Ive been blatting about these last few days in my standard VRS and trying to decide if it understeers, oversteers or is correct when you push it through the bends hard. I personally think it oversteers and can be a bit sharp on the turning when you push it hard. Mind u it does stick well considering the weight of the lump up front so its not all that bad. lol Can i ask you chaps your comments on this and would you suggest a top brace to correct it or am i talking utter tosh?

hi,

my VRS definitely understeers. with all the weight at the front and fwd i'm suprised yours oversteers, how much tread have you on the rear tyres?

my rears still look brand new after >10k miles.

cheers matt

ps i get plenty of lift-off oversteer with my 205

Utter tosh.

The standard Fabia vRS understeers like a pig, and will snap into uncatchable oversteer if you go into a wet corner far to quickly and back off the accelerator aggressively.

Fabia vRS' understeer a lot, which is what you expect from a car like this.

The best lift off oversteer FWD car I have ever driven was an old 93 plate Nissan Primera GT or something just a 2.0 16v, but it was great fun, it could do it even while going very slowly so it was a brilliant car to practise going sideways in!

Understeers.

I try and drive as smoothly as I can. When grip is exceeded it goes into a boring safe understeer.

Can't say I've managed to get the furby into oversteer without the use of the handbrake (god that handling day was fun) or a cheap tyre on the rear nearside at Trax's 04 (thanks Jeff )

Just to add. I miss my Pug 405 in the wet. Lift off oversteer was fun

so does fitting a strut brace have much effect on the handling?

Surely depends on how hard you yank the steering wheel and what speed you are going and how sharp the corner is - ie if you are doing 10mph having slowed down for a sharp corner like a hairpin and yank on the steering wheel the back will come round? But I would have thought the vRS understeers on a more gradual bend with light steering input ?

Strut brace will do little to improve handling to be honest. It will sharpen the feel of turn in a touch though.

I recommend the Jabba rear anti roll bar (ARB). It reduces understeer a treat, and will drop into a hint of oversteer when easing off mid bend. It is also provocable into considerable lift of oversteer when you are in the mood, this is the single best mod you can do to improve the handling of your vRS.

The next best is Eibach springs. These do wonders for increasing stability at speed, and keeps the car flatter in corners by firming up the suspension a treat.

Next best thing is Cupra bushes. No longer do the wheels wobble all over the place

And the cheapest but least effective mod is the strut brace... it does tighten the turn in, and is a nice bit of engine bay bling, but dont expect miracles.

Out of the box it understeers, with as Tom says, snop off oversteer if you let off the gas on the limit.

Jabba ARB on the back - mild understeer, with a hint of oversteer if you wiggle your toes on the throttle

Edit - Tom beat me to it

The next best is Eibach springs. These do wonders for increasing stability at speed, and keeps the car flatter in corners by firming up the suspension a treat.

Where the suspension really comes into it's own though is massively increasing the stability of the car under acceleration and braking. These would be the first things I'd change as they make such a huge difference to the way the car drives and affect all aspects, not just in the corners

Chris

just gone out in car again cos of what ive just read. I think your right it does understeer when pushed on a sweeping bend. Think i was more concentrating on the fact that when you turn at speed your steering is very sharp to respond for very little movement of the wheel. once your pushing it though, i can see what you mean about it understeers.

Understeers.....

Of course I've forgotten what understeer is now :P although learning a lot about oversteer :eek: :eek:

Utter tosh.

The standard Fabia vRS understeers like a pig' date=' and will snap into uncatchable oversteer if you go into a wet corner far to quickly and back off the accelerator aggressively.[/quote']

Agree except for the uncatchable bit - definitely brown trousers time but recoverable even in tight spaces if you're quick.

Agree except for the uncatchable bit - definitely brown trousers time but recoverable even in tight spaces if you're quick.

Mr Average probably wouldn't catch it... (I didn't the first time it happened...)

Jabba ARB + ESP + Strut Brace + Toyo T1r's = Solid as a rock.

Without mods (And factory conti's) it as expected understeers.

A fool proof way of preventing all handling issues = Drive within the limit and what the conditions allow

That way the Furby will stay out of the ditch and we dont get higher premiums

Jabba ARB + ESP + Strut Brace + Toyo T1r's = Solid as a rock.

Except for the pitching/diving under acceleration/braking

Chris

Except for the pitching/diving under acceleration/braking

Chris

Only brake in a straight line.....

I have 312mm zimmermans on the front and it doesn't dive, I actually think that the back wheels lift off the ground

Doesnt dive??

My Fabia vRS with the 312mm dived massivly without the Eibachs on........

Yeah, that was my attempt at thinly disguised sarcasm.

Ah, caught me out lol

I recommend the Jabba rear anti roll bar (ARB). It reduces understeer a treat' date=' and will drop into a hint of oversteer when easing off mid bend. It is also provocable into considerable lift of oversteer when you are in the mood, this is the single best mod you can do to improve the handling of your vRS.

[/quote']

So would you say the Jabba ARB is a greater improvement to handling than a full suspension kit (or even coilovers)?

Cheers

Standard Fabia's Have even worse understeer, and Iv'e never managed to get any lift-off oversteer out of mine, Unless you want to use the handbrake:rolleyes:

Drove A Fabia Saloon Though, Don't ask why but it was rather tail happy:thumbup:

So would you say the Jabba ARB is a greater improvement to handling than a full suspension kit (or even coilovers)?

Cheers

They do different things, it's not fair to really compare them outright, the bar will largely effect pitch whereas the kit will effect both.

In terms of value I would say it is better and I would get the bar over the kit any day, you spend £600 on a full set of shocks and springs you would expect a major improvement whereas you spend £225 on the bar and you perhaps don't have such high expectations, then you drive it.

Your perception is the reality, just bear that in mind.

Standard Fabia's Have even worse understeer, and Iv'e never managed to get any lift-off oversteer out of mine, Unless you want to use the handbrake:rolleyes:

My PD100 Elegance only had understeer when really pushing on, but oversteer could be easily introduced by lifting off mid-corner. Eibachs dialled out a lot of that and made it much more neutral and predictable. I suspect the petrol engines being lighter mean it is harder to unbalance the car, unlike the nose heavy diesels

Chris