32KOFDATA ///// Fabia Sport (MKII)

[Jabozuma]

I have a full set too. What I feel is a slight twist in the rear axle in long high G cornering. The twist start gradual then the last bit is more like a step.

Wow, that's one seriously sensitive derriere to be able to feel all that

I personally like chassis setups which are a little more compliant/less stiff in road going cars. I can push them more as they give me more and better graded warrning befor grip is lost. This way I can "catch" any "moment" in time and correct it smoothly without spinning or even fishtailing

[Mk4 cupra]

I have got to say I am not a massive fan of the mk2 Fabia but omg yours is amazing and makes me change my mind I love what u have done keep up the good work

[waool1988]

Wow, that's one seriously sensitive derriere to be able to feel all that

I personally like chassis setups which are a little more compliant/less stiff in road going cars. I can push them more as they give me more and better graded warrning befor grip is lost. This way I can "catch" any "moment" in time and correct it smoothly without spinning or even fishtailing

Man!! ... You reminded me with my old fabia :/ .. The car used to be on standard suspension and she was a wild one! ... I lost it unfortunately in a weird accident ... The one I have now has a very sticky front axle and breaks the tail very gradually.

[Jabozuma]

If you can go and try VW Lupo, if you can master this one no other four wheels with an internal combustion engine will be a challenge lol. That thing was wilder than a SeaCat crossing the Channel during a particularly bad storm . Even the slighest of turns your body was screaming warnings as the car was about to roll . It never did but body roll was epic!

[Ootohere]

Shame to spoil that beautiful paint work on yours,

but for a future project, how about a front door stretch, back door delete and some reconstruction or the rear.

george

[32KOFDATA]

Shame to spoil that beautiful paint work on yours,

but for a future project, how about a front door stretch, back door delete and some reconstruction or the rear.

george

I'm more tempted for wider fenders... :yes: the other day I was looking at an Audi and said to myself. "Mmmm if only copy, paste was possible in real life"

[Jabozuma]

Flaring? Look no further

[32KOFDATA]

Today I got the bushes and spacers installed - only thing I can say is why on earth didn't I install them earlier???!

There was a minor hiccup with the spacers when fitted at the back but we found a cheap solution.

Will drive for one more day to collect "data" and give you more details plus pics.

[FroggyVRS]

[waool1988]

Looking forward to it

[32KOFDATA]

So as promised here is some more info and pics about the whole bushes and spacers installation.

 

At first the idea was to install 11mm spacers up front and 13mm at the back (made by FK).

 

All was good with installing the spacers up front, perfect fit, but when it came to fit the ones at the back the hub center of the car was clearly deeper than the one found on the spacer.

The spacer would not go all they way back thus leaving a small gap. Not sure where the problem lies but I will find out after I contact the guys I bought them from and let you know what to look out for.

 

 

 

 

 

So clearly the front and back hub centers of the Fabia don't have the same footprint. Since the car was up and I had to make a decision I was faced with two options.

To either cancel the whole thing until I got myself another set of rear spacers (pffffff) or fit a set of thinner spacers behind the original ones to cover the gap.

I decided to go ahead and since didn't want to spend any more money on this the cheapest solution was a set of old warn out discs, that we cut the centers out (7mm in width and a 5Euro job).

Since 13mm + 7mm would probably be too much for my liking we combined the 11m spacers with the 7mm ones (total 18mm at the rear) and finally fitted the 13mm ones up front.

 

Yip quite the departure from the initial plan from 11mm/13mm >>>>>> 13mm/18mm!!!

 

 

 

Aaaaaanyways, to be honest i was very skeptical with the final result but I would only know if I drove the car.

 

In the meantime we had installed the front rear axle bushes and rear axle bushes by Powerflex. It was a straight forward job with no surprises but removing the original rear axle bushes was a pain.

There are kits out there for changing all bushes on the car but I opted for only the front and rear ones. It wasn't a matter of money just that I wasn't convinced that the rest would make a difference to the car's handling.

 

After completing the installation took the car for a drive in the city and out in the motorway plus some good twisty roads we got around the area.

 

The first thing that was very noticeable was the far less body roll through corners. I had addressed the issue with a set of H&R coilovers and rear ARB but spacers+bushes helped even more and I noticed that I was able to go through certain corners that I know very well in higher speeds. There is a feel that the car is more planted which in turn gives you the confidence to push it further and it does pay off.

 

The suspension feels softer over bumps which to be honest is a welcome side effect and the steering wheel is slightly heavier. It is very evident when accelerating but I don't mind it. No vibrations, no steering wheel shake no nothing which was a load off.

 

Only negative, but expected, was some fender scrapping on the inside. It happened when I was speeding over a certain part of the highway that I know has a gradual bump and then a sudden drop.

When the car landed clearly the front wheels touched the plastic inside which means that under certain conditions there will be rubbing. I will live with it for now but I don't think it will be a big problem in the future. (fingers crossed).

 

Best thing about the whole thing... looks. Car seems wider, beefier so aesthetically it is a big thumbs up and overall for the time being I'm loving it.

 

 

this shot really shows how far to the sides the wheels have moved.

 

 

 

mmm dat ass!

Edited 3 November, 2017 by 32KOFDATA

[Jabozuma]

Wider track limits the laterar dynamic weight transfer reducing body rollbut still keeping the chassis nice and compliant - you need to roll the arches now mate

 

It does look better now, granted.

 

Hod did you make sure that cut off old brake discs were perfectly central on the hubs if you cut out the middles? Or did I misunderstand?

 

I am asking as I found my vRS sensitive to miniuscule tyre balancing problems when travleing through Germany above 210kph (130mph) - annoying as I was trying to take her to the top speed but wasn't confident enough with wheel vibrations.

[32KOFDATA]

Thanx J

 

I will drive the car for a few more days before I decide to roll them - for the time being it's not giving me issues.

As for the disc center I probably didn't phrase that correctly - below a pic to illustrate what we cut out in red. Poor man's spacers.

 

 

Regarding the vibration, our tires are very flat, the stock profile is too low for my liking plus they are quite wide. Those and depending the road surface can cause vibrations.

Edited 3 November, 2017 by 32KOFDATA

[32KOFDATA]

My cover on Facebook for the day :p

 

Edited 3 November, 2017 by 32KOFDATA

[k_ajay]

Hi 32KOFDATA,

That's one amazing car and THE best Fabia I've ever seen (in India we don't have the VRS, but the 1.4 MPI, the 1.2 (petrol, non-tsi, the 1.6 (petrol) and the 1.4 TDI sold here [skoda India recently stopped producing the Fabia due to losses on the vehicle].

Your car is an inspiration for me to keep my car for a long while and perform some modifications similar to what you've done (knowing I may not be able to match up to that quality of job). I do have 2 queries though.

How did you manage to get the boot level matt silver coated ring and the same matt silver coated ring on the console (tacho and speedometers) covered in Gloss black? How were you able to remove the plastic protective screen in front of the consoles and how did you apply the gloss film?

All of your modifications are tasteful and examplary. Glued onto your thread.

Are things like changing the climatic a/c (manual) controls to Climatronic (automatic climate control) and putting in a multi-function steering wheel also in the plans or are these kind of mods generally best stayed away from? I know putting another steering wheel is very risky and avoidable (with airbags and all involved) but want to know if the conversion to climatronic will be easy.

Many thanks

Ajay Karthick

(India)

[32KOFDATA]

Hello Ajay and thanx for the kind words.

The gear stick ring you can remove with a lot of care - you just lift it up with a prying tool from underneath.

As for the tacho you need to pull out the plastic behind the steering wheel, then the surround plastic of the tacho and then you will be able to unscrew the tacho itself.

The protective screen needs to be un-clipped and then you have access to the rings that can be pulled out with a bit of force.

The controls of my AC I think look fine, I like the buttons etc for now as for the multi-function steering wheel buttons that would be a nice addition but at the moment I don't care for it.

What I would like is another steering wheel, something sportier but it will cost a bit.

[Jonny5ive]

Ordered up some of those Oznium LED bolts in 16mm as 11mm are on back order and I'll give this a go on my Roomster

[32KOFDATA]

Ordered up some of those Oznium LED bolts in 16mm as 11mm are on back order and I'll give this a go on my Roomster

 

Indeed - those 11mm ones are so hard to get. Still haven't managed to buy at set, for another project.

If you need help while installing let me know

[Jonny5ive]

I'll be following your comprehensive guide and I'll post up pictures in my project thread

[Harvey1978]

Just read from the start, beautiful car mate, nice work 

[k_ajay]

Hello Ajay and thanx for the kind words. The gear stick ring you can remove with a lot of care - you just lift it up with a prying tool from underneath. As for the tacho you need to pull out the plastic behind the steering wheel, then the surround plastic of the tacho and then you will be able to unscrew the tacho itself. The protective screen needs to be un-clipped and then you have access to the rings that can be pulled out with a bit of force. The controls of my AC I think look fine, I like the buttons etc for now as for the multi-function steering wheel buttons that would be a nice addition but at the moment I don't care for it. What I would like is another steering wheel, something sportier but it will cost a bit.

Hi there mate,

 

Many thanks for your feedback. I'm going to be trying to put black gloss film on my car's interiors where there are the aluminium silver finished parts. I've read your posts and understand except for the a/c central vents garnish, everything else can be softly opened with a pry tool.

 

Only concerned about the tacho rings behind the steering. Sorry to bother you but how to 'un-clip' the plastic surround from the IP console? Would you be able to help explain that please? 

 

Thanks in advance.. ajay K

Edited 23 July, 2013 by k_ajay

[32KOFDATA]

Only concerned about the tacho rings behind the steering. Sorry to bother you but how to 'un-clip' the plastic surround from the IP console? Would you be able to help explain that please? 

 

1. First you have to remove the top plastic part of your steering column. It is the one sitting right above your indicator/wiper switches.Just push it up and it will come off.

2. The end part is attached to a leather trim that comes with the plastic surround of the tacho pod. Remove that too, it unclips and then the steering column cover will be free.

3. Then remove the tacho pod surround by simply pulling it towards you. It is not easy as there are metallic clips holding it behind so force it a bit. Make sure you don't loose and of those metallic clips.

4. Unscrew the tacho, I think there are two screws holding in and then remove the 2 plugs behind it. I think taking off the leads from the battery before removing the plugs is a good idea.

5. Unclip the transparent facia, it is clear what you need to do soon as you see it and then pull out the rings. They need a bit of force, use your nails there is no other way around it.

 

Hope is helps.

[32KOFDATA]

Edited 3 November, 2017 by 32KOFDATA

[32KOFDATA]

Edited 3 November, 2017 by 32KOFDATA

[Jenshagen]

love what you have done with the car! is the Gold skoda badge sold anywhere?