Hi all,

As some will know, I have recently sold my beloved mini cooper s in favour of a 2005 fabia vrs.

I really love the car but I hate the way it rolls all over the place :-(

Is there a way to make it handle like my old cooper s & what mods specifically would it involve?

I've been thinking about coilovers if you think that's the way forward but I have no idea on what makes and models to go for that would make the ride firm and unrolly but not jarring like an evo lol

Also I'm looking to get it remapped in the next couple of weeks, what new clutch / dmf should I b looking to upgrade to if I don't want it to go bang?

Also, FINALLY!!! Would a remap up to say 175 bhp and 295lbs give it cooper s driving performance too??

Thanks in advance!!! :-)

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by Mark1983

Depends what you want to spend, but I'd say an anti-roll bar (or two) and decent coilovers will make a big difference to the handling.

With the power you are talking about I doubt a clutch/dmf upgrade is needed.

If you make it faster I'd get the front brakes sorted as well.

If you make it faster I'd get the front brakes sorted as well.

Agreed. Unless you suit the hair stood on end look

Welcome.

Biggest difference you can make is by adding a Rear Anti Roll Bar, there are two available for the Vrs, and both are reported to make a massive difference to the handling. Mine certainly did, and only took me about 30mins to fit when car was on ramps.

Whiteline - Cheapest, adjustable, and what I have fitted to mine.

Jabba - Thicker (/stiffer?), Green, more ££, and non-adjustable.

As with any mods, this should be notified to your insurance company.

Other than that, Tyre choice makes a massive difference, Eagle F1's are my preference, although others rave about the rainsport 2's (I personally don't like these) and check the bushes on the front end - known to fail, and lots of upgrade routes to go down if they are buggered. I haven't gone the coilover route, as I'm content with how it handles now.

As for clutch/dmf, get a smooth remap, and don't drive like a numpty, and it should be fine

Hi all,

As some will know, I have recently sold my beloved mini cooper s in favour of a 2005 fabia vrs.

Also, FINALLY!!! Would a remap up to say 175 bhp and 295lbs give it cooper s driving performance too??

Thanks in advance!!! :-)

And the rest; a Mini Cooper S with a full race engine only had about 100bhp and 90lbft!

i think he's talking about the new Mini Cooper S Ken

Yes a remapped vRS will stop any Cooper S that tries to overtake it, but at the traffic lights grand prix the Cooper S will still beat it for Sure.

So once on the move a remapped vRS will give Cooper S performance.

Overall

1)Try a Remap and a Rear anti roll bar.

2)and if you drive the car hard upgrade the brakes, 312mm upgrades aren't that cheap but make a massive difference, some decent fluid and pads with braided hoses will provide a mild brake performance increase.

3) Poly bushes as and when bushes need replacing will tighten things up too

4) after that i think it opens up too much to write a rule book, PD160 intakes, exhaust systems, hybrid turbo's, uprated clutches,17" spiders, coilovers, front ARB, cupra splitters, egr deletes etc etc.

good luck

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by Sonner

There is only one word to describe the handling on the Mini and thats spectacular.

If you have ever driven one by the scruf of the neck you will agree.

Its light years ahead of the Fabia, regardless of any 'modifications' you make (which usually just ruin any dynamics the car had).

Its light years ahead of the Fabia, regardless of any 'modifications' you make (which usually just ruin any dynamics the car had).

A statement like that does make me curious about your knowledge of modifications.

Because my car has really good handling abilities. They have certainly not been ruined.

Thanks all,

I'll try the RARB first & get it mapped, then look to doing 312mm brakes.

If I were to take the coily route or lowering route, can anyone recommend a decent setup?

Also which are the best poly bushes to go for or are they all about the same?

Lol, yes I meant the new turbo mini s, you'd be surprised tho, even in standard form ive been getting self timed 0-60's of under 8 seconds consistently. The slowest I've had was 8.2 when I had a 17 stone lad in the front with me lol

I don't want to seem naive but the last diesel I had chipped appeared to knock 1.5 secs off the standard 0-60. If I could do that on the fabby I'd b in cooper s territory! ;-)

Edited 11 October, 201114 yr by Mark1983

Its light years ahead of the Fabia, regardless of any 'modifications' you make (which usually just ruin any dynamics the car had).

Got to agree with Bossfox there.

Although I haven't spent nearly as much on my car as he has his

dynamics wise it is vastly improved over standard even with my

comparitively modest budget.

dynamics wise it is vastly improved over standard even with my

comparitively modest budget.

What mods do you have handling wise?

if i remember correctly a Turbo Mini Cooper S has 0-62mpg in 7.2 whereas the Fabia is 9.3secs.

a Remapped Fabia will be quicker than a Cooper S but it won't get off the line as quickly regardless of power. Some of the bigger power vRS's pull off in 2nd gear for the quickest 0-60 times.

Good Luck with the mods and let us know what you think of the car once it's remapped and RARBied

I would definitely recommend the RARB, cupra bushes, remap and 312mm brakes. After that, if your still incline to go for handling then I suppose coilies will be next step. upper front and upper rear strut is nice but only subtle 'improvements'. I would like to try a coilied fabia sometime as I find it a little annoying how even a honda jazz on the initial turn in can turn in flatter than my car..

Not had a play against a cooper s but I played in one, im pretty sure a mapped fabia would be nipper in a straight line.

Either way, you push it and you get ~40mpg, you dont push it you can get 55-60 mpg.. Not alot can touch that with that kind of pace

I really am surprised no one has mentioned tyres yet.

Make sure that thy're not scrap before doing anything else... there are loads of threads on tyre choice on here.

Currently i'm using Hankook K114s and I really like them. Nothing too mad, just nice and stick wet and dry conditions very well. Unfortunately just had a mare sourcing 2 more as they're now discontinued. So ill have to try something else next time!

What mods do you have handling wise?

The usual things really.

Octy 2 4 prong console bushes.

Seat strut brace.

Whiteline rarb.

Vogtland sports dampers and -25mm springs.

It's not the best handling car I've ever driven (I part own an MX5 :p )

but it's loads more settled on twisty roads than it ever was standard.

Braking is more instant (Much less dive)

I can get more power down on pull away as the rear doesn't "dip" like

it used when I get my toe in the carpet, reducing lift at the front.

My traction control light doesn't flash as much or as easily as before

so my mods must be doing something beneficial.

As said by others, careful tyre choice should be your first port of call.

As I know to my cost, handling mods are pointless without decent rubber.

Tyres was quickly mentioned above.

I would go for Remap, Front upper strut brace, whiteline rarb, 312 front brakes, cupra console bushes, powerflex arb bushes and powerflex front wishbone bushes, -25mm lowering kit and you should be very happy with how it gets around

All the above are pretty cheap modifications and should be the first on any fabia owners lists who want to improve their car.

The above is pretty much the list I have/want for mine plus a few other things...

The big lump of pig iron under the bonnet is always going to hinder things. Drop a couple of paving slabs in the boot to even up the weight distribution, thought it won't help with the acceleration.

I would go for coilys before the rear arb (FK/Weitec/AP/KW) then if your still not happy with the balance, then go for the arb, and maybe a thicker one at the front too.

I'd definitely go for the RARB before coilovers. It makes such a difference to a standard car it's unbelievable until you drive one with it fitted.

Hi all,

As some will know, I have recently sold my beloved mini cooper s in favour of a 2005 fabia vrs.

I really love the car but I hate the way it rolls all over the place :-(

Is there a way to make it handle like my old cooper s & what mods specifically would it involve?

I've been thinking about coilovers if you think that's the way forward but I have no idea on what makes and models to go for that would make the ride firm and unrolly but not jarring like an evo lol

Also I'm looking to get it remapped in the next couple of weeks, what new clutch / dmf should I b looking to upgrade to if I don't want it to go bang?

Also, FINALLY!!! Would a remap up to say 175 bhp and 295lbs give it cooper s driving performance too??

Thanks in advance!!! :-)

Lowering will affect the ride. Mine is only 1" lower on Eibachs and Eibach dampers but it's worse than my Impreza on bumpy roads. You can only do so much when you've a huge iron thing or two sitting out over the front axle (engine + gearbox). Plus the clearance for the sump isn't the greatest to start with. Engine is also very tall!!!

Also have to state, one reason for upgrading the suspension was to address the ridiculous "downhill" position the car adopted under braking. It made me think I was stopping far more quickly than I was. That's no longer an issue.

If I was sorting mine again and money wasn't an restriction, I'd go for the best front suspension setup with the very best dampers. That's probably Bilstein B16 or similar or KW V3s or more exotic like Ohlins or exe-tc.

I have the Jabbasport RARB and it makes a massive difference. My advice is usually "Fit a RARB, either Whiteline or Jabba, it's far better than without one". There've been recent threads about upgrading the front ARB too. Eibach do one, Whiteline do an adjustable one (I think...) and there's an Ibiza Cupra R one too. Haven't yet heard of someone upgarding both ARBs but with standard suspension.

J.

The tyres are Pzero Neros?? They had good?? :-)

312mm brakes best mod ive done, stopping power is great. RARB is well worth the money and i'd deffo upgrade the console bushes to cupra ones etc then id go for a coilover setup like KW's v1's. all in my opinion of course lol.

Ii'd deffo upgrade the console bushes to cupra ones

When you say cupra do u mean the cupra petrol or diesel?

How would I obtain the bushes etc, do I hav to go through seat?

You can pick up the bushes yourself easily enough...

http://www.awesome-gti.co.uk/product.php?xProd=13776&xSec=289

For instance.

As for fitting... Depends how adept you are at it and how much patience you've got. Either way you'll more than likely need to get your tracking done after to be on the safe side.