Hi,

I have a handling problem.

My VRS has aftermarket 17s fitted by the previous owner. These also have spacers fitted (hence I fell out with my Skoda dealer which sold me the car in this condition and didn't notice the locking bolts didn't fit, but anyway...). The wheels are TSW Kyalamis (I think looking at the design).

I have Paradas as the tyres but to be honest I'm not happy about how it handles or steers and I wonder if the low profile tyres etc are to blame. It previously had something called Velocity Extreme tyres but those were deadly so I had the Paradas fitted instead and its much better but still not good compared to say my previous 206 - and that was a standard GLX.

The car looks like its on stilts so I suspect standard suspension.

Tramlining is a major problem as is the steering wheel pulling when accelerating in the dry. Setting off from a junction is an instant wheelspin even on a light throttle. The steering has feel, in as much as any VRS has, but not much.

In the wet, well - forget it. This morning I set off from a roundabout, straightened up and used about 3/4 accelerator and the traction light was flashing and the wheel hopping in my hands - in 4th gear! Any power mid wet-roundabout results in me exiting and last Friday a series of reasonably damp corners after an overtake had me in a panic about crashing, and the transit van I had just passed pushing me along.

I read PPC (Practical Performance Mag) and they have a series about analysing a car - this month its a Mini Clubman with a Vauxhall motor and the article describes pretty much the same thing. The article concluded that scrub-angles may the culprit as the changes they made didn't fix anything.

So I'm wondering. There is an alignment place near me which seems to be recommended by Scooby owners and I wondered about them looking into it.

Or am I wasting my time and I need to either

a) live with it

find standard wheels

c) think about some other suspension ?

I would rather go with a or b for insurance reasons (modified). Opinions, suggestions and criticism welcome.

Something not right. I'm running standard wheels with Goodyear Arrowspeed Tyres and the car feels planted even in the wet. Have you compared your car to a standard setup? The 17's with spacers could be part of the problem. Also worth having the console bushes and ARB checked.

VRS suspension can only be adjusted for tracking (Toe) Camber can only be adjusted to even out angles each side, by moving the subframe.

Out of interest how much adjustablity is there in the camber in shifting the subframe, i.e. how much in degrees?

What offset are the wheels and what spacers are fitted? I'm wondering to start with whether you even need to spacers at all.

That aside, you should not be having the problems you're describing, as quite a few people run 17s and spacers.

I would advise getting an alignment/geometry check done as a kick-off.

Steve

your running parada's which are basically a dry track-esque tire... these are never gona be much cope in the wet....

:confused:

Something like the Parada 2 is a perfectly decent 'sports-orientated' tyre Jase....

You confusing them with Yoko's Advan range - ones like the AO21, AO32, AO48 etc?

Steve

hummm, is it a very well spec`d silver one by any chance? Sunroof? xenons? if so i might have some news for u lol

Out of interest how much adjustablity is there in the camber in shifting the subframe, i.e. how much in degrees?

It's not really a camber adjustment as such, just an alignment that gives equal camber to both front wheels. A thing to watch out for is tracking going all to hell if camber is evened out.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the replies.

Compared to a standard car in the dry the grip level seems OK if I corner hard. I wouldn't say planted though and there is the tramlining.

Spacers - I will need to whip off a wheel at the weekend and measure them. From memory they may be about 20mm.

Tyres - they are Parada Spec-2s. Out of interest what should I be looking to use for pressures ? I'm using the standard rates in the fuel flap

ARB was replaced (worn bushes) about 18 months ago, I've probably done about 10K miles since.

Silver one - Why yes it is well specced with Xenons, but no sunroof. Why ?

I might give the alignment a go first then - start with the cheapest option. Its going in to get its gearbox rebuilt soon (rattles) so I may get it done after then.

PS - may also look at the Rear ARB as posted here

http://briskoda.net/fabia-i/standard-vrs-handling/155848/

On very bumpy roads it can jump about a bit.

with it wheelspinning like that.........are you sure its not been remapped ?

How many miles are on the car? Might just be worth replacing the bushes and ball joints then get the tracking sorted.

How many miles have you done on the new tyres? Are the tyres all fitted the right way round?

Did it drive like that when you tested it at the dealer?

Thanks again.

The front bushes were replaced about 7K miles ago with the SEAT items for longer life, current mileage is around 45K. After that handling felt tighter in that the turn in was sharper than before and it felt more secure in the dry. The tyres are the right way round in that the direction of rotation bit is correct on all four.

When I tested it the weather was bone dry so the wet weather driving wasn't an issue. It didn't tramline as much I suppose but I was also like an 8-year old in a toy shop and just wanted it anyway...

I shall go for the alignment check at first.

Can i recommend CLCM for your alignment!

CLCM Tyre Services Ltd in Edinburgh - Tyre Replacement & Fitting in Edinburgh - Touch Edinburgh EH11

£38.50 when mine was done a couple months back.

You'll need to book, He's always busy!

What offset are the wheels, and what size spacers are fitted? This is sounding a lot like tramlining and/or real torque-steer, but you'd need to be running higher offset for that to happen more.

See post 6

Still waiting for that info, as it could well explain a few things...

Steve

your running parada's which are basically a dry track-esque tire... these are never gona be much cope in the wet....

I have Yoko Paradas on mine, and they are pretty pants in the wet. Awesome in the dry, but understeer and oversteer when trying to push a bit hard in the wet...

with it wheelspinning like that.........are you sure its not been remapped ?

Mine is standard and will wheelspin in the wet in 4th...

HTH

Can i recommend CLCM for your alignment!

CLCM Tyre Services Ltd in Edinburgh - Tyre Replacement & Fitting in Edinburgh - Touch Edinburgh EH11

£38.50 when mine was done a couple months back.

You'll need to book, He's always busy!

This is the one I was recommended, I shall give them a call at the weekend.

I have two days of driving so I won't get to whip the wheels off until the weekend. How do I measure the offset of the wheels, so I have all the info ?

The easiest way is that the info should be stamped on the inside on one of the wheel spokes.

If not, then https://www.rsracing.com/tech-wheel.html#backspace

Steve

hummm, is it a very well spec`d silver one by any chance? Sunroof? xenons? if so i might have some news for u lol

I'm intrigued by this Matt, as I've got a silver one with xenons and a sunroof!

Ok, having finally exhausted the SWMBO list of weekend things to do (all of which are apparently more important than "fecking about with that bloody car") I finally got out to get some pics of the offending items. Firstly the offset figure from the back of the wheel.

The "spacers of doom" in place.

My attempt to measure them for the forum - I think my estimate of 20mm was, well, stupid really! They are 5mm.

And finally a pic of one of the front tyres. Its hard to tell but I wonder if its scrubbing on the inside (to the right in this pic if it was the right way up!).

The wet weather driving was terrible for the past couple of days on the A7 between Embra and Newton St Boswells - so bad that on Thursday morning I pulled over to let the standard 205 XLD that was pushing me go past*

The rain relented on friday afternoon though so we pretty much hammered the Mini Cooper holding us up on the way back so it can be fun. Bad side ? I was getting 65 MPG average until that trip when it went down to 42.

Anyway, any more advice, or abuse ?

Cheers

A.

*(Am I the only driver on the road these days who does this ?)

5mm spacers are unlikely to make much odds; it's probably compensating for using an ET32 or 35 wheel offset. That information should be cast or stamped pn the wheels someplace.

With the story about the 205, I suspect you may be over-tyred for wet weather running. And incidentally I'm happy to let you past if you can catch me in a place where you can't make your own arrangements easily.

The offset on that wheel is 42. So a 5mm spacer gives you ET37, which is the same as the OEM Fabia vRS wheel. What width are the wheels? The 16" vRS wheels are 6.5J, so I'm guessing these 17s will be 7s, maybe 7.5?

All-in-all, I'm not imagining the wheel setup is your issue, because you're not running a ridiculously low, or high offset

EDIT: I ran wheels from an Audi S3 on my first Fabia, which were 7.5Jx17, ET32 - and had no problems. In fact, along with fitting Eibach lowering springs, with this setup the car felt a lot more stable and planted than standard.

What pressures are you running the tyres at?

Steve

Edited 7 September, 200916 yr by Wardy
More info

Thanks for the replies chaps (and chappesses if approproriate).

With the story about the 205, I suspect you may be over-tyred for wet weather running. And incidentally I'm happy to let you past if you can catch me in a place where you can't make your own arrangements easily.

I wondered about that as they do seem wide although I have seen wider on here. I can usually make my own way past things but I like to be safe. I believe the wheels are 7 in wide.

What pressures are you running the tyres at?

Steve

Currently I'm using the standard ones from the fuel flap, should I go higher or lower ?

Can't remember what the manufacturer pressures are for the Fabia. I ran mine at 2.2bar (32/33PSI).

Steve