Hi again all, I am seriously considering de-badging my VRS. I want it to look at a glance like a plain black fabia. I would keep things like the sill trims but would like to lose any visible evidence that the fabia I drive is actually a VRS. firstly do the VRS logos on the front and rear come off easily without marking paintwork? would I need to replace the front grille for a different one without the mounting point for the badge, like on Mrs Grr's '54 reg SDI? also, I prefer the fog lamp surrounds on her car but am concerned that this would be restricting airflow to the rad as they are "solid"??? And would they fit my bumper anyway?? I think the vrs foglamps look a bit "halfords" with all those fins around them... if they have a purpose then I guess I'll have to keep 'em.

thanking you in advance

Garry.

The front bumper is different so you would need to fit a standard front bumper.

Best thing is find someone who wants to swap for all the vRS bits and do a trade i'd say.

Failing that I have a std front bumper in my garage that you can have for a bargain price.

Hi, me again, forgot to mention that I wanted to keep skoda badging, just wanna lose the "v" emblems. Some of you may consider this to be blasphemous.:eek::eek::eek:

I'm even considering a leather retrim minus seat logos and replacement of the gearknob.

At the end of the day its still a vrs. I just don't want to advertise the fact. In my opinion, less is more... Shame Mrs Grr doesn't agree hehehe.

Shouldn't leave any marks the rear is just glue so should polish out etc.. Not sure on the grill. Did the same on my ibiza cupra and the badge just cliped to the grill. Might just be able to pull the front one off?

I did this with my Fabia and was rolling on steels for a while.

Back VRS badge will come off no bother as said.

Will just leave sticky residue to be polished off.

The front VRS badge is actually attached to the grill though.

You can take the VRS badge off but will still leave the backing plate bit.

I carefully broke mine off my grill.

I don't see why you're bothered about it being 'stealthy'? Without going to the lengths of replacing the wheels, springs, both bumpers, exhaust, indicator lenses and removing the spoiler, anyone who knows anything about cars is going to know what you're driving from the outside anyway - with or without a couple of badges. People who don't know anything about cars aren't going to care... :ne_nau:

All you'd really have to do is de vRS badge, change the bumpers and wheels and that'll fool 95% of people looking at it.

The minute you put a standard bumper set on most people would just assume it's a standard Fabia with a vRS interior + some bits 'n' bobs.. I would.

If you do change the front bumper, get the earlier type as it's most different and less sporty.

I don't see why you're bothered about it being 'stealthy'? Without going to the lengths of replacing the wheels, springs, both bumpers, exhaust, indicator lenses and removing the spoiler, anyone who knows anything about cars is going to know what you're driving from the outside anyway - with or without a couple of badges. People who don't know anything about cars aren't going to care... :ne_nau:

I want it to be stealthy beacause I don't want the local stereo nicking scrotes (of which there are many believe me...) to notice it too easily, I live in a fairly deprived area and it seems that the local scumbags don't like other people to have nice things. And, sorry if this offends you other VRS owners, but even though the car is quite subtle compared to many, the interior screams "BREAK IN TO ME COS I'M NOT A FIESTA" Anything to put off the baseball cap wearing, spliff smoking, window breaking, paint scratching, dole scratching, text messaging, Jeremy Kyle guest in waiting, un-educated dolts who seem to spring out of the woodwork when it gets dark.I bought this car primarily for how it drives rather than looks and if these morons spot anything they think might pay for their next bag of weed they will ransack it in an instant.

(Ask Mrs Grr whose Fabia was broken into for a phone charger recently.. (total cost to us £400 after buying a toad alarm,replacing rear quarter light and new charger for her phone and sat-nav etc)):mad:

So Thats why I'd like to quieten it down a bit so to speak. Since these plebs don't know too much about anything other than how to ponce and steal their way through life hopefully they will walk right past my car and maybe break into yours instead.

I'm sure you don't... but never leave ANYTHING on show!

As long as they never see anything to have they'll tend to leave it alone. (That said, did they take the charger out of the glove box?)

Example.

My Dad's had various cars.. 80's Merc SEC, Vauxhalls, Fords, Saab 9000 Aero.

He's lost (to smash and grab, out side our house) 3 phones, 2 lap tops a carmea and a satnav... They don;t live in a bad area.. but close enougth that the bad area kids know where the goodies are and can nick a scooter to get there.

This is over a decade at least.. and they were always on show. He's never lost anything when it's not been visable.

Admittedly, a phone charger is a bit of a kick in the nuts though.

Well, like I say, if it's the CAR they're after, taking the badges off won't be enough of a disguise. Seat covers rather than leather would probably be best for toning down the interior plus the usual hiding / removing valuables as has been suggested already. I've no way of testing it, but I'm sure having a steering lock on has something of a deterrent effect because if nothing else it demonstrates that you haven't just stopped, parked and walked off (I know they can be defeated in seconds by a determined thief, but it might just have been enough to put off opportunists in the past...)

FWIW, the area you live doesn't come into it - some friends of mine live in Holmes Chapel ('proper' Cheshire), and they had their car TORCHED ON THEIR DRIVE after someone broke in and nabbed the stereo.

IMO, if someone's determined to steal / break into YOUR car, they'll do it no matter what. The best you can do is put off the opportunists...

your going to ruin a perfectly good car.

i think the vrs is quite understated in its looks, its just nice without being in your face.

changing the bumpers and interior wont put off anyone wanting to break into your car, if theres nothign there then they wont waste their time.

if you go to the lengths of changing bumpers, your going to have to remove your back spoiler, change your wheels (which unless you go for a set of the steel wheels as per the spare the car will handle liek ****) and even paint your calipers so they dont stand out in the green.

i think your wasting your time, if you hate the area so much why not consider moving away, i know thatrs not always easy but seriously, to go to that extreme on a car is just a waste of money and you'll devalue the car while your at it.

I've got to agree with KTP, I think the Fabia Vrs is relatively steathy as it is. If it's that bad where you live I would consider parking in a lock up eslewhere or buy a banger that you're not going to worry about.

I understand how you feel as I've lived in some rough areas and was worried about leaving the car (It was an Impreza) and sure enough it got vandalised on a few occasions:mad:.

I want it to be stealthy beacause I don't want the local stereo nicking scrotes (of which there are many believe me...) to notice it too easily, I live in a fairly deprived area and it seems that the local scumbags don't like other people to have nice things. And, sorry if this offends you other VRS owners, but even though the car is quite subtle compared to many, the interior screams "BREAK IN TO ME COS I'M NOT A FIESTA" Anything to put off the baseball cap wearing, spliff smoking, window breaking, paint scratching, dole scratching, text messaging, Jeremy Kyle guest in waiting, un-educated dolts who seem to spring out of the woodwork when it gets dark.I bought this car primarily for how it drives rather than looks and if these morons spot anything they think might pay for their next bag of weed they will ransack it in an instant.

(Ask Mrs Grr whose Fabia was broken into for a phone charger recently.. (total cost to us £400 after buying a toad alarm,replacing rear quarter light and new charger for her phone and sat-nav etc)):mad:

So Thats why I'd like to quieten it down a bit so to speak. Since these plebs don't know too much about anything other than how to ponce and steal their way through life hopefully they will walk right past my car and maybe break into yours instead.

I wouldnt bother with it mate, doing all the work you are claiming will just ruin it, not to mention not some money off the value of it. What money you will spend on the car, am sure buying a real banger, and having your car at a safer relatives house and use it for the weekends perhaps

How about buying a PD100 Elegance and chipping it?

I de badged my VRS of its front and rear Vees and the FABIA badge too.

The front, with colour coded grill looks a lot cleaner IMHO.

The rear has the black lexus lights and a 3 inch bee sting aerial and again IMHO it looks way better than standard.

I'm very happy with it and would ideally like to get rid of all the Vees apart from the gear knob so if anyone would like to swap their black seats for some with Vees on just get in touch.

It might have looked stealth for a while but have just fitted some 17" Superturismos

All you'd really have to do is de vRS badge, change the bumpers and wheels and that'll fool 95% of people looking at it.

The minute you put a standard bumper set on most people would just assume it's a standard Fabia with a vRS interior + some bits 'n' bobs.. I would.

If you do change the front bumper, get the earlier type as it's most different and less sporty.

Sorry, im not meaning to sound ignorant or anything here....but why would you want the car to look less sporty....imo the vRS bumper is by far the best looking bumper along the range....Fair enough losing the vRS badges but changing the bumpers etc to a lesser spec model imo is just plain daft, not to mention the fact it will devalue the car, folk will just think you have smashed it and then stuck on the first bumper you could find!

Look folks, I know i'm trying to iceskate uphill when it comes to trying to convince you why I am trying to do this to my car, especially on an enthusiasts forum. Firstly, the whole point of modding your car is to make it suit your taste, nobodys way is right or wrong. To some of you my plans seem crazy, to others not as much so.

I think VEEKAR seems to get where I'm coming from, I'm just trying to make my car blend in a bit more. Some of you people spend thousands trying to make your car stand out, but to me thats just as crazy as some of you think I am.

I think some of you think that I'm trying to turn my car into a 1.2 ambiente. That's not the aim of this exercise. I'm just looking to make it look less like a pair of trainers if you get what I mean. When you open the front doors there are 7 "V" logos easily visible. I GET IT SKODA!! IT'S A VRS!!

Don't get me wrong. I love this car. I would go as far as to say it's the best car I've owned. The amount of branding is still a bit much for me, I agree with ADMAN73 it is relatively stealthy already, just the same as its relatively sporty. That doesn't stop people putting ruddy great wings or giant 18" alloys on their cars. I'm just going the other way with mine. Horses for courses I say... Oh and thanks to KTP. Nice idea about painting the calipers. I can get some black hammerite from work and do that myself over the weekend for free. The green ones always look dirty any way. And as for moving away from the area, I'm on the case where thats concerned. Planning to move to somerset to a little parish town in the next 12 months or so. But thanks for the tip.

Edited 24 October, 200916 yr by grr666

From what your saying..

I think the re-mapped pd100 elegance idea is far better...

The Elegance wont stand out, and with a map, Filter & 160 intake it'll go something like a vRS. You could even go the whole hog and uprate (not lower, not allot anyway) the suspension.

And to top it all off? Heated seats!

P.S. could even get some 16" vRS spare steelies to keep the grip up (banded if you wanted even more invisible grip) and use Superb trims..

Look folks, I know i'm trying to iceskate uphill when it comes to trying to convince you why I am trying to do this to my car, especially on an enthusiasts forum. Firstly, the whole point of modding your car is to make it suit your taste, nobodys way is right or wrong. To some of you my plans seem crazy, to others not as much so. I think

VEEKAR seems to get where I'm coming from, I'm just trying to make my car blend in a bit more. Some of you people spend thousands trying to make your car stand out, but to me thats just as crazy as some of you think I am.

I think some of you think that I'm trying to turn my car into a 1.2 ambiente. That's not the aim of this exercise. I'm just looking to make it look less like a pair of trainers if you get what I mean. When you open the front doors there are 7 "V" logos easily visible. I GET IT SKODA!! IT'S A VRS!!

Don't get me wrong. I love this car. I would go as far as to say it's the best car I've owned. The amount of branding is still a bit much for me, I agree with ADMAN73 it is relatively stealthy already, just the same as its relatively sporty. That doesn't stop people putting ruddy great wings or giant 18" alloys on their cars. I'm just going the other way with mine. Horses for courses I say... Oh and thanks to KTP. Nice idea about painting the calipers. I can get some black hammerite from work and do that myself over the weekend for free. The green ones always look dirty any way. And as for moving away from the area, I'm on the case where thats concerned. Planning to move to somerset to a little parish town in the next 12 months or so. But thanks for the tip.

grrr666 all i can say is if your going ahead with it and it sounds like you are, get a proggresion thread going for this one, am well excited to see how it turns out, and what you do to make this the ultimate stealth Vrs

Forgot to mention that you'd need to change the steering wheel to completely 'debrand' your vRS. Trading it in against an Elegance and getting that chipped is by far the most sensible suggestion in this thread IMO. That, or putting the hundreds you seem determined to spend on bodywork and trim towards a proximity alarm and a tracker...

Are you planning to keep all the parts you remove? Cuz if not you are seriously devaluing your car.. and also making it difficult for your self to sell on, and I think even on p-ex you'll have to take a lower offer due to suspicion.

Yes I am intent on keeping all the bits I remove/change. I think that for the most part my alterations will be reversible. Also I don't want to completely de-brand the car. I am quite proud of my Skoda, and am more than happy to keep the Skoda badges where they are. I am getting my smooth black hammerite today so I can crack on at the weekend with my calipers. I will photograph as I go. Maybe when I figure out how to get the photos on here via my PS3 I will try and catalogue my efforts.

yeh you state tht the reason you want to do this was cos skoda have OVER branded it as a VRS....thats fair enough, i can see where you are coming from on that front! But to go the whole hog and change all the bumpers etc etc is just a rank idea. Actually spending money to make your car look like a poor crash repaired fabia is an insane idea....i'm just trying to see your logic in this!

Why not spend the money you would be using to downgrade the car to add some more ponies under the bonnet?

Hi again, Just to confirm, the reason I didn't buy a PD100 and whiz it up so to speak, is because I still aim to do all the usual invisible mods to my VRS, PD160 intake, remap, ARB etc, etc. I don't want to do all that and only get a car that runs like a standard VRS, which I would get if I did up a PD100. Eventually, I want my VRS to be a fire breathing Mo' Fo' just as many of you seem to.

I like the idea of heated seats though.:flamed:Mmm toasty. May have a conversion when I get interior sorted.... That's if Mrs Grr will release the funding mind you... Ahem..

I am only toying with idea of a bumper change for now, first though its in to the paintshop I have a fair few stone chips to deal with so a bonnet respray is next on the cards, I aim to buy a plain skoda grille without "V" logo fixing point and switch it with the standard one, putting the original grille complete with badge into storage. Also, while my painter is doing his thing I will have the chrome grille surround colour coded to match, seems rude not to. And as suggested earlier in this thread by VEEKAR, I think it will achieve a "cleaner" look, and also make the front of the car look a little more subtle. This isn't going to be a quick process, but little by little I will get this car how I want it. Looking forward to the challenge...

tbh you may think that making your car look like a lower model will deter the thieving pikey scum but it really wont!! Mrs works in pooooooleeeeese and the amount of times she gets called out to broken into cars is unreal! but there never the top spec cars like a vrs or an ST or M3 because they've got all the alarms and that which they know about so they dont go near them! if you made your car look like a 1.2 16v fabia or a lower spec you'd be making it a lot more appealing as they'll think its an easy target!.....but im sure they'll soon find out its not when the alarms and what not go off!

its upto you but bumper changes and that are a bad idea!! i like your secondary plans to just colour code the car!! go that way and you'll be onto a winner