I'm looking at buying Fabia VRS but I've got a few questions I'm hoping you can answer for me.

1) Can you run 15's behind the brakes its just I have a few tyes and slicks etc are cheap in this spec (for track days)

2) What are the brakes like for hard track work are the upgraded pads god enough or like the new 182 Clio do the wheels not help cooling of the brakes. Are there good value 4 pot upgrades avaialible?

3) What aftermarket suspension is availiable ie LEDA/Blistein/FK etc? Does anyone have any recomendations? What about adjusting the camber along no car runs enough oon road but is there any easy adjustment there?

4) Does anyone use the car for a lot of track work if so what has broken and do Skoda have any issues I'd be usng the car for a lot of days (say 20+ a year) so I don't want to be back having it fixed every week.

5) What sort of MPG do people get I want to get another diesel as its so much better against me petrol car (33mph vs 55mpg) although my diesel isn't that powerful.

6) How custom can mappers go? I'd be looking for a map giving a smooth power curve not an all out power one. is it better/possible to get a second ECU with this programming?

7) I posted some time ago and the brochure says you cannot tow but my local dealership have installed tow bars in the past and done warently work on them does anyone know the insurance implications after all if a dealer fits it surly thats ok.

8) Anyone have any idea of lap times etc just looking at seening how much quicker/slower they are.

Many thanks for any help

I'm looking at buying Fabia VRS but I've got a few questions I'm hoping you can answer for me.

1) Can you run 15's behind the brakes its just I have a few tyes and slicks etc are cheap in this spec (for track days)

Yes on 288mm standard Brakes

2) What are the brakes like for hard track work are the upgraded pads god enough or like the new 182 Clio do the wheels not help cooling of the brakes. Are there good value 4 pot upgrades avaialible?

for "serious" track day action I would recommend you use either 312mm discs £225 for calliper/carrier/discs and pads on here (use search) or 4 pot Brembro brakes that are 323mm (about £500-£750 IIRC & need 17" alloys)

3) What aftermarket suspension is availiable ie LEDA/Blistein/FK etc? Does anyone have any recomendations? What about adjusting the camber along no car runs enough oon road but is there any easy adjustment there?

I am not the best person to ask about camber adjustments etc however there are many suspension setups from the cheap and cheerful Eibach 25mm lowering springs, through to KW Coilovers.

4) Does anyone use the car for a lot of track work if so what has broken and do Skoda have any issues I'd be usng the car for a lot of days (say 20+ a year) so I don't want to be back having it fixed every week.

Can't answer this directly however I have done 1 track day and it held up fine. I do however drive my car very spiritedly and it has covered 30k no probs

5) What sort of MPG do people get I want to get another diesel as its so much better against me petrol car (33mph vs 55mpg) although my diesel isn't that powerful.

I reguarly manage 45-55 mpg

6) How custom can mappers go? I'd be looking for a map giving a smooth power curve not an all out power one. is it better/possible to get a second ECU with this programming?

No point in getting a piggyback ECU, might aswell go get get a custom remap as it's uploaded via the ODBII port so not tampering with the ECU. I am not going to comment on who is best, the one closest to you makes the most sense

7) I posted some time ago and the brochure says you cannot tow but my local dealership have installed tow bars in the past and done warently work on them does anyone know the insurance implications after all if a dealer fits it surly thats ok.

Although I am no techie here I am aware that insurance would be void if you are fitting a towbar to a car that isn't approved. Do a search (seems a common theme ) and you will find quite a few people who have retro-fitted them with guides on how to do it

8) Anyone have any idea of lap times etc just looking at seening how much quicker/slower they are.

It lapped the 5th gear test track 0.6 faster than a Mini Cooper (due to the extra grunt, not cornering). It's hard to say really, as a comparison when my car wasn't remapped I did a lap of Elvington in 1.16, it took a Mini Cooper S Works who was there 1.09

Many thanks for any help

No probs

think blackmagic use to run 15's on his when on track.

Brakes will need a pad and fluid upgrade.

blistein do a pss9 kit I think for around 1K. KW have v1 and 2 but not 3. I Jabba rear anti roll bar is said to make a big different. Gets rid of the understeer and adds some lift off oversteer.

I get an around 44mpg.

I think 5th gear have a list somwhere with laptimes at angelsey.

edde dont suppose you have a clio at the moment do you ?

Second ECU (Not Piggy Back) is very possible, I beleive I may know someone who has it done

edde dont suppose you have a clio at the moment do you ?

Yep I'm the same person on Cliopsort. Unless I get a good deal I'll be having to leave Clio ownership soon No dci RS is planed so The extra cost of about

edde buy mine lol 8500 53 plate with 30k on it see post in for sale forum

edde buy mine lol 8500 53 plate with 30k on it see post in for sale forum

I did see that on CS but I think a new one for just over

fair do's was willing to do you a deal aswell

Edde it sounds like you're looking for a car that will be good on road and track - the Furby isn't it I'm afraid. It's a fantastic car in what it is, but it's not a track day car and never will be.

You'll probably not get significantly better mpg if you drive it to the limit either :thumbdwn:

A 182 out of the box will wipe the floor with it.

fair do's was willing to do you a deal aswell

I've got to try and arrange a test drive doesn't help the dealers are shut Sunday and track days are on a Saturday.

I don't like petrols due to the Mpg and power curve charecterists the tdi torque is great on tarck to pull you out of bends,

Have you driven a diesel on the track mate?

If you have and you like it then cool, but I had my Golf TDI on the track and it was no fun at all:(

The Fabia does have better handling than the Golf but I didn't think the power delivery was at all suited to track work.

The torque is good to pull you out of tight corners but if you rev it then theres not much pull further up the rev range (as all diesel drivers know) and it's very difficult not to rev it on the track. If you just short shift to keep in the torque band then its not very good fun, and not as quick as all the petrol cars around you who are revving their nuts off:(

My Golf is re-mapped so it revs a bit harder than a standard diesel too.

IMO the Fabia is an excellent 'real world' car and I would (did) choose one over a Clio, but it'll never be a serious track car.

Couldn't you buy a mkII Golf or an XR2 or something as a track car to keep you satisfied?

Have you driven a diesel on the track mate?

If you have and you like it then cool' date=' but I had my Golf TDI on the track and it was no fun at all:(

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Did you take it round Knockhill Stevo? Personally i thought the vRS was a hoot round there, the only place it falls foul is the hairpin which it is badly geared for.

Edde it sounds like you're looking for a car that will be good on road and track - the Furby isn't it I'm afraid. It's a fantastic car in what it is' date=' but it's not a track day car and never will be.

You'll probably not get significantly better mpg if you drive it to the limit either

A 182 out of the box will wipe the floor with it.

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I dont want this thread to go down this route again, but out the box even a 182 Cup wont 'wipe the floor' with a slightly track modified fabia circa 180 bhp,

Blackmagic and shifty will back me up on this as it has been trialled and tested, very even race TBH and even if i dare say it the fabia had the edge on Knockhill

Have you driven a diesel on the track mate?

If you have and you like it then cool' date=' but I had my Golf TDI on the track and it was no fun at all:(

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I track my diesel clio quite a lot its seem loads of track and the ring a few times. Its great on track in many repects.

The torque is good to pull you out of tight corners but if you rev it then theres not much pull further up the rev range (as all diesel drivers know) and it's very difficult not to rev it on the track. If you just short shift to keep in the torque band then its not very good fun, and not as quick as all the petrol cars around you who are revving their nuts off:(

Doesn't bother me much you have to drive round ever cars power curve the low end on diesel is great I find

Couldn't you buy a mkII Golf or an XR2 or something as a track car to keep you satisfied?

I've got a track tunned and caged Williams Clio but it a bit to much for my bad back.

its down to drivers though how quick the car is I've chased a Skyline round Brands last weekend in the diesel and put in the same time as him alos overtook an Elise. In the past i've gone past or kept with a range of cars which should be much quicker ie BMW525's 911's

Fair enough, if you've had experience of a diesel on a track and you like the way the power is delivered then you will like the Fabia!

With mods like bigw has then you're looking at 190ish bhp, and considering that my standard 130 vRS is as quick as my 150bhp Golf then it should be a lot more fun than the Golf is.

I suppose the worst thing about the Golf on the track was the brakes- the Fabia is lighter and has better brakes as standard which can easily be upgraded to the 312mm set-up so that is another positive for the Fabia.

I guess what I'm trying to say is that I based my statement about the Fabia not being a good track car on how I felt with my Golf, but the Fabia is lighter, can be quicker, and has better brakes. All these are pretty much the vital ingredients of a good track car so I take back my original statement.

As long as you are happy with how a diesel delivers it's power on a track (which you obviously are) then the Fabia will suit you well.

I also seem to remember when I took my Golf around Knockhill a certain bigw and another few Fabia's provided the talking point for all us Golf owners. We couldn't believe how quick they were. I decided at that point that I would go and have a test drive of one. The rest, as they say, is history............