Hello all,

My Fabia has failed it's mot on the above, having read all the posts on the issue it seems I have been lucky, the original ones having lasted 76k. I've phoned around for some quotes, the best being £120+vat from the garage who did the mot (not vag specialists but trustworthy I believe) which I think is quite reasonable (Skoda want £300!).

My question is, to those of you who have changed to the Cupra items, how drastically has the handling been affected? I'm not bothered about making the handling sharper, but what I don't want is for the car to feel too much 'bumpier' over the bumps or for there to be a drastic change in road noise.

Thanks

Matt

The handling is "stiffer" and a little bumpier as the bushes are solid.

Had mine replaced yesterday at Angel Tuning in Troon, hellish job to do but a worthwhile improvement

All i'll say is, be cautious about getting them fitted by anyone who doesn't know exactly what they are doing........ I had mine fitted by my local (non skoda) indy garage, They put them in completely wrong! i had all sorts of clunking, crunching and graunching noises as a result...... I went back, they played about with them, and the noises went away but the handling felt awful! As a result, i ended up travelling about 300miles to UNIT18 in Northamptonshire, for Lummox & Ally to put things right....... Those chaps sorted it for me, and showed me that the other place had fitted them incorrectly. I was glad to have finally got it sorted, but having to pay twice (once at sh*tty garage and then again at the superlative Unit18) wasn't a nice pill to swallow.

So, just make sure they know exactly what they are doing, as it isn't quite as straight forward as replacing like for like......

As for how they feel, i never had the car from new so can't comment on how they performed compared to the originals, but it certainly felt alot better than it did with the sha**ed out old ones they replaced. I can't say it radically changed the handling, just felt better than it did if you know what i mean...... I also had powerflex front bushes and arb bushes at the same time (plus droplinks and new arb)

I whole heartedly recommend paying a touch more, for someone that knows what they are doing though....... Have i said that enough in this post yet? And fully recommend Unit18......

road noise through the car is a bit more noticible for a while , then it calms down , and is no more noisier than standard

the improvement in steering feel alone makes them a worthwhile upgrade for any Fabia

You might not need/want sharper handling but you will learn to enjoy it. As for extra road noise, well in a Polo 1.4SE there was no noticable differance - I had been warned that there would be a bit more, but maybe as the Polo 1.4SE has quite a bit of soundproofing and softish road springs then maybe that was the reason for little change in road noise. I'd guess with your trim level you might find the same thing. Same comments as before if getting someone who is not conversant with this mod in these cars - these bushes get fitted into aluminium lumps that could get cracked!

All i'll say is, be cautious about getting them fitted by anyone who doesn't know exactly what they are doing........ I had mine fitted by my local (non skoda) indy garage, They put them in completely wrong! i had all sorts of clunking, crunching and graunching noises as a result...... I went back, they played about with them, and the noises went away but the handling felt awful! As a result, i ended up travelling about 300miles to UNIT18 in Northamptonshire, for Lummox & Ally to put things right....... Those chaps sorted it for me, and showed me that the other place had fitted them incorrectly. I was glad to have finally got it sorted, but having to pay twice (once at sh*tty garage and then again at the superlative Unit18) wasn't a nice pill to swallow.

So, just make sure they know exactly what they are doing, as it isn't quite as straight forward as replacing like for like......

As for how they feel, i never had the car from new so can't comment on how they performed compared to the originals, but it certainly felt alot better than it did with the sha**ed out old ones they replaced. I can't say it radically changed the handling, just felt better than it did if you know what i mean...... I also had powerflex front bushes and arb bushes at the same time (plus droplinks and new arb)

I whole heartedly recommend paying a touch more, for someone that knows what they are doing though....... Have i said that enough in this post yet? And fully recommend Unit18......

Indeed, it essential that they are fitted correctly, very easy to get it wrong:eek: