mk1 vRS owner's questions

[Maieth]

As a new owner of a Fabia vRS, I've got plenty of things I want to find out or know more about. Most I can find through the searches, but sometimes the info isn't available. I figure rather than posting numerous irritating little queries I should just use one thread to get advice when I can' find it.

 

1st one: Wheel bearings.  Is anybody aware of a common fault with rear bearings? I only picked my car up Friday, and overall I'm thrilled, but the previous owner fitted 4 new budget tyres over the last year and the road noise is horrendous. I was just going to put up with this till I can afford some new rubber, but over the last couple of days, getting up to higher speeds (60-70mph) a different, louder noise kicks in from the back wheels.  A rhythmic drone or hum.  As speed is increased/reduced the noise gets louder/quieter and the 'rhythm' of the noise changes pace accordingly. Unfortunately, the roads between work and home and around home don't offer many oppurtunites for heavy cornering, so I can't test the noise under load.

 

I'll drop the car into a garage this evening if possible to get someone to check it out, but wandered if anyone had any similar problems?

[Avalon]

Front wheel bearings are common failures, rears tend to last well enough. Check nothing is rubbing and the rear caliper springs are doing what they should be, a bearing will gradually get louder the faster you go and (even on a rear) sound louder when changing direction.

[fabialousvrs]

It can also be the "pattern" of the budget tyre producing the hum. Check your rear shocks too, you might be bouncing the rear tyre(s) if they really are bladdered, that will create a new noise. To check the bearing, lift the car and pull at the wheel (handbrake released) side to side, feel for movement. Do it around the wheel. Spin it also, listen for a scored bearing. You'll just be able to hear it, if its knacked.

 

Change to an Assymetric design, like Eagle F1 Assymetric 2. Tyre of the year in 2013, not much comes close for the money across all testing for it. They are around £80 a corner if you look (16's)

[Maieth]

It can also be the "pattern" of the budget tyre producing the hum. Check your rear shocks too, you might be bouncing the rear tyre(s) if they really are bladdered, that will create a new noise. To check the bearing, lift the car and pull at the wheel (handbrake released) side to side, feel for movement. Do it around the wheel. Spin it also, listen for a scored bearing. You'll just be able to hear it, if its knacked.

 

Change to an Assymetric design, like Eagle F1 Assymetric 2. Tyre of the year in 2013, not much comes close for the money across all testing for it. They are around £80 a corner if you look (16's)

 

Tyres all round are high priority. The current rubber has done less than 5k and they were cheap as chips when the previous owner had them fitted. Road noise is pretty high all of the time and I reeeally don't trust the grip. I've posted a separate thread with tyre queries, based on black circles' recommendations, but thanks for the advice on the Eagles.

Should be able to get back from work really early today, so I'll get a jack under the car and have a proper look at the wheels.

[Avalon]

Having re-read this wheel balance could also cause a speed specific wobble/shudder and noise, but you tend to find after a certain speed it'll quieten down.Easy option is to rotate the wheels front to rear and see if it resolves it but if you're changing them anyway this won't be an issue.

[Maieth]

Went out to get lunch, looked at tires. Rears are a pair of Hero 'Milanzo' HZ1s   :S

A bit of research suggests they have a tread wear rating of 400.

 

400.

 

They'll last forever, but they're basically made of solid plastic. I'll still jack the car and check the wheels, but wouldn't be surprised if it's sheer road noise. The paranoid part of me is also thinking - If previous owner agreed to put them on at £50 a corner, the garage must have seen him coming a mile off and I'm a lot more suspicious about how well they may have been fitted.

Hmmmm

[Avalon]

Look on the bright side, at least they aren't called 'Triangle' because some sensible person in China wanted to brand his tyres 'Pyramid' but used a crappy translation, that said i'm not sure 'Hero' fills me with much more confidence in them!

Edited 1 April, 2014 by Avalon

[fabialousvrs]

Just looking at the tread pattern, they are indeed the type that create noise... normally at around 75-80mph you'll hear it more. They are lethal tyres in the wet, worse if they are on the back!

[Maieth]

Just looking at the tread pattern, they are indeed the type that create noise... normally at around 75-80mph you'll hear it more. They are lethal tyres in the wet, worse if they are on the back!

 

Yep. Skoda technician was 90% sure it was tire noise after run on local A-roads. The rear tyres are a very dense compound, and the block tread on the inside of the tires is badly feathered/stepped. Didn't know to look for this, but now I know it only makes me want to change the tires more.  Time to look at my savings for some new boots.

[Maieth]

Right. Next issue.

Coming home from work today I had a horrible noise that I think was from the rear brakes. Braking on a short, steep exit slip road down to an island (60mph to halt, so heavy, high friction, but controlled braking), the rear brakes made a loud, on-off grinding noise that slowed with the car. It was still there as I pulled away from the junction at much slower speed but faded away after 100 yards or so.

So I pulled onto the drive just a few hundred yards later and looked at the rear disks and pads:

N/S:

Discs first - I'm not happy with the thickness of the corrosion at the lip of the disc, and it looks like they're quite worn. Does anyone know the minimum disc thickness before they need to be replaced ?

Then pads. This side looks fine, and I was expecting to find hardly anything there after the metal-on-metal grating I heard, but the other side is a very different picture...

O/S:

This side there is next to no pad left. Obviously I need to fit new ones, but what would cause such a massive imbalance?

Could this suggest a tracking issue that would also have caused the pronounced sawtoothing on the tires?

What do you think folks?

Edited 4 April, 2014 by Maieth

[Avalon]

If you look on ECP or Haynes it has the min thickness but they're clearly the worse for wear. They're inexpensive to do and quite a simple job but you'll find it easier with a winder tool (about £12-15). Check/clean the pistons and make sure the return springs work or fit the up-rated ones.

[Maieth]

Found a thread suggesting original disc thickness is 9mm and minimum is 7mm

Looks like that lips is a couple of mm deep so new discs it is.

Any ideas on the difference in pad wear?

[Jay29]

You sure that calliper is not sticking?? Looks like it's binding to me

I highly recommended a small tub of Castrol red rubber grease! Few quid on ebay

when you remove the calliper sliders clean up and coat generously, also using your finger grease up the inside of the dust boots, this Red rubber grease is kind to calliper rubber boots and inexpensive

When I had a binding brake on a previous car it was Intermittent, you could of course put it on a MOT brake test

I'd do this;

1.change discs and pads - quality set

2.red rubber grease piston/sliders

3.brake test

4.decent tyres like kumho or falkens

5.4 wheel alignment

My money is its sticking on and off, no way I can believe it's anything to do with tracking, let us know the outcome in any case

Edited 5 April, 2014 by Jay29

[Maieth]

Changed the discs and pads this morning. No major problems once I had the correct rewind tool.

Very, very glad I did it. It would be a bit if an understatement to say it was needed:

http://50.6.106.226/picit/

Pads must have been on there for years. Maybe even since new. They were in one piece, but you can just prise them apart with your fingernails.

A heads up for anyone else doing this job, it is possible to buy an alternative tool for rewinding the piston - a small cube with a pair of extruded nubs on each side that fit different pistons. Like this:

http://50.6.106.226/picit/

Be aware though, this DOES NOT FIT the vRS piston. None of the nubs are wide enough apart. Had to go back to the motor factors to get the proper rewind tool. So much easier with it though.

EDIT:

Can't get pictures to work on mobile. Will try and fix later.

Edited 5 April, 2014 by Maieth

[Jay29]

Did you grease up sliders? We're they dry/seized out of curiosity?

[Maieth]

They weren't too dry and not seized at all. Added a little grease though.

[sepulchrave]

"Hero 'Milanzo' HZ1s"

 

Dear god, I'm amazed you're still alive! Get them changed before you have a huge accident.

[giandougl]

Just had my rear bearings + new discs/pads fitted and found rear bearing sounding noise from rear was in fact poor tyre wear, on one side.

Once that tyre was replaced noise was immediately eliminated.

Both sides of rear bearings fitted in their hubs c/o E-Bay total £56.00

Front bearing fitted in hub £34.51 c/o E-Bay.

 

Replacement rear discs and pads c/o E-Bay £27.95..

[Maieth]

"Hero 'Milanzo' HZ1s"

 

Dear god, I'm amazed you're still alive! Get them changed before you have a huge accident.

 

 

Just had my rear bearings + new discs/pads fitted and found rear bearing sounding noise from rear was in fact poor tyre wear, on one side.

Once that tyre was replaced noise was immediately eliminated.

 

 

Yep, tyres are now a very high priority. I'm trying to book a full change in for Easter week, by which time I should be able to scrape together just enough pennies to cover a full set of boots from the gentlemen at either Michelin or Goodyear. Still undecided...

[Jay29]

"Hero 'Milanzo' HZ1s"

Dear god, I'm amazed you're still alive! Get them changed before you have a huge accident.

When I picked up my vrs about 2months ago it also had hero tyres, they seem to b quite popularity amongst fabia owners it seems

No sooner I got the car changed them for a set of kumho ku39's

[Maieth]

Pictures fixed:

 

 

Changed the discs and pads this morning. No major problems once I had the correct rewind tool.
Very, very glad I did it. It would be a bit if an understatement to say it was needed:

Pads must have been on there for years. Maybe even since new. They were in one piece, but you can just prise them apart with your fingernails.

A heads up for anyone else doing this job, it is possible to buy an alternative tool for rewinding the piston - a small cube with a pair of extruded nubs on each side that fit different pistons. Like this:



Be aware though, this DOES NOT FIT the vRS piston. None of the nubs are wide enough apart. Had to go back to the motor factors to get the proper rewind tool. So much easier with it though.

[dlength]

Just had a full set of Rainsport 3 fitted to the wife's mk1 Vrs at a cost of £67 each delivered and they seem as good as most seem to say they are. Also the OSR caliper is known to issues with not returning fully so may be worth doing the spring mod.

Edited 11 April, 2014 by dlength

[Maieth]

Just had a full set of Rainsport 3 fitted to the wife's mk1 Vrs at a cost of £67 each delivered and they seem as good as most seem to say they are. Also the OSR caliper is known to issues with not returning fully so may be worth doing the spring mod.

 

Not a mod I've read about. Any further links or info?

[dlength]

Look in the extremely useful Fabia sticky in this section under handbrake mod. It costs about a fiver for the springs.

[Maieth]

Thanks for directions on handbrake mod. Looks like another money saver, I'll look into it.

News:

This week I finally got new shoes fitted - 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 asymetrics. Impressive change to the handling and response and the horrendous tire noise is gone. The car also spent a few days at a friend's garage; the cambelt and pump are done, and I had the wheels refurbished and resprayed a lovely gunmetal. Cannot get over what a difference this makes to the car. Hugely happy with the change:

With their rim protectors, the tires look nice and meaty too. Good week for the little skoda.

Next thought though - I think green wheel nuts or covers would look pretty cool to finish off this bit of styling. I've looked online and found some eBayers selling metallic green wheel nuts, but does anyone know of a supplier that does the correct 'Skoda' green of the callipers?

Edited 19 April, 2014 by Maieth