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Common Mods For the Fabia vRS

XLBaconDoubleCheese
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XLBaconDoubleCheese Mentor

XLBaconDoubleCheese

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I`v noticed recently there has been quite a few “newbies†asking some common questions about various modifications to Fabia`s. I though a little guide to some of the basic and commonly done modifications might be useful. If there is anything that needs changing or adding, feel free to add.

Disclaimer, any modifications you make should be declared to you insurance, and carried out by someone who knows what they are doing.

Basic Tuning guide Fabia vRS PD130

Exhausts

On a diesel these are not as restrictive as petrol cars. Its possible to run 220BHP+ on a totally stock system, cat included. However, many choose to upgrade for looks, and a little extra noise. Also worth noting, there is some issues with Decats on cars remapped to run a cat, possibly causing overboosting. If running a standard mapped, or a car that has been mapped not to run a cat, then the issue isnt such a problem it seems.

Blueflame oval tail pipe

Cat Back £325

Full system £575 Decat/£730 Sports cat

Miltec Twin round

Cat Back £327.70

Full System £500 Decat

Jetex Square oval

Cat Back £285.53

Full system £N/A

Also massive air filters are not needed for nearly all set-ups. The air intake from a PD160 Ibiza is the most common option. This gets a tad more air into the filter, even on a standard map it helps reduce smoke, and is a must for further tuning.

Engine Upgrades

Stage 1:

Remap 160-180bhp £250 Lots of different tuners, various prices, go somewhere with a good reputation. Even a remap will ruin your clutch and turbo if its a poor one.

Stage 1.5:

Standard PD150 turbo (190-200bhp) £??? OR Hybrid PD130 turbo (200-210bhp) £???

Either of these with a torque friendly remap will be ok with a Standard `cooler and Standard clutch. Might be worth doing the pikey arch mod to aid air to the SMIC.

Stage 2:

Turbo

A Hybrid PD150 turbo costing £1000ish is the main choice for 200-250bhp. Every turbo company will make their own spec, which can be slightly different, so check with them what its rated too. Of course you could use other turbos depending on what you want to achieve and how much work you dont mind doing/getting done.

FMIC

Seat Sport £550-£600

Pro Alloy £812.28

Forge £712.50

Uprated Clutch

Sachs clutch (rated to 410lbft) & DMF £675

Sachs clutch & SMF £990

Helix SMF & clutch £880

There’s more options but these are the main “bolt on†choices. Some people run more hardcore clutches from abroad, or use intercoolers from other cars and get their own pipe work made up. Running the above would result in somewhere between 200-220bhp depending on mapping.

At the point of 220-230bhp stock injectors are near there limit, and a SMF would probably be needed for much more power along with other bits.

Remember, this is just the power side of things, if your wanting to stop or go round corners, the following is worth looking at also ------->

Brake Upgrades

The first and cheapest choice is to get decent pads and discs. There is a massive range, amongst others, Mintex and Green Stuff get good reviews. £ varies

312mm Brakes

The next option would be the 312mm set-up from other VAG cars. This includes the callipers, carriers, discs and pads from a donor car. Standard flexi`s can be used, but its a bit tight. The lines from the donor car will give a little extra length. These are quite big brakes for a small car, and change the whole feel of the brakes massively. Common cars with this set-uppp are: MK1 Octavia vRS, MK1 Audi TT, Seat Leon Cupra. There’s more, but these are the main ones. As said, these are pretty big brakes, so with decent pads and discs this set-up should stop most tuned fabias. They also fit under standard wheels, and 16†steel wheels.

Brembos

If your still wanting more in the stoppers department, be it power or looks, then Brembo 323mm`s are the next upgrade. These are standard on Leon Cupra R`, and possibly others. Not sure on price, but a few sets were on ebay at £500. These will need at least 17†wheels, and even then, some will need spacers.

Suspension Upgrades

Shocks and Springs

Lots of choice here, all down to what your after. The first being shocks and springs, which can really change the handling of the car, and lower it slightly. The big advantage is springs and shocks will normally keep a large amount of the ride comfort, making it a good choice for daily drivers. For a full set, around £550-£600

Coilovers

Coilovers are the other choice. These offer much more flexibility with regards to set-up. All are hight adjust able, which is the main reason for people picking them. They enable you to drop the car near enough to the floor, or to get the perfect ride hight over your wheels. More expensive kits enable damper adjustment for the hardcore trackers. Budget kits start at around £400 all the way through to £1000+ for a top banana kit.

Rollbars and Bushes, Strut braces

Standard bushes on the fabia are not very durable, sometimes lasting 30-40,000 miles. Uprated items from the cupras are a straight replacement, and make a big difference in making everything feel a bit more connected. As a bonus, they also last much much longer than the standard item, win win! NB, the rears only have a "beam bush" which doesnt often have issues, this upgraded bushes are for the front, Console, wishbone etc

As standard the vRS doesnt come with a rear anti roll bar (RARB). This seems to be one of the single biggest and most popular mods for the fabia, many see this and a ramap making the car much more fun. Its also fairly good value for money, the two following are available.

Jabbasport RARB, 23mm £225

Whiteline RARB, 20mm, Adjustable through 3 settings £138

Strut braces are another small, but common mod available. The front upper strut brace is another Seat Sport item, costing around £45. Mixed reviews about how much of a difference it makes to the drive, however, if noting else looks nice and brightens up the engine bay. The rear strut brace is available from forge, its around £100, which can be fitted with the rear seats still in place.

Exterior

You might have spotted lots of fabias have a "lip" or "splitter" fitted to the bottom of the front bumper. Its gives a bit of protection the the bumper when lowered, and many people see it as a perfect addition. Its available from seat again, its a Seat Leon Cupra R splitter, and requires some trimming to fit, but does finish the bumper off nicely.

This is by no means a be all and end all guide, Nor does it go into detail about every part, just a few of the common modifications people do. The stages are just "groups" of mods that are needed to achieve the figures quoted, you dont have to have them mods to map it again, its all personal choice at the end of the day. All comments and suggestions welcome.

Matt

Edited by matt1chelski
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Pleb Collaborator

Pleb

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Good stuff! I was surprised when i joined there wasnt something like this already!

A few questions to anyone in the know:

Is it possible to buy just a decat pipe? If so where from? If i get a remap, i would like to get rid of the cat first.

Any problems with this?

I would do this myself but i dont know enough yet as i am a 'newbie' but i think it would be good to mention the cupra splitter mod, grill colour coding and wheel sizes/offsets and maybe the rear de-wiper mod? :thumbup:

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javi20xe Community Regular

javi20xe

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I have one but not fitted yet, my mate has had one on his (otherwise standard vrs) for the past two months now and he says you can really feel it spool up faster. There are no sensors on the cat itself and it didn't throw up any warning lights at all when fitted

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javi20xe Community Regular

javi20xe

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the problem seems to be mapping the car then fitting the decat.

I wouldnt worry about a decat tbh. . . The mechanics/tuner i have spoken to said its fine. The decat will not have an effect on blowing a turbo. Its probably more to how the car is driven after having a decat. and also down to the map. you also need to be careful of bad maps. This is what i have been TOLD

But the way i look at it . . . If i decat was going to cause so many problems then not all the big tuners would sell and recomend them

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Rob. Experienced

Rob.

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No mention of strut braces, Anti roll bars or bushes in the suspension section, though..

The rear anti roll bar deserves a mention! Consistently claimed to be one of the greatest handling mods you can do.

Edited by Rob.
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Pleb Collaborator

Pleb

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the problem seems to be mapping the car then fitting the decat.

I wouldnt worry about a decat tbh. . . The mechanics/tuner i have spoken to said its fine. The decat will not have an effect on blowing a turbo. Its probably more to how the car is driven after having a decat. and also down to the map. you also need to be careful of bad maps. This is what i have been TOLD

But the way i look at it . . . If i decat was going to cause so many problems then not all the big tuners would sell and recomend them

Agreed about the bad maps/overboosting. Yeah i was thinking of doing it the other way around and fitting a decat first then maybe a remap with quite a large gap inbetween (for financial reasons). So a decat on its own wont cause any issues? ie lights on dash/running too lean?

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XLBaconDoubleCheese Mentor

XLBaconDoubleCheese

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MK1 S3 had 312mm brakes not Brembos ;)

Edited, stingy audi. :rofl:

Lovely stuff :)

People should add their own bit to add in.

E.g. cupra splitter etc. :thumbup:

Added :thumbup:

No mention of strut braces, Anti roll bars or bushes in the suspension section, though..

The rear anti roll bar deserves a mention! Consistently claimed to be one of the greatest handling mods you can do.

How i didnt think to put these in i dont know! Added now :thumbup:

Thanks for the comments, i`v taken lots from the site over the past few years, so thought i might add something useful for others B)

Matt

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