Mattjs,

I dont get any real bother with wheelspin in the dry, unless just being brutal but thats not the best way to treat the car anyway. Wet weather may give traction problems but no more than with a modded tdi though and its easily controlable. No real problems here at all.

Coming from a modded TDi i really missed it when i first got the vRS - wasnt as nimble and was slower in fact than the tdi.

However, having changed the suspension on my last two cars i wont be doing it again unless i can find a setup that genuinely does not spoil the ride, but thats a personal thing really. just going to go with braces and arbs at the moment.

I still think the standard susp is a great compromise.

Suppose i get more kicks out of straight line speed if i'm honest. If i could have a fast car that didnt handle or a slow car that did i'd go for the fast one. Its just more fun (and scary probably)

Tyres are not particularly grippy and the brakes arent amazing, but I think a pad and fluid change will sort.

Have no doubt though that a chipped vrs will be a lot quicker than a chipped tdi in a straight line come rain or shine.

Having 3.5k miles on it now, it's not that bad on the vRS

There are some things that can be done to make the suspension a little better for a low-ish cost, like strut brace for a little more feel in the steering, and brake upgrade, well change the fluid and the pads and you're on the improvement side at lowish cost.

A remapped one (TDI or vRS) will probably feel quicker than the equivalent standard one, I'm guessing the remapped TDI will be pretty close to the standard vRS, be it a little faster/slower, never driven them 'side-by-side'.

A suspension upgrade of a more involved type will make the ride harder generally speaking but give you much better grip. I doubt I'd personally get away with it, Mrs would complain

Matt & WW, thanks for the enlightened comments. I don't quite fear spoiling the ride, as Dutch road surfaces are generally (much) better than the average British B road, and at least it's a good thing to hear that a modded TDI has its advantages over a standard vRS.

Eventually it will all come down to VFM. Will I want to shell out 5k euros for a bodykit and the prospect of another 30 hp? For a company car that simply won't be worth it. I guess I'll have to live with not having Holland's fastest Faby... OK, I'll settle for the nation's nimblest one then!

Fortunately no problems here with the Mrs. She'd have the Octavia anyway, and that's quite hard as it is, and she wants it even harder. (Did I just say that? )

Anyway, her wish will be granted next week. With the Octavia ride, I mean - as I will have the standard dampers replaced. The lowering springs have knackered them for good...

- That just maked me wonder why the standard dampers needed replacing though

The roads in Holland are generally MUCH better than in the UK, for sure. Even backroads that are considered failed can be sometimes

In NL the TDI + chipping is probably your best bet, and I know you can get the bodykit for it as the (UK) dealer I have has done a few conversions that way. For a company car the TDI is pretty good, I drove one when the vRS was in for some fitting work and it was perfectly driveable, with a wider torque band, less peaky driving

Let's give this thread some welly...

Right, not so sure about going with a diesel (and a turbo) anymore, having had quite a few hundred miles with a powerful and nimble petrol atmo car. There is so much to say for the even power distribution and the throttle finesse of an atmo engine that I'm doubting whether to go with the above 'plan'.

I've even lowered myself to considering a Fiesta ST instead, but want to give the Furby a decent chance.

So how does the old 2-litre war horse hold out in the Fabia? Does the low-down torque make it a pleasure to drive or is it really down on power with its mere 115 horses against the Fiesta's 150? And are there any known tweaks (inlet, exhaust, etc.) to get it at least over 120/125hp?

My concern is simply on engine power, as the price gap to the ST will allow me to go all the way on suspension upgrades for the Furby...

and you'll have a vw not a ford

Let's give this thread some welly...

Right' date=' not so sure about going with a diesel (and a turbo) anymore, having had quite a few hundred miles with a powerful and nimble petrol atmo car. There is so much to say for the even power distribution and the throttle finesse of an atmo engine that I'm doubting whether to go with the above 'plan'.

I've even lowered myself to considering a Fiesta ST instead, but want to give the Furby a decent chance.

So how does the old 2-litre war horse hold out in the Fabia? Does the low-down torque make it a pleasure to drive or is it really down on power with its mere 115 horses against the Fiesta's 150? And are there any known tweaks (inlet, exhaust, etc.) to get it at least over 120/125hp?

My concern is simply on engine power, as the price gap to the ST will allow me to go all the way on suspension upgrades for the Furby...[/quote']

Hi

I would have thought the Fiesta and the vRS would cover ground at similar speeds. The key difference would be the way they do it. The Ford 2 litre engine is harsh and coarse and needs to be thrashed to make decent progress. The vRS is so much quieter and delivers its performance in a more relaxed way. If you are going to be racking up high miles (or kilometers) the Fiesta could give you a headache.

Chris

Having driven the Furby vRS in NL - visiting parents/sister etc etc - I found it extremely easy to drive, very, very high MPG compared to UK due to the obvious reasons (it is more flat). As for the smoother driving characteristics, I'd love to try out a custom-code remapped TDI, or vRS, as apparently they make the torque curve about as flat as you can get, and thus would make it even more smooth a drive.

Can't say I find the vRS all that spiked anyway after the PD160 intake & green filter though, in all fairness

I would have thought the Fiesta and the vRS would cover ground at similar speeds. The key difference would be the way they do it. The Ford 2 litre engine is harsh and coarse and needs to be thrashed to make decent progress. The vRS is so much quieter and delivers its performance in a more relaxed way. If you are going to be racking up high miles (or kilometers) the Fiesta could give you a headache.

Chris' date=' I was trying to compare the 2-litre petrol Fabia with the Fiesta, not the vRS... Even though the vRS (or a mapped TDI) will be a fine drive, I don't think I'm going to like having [i']two[/i] turbos with throttle lag (the new small car with be parked next to the Octavia 4x4), and if I can avoid a diesel I will.

Your remarks on the Ford 2-litre engine are noted, though, and beg for a test drive for me to find out. I wouldn't mind the noise level at all as I've just done a Tour of Britain with two ear-splitting Austin-Healeys and loved every minute of it... I will object to the sound being ugly and the engine needing top-end revs to give it some go, so will see.

That's why I asked about the old GTI engine in the Fabia - it's not high on power but it does have loads of low-rev torque. Would I miss the top-end power? I guess I will have to find it by testing them back-to-back.

Oh, and yes, I will admit that this new query is a bit off-topic from the original question...

Didnt know you could buy the 2 liter petrol Fabia in NL - but Mil drives one, and from what he's posting I think it will be a very smooth drive as well, and plenty fast too

The suspension on it will be a lot more forgiving (& roll more) than the vRS, but depending on what type of roads you use, that may actually be quite a benefit

Smooth drive, fast and handles well. 0-100km/h time is not so great, like the vRS, but for a petrol, it's got great torque. In-gear acceleration is great, you can hit from 80-160km/h in no time at all. I've calculated a 80-120km/h time of 5.5 seconds with it.

I've got 122bhp in mine, but it's also a much lighter car than the vRS, so the 8bhp difference ain't much. Torque don't match the vRS though, but then again, it's an N/A petrol inline-4, so 170Nm is excellent for this kind of engine with this kind of power. The Mini Cooper holds 150Nm, and has the same power rating.

I've dropped the car and it sits on low profile 15s, so it handles excellently.

It's a great engine...not so rev-happy, but it goes when you want it to, and doesn't have trouble coping with it. Ask Paul, he's got the old Golf.

I think in your position I'd go for the remapped TDI. I've come to prefer how diesels drive over petrols (probably get burnt at the stake for that!) and the extra economy is nice too - even if you're not paying the fuel bill, the longer gaps between refills is nice.

Smooth drive' date=' fast and handles well. 0-100km/h time is not so great, like the vRS, but for a petrol, it's got great torque. In-gear acceleration is great, you can hit from 80-160km/h in no time at all. I've calculated a 80-120km/h time of 5.5 seconds with it.

I've got 122bhp in mine, but it's also a much lighter car than the vRS, so the 8bhp difference ain't much. Torque don't match the vRS though, but then again, it's an N/A petrol inline-4, so 170Nm is excellent for this kind of engine with this kind of power. The Mini Cooper holds 150Nm, and has the same power rating.

I've dropped the car and it sits on low profile 15s, so it handles excellently.

It's a great engine...not so rev-happy, but it goes when you want it to, and doesn't have trouble coping with it. Ask Paul, he's got the old Golf.[/quote']

Thanks, Mil. That is great info! So a sort of diesely type of petrol engine...

As you say, dropping the car and giving it 16s will help with roadholding, I'm sure, and an aftermarket exhaust could help it sound better. I'm known with the 2-litre because of my father-in-law's Octy 2.0, but I suspect it will be different beast in a sub-1100kgs Fabia.

What did you do to get the 122bhp? (Which would be 123-124hp in my part of the world.)

I've driven the 2 litre Octi and though it was pretty quick so you could imagine the look on my face when I got to drive the 2.0 Fabia for the first time But it ain't below 1,100kgs, it's below 1,200kgs....still beats the vRS Fabia weight by 125 kgs..

I ain't on 16s, I'm on 15s, but I'm usin' low profile Azenis Falken tyres...unbelievable grip..

The air filter I bought...I contacted K&N myself to make sure that their claim of 7 horsepower with this filter was correct, and they verified it, so I'm goin' along with this claim on their side.

It really is a great car. Shame many of the people in here shun it and they've not even had the chance to give it a go.

I looked up the official registered weight without a driver and it says 1085kgs here, with the vRS on 1220kgs (do you do weights with the driver in the UK?), so yes, that's a significant weight difference. I presume the bulk of the added vRS weight is at the front because of the heavier TDI lump, so the 2-litre should have lots less understeer with equal suspension set-ups.

15s or 16s wouldn't make much of a difference in handling, would it? In that case it's 16s for me.

So simply the air filter and no exhaust jobbies? I would definitely have money in the bank for exhaust upgrades, so there would be lots of room for improvement there too.

I'm thinking about it man......vroooom.... 1084 kilos????? Wow...that's weird because every where else it say 1,190.

Thanks' date=' Josh, but I worked all that out when comparing a standard TDI to a standard vRS.

However, I'm interested in a upgraded TDI v standard vRS comparison. The upgrade would include almost all interior options you mention, same-size alloys, a remap to 130hp and sports suspension (I've read good things about the Eibach set-up here). I'm not too bothered about not having the bodykit - my current Octy is a sleeper too.

But thanks for pointing out the 5-speed v 6-speed issue and the brakes. Would I really need bigger brakes? And what are upsides and downsides of a 6-speed 'box?[/quote']

WHY???? :confused: :confused: The vRS is better in ALL respects

Robbo, I will believe so immediately comparing standard against standard, but that wasn't the point. Because of the huge price gap in NL between the TDI and the vRS it would be possibly to upgrade a TDI to vRS spec and beyond, especially when it comes to suspension set-up, and still have money left in the bank.

I'll concede that it's a Dutch issue only, because of Skoda NL's weird pricing policy, but a very interesting one if you happen to live here...

But I've moved further anyway, so the issue isn't relevant anymore - to me at least.

the standard TDI is a full 80kg lighter than a VRS (same as carrying a 12.5 stone passenger permently) so a remapped TDI should easily be quite a bit quicker than a standard VRS. im looking to buy a TDI as i can not afford the VRS, although it looks so much better than the TDI, however with the front fogs the TDI dont look too bad.

Hi,

Okay 2700 euros = approx.

You'll struggle to get all that for that money if you include labour, and most places won't take the standard turbo as an exchange part, which makes the turbo alone hit over a grand...

Only going second hand could make it perhaps come in for that budget. But then you have the risks of a potentially well used / abused turbo and injectors. I guess if you know the mileage that the car had done before scrapping, it's less of a risk.

And John's car is f'in quick on its second hand pd130 turbo and injectors, and his FMIC like mine.

Jason,

It's a new pd130 turbo cost £120 !

John

Jason,

It's a new pd130 turbo cost