I've got a Mk1 Fabia VRS, which is the perfect car for my budget and circumstances.

I understand that the Mk2 Fabia's have a 1.9TDI PD engine, with 105bhp. The "sport" model is the nicest looking but seems to fall way short of the mk1 performance.

Could I modify the 105 1.9 tdi to give me a very reliable 130-140bhp with the same torque of the mk1?

I'm not after reckless remap claims and I must stress that it had to be very reliable as I'd be putting 35k miles per year on it.

Such a difference in power between the two as standard must mean that there are some expensive differences in the mechanicals between the mk1 VRS and the mk2 "sport" 1.9.

you need to talk to Ben @ shark performance

I've got a Mk1 Fabia VRS, which is the perfect car for my budget and circumstances.

I understand that the Mk2 Fabia's have a 1.9TDI PD engine, with 105bhp. The "sport" model is the nicest looking but seems to fall way short of the mk1 performance.

Could I modify the 105 1.9 tdi to give me a very reliable 130-140bhp with the same torque of the mk1?

I'm not after reckless remap claims and I must stress that it had to be very reliable as I'd be putting 35k miles per year on it.

Such a difference in power between the two as standard must mean that there are some expensive differences in the mechanicals between the mk1 VRS and the mk2 "sport" 1.9.

Yes, the mark 1 pd100 has been upped to around the 130-140+ mark by a

simple remap by many owners, no other parts required to get the power up.

I'm sure similar figures are possible with the pd105

I reckon you may need to improve the mark 2s suspension and brakes to cope

with the extra power. Ideally you should do that first, then get a nice

custom remap done somewhere reputable like Shark for instance.

Job done. Standard Mk1 Fabia Vrs performance from a slightly modded mark 2.

Yes, the mark 1 pd100 has been upped to around the 130-140+ mark by a

simple remap by many owners, no other parts required to get the power up.

I'm sure similar figures are possible with the pd105

I reckon you may need to improve the mark 2s suspension and brakes to cope

with the extra power. Ideally you should do that first, then get a nice

custom remap done somewhere reputable like Shark for instance.

Job done. Standard Mk1 Fabia Vrs performance from a slightly modded mark 2.

Are the Mk2 brakes that much different to the MK1 VRS?

The MK1 suspension is rubbish so the MK2 can't be that bad

MK2 would take a 312 setup same as the MK1. Tbh, unless your talking about tracking it and driving like a nutter I reckon, from my short drive in one the MK2 would cope fine with a extra 30-40bhp. I`d still like to wack a hybrid 150 on it and see peoples faces as you fly off lol

Matt

I do drive my Mk1 VRS like a nutter and find the standard brakes "ok", so are the Mk2 the same or worse?

I like the Mk1 VRs as it has a sort of "special" image, like a Golf GTi has above its run of the mill stable mates. However, as a fake Mk2 does not i'd still wan't it to feel the part. Leather interior, spoiler, wheels are a possibility although i'd rather not spend 1p on aesthetic mods if I don't have to.

Edited 1 October, 201114 yr by iamrcb

I just believe if you make a car go faster than it's meant to.

You should also be able to stop and turn better as well to harness

and control the extra power. :yes:

You'll probably want it lower and firmer than a standard mark 2,

so you'll have do do some suspension upgrades.

(Like the vrs is slightly lower and firmer in both mark 1 and 2 guises.)

A good remap will make the standard setup feel like it's made of cheese

if you actually try to use any of the new power and drivability the

car now has post remap because the difference will be night and day.

My vRS was standard apart from a remap when I bought it.

Sure in a straight line it was fun but when I showed it a fast bend

it felt like a shopping trolley. The brakes were poorly lacking

in my opinion too. Many hundreds of pounds later I am much happier

with the drive. I enjoy the car more and definitely get more of a

sense of occasion when I drive it.

If my car had been on a standard map when I bought it, I would

have definitely done all the other stuff first. The previous owner

had only tried to make it faster and nothing else and the overall

driving experience suffered off the back of his efforts.

If the same bloke could drive it now after all the time and money

I've spent on it he'd not recognise it... And I've only done

quite minor performance modifications really. All depends on your

budget I guess. :wonder:

Bare minimum some lowering springs would get the look and a slight improvement

in handling but improve the dampers as well and you'll make it more drivable and

dare I say it sporty... Or I suppose there's always coilovers if that's your thing.

Isn't it what you are trying to achieve after all.

Making a pudgy little diesel shopping car more fun and sporty?

This is presumably because you enjoy a spirited drive?

Anyway,you'll probably get more enjoyment from money spent on

better handling rather than more power as you can use it more often.

In any case with a spend of about 1500 on top of a standard car you

can have a right little whizzer. That'll do remap, brakes and suspension

if you shop around

Buy an ibiza cr140

I agree with the above, to an extent. On the fabia, some people go on about doing the 312 upgrade before a remap, But the MK2 vRS has more power than a mapped PD130, is just as heavy, and has less engine braking. You dont seem them heading for the nearest ditch? In fact, I`v not read much about people complaining about the brakes at all on the mk2 tbh.

As for the pd105 brakes, i`d see whats on them as standard. If its 288`s you`ll be fine, but if its smaller i`d consider an upgrade. I didnt drive it very hard when I did have a go tbh, they felt ok though.

Matt

Buy an ibiza cr140

Last time I looked PD105`s were knocking about the £5-£6000 mark, just looked at Ibiza`s £8-9000. And they are different cars

I agree with the above, to an extent. On the fabia, some people go on about doing the 312 upgrade before a remap, But the MK2 vRS has more power than a mapped PD130, is just as heavy, and has less engine braking. You dont seem them heading for the nearest ditch? In fact, I`v not read much about people complaining about the brakes at all on the mk2 tbh.

As for the pd105 brakes, i`d see whats on them as standard. If its 288`s you`ll be fine, but if its smaller i`d consider an upgrade. I didnt drive it very hard when I did have a go tbh, they felt ok though.

Matt

Don't get me wrong, the brakes were adequate pre 312 mod on mine

even with the remap.

I just wanted better than adequate just to be sure.

I'm sure that they wouldn't have seemed so bad if the car hadn't

been remapped already, but it had and subsequently the brakes were

just about good enough.

On few occasions I felt the old hoop tighten a bit when having to

scrub off a lot of speed quickly for various reasons.

I certainly thought "this thing ain't gonna stop....." a few times

that's for sure. Luckily I was wrong but it crossed my mind.

I'm not too up on Mark 2 stuff, so I don't know what size the discs are.

So I probably shouldn't comment on that, but I guess what I was trying to say

is that if you're tring to create a mark 2 diesel vRS

that will be comparable to the mark 1 in boggo form then to do the

job properly you should definitely look at other improvements as well as

just mapping it.

Very useful advice so far, thanks

I'll compare the brake sizes between mk1 vrs and mk1 105

Modifying for me is a last resort considering the mileage spent on the motorway blatting past other fellow wallowy commuter diesels

Doesn't the 1.9 sport come with the sports suspension? In which case I'm guessing it'll be very similar to a vrs so no need to do anything in that area. Not sure on the brake front, if 288's then that will be fine.

Why do people assume you have to upgrade everything when looking for more power? And why assume that some aftermarket stuff is better than a well developed oem?

In the 7.5 years I've had my mk1 I've had a remap, springs/dampers, strut braces all round, rear anti roll bar, 312's, upgraded bushes etc. Currently I've put it all back to standard except for the 312's which I simply like due to feel. And to be honest I wish I had it left it like this when I first got it, maybe a remap for a little extra power. Would of saved loads of cash.

At a very wet track days a few years back I had the 312's and the jabba anti roll bar. I was a little bit faster overall than a blue SE which had 340lbft torque, 170bhp, kw v1's, LSD, anti roll bar, no back sears etc etc. And no I'm not a good driver. Far from.

I like the idea of a sport with a little extra poke or maybe a monte carlo.

I do drive my Mk1 VRS like a nutter and find the standard brakes "ok", so are the Mk2 the same or worse?

Maybe it would be safer for the rest of the world if you kept it standard!

Mk2 vRS brakes work just fine on my MPi

Remapped 1.9 Sport should be good fun, but suspension will need some work. If you forward me your chassis number I can tell you what brakes are fitted and what you can do with them.

My 105 pd engine went to 153 bhp with a very simple remap ...it did more mpg as well.

The sport is a nice car and if driven within the speed limits, even with 150 bhp you should have no problems....get carried away or take it on the track and you will notice its limitations.

As already said though ...talk to Ben at Shark

nearly forgot......I did put a stiffer arb on the back and this transformed the cornering...actually the poster above fitted it for me..cheers Ross

Also worth noting that the mk2 runs a 5speed box were as the mk1 runs a 6 speed!

I was told that 145bhp can easily be done on my Octy PD105 before entering the mod side and very little stress on the clutch/flywheel.