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Edited 11 March, 201115 yr by xa0sx

Anyone?

I'd ALWAYS advise making each query a separate topic - and checking via a Google Briskoda specific search that it's not already been answered several times in the past...

Anyone?

Did you SERIOUSLY expect a flood of responses in the middle of the night?????

I'll have a go at the suspension related questions.

Suspension can be tricky, go to stiff and low and the car will actually handle worse over poor road surfaces with the car bouncing up and down like a trampoline. The trick is to et it just stiff enough for your driving style and the quality of roads you drive on.

As a minium make sure that the bushes are in top condition, its amazing the difference a set of knackered bushes makes having just replaced a set of worn out ones on my car that made it undrivable above 60. Cupra bushes are that bit stiffer, powerflex more so.

Uprate the front anti roll bar while you are at it, no point adding a top mount brace til you do, the roll bar is at the business end of that particular set of forces. Rear you can fit either a lower or a higher one or both. From conversations I've had it increases over steer from the rear and that the stock fabia under steers so it might balance it out or it might catch you out when pushing on.

I'm not a fan of ultra low cars trying to handle well, you need some travel otherwise grip will suffer. Either go ultra low or set it up for handling. Something like the air suspension on that silver fabia would be the best way to go ultra low and still keep the car usable

Answers in line:

1. Can the standard ARB's (are there more than one as standard?) be upgraded? If so, is it worth doing it? I've read that there's a lot of flex in the standard ARB. - I have seen a lot of write ups to say the FARB is not really worth upgradeing, but if you would like to improve on it there are a few manufacures out there who make larger/stronger ones.

3. What parts should I change to make the vRS handle better? I've been told to get the front bushes changed (and upgraded) to Powerflex bushes but what else can I do? Where's the best place to obtain these bushes and where's the best place to get them fitted? - or save yourself some pennys if it is just for road use and go for the Ibiza Cupra console bushes, they are a Std part avaliable from Seat, and other suppliers, i paid £7 each for mine. Fitting is up to you, Skoda/Private/Mate, i know some guys at a local garage who did it as a part of some work i was having done..... TBH didnt make much difference to the car (with my driving style) but i can tell they are an improvement.

5. I want to lower my vRS more (it's on Weitec coilovers) but I've read about people removing the 'cup' from the rear as it doesn't go low enough with it. Is this safe to do and how difficult is it to do? - Jack car up on rear, remove bottom shock bolts, remove spring, un thread cup, replace spring, replace bolt, lowerback down (hopefully not getting the jack stuck) if you are taking it to a garage to get the bushes done, give them a little extra to do that at the same time, then you just pay labour. The Manufacture will tell you not to do it as that is not how it is designed but plenty of ppl have done it (including Jabbasport) and they have had no problems. just be aware this is a big drop.

6. When fitting a front strut brace I've heard it needs to be torqued up correctly, is this essential? Is it best to get it installed properly? I thought it was an easy job but I'm worried now. - Do you own a tourque wrench? a haynes manual? check the tourqe settings on the top mount bolts and tighten according to manual..... its an easy bolt on mod......

7. Is there a rear strut brace for the vRS and is it worth getting? I find there's so much flex in the car when corning at high/fast speeds. - Everone says a RARB is a must. the Jabba RARB is on my shopping list.

8. When my sound system got installed the installer said that the previous owner had broken the switch that controls the mirrors and ideally I should buy a new one. Does anyone have the part number for this and/or any idea how much it will be? - Do the mirrors move? yes? dont worry about it then

10. I found out yesterday that my car has a 'sports cat' and I'd like to completely decat it for a bit more noise. It's a full Miltek system, what's the best way to do this? Can I buy a Miltek decat and fit it (if so, where from?) or is it more complicated than that? How much would be 'Miltek sports cat' sell for? - A bit more noise do you mind me asking why you got a Fabia Vrs and not a Nova?

To fit the strut brace you bought you just need to use a torque wrench. I borrowed a mates to fit it initially but then bought my own off ebay for a few quid. There is a guide on here about how to fit it and it contains the info relating to how tight the bolts should done. When cleaning my air filter i always just undid the right hand end of the strut brace and lifted it up slightly so as to remove the air box cover but others have said they've done it without moving the strut brace up a bit, (God knows how!!!).

Here's the link to the how to thread which is in the Fabia Technical Guides section... It's worth a look in there as it answers most questions asked in this forum...... CLICKY

The Jabba rear ARB is a must have mod as mentioned above. Where as the strut brace isn't that noticeable the Jabba ARB definitely is.

Cheers

Dave.