Fabia III SE L 1.2TSI

[james_d]

Hi All,

I've just purchased a Fabia III 1.2 TSI SE L DSG, it is the first time I have owned a Fabia coming from an Octavia III 2.0 TDI 4X4.

Coming form the Octavia the Fabia seems to have much firmer suspension (it has 16'' wheels, Octavia had 17'') I wouldn't say it is too firm but was wondering if it has the sports suspension option and if there is a way of telling, I've had a look at the front springs and they have 4 paint dots on them white, green, green, green.

for reference ride is about the same as Clio 182 I had a few years back

If anyone could advise me I would be keen to know as I can't see the standard car being this firm

 

Thanks

James

[thamestrader]

There are a few threads on here about the Fabia ride and wheel size seems to be the reason. Lower spec models  (like our SE) have 15 inch wheels and a taller profile tyre, this gives a softer ride. The general consensus seems to be the 15 inch wheel with standard tyres gives the best ride. Having said that Skoda specify two quite different sets of tyre pressures and the ECO settings are much higher. We run our Fabia with ECO pressures, cause it makes a measurable improvement to mpg and the ride is perfectly fine, but that is with 15 inch wheels.  If your car is brand new its not unheard of for the wooden suspension chocks to have been overlooked during PDI! and that can make the ride very firm indeed.

 

[james_d]

Thanks for replying to my post, should have added that the car is a 2016 model with 40k.

First thing I did was to check tyre pressures (2.1bar) and that transport blocks had been removed, its not the end of the world I was just surprised how much firmer it was than the Octavia

If this is standard suspension on 16's I hate to think what 17's would be like with sport suspension!

[FabiaGonzales]

Mine has 16" wheels and i run ECO tyre pressures on the rear (keeps the wear more even), and slightly lower on the fronts, the ride isn't harsh but i certainly feel every bump. Though i have swapped out the wishbone bushings for poly ones, as the rear ones split twice after hitting potholes, so that has a slight factor in it too.

[rum4mo]

Ah, the good old "split rear bushes" - my wife's 2015 Polo with 16" summer alloys ended up only having one split so far - I have bought a tool for pressing these bushes out/in though and plan to fit solid Golf R/Audi TT ones when the next one splits.

 

So, as these bushes have been around for many years in use with Golfs and Polo/Ibiza/Fabia/? - why is the internet not awash with complaints about them failing, or VW Group modifying them?  The original ones still have the original part number which usually means original design, no modifications made?

 

My daughter's late 2009 Ibiza, has 17" alloys from new and is still fitted with the original bushes and I'm sure that she has not always managed to avoid potholes, she drives it as it is meant to be, ie "firmly" - strange.

[rum4mo]

I've recorded the front springs on my wife's 2015 Polo 5 door 1.2TSI 110PS SEL as having an extra green spot of paint, ie 4 instead of your 3, that might mean that one of us has got it wrong and that your car has normal suspension, as they are both probably within the same weight range - or something else!

 

I'm not sure if the parts listing includes the paint markings now, I'll check up on that.

 

Edit:- I've now checked the most up to date parts listing that includes models of Audi/VW/SEAT up until 2020, unfortunately that site does not cover Skoda which is weird, but I can confirm that what I have written about is correct for my wife's version of Polo, ie 1 white and 4 green, I did not find any 1 white and 3 green coded springs anywhere on that listing, so maybe check that car again in case you have made a mistake.

Edited 3 March, 2019 by rum4mo

[RickW]

ECO tyre pressures? Please explain,thanks.

[Ootohere]

High, less friction so traction so safety when cornering or braking, Wet or dry or otherwise what is ECO about the higher pressure.

might use less fuel by giving 1 mpg extra.  Like ECO tyres might, might last a long time with a rubbish hard compound & tread.

Is your safety worth that.

[RickW]

I think I'll continue to use the recommended pressures which is 2.1 bar all round .

[FabiaGonzales]

10 hours ago, rum4mo said:

I've recorded the front springs on my wife's 2015 Polo 5 door 1.2TSI 110PS SEL as having an extra green spot of paint, ie 4 instead of your 3, that might mean that one of us has got it wrong and that your car has normal suspension, as they are both probably within the same weight range - or something else!

 

I'm not sure if the parts listing includes the paint markings now, I'll check up on that.

 

Edit:- I've now checked the most up to date parts listing that includes models of Audi/VW/SEAT up until 2020, unfortunately that site does not cover Skoda which is weird, but I can confirm that what I have written about is correct for my wife's version of Polo, ie 1 white and 4 green, I did not find any 1 white and 3 green coded springs anywhere on that listing, so maybe check that car again in case you have made a mistake.

 

I would think checking the rear springs would be a better indication. Fronts seem to vary with almost every different engine/gearbox pairing due to the axle loading. 110PS DSG has a higher front axle load than the 110PS 6 speed manual, which in turn has higher load than the 5 speed 90ps. I can imagine the TDI's having even higher loadings than the rest. Though from what i've seen they all have the same rear axle loading.

 

Edit: as for my wishbones rear bushing, the first one lasted 47K till it started falling apart after a normal ish pothole. The second one only lasted a week before being literally torn in half by another pothole (that pothole was enough to blow out the tyre, so it did take a fair whack).

Edited 3 March, 2019 by FabiaGonzales

[rum4mo]

So, my response to that is:- rear springs on my wife's 2016MY Polo 1.2TSI 110PS 6SPD SEL 5Door is - white white yellow yellow orange, if that helps.

[FabiaGonzales]

6 hours ago, rum4mo said:

So, my response to that is:- rear springs on my wife's 2016MY Polo 1.2TSI 110PS 6SPD SEL 5Door is - white white yellow yellow orange, if that helps.

 

Ill check mine next time i go out

[james_d]

On 03/03/2019 at 11:46, rum4mo said:

I've recorded the front springs on my wife's 2015 Polo 5 door 1.2TSI 110PS SEL as having an extra green spot of paint, ie 4 instead of your 3, that might mean that one of us has got it wrong and that your car has normal suspension, as they are both probably within the same weight range - or something else!

 

I'm not sure if the parts listing includes the paint markings now, I'll check up on that.

 

Edit:- I've now checked the most up to date parts listing that includes models of Audi/VW/SEAT up until 2020, unfortunately that site does not cover Skoda which is weird, but I can confirm that what I have written about is correct for my wife's version of Polo, ie 1 white and 4 green, I did not find any 1 white and 3 green coded springs anywhere on that listing, so maybe check that car again in case you have made a mistake.

Yeah my bad, wiped the mud off and a 4th green dot appeared, so assuming this is the standard/ non sport suspension?

will check the rears in a bit...

[rum4mo]

Good, not to make me correct but to see that there are in deed common usage of springs across “ load ranges” across the same platform variant.

Despite what has been suggested earlier, I think that you will find that there are fixed springs for each load range and also within that non sports chassis springs and sports chassis springs, the latter being shorter.

 

So, I think that means your car has normal or non sports chassis configuration, and that your rear springs will be the same as my wife’s Polo - if not, very close to that car’s load range for the rear suspension.

[AGFalco]

On 03/03/2019 at 11:41, rum4mo said:

So, as these bushes have been around for many years in use with Golfs and Polo/Ibiza/Fabia/? - why is the internet not awash with complaints about them failing, or VW Group modifying them?

 

There have been several types of bushes.

The first type ( cotton reel ) only had connection at the top and bottom.

The later ones have a connection at top, bottom and both sides.

Some come in their own alloy holder.

Audi do some upgraded/tougher ones that can fit on some Skodas.

 

Thanks AG Falco

[rum4mo]

No No No, here we are only discussing the front wishbone rear bushes/mounts used on these newer cars and some older “bigger sector” VW Groupcars.

 

Very few people with a newer car will know anything about VW Group’s roughly 2000 > 2008 Fabia/Polo/Ibiza/Audi horrible attempt at redefining front wishbone rear bush/mounting design, the less said about any of them except the solid Cupra versions with an alloy “skin” the better - luckily VW Group looked at earlier design concept when these roughly late 2014 > 2018 models were built.

Edited 6 March, 2019 by rum4mo

[Eccles]

I also found the so called ECO tyre pressures a bit stiff so had a chat with my very knowledgeable mechanic: " Well what does the car carry most of the time?" he asked.  Me (75 kg) and sometimes mrs (68kg), I replied. "In that case 2.0 (30lbs/sq inch) all round will be fine", he replied "but don't forget to tell the computer" So that is what I have done for the past 3 years for a more comfortable ride, I don't really care about another 2-3 mpg because I don't do a lot of miles.

[Guest]

I realise this is a slightly older thread but the main thing is to check if you are running ECO tyres. Both my Skodas had EcoWing tyres requiring quite high pressures. The EcoWing tyres run at the correct pressures give an extra 2-3mpg depending on speed. That soon makes a difference if you are covering a bigger mileage, when compared to the standard tyres. Mine were on 15" rims. You should not run ECO tyres at less than the recommended pressures. If you do they don't give proper grip, and yet they wear very fast on the outer edges if underinflated. The ride is harsh on Fabia cars even with the 15" wheels, but the 16 and 17" wheels are even worse. Driving around town on potholed roads was a nightmare in my town with the car crashing in and out of bad potholes that you just cannot avoid. This also created a lot of noise inside the cabin especially when driving over level crossings which was particularly painful in every respect. In consolation, the Fieasta's are even worse, as are the other VAG cars in this class. At speed the Fabia's are good with the ride smoothing out quite a bit.