I've had my Fabia MK1 hatch for just over a year now. I was wondering about modifying it a bit and was told changing the brakes and suspension would be a good place to start before any power upgrades.

Looking at some of the kits for this car online, they look great, but they are very expensive. I know the Fabia uses the same platform as the Polo Mk4 and the Ibiza Mk3 so some of the parts are interchangeable but are there other cars from VWAG that I can take the bits from and put on my car without too much hassle.

My idea was to find a scrapped or broken Golf GTi and take the brakes and suspension from that, including converting the rear brakes from drums to discs. Is this possible? Does anyone have a better alternative to this idea?

I was also wondering about converting it to 4wd and thought about using the 4wd system from the Octavia Mk1 4x4, is this possible?

Thanks in advance for the advice

Edited 17 September, 201213 yr by danielwalker23

Cheap coillies for around £150-£200. Cheap if you can fit yourself. Better to spend around £500-£600 IMO. Also consider a RARB.

Golf brakes... 312 fronts, 256 vented rears fit (rears from a 2wd variant).

Forget about the 4wd unless you're especially talented, extremely dedicated and patient and have oodles of cash.

Do you think spending £500-600 improves the handling enough to justify spending that sort of money? Personally I don't think the car handles too badly, but it's only the second car I've had so I wouldn't really know to be honest.

Would I need to change the rear axle to convert the rear brakes from drums to discs?

I have no trouble putting in the time to get 4wd, I wouldn't say I have oodles of cash though. What would I need to buy for 4wd?

If you want a 4wd car, it would be easier to convert a Octy 4x4 to a Octy vRS 4x4, like this member: http://www.briskoda....-sleeper-ish-o/

There is a member on here, who was going to build a 4wd Fabia, but went off the idea. He started by buying a 4wd Rally/Autocross car and was going to convert it to a road car.

As your car has Drum brakes, am I right in saying it's not a vRS?

What size engine do you have? you're looking at £400-£500 for brakes and suspension plus labour.

Golf brakes... 312 fronts, 256 vented rears fit (rears from a 2wd variant).

From the sounds of it, it's not going on a vRS. Unless it's a vRS or a 2.0, you'll need new hubs to fit the 288/312mm brake setup (not sure about the rear). Something to keep in mind.

From the sounds of it, it's not going on a vRS. Unless it's a vRS or a 2.0, you'll need new hubs to fit the 288/312mm brake setup (not sure about the rear). Something to keep in mind.

Standard Rear discs for all models are 232mm dia (solid, not vented). You can put larger vented ones on but it's pretty pointless as the rear brakes don't do much. Bigger front brakes will make more of a difference.

I have no idea what extra bits you need to convert drums to discs.

Edited 17 September, 201213 yr by Jim H

4x4 is not essential, I just wanted it so I wouldn't have to worry about how much power it has in the end (i'm looking into changing the engine at some point down the line) and it would make winters a bit easier to deal with in the car.

It's not a vRS, it's a normal Fabia Hatch Comfort. It has the 1.4 8v engine at the moment, I am looking into changing this at some point.

I'd only be looking at the price for parts as I can do the work at home or call in some favours and borrow a workshop to do the work in.

I spent ~£550 on uprated suspension. The Bilstein/KW combo is a quality set-up at that price point

I spent ~£550 on uprated suspension. The Bilstein/KW combo is a quality set-up at that price point

Thanks for the tip, would this kit fit on the normal Fabia, or is it only for the vRS?

Sell the 1.4 and start with something better.

The cost to mod will be more than the cost to change.

Insurance would be more for the modified car too.

Sell the 1.4 and start with something better.

The cost to mod will be more than the cost to change.

Insurance would be more for the modified car too.

I'm planning on putting the 1.8T 20V engine in it at some point, there aren't any Fabia's that come with this as standard.

I know it will cost more for insurance but it won't be my only car when it's finished.