Hi guys

Ive been after a vrs since they came out and now im eventually gunna get one! My father has had one for around a year in yellow....(i wanted yellow but cant cos he has one!!!) in that time i have has a few T5'S, m3 and impreza turbo, but the fabia would always pull away before my cars would.......i just love the torque of the fabia, and not to mention the 50mpg compared to the bad MPG especially the impreza with a pathetic average of 17mpg!!.....

So im gunna buy a VRS, its got to be black best colour after yellow ( which i cant get )...and looking at the options quite fancy cruise, is it actually worth it on the fabia i do a few motorway miles but is the cruise any good? The cruise was excellent on my 850 T5-R Auto....but useless on my 850R manual.....so my question is should i wait longer for a factory order of cruise or not?

Have any of you guys got cruise and if so is it any good and worth waiting for?

Im also going to change the wheels on it, options are....octavia VRS wheels ( my dealer says wont fit as they are different offset ( load of ****** as ive seen some of you guys have them on!), seat leon cupra R wheels or audi RS8 18"'s or Golf R32 18"'S..............

A remap is also going to happen me and my father want it done and the jabba seems to be the best one going, from what we've read we are expecting 185 - 200BHP and 300-320lb torque.....any of you guys have this done and how does it compare??? My car will obv have under 1k on but my fathers close to 30k.....ive read that low mileage takes a while to free up and come alive...this true? I have my T5 remapped from 240BHP to 310BHP and the increase was amazing....just hope its going to be on the same level for the fabia!

Ah well, can any of you lads answer me questions??

Cheers guys

Rich

Used Cruise for the firt time since getting my vRS the other day (8 months). I liked it once I got used to it, but the + and - buttons are in a totally unhelpful position in my opinion. But never used cruise on another car so I'm not too qualified to judge.

Octy wheel will fit as long as you get Octy I wheels as the Octy II has a different offset. 18" wheels apparently don't fit too well, so I'd go for the Octy ones in 17".

Can't help with remap question, but definitely worth running the engine a few k before remapping.

I use my cruise all time especially in 30 or 40 limts - Very useful if there are Scameras around.

Remaps - well thats a whole new debate which I won't get into - Use the search button.

I will say that quoted performance varies dependingon who's rollers it's measured on.

Ok well of the OEM extras, cruise is worth it, but I think it can be retro-fitted, so don't let cruise make the difference beween a long wait for a special-order car and one in dealer stock (which you might be able to haggle over).

Those of us that have Xenon headlights swear by them. Others swear at them, and they are expensive.

A fair few people have ditched the OEM stereo head unit. It doesn't do the original speakers justice - depends what you're used to, and what you want from your ICE, I guess. If you might change the head unit, hold off on the 6-CD changer because you would want a different CD system to go with a new head unit.

I've got a sunroof, which I like. Others are happy with just the aircon to keep the interior cool.

There are lots of little bits you can add as you go along - check the Fabia forum archives for details.

Hope that helps. Anything else, just ask.

Thanks guys

Im wanting thr fabia on a 55 plate so its a 1st spet job anyways, but they tell me its 10weeks from when i leave a deposit for a factory order....i suppose cruise would be nice but its gunna be oct for that!!!

Think a black RS will do the trick with some R32 18" Wheels and a Jabbs ecu remap!.......sod the waiting!

You guys know if it is possible to buy the cruise at a later date and fit iy yourself???

Cheers

Rich

I have a sunroof and wouldn't recommend it. It's expensive, small and I always forget to shut the bugger!!

Heated seats are nice on the cooler days, I have xenons which do look nice and project the light a little further. Airbag deactivation, well you never know if you might need it and it's only

I ordered my car with xenon lights and heated seats. The cruise control came for free which I wasnt expecting and I love it, as said before its helpful when going past speed cameras and makes long motorway drives more pleasant. If I was ordering another Fabia it would definately have the cruise control box ticked

As for the lights- they are good but I think they're aimed too low at the moment. Heated seats take about 30secs to warm up, much quicker than the warm air from the heater takes to come through!

Do many of you have ESP ?

I would say that was a better buy than the sunroof if you have

I have a sunroof and wouldn't recommend it. It's expensive, small and I always forget to shut the bugger!!.

I have had sunroofs on both my Fabias. They are expensive, but the fresh air is welcome. And the extra light is welcome when shut (it's a glass roof). I think they make the car a bit quieter because of the extra stiffening in the roof.

Sunroofs impinge on the headroom, so tall drivers need to take note. The only problem I have found with leaving them open is after it has rained. Under braking, the rain drops on the roof rush forwards and into the cabin!

I have had sunroofs on both my Fabias. They are expensive, but the fresh air is welcome. And the extra light is welcome when shut (it's a glass roof). I think they make the car a bit quieter because of the extra stiffening in the roof.

Are you sure there's extra stiffening? I know on the Scooby the models fitted with sunroofs were noticeably "soggier" to drive as there was a lot more chassis flex when you were cornering hard and it led to the seals around the sunroof breaking and the roof leaking! Obviously that might just have been Subaru taking shortcuts

Chris

I would say that was a better buy than the sunroof if you have

Are you sure there's extra stiffening?

I expect there is extra stiffening to accomodate the extra weight of the sunroof. I have not directly compared with/without sunroof on the Fabia, but I did some time ago on a Golf Mk 1. The sunroof brought a noticeable improvement. Of course, there could be other noises if the sunroof components start rattling, but I haven't noticed this. My first Fabia had a rustling due to a loose lining aft of the sunroof from delivery that was fixed under warranty.

I've got cruise (spot on, gives more mpg and has saved me from a few points), Xenon's (essential during winter on unlit streaches of motorway), side air bags (why the hell not, you'd regret it if it ever came to the "crunch") and ESP (worth every penny when your giving it some beans and its wet).......... If I were to order an new VRS would go for exactly the same plus the CD changer and Black Magic paint....... in fact if I have the spare cash in 12 months or so I will for sure

would agree with the ESP - the more you put your foot down in the wet, the more it seems to do. recently, with it being s***e weather in the summer,have been caught out with the vrs torque giving the road too much rubber round corners-seems to correct the nose quite well, reducing understeer and therefore the chance of hitting oncoming traffic!!

i wouldnt let it make you drive like a nutter and feel totally safe though (not wanting to sound like the handbook or owt).its only really there to get you out of bother and would probably actually reduce eccentric driving pleasure by reducing tail-outs etc.

This is a useful thread. It's answered many of the questions i was going to post about getting a VRS.

Best thing on my car is the sunroof, being backed up by the aircon when 1. it is really hot, 2. when the windows need de-misting quick.

Tilted and the vents open make it a joy in the cabin even for rear passengers.

Cruise control is useful for avoiding camera points.

One option we can't get here in the UK is electric rear windows, I would have ordered those too, so if anyone can come up with a cheap O.E. list of the parts required, they will get swapped.

Look at my spec then look in 'My Gallery' The sunroof is excellent it gives the otherwise dark interior more light. Xenons are superb and worth every penny. I didnt go for cruise control. I believe its just not worth it IMHO. Basically get as many options as you can afford and then balance this out with the resale value cos options dont mean a great deal on the second hand market. If you remap it will cost you in terms of warranty and massive insurance hike. Good luck !! The LONG WAIT is worth it !!

I would say it is all down to personal prefs.

My previous Octy had cruise & rear parking sensors,

Cruise = Brill if you do a lot of M'Way work, and really want to keep your licence clean.

Parking sensors = Brill on the Octy due to high boot ( if you have difficulty parking a Furby, then may be parking practice is needed, or a smaller car )

Air con / Sun Roof = cant see the point in having BOTH, Air con is more than capable in our english summer, if you want fresh air, then open the windows .

Curtains / Xenons etc if you want to pay the extra for these & feel that they add value, then go for it.

We got most of the toys. ESP has been a life saver twice so far. First time was my misjudging a turnoff. ABS + ESP held it together but I needed a clean set of pants

The second time was when someone decided to move sideways on a motorway with me next to him, causing me to drive on loose gravel with 2 wheels, and 2 on a wet road, at the usual motorway speeds. I had to brake extremely hard to try and avoid getting hit and smashing into the crash barrier. I have a feeling ABS alone would have resulted in a controlled smack into the barrier, whereas with ESP I was able to keep it totally straight and slow down (swiftly)..

I hope you'll never had to test it in that way though

In a more normal situation, ESP will 'grab' the car if you have dropped into a bend a little too enthusiastically and accelerate (too much for the conditions). It will hold it in shape. You'll know when it's working though.

The non-ESP Furby is fine too, it just misses out on a bunch of stuff so retro-fitting ESP isnt really possible without a large investment.

Cruise = as mentioned, saves your license. It's all too easy to cruise up to 100+ mph as it's effortless. In the UK that would earn you a nice ban, if caught, and these days that's getting more & more likely.

ESP has been a life saver twice so far. First time was my misjudging a turnoff. ABS + ESP held it together but I needed a clean set of pants

Same here too, I tried to take a turn off and didnt realise how fast I was going, the car came to a very nice halt staring at the corner of the right hand turn and I was left looking at a nice apple orchard but still on the road. I probably saved the

I really like the cruise on my Fabia (it's an estate, not a vRS though) - I thought it wouldn't be a lot of use, but it's turned out very handy for sticking to sensible speeds on the motorway and through 40s and 50s - set it, cruise and watch the average MPG rise and rise. The only problem is that up hills it keeps you up to the same speed, whereas most people slow down, so you do end up closing on them.

Hi

I went for the heated seats as diesels take ages to warm up on cold days, cruise control for those times when you need to maintain a constant speed and the CD autochanger which holds enough CDs for a days driving.

I did not go for the sunroof as it is weight high up and more often than not compromises shell rigidity, plus its something else to leak. I did not go for the xenons as I intend to do a bulb upgrade (xenon filament replacements and, if required, a set of miniature 100W driving lights wired to the main beams via their own relay.) Also a minor knock would be considerably pricier to fix with xenons on most cars. I did not go for the ESP as I believe you should use your observational skills to keep out of the brown stuff, not the cars electronics (I may regret that later) and I am tight.

Chris

Observational skills wouldn't have helped me in the situation where I got pushed off the road That said I agree with the sentiment. If the traction control kicks in I've overcooked things and I think 'hmm that's another xxx miles of the tyres gone'.

Not convinced about 100W driving lights - although I suppose for country side backlane driving it makes a LOT of sense