

reading your post it strikes me you are a man on the edge,just one mod would put you over,and as you know its a very long slippery slope:D

OEM discs team them up with some Mintex 1144 pads.... should stop then and wont cost the world....

I ran eibachs on OEM dampers and felt the handling did improve as it was less boat like

LOL, i cant mate, for the past god knows how many years my finances have been a right mess, finally though ive actually got some savings which ive not had since i was about 10 !......The Fabia is/was a big part of sorting my life out financially and i wont let it all happen again, but it just doesnt feel complete, sometimes i think sod it, how comfortable is this to drive !!.......then others i feel like im driving around in a boat and i cant bear to look at the arch gaps sometimes hehe

Get some Eibachs. Just as comfy as OE springs (even on 17's), but looks better, and handles better too

Poor handling is largely solved by fitting of a rear anti roll bar - you got one yet?

OEM discs team them up with some Mintex 1144 pads.... should stop then and wont cost the world....

I ran eibachs on OEM dampers and felt the handling did improve as it was less boat like

Mintex 1144 pads - do they deal well with gentle use? They're not squealy and crap when cold, are they? I'm about 5k away from needing replacement front pads and something a bit better would be nice

get a remap (£450ish) whiteline ARB (£110) and eibach/spax springs. car handles awesome through the corners, but like any handling mods the speed bumps are a bit of an issue, just slow down for them and ur ok. FSD are a gd investment but IMHO i dont think the make the handling of the car any better then the OEM dampers. Just change round town and extra urban driving. The mitex pads are gd as well, no they are not squeaky and crap when cold. do make a lot of dust tho.

that wil set u back about £700 max. Look through the site, there are loads of threads to DIY. save a lot of money on labour.

theres my 2p worth

cheers

handling wise i'd suggest you got for the whiteline ARB to get the car handling a bit more flatter and go for the mintext pads! shouldn't cost you that much at all! suspension im afraid is something you cant really skimp on or that comfy ride you love is going out the window!!! so either save up for a bit or just get some springs and dampers!

Poor handling is largely solved by fitting of a rear anti roll bar - you got one yet?

nope and thats also something ive been considering, but my thinking is to maybe do the springs first and see how that is, because i think at some point ill be lowering it so may aswell see how that feels first

the alloys, exhaust etc that people usually change, i like, and i wont be changing any of those

312mm brakes, rear anti-roll bar, uprated front bushes, mild remap, pd160 intake, suspension kit, job's a goodun

^ what he said!

312mm brakes, rear anti-roll bar, uprated front bushes, mild remap, pd160 intake, suspension kit, job's a goodun

thats also £1k+ !

surely these cars dont need that much throwing at them to improve things, having modified far too much in the past, im now of the thought "never build a car you can buy"

Do it over time, doesnt have to done at once.

In reality you could drop the remap, pd160 and suspension kit.

Personally I would do this if I were in your situation

* PD160 + Panel Filter - Bit better poke

* Lowering springs - better looks and less bobbing when braking

* OEM Disc's and Pads - if you happy with them why upgrade

* Cruise Control - use it to up your MPG

This little lot shouldn't cost you alot of money but would be worth spending.

my head is battered at the moment, and i just dont know what to do

basically i want to do something to the car but i dont know where to start with it all, i generally dont find the brakes that good, but, im pretty sure im on original discs and having done near 60k they are ready for replacement, not sure what pads i have on at the moment, one thing i also dont like when braking is how much the front end bobs down, it takes away a lot of the feel/control from braking, you just cant tell properly by how much your slowing down, i have very very nearly bought a 312mm setup off Ebay but so far i havent

one of the other things i have a problem with is the cars poor handling and 4x4 like ride height, im coming from a heavily modified mk1 Clio which could out handle nearly anything, but, i dont really want such a firm ride anymore, i REALLY enjoy the comfort of driving the Fabia its great and id be gutted to lose that, ive been thinking of getting some Eibach/H&R springs, but if i dont find what im looking for the next logical step would be some FSD's, but then i could have spent £600 on some coilovers and set them to soft ???

the cost of it all too is an issue, i now have more of a normal life, in the past ive spent every penny i had on my car and doing things to it, but now im enjoying the lower tax, better mpg, and comfier ride, and me and the mrs are going for more meals out etc, i dont want to be spending loads of money changing the car, but there are no perfect cars out there, everything is a compromise and im happy with the Fabia and dont want to sell it

also, everyone keeps asking when im going to get it remapped, im happy with the power but i wouldnt mind a little bit extra, but the mpg worries me, i wouldnt want it to go down !

see if i do the brakes properly im looking at a 312mm setup which fitted is gonna set me back £400, springs plus fitting and setup would be £300, and ive got to have an interim service soon as part of my warranty, another £150, i dont have that kind of cash anymore to dedicate to the car, i want to move out in a few years, i need to grow up lol

from all your experience with your cars and reading things on here, would i be happy with just some springs and possibly some uprated pads on new OE discs, that would keep the costs down a lot and hopefully make some difference, im way past my previous modifying days but its still niggling away at me to mess with my Furby

Get the Eibachs or similar and that should sort out at least 1/2 of your worries. You should end up with a car that brakes flatter and corners more tautly. The car really needs a rear ARB to be complete. I think that's a successful compromise.

Though I haven't done it. Others have (re)gained some ride comfort by moving from 45 profile to 50 profile tyres. Even as standard, the car doesn't deal with potholes and ridges very well.

J.

thanks for all the advice, really appreciated

I read your original post and I thought - "Here's someone living in the real world, doing real mileages daily and not wanting to blow all his money or shatter his spine on a rock-hard ride".

I personally wouldn't mod the car at all. There's really not that much wrong with it as standard. However, when it needs new discs and pads, get the bigger ones fitted. When it needs new shocks, buy FSDs. When it needs new springs, get something lower. By only replacing stuff only when it needs replacing it's less of a strain on the wallet as most of it doesn't actually cost that much more than standard parts from a dealer. And I actually think the car is nearly fast enough. Sure I could overtake more in a faster car, but then I'd want an even faster car and patience is the only virtue I have left anyway.

I would also say you should get hooked up with a good independent garage. Now my Fabia is out of warranty and service agreement, I use Unit 18 for everything. It's a 160 mile round trip to get the car worked on, but frankly it's worth it to know I've not been ripped off by a dealer. Someone on here tells me where to buy the bits as cheaply as possible and I get them delivered direct where possible. I then turn up with the car and if I wanted to, I could sit and watch Ross fitting them. His labour rates aren't that much cheaper than a dealer, but the parts prices are significantly less, and he doesn't 'enhance' the length of time it's going to take to do the work. I suspect that on my next visit I'm making the tea:D

The one thing I would get is a JabbaSport RARB. I won't give you a load of old stuff about how I can feel this and that and the next thing. It's just flatter and quicker through corners. £200-ish but it works with an otherwise standard car, so it's a proper upgrade and it doesn't really affect the comfort except when you hit a pothole at the back when the car does 'rock' a bit more than before as the back end is more rigid.

Mine has FSDs and Eibachs with the Jabba RARB and I'm getting the 312mm brakes done in the next month or so because the brakes are on their way out. My wife says it needs new brake pads, so new brake pads it's getting my dear:D

Mine is only two and a half years old, but it has 80K miles on it and that means a lot of bits are coming up for replacement. If/when the turbo goes I'll get a bigger one. If/when the clutch goes I'll get a SPEC etc. The bonnet might be stonechipped, but it gets well serviced;)

The truth is though, that I've sunk waaaaay too much money into that car. But I drink very little and I don't smoke, so why not?

cheers for such a lengthy reply !

the RARB does worry me a little, to be honest its rare i push the car, i love the mpg im getting and im no boy racer anymore im past that, but ive read several times that they can make the back end lose any progressiveness and that your loss of grip can be very sudden, thats the last thing id want to happen !.........though ive also read some people say they cant feel much difference with one fitted ?!

If you don't boy race and rarely push the car you will NEVER reach the limit of grip with the rear anti roll bar fitted.

I'm still of the opinion that it's only people who are truly taking the **** with the speeds that they are taking corners/roundabouts that have any incidents relating to the rear anti roll bar.

with the jabba anti roll bar i've never lost it on a roundabout or corner!! and i have pushed it quite a bit too but at no point did it feel like it wanted to give way (btw before anyone says im not pushing it for the sake of trying to find out where the limit is)

i know its been said numerous times before but it is by far the best mod on my car!

If you don't boy race and rarely push the car you will NEVER reach the limit of grip with the rear anti roll bar fitted.

I'm still of the opinion that it's only people who are truly taking the **** with the speeds that they are taking corners/roundabouts that have any incidents relating to the rear anti roll bar.

Agreed!

I've had mine fitted for 6 months and only once experienced any kind of rear end movement and i was trying!! Was at slow speed and booted it on a wet roundabout to push the front wide and then jumped off the throttle. Understeer to oversteer as you would expect but very predicatable and controllable.

As Yegnold says I reckon people who have incidents that they put down to RARB would have understeered off anyways!

Agreed!

I've had mine fitted for 6 months and only once experienced any kind of rear end movement and i was trying!! Was at slow speed and booted it on a wet roundabout to push the front wide and then jumped off the throttle. Understeer to oversteer as you would expect but very predicatable and controllable.

As Yegnold says I reckon people who have incidents that they put down to RARB would have understeered off anyways!

I think you've put your finger on it there. I've spun mine and it was 100% driver error. I just wasn't expecting it to oversteer. It never oversteered before! Now I know it oversteers I'm ready if it happens and it is catchable.

But the truth is I was pushing it. I was going at least twice as fast through the corner as I would have without the RARB though. It just feels flat and planted. It very much flatters the driver ie. you seem to be a much smoother driver than before:D

The main cost is insurance - well at least it was for me. Stay away from power increases and you can insure the car through most, including some very competitive ones.

Brakes wise, check the price difference between OEM and the 312 upgrade, you may find that if you have to replace discs and pads, the 312 upgrade is not that bad, and if you can find a mate to help fit them if you are not able to do it yourself, or use someone from here who is able to help, it shouldnt cost the earth.

The rear ARB will make the car corner much flatter, and IMHO especially if not pushing too hard, increases the comfort a lot. I have the Jabba one, but the other one is cheaper and may be fine for you

It is a slippery slope, that's for sure

The main cost is insurance - well at least it was for me. Stay away from power increases and you can insure the car through most, including some very competitive ones.

Brakes wise, check the price difference between OEM and the 312 upgrade, you may find that if you have to replace discs and pads, the 312 upgrade is not that bad, and if you can find a mate to help fit them if you are not able to do it yourself, or use someone from here who is able to help, it shouldnt cost the earth.

The rear ARB will make the car corner much flatter, and IMHO especially if not pushing too hard, increases the comfort a lot. I have the Jabba one, but the other one is cheaper and may be fine for you

It is a slippery slope, that's for sure

im sorted for insurance as im with Adrian Flux, and still on a modified policy from my previous vehicle

for the brakes, i work in the trade so i can get OE front discs and pads for about £90 inc vat, i work at a dealers and get staff rates for labour so the fitting wouldnt be too bad, id imagine id be looking at a bill for ~ £120, the 312mm setup in comparison would cost me around £400 fitted

the RARB is certainly a cheap easy mod, and one that seems very very popular, still cant make my mind up about it but i might speak to the insurance on that one see how they see it, previously on my modified policy nothing has really put it up very much, in most cases just £20-£30 admin fees, if i was buying one id either get the Eibach full kit, or just the Whiteline for the rear, the Jabba is too expensive for me