Thanks Dave, yeah it does feel more focused but I am confident that most people would really enjoy the mount. The car feels more focused but hardly any negatives. The vibration into the cabin is minor at first start up and forgotten once in motion. That elastic rather than instant feel the accelerator can have is gone, just direct response. The gear change is also much, much quicker.

Now having been out this morning the mad thing is I got better around town economy because I was giving less throttle in lower gears to achieve progress.

Glad you like your dogbone mount. On the forums over here the inserts don't get very good reviews and in the end almost every dsg owner removes them due to the vibration at start up and especially in reverse. But since yours actually replaces the whole mount and not just the insert I am very interested in some feedback again after a month of driving.

Glad you like your dogbone mount. On the forums over here the inserts don't get very good reviews and in the end almost every dsg owner removes them due to the vibration at start up and especially in reverse. But since yours actually replaces the whole mount and not just the insert I am very interested in some feedback again after a month of driving.

 thanks mate, trust me, it won't be coming out, I bought this from Alex at AKS tuning who actually helped Vibratechnics develop this mount for the 1.4tsi and the 1.8T.

 

His exact words were that "this is the only one that feels right",  I have had a selection of people in the car with me now and been a passenger myself as a very picky VAG enthusiast mate of mine drove and the startup vibration can be noticed but it's not that bad at all, I haven't encountered any adverse effects in reverse, once the engine is warmed up you pull up to traffic lights and there is a faint additional thrum through the pedals that only the driver really notices. That's it

 

My other half wouldn't stand for any nonsense with heavy vibrations and noise etc, she already grumbles about the cars lack of refinement. 

 

I am confident I will not change my story on this.  I have never Superpro bushed an engine mount before though so I can't comment on the comparison, however where the VAG220M mount differs greatly is that due to the design of the replacement mount the bushes themselves are both solid and much smaller than the stock bush which has huge voids in it, now the Superpro or powerflex bushes which swap into the stock dogbone will need to be as large as the stock bush and potentially very firm to achieve the same control as VAG220M (vibratechnics part code) does. with smaller bushes in a bespoke mount arm.

thanks mate, trust me, it won't be coming out, I bought this from Alex at AKS tuning who actually helped Vibratechnics develop this mount for the 1.4tsi and the 1.8T.

 

His exact words were that "this is the only one that feels right",  I have had a selection of people in the car with me now and been a passenger myself as a very picky VAG enthusiast mate of mine drove and the startup vibration can be notice, I haven't encountered any adverse effects in reverse, once the engine is warmed up you pull up to traffic lights and there is a faint additional thrum through the pedals that only the driver really notices.

 

My other half wouldn't stand for any nonsense with heavy vibrations and noise etc, she already grumbles about the cars lack of refinement. 

 

I am confident I will not change my story on this.  I have never Superpro bushed an engine mount before though so I can't comment on the comparison, however where the VAG220M mount differs greatly is that due to the design of the replacement mount the bushes themselves are both solid and much smaller than the stock bush which has huge voids in it, now the Superpro or powerflex bushes which swap into the stock dogbone will need to be as large as the stock bush and potentially very firm to achieve the same control as VAG220M (vibratechnics part code) does. with smaller bushes in a bespoke mount arm.

Sounds pretty good to me. I guess thats another item for the shopping list.

As for refinement, best get a truck seat with suspension for the other half before fitting a front arb...lol. Doing the front and rear arb on mine has really made the ride much harsher.

Sounds pretty good to me. I guess thats another item for the shopping list.

As for refinement, best get a truck seat with suspension for the other half before fitting a front arb...lol. Doing the front and rear arb on mine has really made the ride much harsher.

 

Do you know what I am really glad that you have said that!

 

A lot of people (potentially myself included   ) have said that the ARB's are without drawbacks but I genuinely think that my RARB has made the ride worse, and come to think of it, why wouldn't it?  the way the bar works is to stop the left and right suspension acting independantly, so that must have an impact on the car's ability to deal with road defects.  I don't have a FARB although I intend to get one, and the front of my car does feel more compliant than the rear.  The Fabia isn't designed to have a rear anti roll bar at all because the rear torsion beam suspension does the job normally so we are in effect putting an additional brace to restict the suspension working.  At least on the front you are just beefing up the existing anti roll bar.

 

The effect I was getting before the dampers was the car being much stiffer to lateral forces, meanign great cornering characteristics but when face with pot holes that lateral force was transferred to the passengers   The dampers mitigate this a bit and stop the rebounding but it has stiffened the car up a fair bit further too.

 

Is your car on Coilovers?/Lowering Springsonly? or a suspension kit? 

You'll also find that with a stiff rarb that you will get snap oversteer. This effect also gets more pronounced with lowered stiffened cars too.

 

The thing about RARBs is that it makes it hold the corner for longer, but in general by the time it lets go - it's nearly too late if you're pushing it to the limit and you'll lose it. ESPECIALLY in a lift-off oversteer situation.

 

Without however, you get a more progressive loss of traction, and exit oversteer. Much easier to control though in a front wheel drive car!

 

Horses for courses but in my honest opinion you'd be better with stiffer rear springs and better dampers than you ever would be with a RARB unless you're in strict racing mode all the time.

Is your car on Coilovers?/Lowering Springsonly? or a suspension kit?

My estate has the Eibach pro kit springs with Harding Performance front and rear ARB's and the standard shocks still fitted. With luck I will have some Bilstien B8's fitted by the end of the year in a wild hope of getting a little bit of the harsness out of the ride.

I think that your build is really at a turning point now where to gain track performance you will be making your little hatchback a littlle less street friendly with every mod.

Edited 11 June, 201411 yr by mmmRacer

I really understand what you are saying, my objective has always been to have a slightly comfier car than stock (which let's be fair is not a big ask) but with optimum handling.  If I were to chart my progress so far on the chassis it would be

 

Lowering Springs - Ride a touch firmer now, but actually slightly less crash (until top mounts started to deteriorate) Handling improvement very noticeable gain

H&R Rear Anti Roll Bar - Rear end now stiffer, car more stable at speed, less body roll, car now feels stiff and handles great but is unsettled by poor road surfaces.  Back end is now a little more prone to step out.

Spacers - Car lean reduced slightly, steering is a little lighter which is not to my taste, small gains in overal grip felt from wider track.

Seat Leon Cupra R Brembo Front Brakes - These are simply excellent, huge stopping power at any speed, great feel, far outstrip the requirements of the car.

KW ST Dampers - Car even more precise handling and regained some steering weight, grip is improved, car is not unsettled by bad surfaces, car still firm, to date this is the best ride comfort I have had out of the car albeit the chassis is also at it's stiffest. (I think this is where you will find the B8's give you back some of your lost comfort)

VAGCOM brakes, steering and XDS adjust - currently running lowest XDS setting, heavy GTI steering setting and normal brake assist. Added steering weight gives me a feeling of better interaction, the car chassis now feels good enough with virtually no understeer that XDS feels unnecessary and for track puts added strain on brakes.  With the Brembo's normal brake assist is more than adequate.

 

The addition of an H&R Front Anti Roll bar shouldn't be too severe an adjustment and I think the tighter stiffer SuperPro Polybushes will only suit the set up, I have come to feel that the soggy stock bushes contribute to the crashy feel rather than soften it, at least based on the experience with the LCR Top mounts which have really made the front of the car very sweet.  Beyond that I am not sure where else there is left to tinker with the chassis unless I go adjustable top mounts to add more caster and camber which does become very race focused.

 

For me the next chassis mod is actually tyres, I desperately want to step up to 215/40/17 tyres for a little extra sidewall and grip, the stiffer chassis set up passes all the strain onto the rubber which is where I see the next biggest improvement coming from.  Sadly I see the Federal 595 RSR's as being exactly what you say, a big step towards the car being a lot more track focussed and I think probably a big compromise in noise and comfort compared to my current tyres.

 

Once that lot is all set though, the only way to go from there is more power, it would be epic if I could be tipping 250bhp come September's Castle Combe.  Suspect that budget will not be there for this though.

I'm running the Federal 595 RSR's already. On the track you should be able to see a few seconds a lap drop in times while not feeling like you are on the edge anymore. On the street you will get more road noise but nothing that would drive you crazy.

im happy with my RSR's for everyday use...

im happy with my RSR's for everyday use...

 

I find them fine too.

As long as there is not a lot of standing water.

48.3mpg averaged on a there and back run to Liverpool yesterday with a mix of town driving and a fair bit of motorway at the NSL.

 

Best result ever and I am utterly convinced it is down to the engine mount reducing the amount of torque being wasted by engine movement, cruising at 70mph is noticably easier.

 

Have also noticed that at standstill from cold the minor vibrations that do pass into the cabin reduce to almost zero with air con off

im happy with my RSR's for everyday use...

 

I really ought to get some then

 

Looking at options to get a set on some Team Dynamics Pro Race 3's or a member has some OZ lightweight Superturismo's for sale.

 

Will have to sell off my Gigaro's and current rubber to fund.

im happy with my RSR's for everyday use...

I like the sound the RSR's make at slow speeds in the wet when driving through puddles.

You really should get some proper wheels so that you don't need to use spacers. I'm running 17x7.5 et.36 with 215/40/17 and my wheels are pretty much flush with the guards on the front and I have about 10mm left to go on the rear.

Best of all if you pick the right wheels you should be reducing some rotating weight which should help you keep up with those estates.....lol (spacers add weight which slows you down). Standard VRS wheels are 10.6kg. My A1 wheels are 10.3kg but half a inch wider and because of the offset stick out 10mm more then stock so no need for spacers. Without much trouble you should be able to find something more suitable.

Edited 13 June, 201411 yr by mmmRacer

I've given up on trying to keep up with those estates.

 

They're just too quick

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I need the big spacers to get my wheels on over the Brembo's, that is why I am looking at Pro Race 3's Jame I has these on his golf and they clear the Brembo's without spacers on ET38 and are lighter by some margin I believe.

I get the feeling you are going to beat me at how fast sparkly especially if you can source some proper tyres

I get the feeling you are going to beat me at how fast sparkly especially if you can source some proper tyres

 

I'm looking forward to this little contest.

Count me in... I want to see if my Hanlding and Brake mods were worth it... :clap:

Think I may be best getting a sign that states "I am not involved in the mk2 competition"

I am going to be no where near you guys! (Especially if I dont actually have my vrs!)

I am sure the brakes will give you great advantage over stock although you can over brake a car, also the ARB's and lower stance of your car will be a big plus.

 I have been running this 1 series BMW for a month or two now and when I got back into the Fabia when we got shut of it, I found it to drive like a boat, even though I thought it handled well when we got it. I also found the seating position to be very sit up and beg, in the BMW it is very low down..

 

 So back to how fast, I will fetch VCDS to reset the misfire EML coming on and I look forward to seeing how many seconds you have improved over a stock VRS for the amount of money spent 

Sparkly, each of the Fabia's on this time board from last year were virtually stock, I had a different set of pads on mine to the others and I had part worn tyres, the others had everything stock, David turned his new tyres into chocolate and that is why he is so far off the pace.

 

Sparkly, each of the Fabia's on this time board from last year were virtually stock, I had a different set of pads on mine to the others and I had part worn tyres, the others had everything stock, David turned his new tyres into chocolate and that is why he is so far off the pace.

 

Screen Shot 2014-06-14 at 18.58.12.png

 

That brings back memories of trying to drive round the ESP.

 

The mk2 Fabias are 5, 6 and 14. (MSV incorrectly listed everything as petrol)

I would have been 6th if BossFox had kept control.. or should I say if the ESP trusted his better judgement!  The red Yeti was uncatchable 

 

As you can see here, I was loosing the battle.

 

Sounds like Bedford is all about the handling.

Think I am goosed if I don't land some more track appropriate tyres before then.

Odds on that Dave is the fastest Mk2 Fab this year, he is low with RARB, CTHE power and has Federal's, plus the estates are lighter than the Hatches

It will be close with the Fabia's but that is what it is all about.    

 

 Are you travelling down on the morning of How Fast or the night before?

It will be close with the Fabia's but that is what it is all about.    

 

 Are you travelling down on the morning of How Fast or the night before?

Undecided, ideally night before, if you are doing the same we can convoy down