I've been wanting to do this for some time, but at the weekend managed to clear out the garage and get the car inside. Over the next few weeks I should now be able to give it a good clean, clay, polish and wax, and maybe even run a hoover around the interior!

 

Is that Skoda Rallye green painted garage doors?😀👍

7 hours ago, Madvlad65 said:

Is that Skoda Rallye green painted garage doors?😀👍

 

No, just a coincidence.

Car is 9 years old now and has covered 75,000 miles so I decided it was time for a suspension and brake refresh. Car has been booked in for a suspension upgrade (Bilstein B8 shocks + new Eibach lowering springs, plus new top mounts etc) and new brake disks, pads and brake fluid. I'm hoping this will improve the ride a little and tighten up the handling. Looking forward to getting it  done.

It will make a massive difference, you won't need the brakes, just drive round the corners!

11 hours ago, tweenster said:

Car is 9 years old now and has covered 75,000 miles so I decided it was time for a suspension and brake refresh. Car has been booked in for a suspension upgrade (Bilstein B8 shocks + new Eibach lowering springs, plus new top mounts etc) and new brake disks, pads and brake fluid. I'm hoping this will improve the ride a little and tighten up the handling. Looking forward to getting it  done.

 

Throw in a rear ARB if you haven't already, Cheapest way of stiffening up the back end.

4 hours ago, Mickmartin said:

 

Throw in a rear ARB if you haven't already, Cheapest way of stiffening up the back end.

 

I have a RARB already, one of the first mods I did. 

With the suspension and brake refresh happening next week, I thought I should pull my finger out and get the new wheels and tyres on. The wheels are Brimma's old Braid wheels and they have been fitted with Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres; I'm very happy with how they look.

 

 

I have the car back! The following work has been completed:

- New Bilstein B8 shock absorbers and Eibach lowering springs.

- New top mounts, bearings and drop links.

- During the work it was found that the front lower arm bushes needed replacing, so new Powerflex items went in.

- New brake discs and pads all round, plus brake fluid change.

- 4-wheel alignment carried out.

The drive home showed a significant improvement in ride comfort and with the Braid wheels (each sitting 5mm further out than the standard Gigaros) and Michelin Pilot Sport 4 tyres there seems to be plenty of grip available.

 

Overall, very happy!

Edited 30 September, 20205 yr by tweenster

Completed another 100 miles with the new set up today. It really is rather good!

42 minutes ago, tweenster said:

Completed another 100 miles with the new set up today. It really is rather good!

 

The harder you push the better it gets.

Spent a few hours and a couple of hundred miles in the Fabia over the weekend, across A roads, B roads and dual carriageways. I can now confidently say that the new suspension is superb, and a quantum leap forward compared with the standard set up and even a vast improvement over standard shocks with Eibach springs. Most impressive is the significant improvement in ride quality, whilst still retaining excellent body control and handling.

 

The more I drive it the more I like it - very impressed!

MOT today, straight through with no advisories. Car is now on 76,300 miles with just 2300 completed in the last year.

 

Even the MOT tester noticed the new Bilsteins!

The car is now 10 years old and has just been serviced with no issues raised; 76k miles under it's wheels and I still enjoy driving it. I have been looking (again!) at replacing it but struggle to justify spending a wad of cash on something that might go just a tiny bit quicker. I was tempted by a Yaris GR but that would mean spending some £30k which I cannot justify - but I bet it would be fun and go quite a lot quicker!

Happy birthday 🎈 my vrs has also just turned 10 with 57k miles everything ok so far  ( fingers crossed ) I agree with you on the Yaris ( but would have one in a heartbeat ) 

The Yaris looks like my dream car but I'd get caught and banned and I really need my driving licence.

My 2.0 Fabia flies under the radar but it's still indecently quick on the backroads.

That's the one thing I like about the vrs  ( especially the mk 1 ) no outrageous spoilers etc etc can look like  bog standard and not atract any attention

I've driven the VRS a few times in the past few weeks and I'm not really feeling the love for it. I now have a Focus ST3 diesel estate for daily duties and it is a much nicer place to be and certainly far more comfortable, but not really any slower in the real world and returns around 50mpg. Yes, the VRS is certainly more nimble and really flies in kickdown (albeit it is a bit 'shouty' when doing that) and I can't help but think that maybe I have outgrown it now (I am 57!). 

 

So I've started looking for one of the last of the 1.6 Fiesta ST3s in blue to replace it with. So maybe I haven't grown up that much!

I'm utterly confused, the Ford ST's are cooking hot hatches with turbo petrol engines and quite a thirst when driven, excellent but very firm handling and rubber bands for tyres.

 

Please enlighten us?

2 hours ago, sepulchrave said:

I'm utterly confused, the Ford ST's are cooking hot hatches with turbo petrol engines and quite a thirst when driven, excellent but very firm handling and rubber bands for tyres.

 

Please enlighten us?

 

I can't really, it is somewhat illogical I know. I like the Fabia because you don't see many of them about but at the moment I just have a Fiesta ST itch that needs to be scratched.

24 minutes ago, tweenster said:

 

I can't really, it is somewhat illogical I know. I like the Fabia because you don't see many of them about but at the moment I just have a Fiesta ST itch that needs to be scratched.

 

Fiesta runs rings round the Fabia in every department, finding an unmolested one might be tricky though, even the Fiesta Zetec with 125 BHP is like a proper old school hot hatch, eldest daughter had one and it was a scream to drive, like a mark 2 Golf GTI but with proper brakes and less understeer.

 

I understand now.

@tweenster. Have you driven a 1.6 ST yet.   The overboost does at times mean that it should walk all over a  vRS. Just a shame it is so short lived.  They are on tyres that are not as rubber band as on the Skoda.  Truth of the scores on the doors is actually when putting them head to head though.   The big difference is not the official figures.  The manual box is the big difference.  Obviously when many around my area had 1.6 ST,s bought new the driver's might not have been able to get the best performance out of them. 

Edited 4 April, 20215 yr by e-Roottoot

23 hours ago, e-Roottoot said:

@tweenster. Have you driven a 1.6 ST yet.   The overboost does at times mean that it should walk all over a  vRS. Just a shame it is so short lived.  They are on tyres that are not as rubber band as on the Skoda.  Truth of the scores on the doors is actually when putting them head to head though.   The big difference is not the official figures.  The manual box is the big difference.  Obviously when many around my area had 1.6 ST,s bought new the driver's might not have been able to get the best performance out of them. 

I had a test drive in one a few years ago and really liked it, but Mrs T wasn't too keen; she really wanted an automatic which is how we ended up with the Fabia VRS. I'm not a boy racer and drive sensibly most of the time, but on the right road on a sunny day I still enjoy a drive. This would be my weekend fun car so no need for it to be too economical or practical as the Focus Estate handles those duties.

Well it seems the best 2017 1.6 Fiesta STs are sitting around £11-12k; strong money for a car that cost less than £20k new. As I would probably only get £3.5k or so for the Fabia I can't really justify that amount of money just to scratch an itch.

 

Anyway, I've been driving the Fabia a little more and it really is fun on B roads; overtaking is easy and the improved suspension has really made a difference. Sure, a Fiesta ST would leave it when pressing on hard but would you really be going that hard on public roads? I know I wouldn't! So the Fabia has a reprieve.

How come you never moved this onto the projects section? Loving the car btw.