It's a standard Fabia one actually 2nd hand from e-bay at

Can you please confirm that only the return lip under the bumper needs to be cut to fit the PCT towbar to the vRS. I have been looking for a bar that you can fit witout the need to cut into the front visible part of the bumper.

I had a look at a Witter bar designed for a standard Furby, but looking at the bar and taking some key measurements decided it would not fit without relieving the front part of the bumper.

Witter bar now on, looks very neat, very small cut required in bumper but then it is a uk style towbar not a swan neck. Cost

I have just fitted a tow bar to our new VRs.

No major problem encountered although it does entail making a small gap (about 2" deep and about 4" wide in my case) to get the bar through.

I agree that the bumper seems to be moulded over a standard bumper, a goodly chunk has to be removed, but this is not seen as it is of course underneath the Vrs bit.

The job entails completely removing the bumper by taking out the boot trim, removing the rear lights etc to get at the torx screws holding it in.

The crash bar is taken off completely as the tow bar takes its place.

The bar is fitted into prepared holes in the chassis which are covered with tape.

I then kept carefully offering the bumper up and cutting bits off until it fitted OK.

In my case I got the bar galvanised as the car is silver and fitted an alloy socket and chrome ball cover. All looks very neat and takes the bike rack a treat.

Hope this helps

Ive tried to attach pics. Dont know if its worked or not

Photo's attached

any chance of some more pics & info of how you fitted your tow bar. this is to show the mechanics at bilston skoda. to prove that they can fit the standard fabia bar without putting a hole in the visable part of the bumper.thanx bugman

j999vrs as briwy?

After much deliberation I decided to simply try the skoda supplied fixed swan neck tow bar listed for the standard Fabia. To my suprise it fits the VRS and it is in fact one of the neatest swan necks I have seen on any car and extremely strong too.

Simply a case of removing the old bumper iron from beneath the bumper and sliding and bolting the towbar bracket into place. You do have to cut a piece out of the underside of the bumper to allow for the swan neck to protrude from underneath and to allow the single electric socket mounting to swing up and down on it's spring loaded bracket. This is very neat and cannot be seen in the 'up' position. A template is supplied for the cut under the bumper which cannot be seen from the rear of the car.

I had visions of the swan neck protruding through a hole in the bumper itself but this is not the case. It comes out from underneath where it is bolted with two bolts to the ironwork, This makes the swan neck removable by simply undoing the two bolts. I haven't sorted the electrics yet as I want to source a single 12 pin socket which my local Skoda dealer says is not available for the Fabia?. I have ordered one for a Polo from VAG and hope and trust that the wiring will be compatible for the Fabia.

All in all it looks like good news. I see no reason why the considerably more expensive removable swan neck bar also supplied by Skoda for the Fabia will not fit.

Will post again when electrice sorted. All the clearances, ie towball to ground and towball to bumper are well within legal requirements so no worries!!!

__________________

I have just fitted a tow bar to our new VRs.

No major problem encountered although it does entail making a small gap (about 2" deep and about 4" wide in my case) to get the bar through.

I agree that the bumper seems to be moulded over a standard bumper, a goodly chunk has to be removed, but this is not seen as it is of course underneath the Vrs bit.

The job entails completely removing the bumper by taking out the boot trim, removing the rear lights etc to get at the torx screws holding it in.

The crash bar is taken off completely as the tow bar takes its place.

The bar is fitted into prepared holes in the chassis which are covered with tape.

I then kept carefully offering the bumper up and cutting bits off until it fitted OK.

In my case I got the bar galvanised as the car is silver and fitted an alloy socket and chrome ball cover. All looks very neat and takes the bike rack a treat.

Hope this helps

Ive tried to attach pics. Dont know if its worked or not

Attached Thumbnails

J999VRS did you have to remove the bumper as the other towbar fitted above by BRIWY to get it to fit?

(QUOTED BY BRIWY)

I have just fitted a tow bar to our new VRs.

No major problem encountered although it does entail making a small gap (about 2" deep and about 4" wide in my case) to get the bar through.

I agree that the bumper seems to be moulded over a standard bumper, a goodly chunk has to be removed, but this is not seen as it is of course underneath the Vrs bit.

The job entails completely removing the bumper by taking out the boot trim, removing the rear lights etc to get at the torx screws holding it in.

The crash bar is taken off completely as the tow bar takes its place.

The bar is fitted into prepared holes in the chassis which are covered with tape.

I then kept carefully offering the bumper up and cutting bits off until it fitted OK.

In my case I got the bar galvanised as the car is silver and fitted an alloy socket and chrome ball cover. All looks very neat and takes the bike rack a treat.

Hope this helps

Ive tried to attach pics. Dont know if its worked or not

Attached Thumbnails

J999 Vrs did you have to remove the bumper as above to get the towbar to fit?

just fitted fabia towbar to vrs. no problems ,fits nice, looks very tidy.

just fitted fabia towbar to vrs. no problems ,fits nice, looks very tidy.

Can you give a brief description of how to remove the rear valance / bumper cover.

Thanks.

full instructions how to, come with tow bar. to take of bumper off there are about 12 hex screws. they are under bumper around inside the wheel arches & the biggest pain behind the rear lights. you have to take the lights out the undo the screws. this is not hard to do, just a bit fiddley.

I still don't see how anyone can fit a towbar in the absence of proper type approval and still remain legal - hence how can they ensure their insurance will cover them in an accident situation. Do any of you who have fitted towbars to a Fabia vRS have correspondence from your insurance company confirming you don't have a problem with your illegal towbar installation? Witter are certainly on their website still noting they don't do a Fabia vRS towbar...

I still don't see how anyone can fit a towbar in the absence of proper type approval and still remain legal - hence how can they ensure their insurance will cover them in an accident situation. Do any of you who have fitted towbars to a Fabia vRS have correspondence from your insurance company confirming you don't have a problem with your illegal towbar installation? Witter are certainly on their website still noting they don't[/u'] do a Fabia vRS towbar...

Have to say, having done some research, that DRJ seems to be correct in what he says. I use mine for the bike rack now. Do not think it would be legal to tow.

I have no doubt that the car is a brilliant tow car, it just seems that Skoda have not put it forward for TA regarding towing. Their choice but our loss.

Have to say' date=' having done some research, that DRJ seems to be correct in what he says. I use mine for the bike rack now. Do not think it would be legal to tow.

I have no doubt that the car is a brilliant tow car, it just seems that Skoda have not put it forward for TA regarding towing. Their choice but our loss.[/quote']

In Ireland the brochures show a Tow Bar for the vRS Fabia. I e-mailed them for a part number and asked them to confirm thta it was for a vRS - they said yes .... part EEA400001 A.

If it is legal to tow with a Fab Vrs in Ireland, then it should be legal in UK we are all in the EU. We must have a level playing field surely!! R

If it is legal to tow with a Fab Vrs in Ireland, then it should be legal in UK we are all in the EU. We must have a level playing field surely!! R

I have checked with d.o.t and...........no it is not a level playing field. Sorry.

The interesting question is this. If an Eire reg vrs, in this country, can tow. Then would an Eire import (but uk reg) be able to? In the handbook (where mine is blank ) alongside the Vrs details, there would be a maximum towing weight.

I'v just joined this fourum and am getting very close to placing an order for a New Fabia vRS but am a little concerned about the tow bar situation.

Due to the change from a much larger car (Honda Accord) to something the size of a Fabia I feel that a towbar would be essential for my lifestyle.

I'm a keen dinghy sailer and still want to be able to move me boat about.

The skoda info lists a towbar option for the fabia and does not satat it is not suitable for the vRS, I'c asked the Skoda dealer and they have told me they can fit one but I dont want to get one fitter if its going to invalidate any warrenties or cause any other problems with regards the the whole type approval thing.

I cant see what the problem with the type approval is if all aother Fabias are suitable for towing why is the vRS considering its essentially the same Car.

From people who have fitted towbars to their vRS's which towbar is recomended as being the easiest and neatist to fit?

The rear bumper on the vrs is made bigger so the cars lenght is over 4 mtrs so to meet the min lenght for the fabia to be used for WRC rallying. Sorry rally cars dont tow yet.

I cant see what the problem with the type approval is if all aother Fabias are suitable for towing why is the vRS considering its essentially the same Car.

The problem is that the Fabia vRS car hasn't been submitted for UK type approval for towing hence, even if you are prepared to ignore the warranty implications of fitting a towbar, you are unlikely to have insurance cover for towing.

Update - Witter technical dept have "cleared" their Fabia towbar for VRS use. They say it will fit and I have one on order. It will involve a cut but not a big one (oops) I will keep u posted.

Has anyone actually now had a towbar fitted to a fabia vRS? I need one asap and would welcome any advice as to where to get one fitted.

Has anyone actually now had a towbar fitted to a fabia vRS? I need one asap and would welcome any advice as to where to get one fitted.

What sort of motoring do you do that doesn't involve driving on public roads? Use of a tow bar on a Fabia vRS is not permitted because Skoda hasn't homologated it - so you wouldn't be covered for insurance even if you weren't towing anything at the time (I believe). Don't risk it - it's not worth it. Sell your car and buy something else if you want to tow...

If you really want to get one fitted - for "off road use only" - get one fitted at your Skoda dealer - the official one fits - and get your Fabia trailered back to your "private land"...

i had a towbar on my old fabia 1.4 and i used it solely as the perfect bike carrier

i was considering making this mod to my vrs until i saw the cost to have a removable towbar and also it crossed my mind that i wouldn't have the willpower to drive slower even with an expensive mtb tied to the back, vrs is too much fun

the bike goes in the back with lot of blankets and the seats down, although tempted to buy a bike bag to protect car interior.

Putting a bike in a bike bag all the time will beome very annoying removing wheels, bars/stem and pedals.

Just being careful when putting it on the back is your best bet.

never owning a bike-bag never realised you'd have to take it apart so much

cheers for heads up

i see you got a nice bike setup with heck of a lot of suss, do you do competition?

Yeah and it will prob take up a little more space. And will be harder to get in and out due to less handles that a bike has. If you get were I am coming from.

You may also need to take the rear mech off to get it in also all a pain in the bum.

Yes I race a lot of Downhill events but out though injury for whole of the 07 season. What do you ride yourself?

Shaun

ive got a Planex X Armadillo, i like my hardtails, and this is one tough cookie, but spec'd for light, fast XC riding :P