Evening all,

I'm planning to do a few upgrades to my VRS, I am looking for some people that may have experience in the three mods and their opinions.

It's a 55 plate with 48k for reference.

Firstly I want to get a remap done.

I've got the PD160 intake fitted in readiness, and now need to decide which remap I get. My options are 'Superchip', 'Jabba' or a trip to 'Impossible Performance'. I'm hoping for an output of 170>180bhp with a nice fat, wide torque plateau. So difficult to know which is the best way to go. :confused:

I also am considering an exhaust system. My options seem to be either Milltek or Blue Flame (or maybe a custom made one). Do I go cat-back or is there a benefit in a performance cat or decat? I've heard the PD engines like a bit of back-pressure. Any advice?

Finally it's the rear anti roll bar.

19mm Whiteline ARB kit for £135 or a chunkier 23mm Jabba jobbie for about £200?

I've heard of quality issues with the Whiteline - still a problem?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me.

Rob.

Evening all,

I'm planning to do a few upgrades to my VRS, I am looking for some people that may have experience in the three mods and their opinions.

It's a 55 plate with 48k for reference.

Firstly I want to get a remap done.

I've got the PD160 intake fitted in readiness, and now need to decide which remap I get. My options are 'Superchip', 'Jabba' or a trip to 'Impossible Performance'. I'm hoping for an output of 170>180bhp with a nice fat, wide torque plateau. So difficult to know which is the best way to go. :confused:

I also am considering an exhaust system. My options seem to be either Milltek or Blue Flame (or maybe a custom made one). Do I go cat-back or is there a benefit in a performance cat or decat? I've heard the PD engines like a bit of back-pressure. Any advice?

Finally it's the rear anti roll bar.

19mm Whiteline ARB kit for £135 or a chunkier 23mm Jabba jobbie for about £200?

I've heard of quality issues with the Whiteline - still a problem?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer me.

Rob.

Out of the three remaps, jabba and impossible would be the ones to go for in giving you a good flat torque curve. Dont get me wrong have heard good things about superchips also but it maybe a bit undercooked compared to what you want. May give you 165bhp at best. There is a graph showing torque output on the superchips site. Jabba can do a custom remap to your spec(may involve half a day on the rollers), or the generic remap should also give you excellent output. P torque in wolverhampton are also highly thought of if you not considered them

As for the exhaust, i can't really comment as not had either but have heard miltek and blueflame are very well thought of here. if you goto the blueflame website you can view pic and video of what it would likely sound like also.

rear anti roll bar -if it was me i'd go for the jabba. have heard whiteline rust and someone on here went from whiteline to jabba and noticed the difference in handling. White line are apparently a bugger to fit also. Do a search there's lots of opinions and most are in favour of jabba

I'm going to fly my lonely flag once again, and suggest you look at the suspension and damping before considering a rear ARB, since they're not true anti-roll bars on the vRS; they just brace the (already massive) beam between the two rear suspension arms as the photo on Jabba's website shows. There's no leverage effect from one side of the car to the other like on a proper ARB since it doesn't attach to the chassis at any point, and I personally think that the existing beam provides sufficient rigidity...

As for the remaps, a custom map is definitely going to be better than a generic one, and Superchips's remap is, as newskoda says, quite mild - in fact you'd get similar or even better for less money with a digital tuning box if that was all you were after...

Thanks guys. I'll skip the Superchips idea and probably go for Impossible due to their location to me...30 miles or so away.

I can get the Blue Flame cat back system for £230 or with the sports cat for £510 all in, delivered. I just don't know if the £280 for a sports cat is money well spent. Anyone fitted one and offer an opinion based on experience?

With the ARB, I can see what you're saying ap0gee, as it seems that the rear beam is one big lump and not independent (like a Focus for instance). Many people swear that fitting a rear ARB transforms the handling which seems a bit odd to me too. I guess going for the thicker Jabba item would make sense in that a thicker bar will be stronger. If there is a quality/finnish issue with the Whiteline items it'd steer me away from that option anyway.

I am considering fitting new shocks to freshen up the handling but am not keen on fitting stiffer springs to compromise the comfort. I'd like to find the happy 'middle-ground'....jeez...I must be getting old!

Thanks again for your responses.

Get up to Jabba and let them do the map and fit the ARB in the same afternoon

Thats what i did and i've never looked back - Ap0gee is right that it's not an actual anti-roll bar but the extra bracing does tranform the car and keep everything much more tied down - so much so its noticable even at a gentle speed on the flat roads around Jabba's workshop!

And the map is great - much better than the peaky wheelspin enducing generic one i had on my previous Ibiza TDi and the clutch seems to be coping fine too.

I know i sounds like a walking advert for them but can't priase their work enough - even if the waiting room (albeit with xbox and dvd's) was chuffing freezing in November!

Oh and don't be afraid to haggle - Mentioning Briskoda will get you cash off straight away but they are pretty flexible and talk of a 3 hour journey brought my bottom line down a bit more!

I've got a Jabba re-map had it on the car for over 4 years now and I've not had any major problems with the clutch (getting to the stage where is slips now 80k on remap).

Also got the arb from jabba but I had that fitted after eibach dampers and springs (also fitted by jabba). Only thing I have found with the arb that if you have it with the front strut brace it makes the rear end alot more twitchy, after a few thousand miles I took off the strut brace and I find the car much more balanced (atleast suit to my driving) and easier to live with.

Take your pick with the remap.

RARB from Jabba without question

Exhaust wise, get a cat back system then have a local custom exhaust plcae make up a bolt/in out de-cat pipe (for track use only of course)

You'll love the noise of a de-cat

HTH

I've done coilovers, brakes and Jabba ARB on mine and in order of impressed-ness at the mods it goes:

1) Jabba ARB

2) Brakes

3) Coilovers

The rear ARB makes the car so much more fun to drive. Turn in is so much sharper that you find yourself turning in too early to start with as you're waiting for the car to wallow over which it doesn't do any more! Definitely my favourite mod.

Thanks for the replies - they're all really usueful and have helped me with making my mind up. :-)

de-cat pipe (for track use only of course)

You'll love the noise of a de-cat

HTH

decat is legal on a diesel

would have to be jabba re map and arb,i have had both arbs and the whiteline makes no noticable difference at all,and if you get coilovers on take the arb off as the coilovers do a much better job of controling the body rendering the arb useless,don't bother with any strut bracing at all as all it does is make the car understeer earlier,and the ultimate best fabia mod would have to be a atb diff:thumbup:

Im another one for the Jabba ARB, its the best thing i have bought for my car so far. It gives me so much more confidence in bends and seems to hold very well. It is ever so slightly twitchy with the front bar on aswell, but its very easy to correct unlike without them!

why dont you try Rs Tuning?

i just had a map done with them and the figures were good but the overall performance is awesome!

178bhp and 303ilbs!

also i'd save your cash on the exhaust side, 180 is really your limit unless your going bigger turbo and intercooler?

also i'd save your cash on the exhaust side, 180 is really your limit unless your going bigger turbo and intercooler?

i would sort of agree with this,mine is the most powerful i have seen on awesomes rollers for just a re mapped car when its been up against other mapped cars,even when they have been sporting front mount intercoolers/ehausts/downpipes/cold air intakes its seen them all off,only the hybrid cars have made more power in the 3 club shootouts i have been to and even then they only just pip me on torque,bhp is quite a bit higher of course,it apears that on a car with just a map doesn't really benefit from the exhaust/intake mods.

a remap makes a properly noticable difference, but in general you'll need to think about things like the clutch. having had it for a couple of months now, I'm not totally sold on the Jabba (or Whiteline etc etc) RAAAAAAARB

Edited 25 June, 200917 yr by andypandypoos

my friend had a superchips one... was around 160bhp i believe... which for me would make the most sence as the fabia's standard intercooler and clutch cannot cope with a lot of power

standard clutch is good for the bhp its the torque its doesnt like and will make it slip!

300ilbs is the safe limit really on a standard clutch! it may take 330 but it wont last long!

Give paul a ring at rs tuning mate he does wonders and knows his stuff about the map, im really happy with it!

and the intercoolers are way to small but thats the next step after a map is turbo intercooler and a nice strong clutch!!!

Re-Map is good fun as long as you don't go too crazy with the torque.

Jabbasport Rear ARB makes a big difference to the handling, mines lowered on KW springs & SEAT solid front wishbones as well.

dont bother with a sports cat, big waste of money. either leave it in or rip it out.

When I had mine done they just replaced it with a 2.5" piece of pipe with flanges either end, and welded flanges to the cat so when I come to sell its just 3 bolts back in.

If you want a remap that is going to impress your passengers, then Superchips is the one. It gives a big lump of thrust at 2000rpm (think of the standard car but MUCH more so). It's hugely impressive and it feels VERY fast, but, as has already been pointed out, it's 'only' 160bhp.

The Jabba mapped car I tried pulled all the way to the redline and didn't have that reduction in accelleration at the top end that the standard car does, but it didn't feel as fast.

I haven't tried an Impossible tuned car, but the load-and-go Washbrook tuned car I tried was a decent compromise. If you want what you want, get a Jabba custom map.

Also - do be aware that on higher mileage cars, the increased performance can highlight any weakness in the clutch, turbo and piping. I think it's generally agreed that most remaps actually cost £1000 becasue you end up getting a strengthened clutch too.

Finally, I would echo what ap0gee said, and get the suspension and braking sorted before I shelled out on a remap. You will go and stop quicker everywhere, plus the Jabba RARB keeps the car so much flatter you feel you would go around anything. Add Powerflex/Cupra console bushes for the go-kart steering too.

Deffo agree with Joel. Dont waste your time with a sports cat, may aswell get a decat or cat back.

I'll be going for a remap soon, and P-Torque will have a PM coming his way.

I can kind of see where ap0gee is coming from in terms of sorting suspension & damping out first before going down the anti roll bar route, but if you're looking for a quick, relatively cheap handling improvement then I think that on the Fabia in particular, you can't go far wrong with an anti roll bar.

My car is completely standard (suspension wise) other than that and the difference was night-and-day, and it felt great on track at the beginning of this month.

I'd love some better springs & shocks but ultimately that means that the car has to be lowered. I've not read about any better springs & shocks that maintain the original ride height but improve handling, for that reason I'll be leaving mine well alone (I need the ride height as it is to negotiate the lanes & tracks around here )

I did the big 312mm brake upgrade and the only thing I would say about that is I think that ever so slightly stiffer springs on the front to help with nose dive probably wouldn't go amiss!

these things are totally relative, but I'd disagree that Cupra console bushes give go-kart steering; my diesel Cupra doesn't particularly feel like a go-kart and it's lower than a vRS with slightly(?) firmer dampers as standard

Andy - compared to how the vrs steering feels pre-cupra bushes, relatively speaking, with the cupra bushes it feels amazing - perhaps not a clio or a proper sporty hatch, but there is certainly a MASSIVE improvement over the not-very-good standard items!

Just to chip in - now I have had the bushes, Jabba ARB and 312's fitted, the Fabia feels so much better than standard. Each time an item was fitted there was a real jump in the way the car handled.

The Cupra bushes helped the front end on roundabouts, the Jabba bar keeps the car seriously flat on exits and bends and the 312's scrub the speed without fuss. I will also add that after a service the car goes better than before - almost as if the car was 'throttling back' before the service to prevent any undue wear.

TH