Hello! New member here, nice to meet everyone.

I’ve picked up a rather tidy Monte Carlo and am looking at some modding.

Checking with my insurance company it seems that an exhaust and brakes upgrade are okay.

Could anyone please recommend any exhaust systems (the more cost effective the better) and likely power gains.

I’ve done some reading here and I think to put disks on the back I need a part-transplant from a vRS. Any things to look out for on that would be much appreciated.

Thank you

Welcome.

May I ask, who are you insured with? You have to normally tell the insurance company if you put a sticker on the rear window - I've never heard of anyone being fine with changing the exhuast or brakes (unless you mean that these changes are okay, cost wise?).

I would honestly rather save the money than mess around putting an upgraded exhaust on a 105bhp Fabia. At the very best, it'll sound rubbish and at worst be ASBO. I would avoid spending money on an exhaust for anything less than a 2.0 - and even then, with the OPF/GPF's on newer cars, I still probably wouldn't bother.

You won't gain any power from changing the exhaust. If you have a restricive GPF system on an RS3, then changing the downpipe and exhaust at the same time as other hardware and software changes will result in increased power from a more freely flowing system. However, this isn't Forza - in an average town car, there won't be any difference. Frankly, a good walnut blast will probably result in better performance gains.

Similarly, with the brakes, there's really no need. The rear brakes only do around 20% of the work and with 105bhp, you aren't really exceeding the limits of them. That's aside from the fact that the rear drums are actually really good, and if you're somehow needing to upgrade, then you're driving the wrong car the wrong way.

Your best bet would be to put some nice tyres on it, give it a good service and just enjoy it for what it is. If you're really wanting to scratch the modification itch, then some sound proofing and audio system could be very interesting.

6 hours ago, OccyVRS said:

Welcome.

May I ask, who are you insured with? You have to normally tell the insurance company if you put a sticker on the rear window - I've never heard of anyone being fine with changing the exhuast or brakes (unless you mean that these changes are okay, cost wise?).

I would honestly rather save the money than mess around putting an upgraded exhaust on a 105bhp Fabia. At the very best, it'll sound rubbish and at worst be ASBO. I would avoid spending money on an exhaust for anything less than a 2.0 - and even then, with the OPF/GPF's on newer cars, I still probably wouldn't bother.

You won't gain any power from changing the exhaust. If you have a restricive GPF system on an RS3, then changing the downpipe and exhaust at the same time as other hardware and software changes will result in increased power from a more freely flowing system. However, this isn't Forza - in an average town car, there won't be any difference. Frankly, a good walnut blast will probably result in better performance gains.

Similarly, with the brakes, there's really no need. The rear brakes only do around 20% of the work and with 105bhp, you aren't really exceeding the limits of them. That's aside from the fact that the rear drums are actually really good, and if you're somehow needing to upgrade, then you're driving the wrong car the wrong way.

Your best bet would be to put some nice tyres on it, give it a good service and just enjoy it for what it is. If you're really wanting to scratch the modification itch, then some sound proofing and audio system could be very interesting.

Thanks for that I really appreciate the insight. It’s been a long time since I dabbled with cars so with everything being so electronic I’m not sure how things work.

PM me for the insurance company name.

Anything clearly focused on HP increase is not allowed aside from exhaust but I’ve tried to put through alloys, strut braces and upgrades brakes and there are no extra fees for those.

You’d be better off with an axle from a A1, 6J/6P Ibiza or a 6c/6r polo as they are wider and give better stability.

Spend the money on good quality new brake discs and pads etc if needed. Rear drums work very well as previousy said but have problems. Check and replace the rear wheel cylinders depending on there condition as well as the small plastic discs the shoes sit on plus adjusters Did that on my sons fabia and made a big difference as his were worn out and had slight imbalance plus slight weep of brake fluid. A decent set of tyres as well and see how it drives. Check the suspension arm bushing for wear as well. Sons car is like new to drive after changing front swing arms etc and a lot more positive on the road. A new exhaust system plus discs on rear won't give you any real increase in power or improve handling. Better spending the money on something else

Alasdair

Hi.

If you do ever need any help with insurance at all for anything other than minor modifications then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.