Hello folks, been a while!

 

Straight to the lazy Sunday point.

 

I've been itching for change recently, regarding the car, it's been at least 4 months since I brought her something new!

 

My choice it seems is either bite the bullet and raise the car from stage one to stage two. Or sell the car and try something new,

 

I'll briefly list where the car sits now and then I'd like your wisdom and knowledge regarding what parts I need and where to get them!

 

2004 Fabia VRS - Silver 69k

Superchips remap - 170bhp 300lbft

Piper decat

K&N panel filter

312mm front brakes

Ap coilovers

Compomotive Mo5 wheels

Whiteline rear arb

 

Those are the main mods, as you can see she is pretty well sorted at stage one. But I want more or new. 

 

Now for the help from you lovely people!

 

Which turbo? Where to get? Best price? names numbers figures etc.

 

Which front mount? Same questions again!

 

Best Stage 2 mapping??

 

Which clutch? Again same questions.

 

Or are there any packages available?

 

 

So, if you're stuck in on this terrible Sunday and you know anything that will help please give your input! 

 

Thank you.

 

 

 

I was in the same boat recently!

PD150 turbo - £200

Hybridising - £650

Fitting - £275

Remap - £300

All work done by Dirty Torque and I'm over the moon with it!

I also added an EGR delete which cost something like £40.

You will also need. FMIC - probably add £600 for this if your buying an off the shelf one!

I have a Seat Sport FMIC and I'm very pleased with it - I made the kit up myself and it's cost around £350 I think.

I considered buying a new car but couldn't think of anything that's different yet as cheap to run with a fair old grunt like the Fabia!

Brilliant reply and much appreciated. 

 

I need to go shopping. 

 

With regards to the PD150, does it lag much? I considered just a hybrid PD130 to keep it boosting from 1500ish

 

Cheers.

For stage 2 i wouldnt bother!

You will need

Intercooler £400-700

Decent clutch and flywheel £800-1200

Turbo £800-£1200

Custom Remap £350-500

So your looking anywhere from £2350 to £3600 fitted!

You could do it for less if your handy with tools and make your own FMIC and fit your own turbo etc!

But imo its not worth spending that money on what is a sub 4k car to begin with

Sell up and buy a faster car out of the box

I've got to agree with jase. Though a hybrid car will be fun.

Stage 2 costs around the same price to buy a second hand vrs now with high ish miles.

Most people forget about the clutch too

I think donating your wheels to me would solve all your problems

I do agree. There isn't much else out there though that I would like or consider replacing the fabia with. I'll have to think about it. 

 

I think the car could sell for £4500, putting a bit extra in, say a 6k limit I dont know of many cars I 'want'

 

e46 330d perhaps, but, I know my fabia, I know how solid and strong it is, I know the recent life its had and who's done the mods (ME!)

 

Buying a new car I feel can be just as cost inefficient as keeping a current, known, car.

With that sort of money you can start looking at toys like the 330d and if you do decide to invest in one of those you're looking a 300bhp+...

I think donating your wheels to me would solve all your problems

 

I shall take this into consideration 

That's it i keep saying back for buck a vrs with stage 1 mods not a lot comes close for the money.

 

07 330D's are still 9k territory 

Jase's figures are about right;

 

Hybrid 150 £1000 + £150 fitting

Intercooler £600 + £100 fitting

Clutch £1000 + £150 fitting

 

Obviously you'd be saving some on fitting if you can do it yourself. If you can get £4500 for yours, plus the £3000 then you'll be looking at £7500. I can think of a fair few cars I would take in that range over a hybrid Fabia. That said, it's all personal preference. You've done the bits that give you the biggest bang for buck, remap/coilovers so it gets expensive on from there. I love my Fabia, but I'm not planning on getting rid, where as if you are thinking about other cars in the next few years it's a lot to spend for a short term investment. 

I should so state that i'm a student with a 40 mile a day intercity commute. So, although for a 6-7k budget I could name a lot of cars i'd like, if it doesn't do 40mpg I have to rule them out. 

 

If you have any suggestions of a nice, fast*, diesel, perhaps 4wd or rwd and dependable car please share!

 

With regards to fitting stage 2 parts, my uncle owns a garage and I have free range on Sundays  

At the end of the day thow your going to go out and buy what seems to be a better, faster car for the £3k your going to spend on the fabia. You'd sell the fabia for what, £4k max so that's leaving you with 7k to play with, what are you going to buy for 7k that has as much poke as a hybrid fabia? A civic type r like most people go for when they've owned a fabia? There's not a lot out there for 7k which would give as good performance and economy as a hybrid fabia and that's a fact

I must say I am enjoying the completely opposite opinions! Keep it up.  

Why not keep the fabia as it is and then spend do the £3k you would special day going green hybrid on a weekend car? You could pick up a Scooby or a clio sport etc. Might be another option

Previous thread resurrection. 

Now that you mentioned that you're a student, it might get a bit expensive to run a 330d or a second car (the scooby or Clio mentioned) in insurance alone. With the mods you already done in your car, especially in terms of braking and handling, you'll struggle to find something as tight as that. A well balanced vrs is very hard to beat regardless if you're running 200bhp or not. (which you're not that far off tbh)

 

With a beemer you'll get the power and the rwd and that's a lot of fun but because you have a mod mentality you'll end up modding it. I have driven a 330d on 345bhp and let me tell you... it can be a hairy affair, it takes the fun out of it as the back end keeps coming out, tyres won't last that long and they are 300 quid a corner. And they're not that good on fuel either, you'll be looking at 35mpg if you drive one of those carefully. It is a modders dream though.

IMO keep the Fabia. I thought about other cars a while back, and as the miles have clocked up slowly I've decided to keep mine for a long time. The turbo failing was the nail in the coffin with my decision - hence I'm slowly on my way to full Stage 2 spec!

 

If I were to try and replace it, I would genuinely struggle to find a car that's as good on fuel with the same performance. Civic Type R's & Clio Sports aren't all that...  In a straight line mine is slightly quicker than both the aforementioned, and it's not even full stage 2 spec yet. Corners obviously a different matter, but it depends what you do with your car - I personally don't track mine and won't (have a bike for that), plus don't drive like a lunatic round the corners on the road. Plus personally I wouldn't want the image 'issue' of having an EP3 or Scooby (no offence to any owners out there). At least there's not many Fabia vRS's out there - mine always gets looks.

 

Another reason to keep yours is (as you say) the fact that you know where it's been and what's been done to it. If you were to pick up a 330d or similar, there's potentially big and expensive issues around the corner. I know someone who bought one and then had to virtually immediately spend a fortune on those stupid swirl flaps....  You may end up with a good one, but it's luck of the draw.

 

Stick with yours!!

Are we talking about a 330d e46 or e90.

 

Neither will make the quoted BHP figures here even at stage 2!

Two very valid and like minded points. I've just been looking at bmw's, in this case it would be an e46 330cd, thats the one i'd want. 

 

Great power and looks, but, its standard! And you're right. I can't leave them alone, I like to make my car individual. So with my e46 it would be, decat, remap, filter, then brakes, suspension, not to mention they need 18's to fill the arches, tyres! maintenance!! My wallet is shivering thinking about it lol.

 

 

This quoted 3k to get to stage two is rather dramatic?

 

Isn't there a chap on here selling hybrids for £350 + postage?

 

could buy a seat sport for 200? custom piping 150?

 

then a clutch, I dont know about prices or makes or models but surely a good one can be had for 400-500? 

 

then a remap, £200?

 

 

Am i talking logically?

Are we talking about a 330d e46 or e90.

 

Neither will make the quoted BHP figures here even at stage 2!

 

For me it would be e46, of course if money no option I would already be driving an e90 335d!!

Im passed speed so i am boring and bought a 320d!!

Two very valid and like minded points. I've just been looking at bmw's, in this case it would be an e46 330cd, thats the one i'd want. 

 

Great power and looks, but, its standard! And you're right. I can't leave them alone, I like to make my car individual. So with my e46 it would be, decat, remap, filter, then brakes, suspension, not to mention they need 18's to fill the arches, tyres! maintenance!! My wallet is shivering thinking about it lol.

 

 

This quoted 3k to get to stage two is rather dramatic?

 

Isn't there a chap on here selling hybrids for £350 + postage?

 

could buy a seat sport for 200? custom piping 150?

 

then a clutch, I dont know about prices or makes or models but surely a good one can be had for 400-500? 

 

then a remap, £200?

 

 

Am i talking logically?

 

Exactly, point with getting a BMW is that you'll end up spending a massive amount all over again on modding! Plus the mods will be far more expensive than what we pay for ours, with it being a Beemer. Not to mention servicing costs will be higher too...

 

Best bet with a hybrid is as Dan originally said up top - find a standard PD150 turbo for cheap, then get someone to turn it into a hybrid. You'll not get a decent turbo capable of 220bhp for £350 unless someone's selling something and they don't know what it is!! I've seen the odd PD130 hybrid around that price second hand, but with lots of miles on it. I bought a brand new hybrid 150 direct from Garrett when mine went, so it's gonna be good for a looooong time with any luck.

 

You can source an intercooler setup cheap obviously, but pipework you'd have to sort yourself and you may potentially have issues with popping hoses off....  I haven't got a FMIC yet, but when I do I'm off straight to Darkside and buying their pipework kit. It's expensive yes, but I want as OEM looking and good quality as I can get.

 

Clutch, I personally am going for a Helix clutch with SMF conversion. This is known on here to be one of the best and most reliable setups you'll find. There are cheaper alternatives yes, but opinions vary as to their longevity with a stage 2 car....  I'm going to go down the expensive route so that I know for sure that it will last and I don't have to do the job again.

 

Remap is definitely crucial to getting good useable power with minimal of smoke as possible. I'd budget £300 for that personally. Shark, Unit 18 or some of the other big hitters I'd go to, as they have the experience to give you this.

 

You pay your money and make your choice, but I'd personally rather spend more money to get a quality, reliable and proven setup. I'm not into having to do jobs twice and ending up paying more in the long-term.

Ok cheers, I shall start looking for a pd150 then. As for intercooler I dont mind paying out a bit. I saw a chap on here recently that had someone make him solid pipes, like exhaust pipes? That was very cool I'd like to have that on mine. clutch is a pain, I'd like to stay dual mass really. Again i'll have to research, I wont go to 1k for a clutch though, thats madness!

 

I think without rushing I could probably stage 2 for 1500-2000. 

 

when it comes to hybrids is lag a problem? As i stated earlier I dont really want to lose the low down driveability of the skud.

 

Thanks for all your help people.

Lag isnt an issue on a hybrid 150

A decent clutch whichever way you cut the mustard is £1000