Well mine might only have been a 1.2 TSi estate but would NOT recommend just fitting Bilstien springs alone.

They totally ruined the handling - went from being quite firm and a bit uncomfortable to firmer and very VERY crashy. Made the car a bit nasty to drive.

I`ve got the same springs with Koni shocks on the Polo saloon and its totally different, much nicer to drive - "sporty" (yes I know its an SDi so it would never really be considered fast) without being crashy.

This was the same deal on the Octavia vRS as well. OEM dampers are designed to work with the amount of stock damper travel. Fitting lowering springs you reduce the amount of damper travel they have so they always end up overdamped causing the crashy ride.

They were also prone to premature failure as well. A good aftermarket set will be designed to work at lower ride heights.

If its a vRS hatch, haven`t some people removed the 25kgs of ballast weights attached to the rear crash bar as well?

This makes a nice bit of difference to the turn in. Once i fit the lightweight battery to the front of my car, ill have nearly cancelled out that change in weight distribution. 25kg removed from behind the rear axle, 15kg removed from in ahead of the front axle.

40kg weight loss = 8 bhp/ton gain

Didn't someone remove the weight and it made it lift off oversteer a lot? I suppose once you put the new battery on it will negate this

i removed it and it doesnt create lift off oversteer, not much anyway. I could induce it if i wanted by driving like a tool, but the ESp stops that right in its tracks anyway

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=iaB_axgLc0Y

http://m.youtube.com/index?desktop_uri=%2F&gl=GB#/watch?v=fKzdX2GbhtU

Theres the videos of my non res zorst bad quality but its the best i can do at this point

The biggest problem engine wise with the 1.4TSI and is a large contributor to its misfire issues, is the fact that this engine runs at very very high engine temperatures even at stock.

I think if your after power and you want to do it safely on this car you need to sort out the temperature issues first.

Was the order of your upgrades list meant to show that cooling upgrades should be applied before even stage 1, or it didn't matter as you're eventually going to a stage 2 and you're going to need them anyway?

The temperature issues and the safety of even a stage 1 power increase, is something I was wondering the other day and is in fact one of my main concerns, not letting me take the step to a Stage 1 remap yet. Currently and for the foreseeable future, I wouldn't care going for more power than a Stage 1 remap but even for this, I'd like to know that it's well inside the engine's limits, and as you said, this engine is already working in very high temps. To be honest, If I had first to invest in additional upgrades as the ones you mentioned in your post, and then be able to go to a remap, I think I would happily keep the car as it is.

Upgrades I have :

Revo Filter :

Pretty easy mod to do, doesn't really seem to sound any different inside, tiny difference outside, may give 1 MPG more but won't see more than that. Breathes better than the standard filter but if you take the sock off the standard filter it will probably do the same job.

Before Revo Filter :

After Revo Filter :

Worth it? To be brutally honest......no, save up for a Forge or ITG unit, they have proven gains.

TMC Tuning Box :

Another pretty easy mod to install, took about 20 minutes. Used mine on setting 7 and seemed to have a lot more grunt in the mid range, I still haven't had a chance to get it to POD or RR yet, will do next year though. Ok it's not a remap that alters the ECU settings, it does "Trick" the system but it seems to work ok (touch wood) so far. It has pulled away from another vRS MK2 and kept up and passed a lot of quicker cars that I don't think a standard vRS would be able to (on private land).

Worth it? Depends on what you want, if you want a removable solution then it's right up your street, if you want something to alter the ECU and don't mind the ECU being flashed then go for a remap.

Forge BOV Spacer :

A little bit more fiddly......ok a pain in the arse to fit if you have larger hands! I do like the sound it gives off but it doesn't do it while shifting only when coming off the throttle. Two minor issues I have with it, firstly the Fabia loses it "Stealth Appeal" I believe it has in standard, no noise, form. Secondly I'm not too sure if it's leaking boost, this will be something I will have to check.

Worth it? If you enjoy the noise it gives off then yes.

You don't have to do it, I would personally, but most guys haven't. Mine was still faultless and hugely faster than stock whilst running tthe standard intercooler, but if you use the car on track or drag strip yourcasking to much of the std cooler.

Its mainly allows you to maintain power for longer.

An example 2 cars at inters both Ibiza bocenegras with revo stage 2 with miltek exhaust.

One had the intercooler mod and was half a second quicker consistently despite same conditions, track, day, tyres etc. they were practically identical in 0-60mph so it wasn't even the launch, but the difference was 3rd gear onwards. More heat = less power. What's the point in extra power if its lost through heat. Definitely worth it.

There are alternatives though.

1-Intercooler spray kits will help and are very cheap. let's say for instance your uprated intercooler is still struggling to contain heat soak and your wary of using water methanol injection, then why not use an intercooler spray kit. I think for only £40 its a bargain worth spending. It'd be good for in the queue at a 1/4 mile strip, and even more so towards the end of a 1/4 mile run.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Intercooler-Water-Spray-Cooling-Spray-/250919629844?pt=UK_CarsParts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM&hash=item3a6bf9b414

2- Wrapping your down pipe and manifold will cost you around £20-30 in materials. This will hugely reduce engine bay temperatures which is a very good thing.

For instance the catalytic converter is the hottest part of the engine bay. On our car it is located about 10mm away from the intercooler to throttle body pipe. Now that pipe ideally needs to be the coolest part of the engine bay. So the hottest part is directly next to the coolest part which isn't good for heat transfer. Heatwrap would help this alot.

3- Use better coolant fluid. For example Motul Moucool coolant is designed to absorb and disipate much more heat than normal coolant. this would reduce your coolant temps by a fair amount.

Doing these would cost pennies in ccomparison to what I have done but still have a massive effect

2- Wrapping your down pipe and manifold will cost you around £20-30 in materials. This will hugely reduce engine bay temperatures which is a very good thing.

For instance the catalytic converter is the hottest part of the engine bay. On our car it is located about 10mm away from the intercooler to throttle body pipe. Now that pipe ideally needs to be the coolest part of the engine bay. So the hottest part is directly next to the coolest part which isn't good for heat transfer. Heatwrap would help this alot.

I haven't looked but how hard is this to do? Where can I get some heat wrap?

You can get heat wrap from most parts websites think maybe even halfords do it but not sure about that.

its pretty easy to do if you take the downpipe off but its a wee bit fidly with it on......ohh an it itches like hell