As you can probably guess im a new member of Briskoda (but have been lurking for a long time). Such a brilliant site and thought it was only fair to purchase freedom, a small price for the knowledge i have gained since finding the site. 

 

I am the proud owner of an 03 silver Fabia PD100 Elegance, just tipped 100,000 (broken in, haha) and still going as strong as ever. Got the car at 91,000 miles and apart from the customary timing belt change and the odd pesky bush here and there, have not modded the car in any way. Before the pd100 I owned a blue 03 1.2 12v, nothing says you mean business more that the 3 cylinders! but having said that it served me excellently!

 

In the near future (next few months) i'll be looking to purchase a vrs to coincide with hopefully getting my next years NCD. I am looking to spend around 1K on mods to the car over the course of the year which isnt a great deal, but what can a student do! Obviously i am aware of many of the 'affordable and no brainer mods that are available for the vrs (remap, coilovers, intake, egr, etc etc) but im just wondering what people would do with my budget in terms of performance, comfort  and handling. I have a 65 mile round commute to uni and back most days so a little more grunt and some more comfort wouldn't go amiss!

 

Thanks, and i look forward to getting more involved with the site!

www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/135408-top-ten-mods-for-a-fabia-vrs/

For me in terms of comfort I'd suggest a arm rest!! I do a lot of miles and it's made such a difference having it in. As you've already said a remap is the most cost effective mod you can do. You don't need any supporting mods to do this although I'd suggest doing the elephant/ccv mod and having the egr turned off for reliability and fuel economy.

Looks/handling depends on your own preference, either coilovers or springs depending on how low you want to go. A rarb is a worthwhile mod. Stuff like exhausts etc is more for looks than performance so up to you if you change this

 Cheers for the replies, very hepful!

 

The armrest is a mod that did appeal to me, my dads car has one and always miss it whenever I get out of his car into mine! After a little bit more looking through im sort of swinging towards Shark for a remap but i guess they have other just as good competition? Im not too bothered about going after loads of power as a remap on a vrs should provide alot more poke than my current pd100!

 

As for handling i think im going to try for a 'stiffer' set up, trying to retain some ride comfort (not having it so hard that im tightening stuff everytime i stop) but trying to cut out the INSANE roll on my current car! haha i guess the vrs should be alot better with the shorter springs and lower profile tires anyway though?

 

How much difference does the RARB make in terms of handling? is it worth the money?

 

Thanks again for the help!

 I guess the vrs should be alot better with the shorter springs and lower profile tires anyway though?

 

Not really, they are still quite boat like on standard shocks and springs 

 

How much difference does the RARB make in terms of handling? is it worth the money? done with it

 

Lots, won't affect ride comfort at all which is a good thing, Yes it's worth the money.  

And easy to sell on when you're done with it, I got 90% of the new purchase price back for mine when

I de-modded my Fabia before selling it.

 

The handling of the vrs is pretty shocking in standard form, any form of lowering should sort out the roll but a rarb really does tighten it up and makes it feel planted. My advice is buy one second hand. They are good but I personally wouldn't pay full price for one but that's just me, I prefer to spend as little as poss on modding such as making my own decat 0 box exhaust system rather than paying £250+ for a branded system. A pd160 type intake can be made for probably £15 as apposed to £60+ but depends how much you want to spend etc.

For a remap I don't know where you live but I got faboka off of here to do mine and it's ever so smooth and it's also a custom map. I've not driven a shark mapped car but from how people describe the map I'd say the faboka map sounds the same type of map but for a fraction of the price. There's plenty of reviews on virtually every mod you can do so I'd think of your budget and what you want out of the car and research before you buy

The boat like tendencies of the fabia is the one thing i really dont like about the cars! So some form of suspension alterations will have to be done! Cheers!

 

The RARB does sound really impressive from whoever i seem to speak to soo i think that will be a must, as you say feeling 'planted' to the road makes driving so much more enjoyable. To be honest it sounds like a mod that would be well worth the full price unlike others such as the pd160 intake.

 

I live in East Anglia which is obviously nowhere near Shark but am regularly up in that neck of the woods so wouldnt be a problem getting there! But like you say its the 'smooth' map i'll be after, not squeezing as much as possible out of the car!

 

Has anyone had any experiences of cruise control on the fabia and how practical the 'stalk' functions are?

I bought one with factory cruise, very good but an indicator lamp 

in the dash pod to show the system is on would have been a good

factory fitted feature.. Sometimes after a long period with it on you can

forget its holding the accelerator for you and it can make for a sudden

jab on the brake or clutch to disengage it. Apart from that it's a good

enough system. Techie on here retro fits for sensible money and as an

ex master tech for skoda you couldn't be in better hands...     

Yeah i did wonder you'd be able to 'tell' whether it was on or not visually! 

 

Ah thank you very much, i will contact them when the rime comes, I think Skoda wanted near the 200 mark when i enquired about having it fitted on my current car! 

 

Thank you for your help!

I would put a din sized double cup holder in for sure.

Then an armrest

And a nice headunit.

That would be interior done for me. Then coilies and a map and maybe some 17s

For the love of god dont buy jom coilovers though. Buy once buy right

For the love of god dont buy jom coilovers though. Buy once buy right

This +1

Buy decent coilovers! Handling solved. I don't feel the need for a rarb with my kws.

Front and rear mud flaps help prevent dirt and stone chips fly up the side of the car.

There's loads of modifications to do and plenty of places to go for remaps. Any of the forum sponsers (heard good things about faboka remaps too) your in safe hands

P.s that 1000 budget will soon double lol

are they the cupholders from the lupo?

 

haha ive read enough about JOM for them not be near the top of the shopping list, not to worry!

 

My brothers got mudflaps all round on his SDI and even working down country roads his car still comes back cleaner than mine!

 

Yeah heard nothing but good things about 'Faboka' so will definitely weigh up the options when the time comes. 

 

I hope it wont double! but i have a feeling my student loan isnt going to be saved in any way shape or form! haha

 

 but i have a feeling my student loan isnt going to be saved in any way shape or form! haha

 

 

 

Speaking from experience... nope   :sun: haha