I'm on the verge of ordering the Ibiza MOMO Strut Brace, for my 1.9tdi PD100 and reading older posts it should fit, right? For about £57 it seems a cheap Mod, with hopefully very noticable gains on the handling. Would I truly notice the difference? And are their any negatives to fitting this, bumps and pot holes feeling worse etc. I suppose I would have to declare this on my insurance too?

Thanks

Edited 5 February, 201016 yr by TheOne

Pros.

Slight improvement in steering feel!

Looks pretty!

Cons.

Makes getting at the air filter a PITA

You'll have to declare this to your insurers

Save for a RARB, This does make a big difference!

Yes IMHO its worth it. Negatives are if you decide to go into a kerp at speed, you can knacker both sides of suspension as the force can be carried along the bar to the other side. However youd have to be going at a far old wack to do this. I personally didnt tell my insurance company which was naughty but I actually got it like that from the dealer... but I should have all them years ago!

Yes, you would have to tell your insurers.

Whether you'd notice 'very detectable gains on the handling' is a different matter. I reckon I see benefits off mine, but my car gets driven pretty hard on tricky roads on a regular basis. Then again, these benefits are really only apparent when 'going some' on roads like these:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&client=firefox-a&msa=0&msid=112608995921725551976.000450d457a365cc803b6&t=h&ll=52.941501,-3.716469&spn=0.051,0.109692&z=13

...and it's really more that I don't lose steering feel in fast bends, rather than gaining any ability to go round corners faster in the first place!

OTOH, a lot of people on here recommend rear anti-roll bars for the Fabia. They're a bit more expensive, but probably have more of a detectable effect on the handling...

Thanks for the feedback guys. I have seen others threads talking about RARB's, is there a 'Best one' and what kind of money are we talking? I would imagine it would be best to get the Front Strut Bar and RARB at the same time to trult notice the difference.

Most of my driving is unfortunately to work and back, but I like to open it up here and there when I can, with spring/summer coming it would be nice to get this sorted too.

The front end has always felt heavy (I did expect it too when I bought it) but I felt it could be giving more feedback and a bit tighter too with a few modifications, i'm not expecting Ferrari like handling, but I love nice twisty roads and living next to Derbyshire, there are plenty of good roads for it!

Yes, you would have to tell your insurers.

Whether you'd notice 'very detectable gains on the handling' is a different matter. I reckon I see benefits off mine, but my car gets driven pretty hard on tricky roads on a regular basis. Then again, these benefits are really only apparent when 'going some' on roads like these:

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&oe=UTF8&client=firefox-a&msa=0&msid=112608995921725551976.000450d457a365cc803b6&t=h&ll=52.941501,-3.716469&spn=0.051,0.109692&z=13

...and it's really more that I don't lose steering feel in fast bends, rather than gaining any ability to go round corners faster in the first place!

OTOH, a lot of people on here recommend rear anti-roll bars for the Fabia. They're a bit more expensive, but probably have more of a detectable effect on the handling...

I've done Snake Pass on my Yamaha R1 (and the roads around there) and i'm definately trying more of Wales out this summer too. Thanks for the Map, will definately get that done this year too!

I've done Snake Pass on my Yamaha R1 (and the roads around there) and i'm definately trying more of Wales out this summer too. Thanks for the Map, will definately get that done this year too!

The trick with that bit of road (to my mind anyway) is to get from one end to the other without using the brakes. The 'Evo Triangle' is pretty close by too:

Without using the Brakes eh? Sounds interesting.......i'll give it a miss though! lol

Done it yourself?

Edited 5 February, 201016 yr by TheOne

Without using the Brakes eh? Sounds interesting.......i'll give it a miss though! lol

Done it yourself?

Depends on who else is on the road...

Anyway, back on-topic - braking or not has nothing to do with my strut brace!

Wales has some awsome roads, must stick Wales on my to do list this year. Not been for Too Long.

I teamed fitment of my strut brace with changing of console bushes from (completely dead & split) standard bushes to the solid Cupra ones.

Huge improvement in front end grip, giving mre stability and as Apogee says

I don't lose steering feel in fast bends

making things much more predictable.

Although i'm sure replacing the bushes would have made a fair improvement on there own I think the MOMO is £50 well spent.

(although i haven't checked my air filter since )

I teamed fitment of my strut brace with changing of console bushes from (completely dead & split) standard bushes to the solid Cupra ones.

Huge improvement in front end grip, giving mre stability and as Apogee says making things much more predictable.

Although i'm sure replacing the bushes would have made a fair improvement on there own I think the MOMO is £50 well spent.

(although i haven't checked my air filter since )

Sounds a great idea to do the bushes as well!

yeah mine were buggered ahead the Cupra ones put on plus fancy Powerflex ones on the front ARB

Anything you can do to tighten up the front end and stop the giant lump of pig iron under the bonnet ruling the handling will help.

Although if you are doing bushes get them all done at once - dropping the subframe out is a big job so might as well update everythign while your down there.

I think Unit 18 do a good price for all this work (i know when i had mine done back in the spring they were £100 sheaper than anyone else!)

yeah mine were buggered ahead the Cupra ones put on plus fancy Powerflex ones on the front ARB

Anything you can do to tighten up the front end and stop the giant lump of pig iron under the bonnet ruling the handling will help.

Although if you are doing bushes get them all done at once - dropping the subframe out is a big job so might as well update everythign while your down there.

I think Unit 18 do a good price for all this work (i know when i had mine done back in the spring they were £100 sheaper than anyone else!)

Rough idea on pocket damage to do this.....be gentle!

IIRC I paid +/- £165 to have mine "powerflexed" all round

IIRC I paid +/- £165 to have mine "powerflexed" all round

Not as bad as I thought......All these bits, the missus will kill me!