Top 5 mods for a Fabia VRS

[Decron]

I had;

312mm (x-drilled) (With Various pads)upgrade

Pd160

Decron Stealth Decat

SS Strut Brace

Green Filter

Custom One-Click Remap

Full Eibachs (Shocks+ Springs)

Jabba RARB

Tyres much better that OE tyres (But not before the OE's had been worn through)

A Really Nice air freshner

Now I consider this to be a list of the mods that will provide you with the best all round performance for the cash (This is before you get into anything like bigger blowers etc) and each one had an effect on the performance of the car in some way. It was quick, it was nimble, it didn't rattle your fillings out and it wasn't too smokey. I drove the car in various states of tune and when I put it back to standard, so I know exactly what they all do and why I fitted them. They were all worth the cash to me. You take it any further than that it will cast you a fortune. There is nothing wrong that at all because if it's what you want to do then you should (I should know I drive a 130bhp Roomster )

Total cost of mods (Including any fitting I didn't do myself) - £1281 (I have just checked my bills/receipts etc). I managed to get a lot my stuff either used or in group buys. I sold most of it on for about £700 so you do get some return on it if you move on (Everyone gets a bargin).

It's all about getting whats right for YOU. You might find the brakes fine even with a remap, or you might find the RARB sorts the handling out enough for you without lowering. Take a look round on the forum, get some of the info about all the mods (You wont find all the info in one place like this anywhere else this site has it all if you know how to use the search) and what they will do. Ask questions of the people who have them and you should get the info you need, at least enough to make a choice on what is right for you. Come to a meet, speak to the guys and see if they take you out!

If I were doing again from scratch I'd do it in this order;

1. Brakes (£250 ish

2. RARB (£200 ish)

3. Green Filter (£35ish)

4. Custom Remap (£300 ish maybe a bit more)

5. Really nice air fresher (£3)

6. Full Eibachs (Shocks+ Springs) or maybe FSD's instead of the Eibach shocks (£650 ish)

7. Tyres (Get these when you need them) (£250 ish)

8 SS Strut Brace (£50)

If you only have £750 you should consider this and if you do go for a map at any stage, spend a little extra and get one thats right for you (IE a custom job to your spec). Most of the OE parts will cope just fine as long as the remap is a nice, progressive map that will look after your clutch and flywheel.

[Decron]

Surely there has to be a point during where it really would be cheaper to buy a car which does it all out of the box???

Turbo, intercooler, clutch, coilovers, dampers, lsd's, uprated brakes, custom remap - you're talking thousands of pounds there, and declaring all that to your insurance company will probably add hundreds to your premium.

Your right. However the point of why people mod beyond the point of financial sense is because THEY are doing it. It's a hobby, a passion, it makes them happy and they have control over it. You don't get that buying an off the shelf solution and you cetainly won't get a car like the VRS.

[faboka vrs]

I'd say

1) Super dot 4 or 5.1. I only ran the normal dot 4 with std brakes I found this was the first thing to go.

2) 312mm VAG brake. For me I wanted to improve the pedal feel which I found lacked with the std brakes. Bonus is you get more stopping power and a better range of pads to choose from.

3) Ferodo DS2500. Fantasic apart from the price.

4) Rear ARB. Only had the jabba one which is great.

5) If an option remove rear seats, spare wheel and toolkit.

6) Remap but a decent one. Had a generic which I found clutch melting, flywheel killing and doesnt improve power above 4K unlike say Jabba or REVO. I went back to the std map.

Heard good reports about the cupra & powerflex bushes for the front wishbones but not had it done yet so can't comment. As for suspension. Eibach springs do improve the steering feel and respone but is let down by the poor damping of the std or eibach (sachs) dampers. Again people say good things about Koni FSD's.

[ultra_joel88]

you could replace the jabba rarb with the whiteline one for ultimate value as it weighs in £100 cheaper.

I havnt tried a jabba one but my whiteline does the job very very well

[corradoboy]

I had a Whiteline adjustable on my Scooby and it was an excellent bit of kit. The Jabba one is a bit Heath Robinson to look at. It works well enough, but TBH any ARB isn't rocket science. When I fitted mine a mechanic mate asked how much and nearly choked. He said he could knock them up for about £60 a pop and still make a few quid on them. The Whiteline is more realistically priced, and if I needed another they'd get my business. Also, if you quote 'Scoobynet' when ordering Whiteline stuff from Demon Tweeks you can get 15% off sometimes.

[Lofty86]

i won't say what i've spent,its just not about the money for me,its about making a car that really isn't that quick,into a complete sleeper,capable of suprising cars that shouldn't be on the fabia fodder list.

Id 2nd that... Apart from the money bit!!

Handling, brakes, exhaust remap.

[Shifty]

i won't say what i've spent,its just not about the money for me,its about making a car that really isn't that quick,into a complete sleeper,capable of suprising cars that shouldn't be on the fabia fodder list.

Its the future

My top 5 to advise you to do would be....

1 Jabba ARB

2 Eibach 25mm lowering springs

3 312mm Brakes along with a fluid change to dot 5.1

4 Blueflame or Pipewerx decat ss exhaust

5 Remap

Those mods will see a big grin on your face in no time at all.

I have to say, there is nothing wrong with the standard brakes, as in they stop you. The ABS is oversensitive, and the feel is inadequate - thus you lack confidence with them. I never had fade on my standard ones..... not ever.

You should also search "pikey mod", a cheap mod to help your SMIC get some air to it to stop heat soak.

For those who insist you NEED an fmic with a remap....no you dont. It just helps. I did 30 laps of the ring with no fmic, and never had heat soak

Standard clutch is also good enough for a remap, if you look after it.

[djswivel]

For £642 I've done:

Eibachs - £120

PD160 -£60

K&N - £32

Tuning Box (eBay) - £30

Head Unit - £300

Subwoofer - £100

[andypandypoos]

Surely there has to be a point during where it really would be cheaper to buy a car which does it all out of the box???

Turbo, intercooler, clutch, coilovers, dampers, lsd's, uprated brakes, custom remap - you're talking thousands of pounds there, and declaring all that to your insurance company will probably add hundreds to your premium.

:eek:

they'll be asking for your keys back if you're not careful :P

[jont60]

the best mod you can all invest in is an advanced driving course to improve your road craft skills in road positioning, extendend breaking, clutch gear overlap and of course hazard perception so you can put all that ne found power to good use. on my last driving course an instructor said "right anti ambush techniques today with live fire"

[TommyC]

I agree completely. If you can improve the car significantly for under £1k then go for it, but don't expect a penny of it back come resale, in fact, expect a modified car to be harder to sell and possibly be worth less unless you can find an enthusiast who wants exactly what you've created. Mods are a good way of slowly acquiring a good car which you maybe cannot afford in a a single hit though.

That's exactly the nail on the head........ otherwise we'd all be driving 1000bhp cars that you can drive down the shops (like Miss Daisy) but still quite happily take to the Nurbugring and thrash around all day doing sub 6min laps with no probs whatsoever....... (and as you know, no car exists..... yet!!!!!)

So it's where the average driver draws the boundaries of their own compromise between practicality/performance/cost-to-buy/cost-to-run etc etc.

........ so, rear ARB, seat bushes and better tyres are where to start then??!!!!!

[mathepac]

1. RARB

2. Decent tyres (Toyo T1's, Goodyear F1's)

3. Osram Nightbreaker / Philips Extreme bulbs (if you don't have Xenons)

4. Brakes - 312's with Mintex pads (330's or 335's mean rim & tyre size changes)

5. Lower & stiffen suspension (coil-overs can be very harsh)

[Fab vRS]

If you do NOT plan on remapping, then:

1. Rear ARB (Jabba/Whiteline)

2. 312mm brakes

3. KW 1 Coilovers to lower by 30-40mm

That's what I have at the moment and these three have drastically improved the handling.

If you know you will remap then after these it will be some of these:

4. Milltek exhaust

5. Forge FMIC

6. Uprated clutch and diff

7. PD160 air intake

8. Remap

That's what I will be doing next!

[Maffu]

seat bushes and better tyres are where to start then??!!!!!

I've got those two.

Some people on this forum want the best, and to hell with the cost. Fair play. And before they start preaching about "what it's all about" I've been there and done that.

I thought about going down that route, but I do 20,000 miles a year now, use it 7 days a week - I can't be done with the worry about clutches, sumps, and sports bras for my girlfriend.

A set of Goodyear F1s, imo, transforms the VRS. Yes, it does highlight the 'weakness' in the standard suspension, but that's only apparent when travelling very quickly, which you really shouldn't be doing all the time. Within 'normal' driving conditions, it increases the grip, responsiveness and feel of the car. I'd have happily paid more at the dealer for the Skoda to have higher end tyres fitted as standard. Hey ho.

I recently had the bushes changed to Seat Cupra ones. Felt a little vibby at first, but increases more the feel through the steering wheel that the tyres also help with.

The brakes could be better. Enthusiastic driving may leave you wanting a little more. I changed the DOT 4 to 5.1 at 30k - I also chaned to Mintex discs and pads - same size. Felt a little better. I personally don't think the brakes are as effective as they can be because the car pitches forward a lot under heavy braking. Uprating the springs and/or dampners on the front/all 'round should allow the brakes to work a little better.

Start spending thousands, and whilst it's cool and one-off - it'll never be an Elise.

Edited 30 July, 2008 by Maffu

[KTP]

how about some non-performance mods

1. Debadged

2. Rub-Strips removed

3. Grill colour coded

3. Rear tints

4. Stereo upgraded.

[chowy]

This is my top 5 if I had to do it all again

1. remap

2. eibachs

3. Koni FSD

4. Rear ARB Jabba

5. Blueflame exhaust

Green filter and Cupra intake are just icing on the cake

[ming]

Depends what you want from mods; performance/handling/appearance.

Here are my faves:

312mm brake upgrade is No1, by a distance. Should be standard fitment.

Eibachs. Apart from occasional crashing over severe pots, ride/handling is much improved.

17" Octys (appearance, really) in combination with Falken 452's. As if new dampers had been fitted. Don't know which of the two to credit for this - most probably, the Falkens.

Bosch Aero wipers. Whole lot better than conventional.

Top external appearance mod (especially with Black magic) is colour coded grill.

Top internal: most attractive and in no small measure, labour-saving mod (original seats are a PITA), is leather interior - anthracite in my case.

PD160/Cage mod. I'm reluctant to list these but I just feel that the car idles more smoothly and seems to rev more freely since installing. Can't comment as to which contributes more to the feeling as I did both at same time. Can't be bothered removing the PD160 to prove one way or the other.

[ultra_joel88]

1. Whiteline Anti Roll Bar - Makes such a huge difference

2. Dragon Tuning Box - Crude, but very very effective + Cost effective

3. 312mm Brakes - no more iffy stops at roundabouts

4. Custom exhaust with decat - sounds lovely

5. sound system with infinity subwoofer

[faboka vrs]

I have to say, there is nothing wrong with the standard brakes, as in they stop you. The ABS is oversensitive, and the feel is inadequate - thus you lack confidence with them. I never had fade on my standard ones..... not ever.

Agree the braking power of the oem 288mm setup is fine just the feel isnt very good. Never had pad fade either only ever boiled the standard dot 4 fluid.

A cheaper upgrade may just be to fit the calipers from a Octy/Golf mk4 from a 288mm setup and fit competition pads plus fluid upgrade.

[oilburninnut]

Agree the braking power of the oem 288mm setup is fine just the feel isnt very good. Never had pad fade either only ever boiled the standard dot 4 fluid.

A cheaper upgrade may just be to fit the calipers from a Octy/Golf mk4 from a 288mm setup and fit competition pads plus fluid upgrade.

tey fade badly on track,with my driving anyway lol

best mod ever is...........peloquin atb diff,they are quite simply awesome:thumbup:

[Marky Boy]

as i allways say you need to be able to stop before you can go:P

in other words get the handling and saftey of the car worked on 1st then go for power

[rb320]

Surely there has to be a point during where it really would be cheaper to buy a car which does it all out of the box???

Turbo, intercooler, clutch, coilovers, dampers, lsd's, uprated brakes, custom remap - you're talking thousands of pounds there, and declaring all that to your insurance company will probably add hundreds to your premium.

totally agree i've got the fabia vrs for long journeys for its fuel economy and when i want a blast i take my subaru impreza rb320 out to tear up the road,why buy a diesel and spend thousands on it,if you want performance buy a performance car not one tryiny to be one

[oilburninnut]

totally agree i've got the fabia vrs for long journeys for its fuel economy and when i want a blast i take my subaru impreza rb320 out to tear up the road,why buy a diesel and spend thousands on it,if you want performance buy a performance car not one tryiny to be one

lol cos i can,the west yorkshire imprezza owners club know how modded fabias go too,none of them could catch it,oh and they filled up lord knows how many times,me i tanked up went to the track,did loads of laps faster than pretty much anything,drove home,went to work for a week then filled up,plus the insurance on a modded fabia is cheaper for me(i ran an sti along side the fabia for a while,couldn't justify the extra running costs)And modding cars is a good hobby no matter what,i could say why bother with the imprezza when the skyline i had would wipe the floor with one? Its all down to what the individual wants out of a car,and the new age imprezza sti that tried following me through the karrusell and ended up backards in the barrier after i passed him on the approach probably has a little more respect for slug slow diesels,which is another plus point for me,when i pass things that should eat me for breakfast on track i get a nice warm feeling when they ask in the pit lane "what the foook is that" nothing comes close to that expierience:D

[skudmissile]

I agree with gary on this one.

The Fabia can be made into an awesome weapon.

Mine is perfect atm.

Its got the go, it stops and now it corners. I dont think there would be much stuff that could really pull from me.

My top mods now are

1). Kw suspension kit

2) stage 2 Hybrid turbo

3) forge fmic

4) jabba arb

5) 312mm brakes

[rb320]

lol cos i can,the west yorkshire imprezza owners club know how modded fabias go too,none of them could catch it,oh and they filled up lord knows how many times,me i tanked up went to the track,did loads of laps faster than pretty much anything,drove home,went to work for a week then filled up,plus the insurance on a modded fabia is cheaper for me(i ran an sti along side the fabia for a while,couldn't justify the extra running costs)And modding cars is a good hobby no matter what,i could say why bother with the imprezza when the skyline i had would wipe the floor with one? Its all down to what the individual wants out of a car,and the new age imprezza sti that tried following me through the karrusell and ended up backards in the barrier after i passed him on the approach probably has a little more respect for slug slow diesels,which is another plus point for me,when i pass things that should eat me for breakfast on track i get a nice warm feeling when they ask in the pit lane "what the foook is that" nothing comes close to that expierience:D

hold horses how much you spent modding your fabia,im talking a stock rb320 straight out the box 4.8 secs to 60 if i spent probably what you have on your vrs do you think you would still live with it,probably wouldn't at the mo standard and to lose control of an impreza through the karusell he must have been a complete numpty,because all the suspension modding in the world wouldn't bring a fabia vrs upto impreza awd handling especially running too much power for fwd and as for skylines they may or may not wipe the floor with the impreza the arguement is why spend a gut full of money on a 12 grand car when you can buy a car straight out the box with the extra money you've splashed out and at the end of the day you dont pull any more money on it unless some one is looking for them specific mods