5 hours ago, FabiaGonzales said:

MOT at my dealer. Maybe they were set to 32psi

 

Nothing is allowed to be adjusted during an MOT and at present tyre pressures are not checked in an MOT.

 

Thanks AG Falco

You would hope that as people check their car before a MOT they will have checked their own tyre pressures.

The TPMS does not count for much if the tyres deflate at pretty much the same rate as when the TPMS was last set.

The current tyres on 16 definitely give that floaty feeling. I always kept mine higher for economy but it is a stiffer ride. On 18s now and they make a huge difference cornering but obviously not as forgiving over bumps. Although surprising not too bad.

23 minutes ago, AGFalco said:

 

Nothing is allowed to be adjusted during an MOT and at present tyre pressures are not checked in an MOT.

 

Thanks AG Falco

 

3 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

You would hope that as people check their car before a MOT they will have checked their own tyre pressures.

The TPMS does not count for much if the tyres deflate at pretty much the same rate as when the TPMS was last set.

 

Just realised i've never reset the TPMS since raising from 26 to 34 psi, and so far it's not complained at me about it. I guess it only looks for large drops and imbalances so since theyre all equal it doesnt mind, ill reset it next time i go out anyway just in case.

1 minute ago, Roottootemoot said:

The TPMS does not count

 

The TPMS system in the Fabia does not measure the tyre pressure anyway.

 

2 minutes ago, Roottootemoot said:

You would hope

 

Don't hope. It is a waste of time. Most people assume that the pressures are checked then.

Once a year for tyre pressures is good enough, surely.  😮

 

Thanks AG Falco

Just now, Dannyboy85 said:

The current tyres on 16 definitely give that floaty feeling. I always kept mine higher for economy but it is a stiffer ride. On 18s now and they make a huge difference cornering but obviously not as forgiving over bumps. Although surprising not too bad.

 

A month old 19 plate monte with 17's and sports suspension i got to drive while my car got its new gearbox, was surprisingly barely different to my 4 year old 15 plate with nackered front shocks. I guess that ones all nice because its all new and mine doesnt feel too bad because everythings so soft and worn 😂

@AGFalco

We know if we bother to find out that it only knows the circumference and rotations.  

It will detect changes from as set. But may not detect all dropping by the same amount.

You can reset with the smaller Spare on and no warning, you can set the front and rear differently, or even across an axle.

 

It does not need to be large amounts.

Go out and try and drop just one tyre by 3 or 4 PSI, maybe no early detection and once the tyres are hotter then might come the detection.

As might happen with a binding brake, pressures all good with cold check but not out on the road when the TPMS warns.

Edited 10 August, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot

8 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

 

A month old 19 plate monte with 17's and sports suspension i got to drive while my car got its new gearbox, was surprisingly barely different to my 4 year old 15 plate with nackered front shocks. I guess that ones all nice because its all new and mine doesnt feel too bad because everythings so soft and worn 😂

I think all the newer ones have gone to a much softer suspension. Never had a problem with Edibach springs before but on my 68 plate it was just toooo soft. 

Adding polyflex bushes will stiffen the suspension and outlast the car and the fitting bolts used.

Edited 10 August, 20196 yr by Kenrw8

On 05/08/2019 at 23:29, Fab1493 said:

Did you get the sway bar fitted? 

 

I think it was absolute best mod I did to mine! 

 

It also has Eibach lowering springs (absolutely brilliant and really happy I didn't go for coilovers), Forge intake, catback custom exhaust, stage 1 remap and 17 inch Team Dynamics with offset of 38 which pushes the wheels out just enough to give it a wider stance. Now considering a full downpipe with decat and then either stage 2 tune (circa 150 bhp) or a hybrid turbo which should get to about 180bhp

 

Sorry for the late response - life has been pretty hectic lately so haven't had the time to respond haha

 

Regarding the sway bar, got it done with my friend and it took us 4-6 hours because we needed a Torx kit, to move away the handbrake line (see attached photos).

 

I completely agree! Sway bars make the car feel so much more stable, and even during daily driving, I get so much more feedback from the rear than stock! Feels stiffer over speed bumps but it is 👌👌👌

@xCelcia did you find it increases or decreases understeer or oversteer? 

 

Do you think it would compare to something like this?

 

 

 

@FabiaGonzales rear sway bar I found reduces understeer (now only understeers when the road is wet) and increases oversteer. You can even get the rear end to pop out of line when pushing 

45 minutes ago, FabiaGonzales said:

@xCelcia did you find it increases or decreases understeer or oversteer? 

 

Do you think it would compare to something like this?

 

 

 

 

For me, I've set it to the stiffest setting, so it's running at 24mm if I recall correctly (3 adjustable settings).

 

Regarding understeering and oversteering, I haven't pushed my Fabia hard enough to find out, tho the few times I have, it felt more planted and confident, and I felt the rear more likely to rotate out

 

Pretty amazing how much difference a solid 5kg steel bar can make to how a car handles! 

 

 

1 hour ago, xCelcia said:

 

For me, I've set it to the stiffest setting, so it's running at 24mm if I recall correctly (3 adjustable settings).

 

Regarding understeering and oversteering, I haven't pushed my Fabia hard enough to find out, tho the few times I have, it felt more planted and confident, and I felt the rear more likely to rotate out

 

Pretty amazing how much difference a solid 5kg steel bar can make to how a car handles! 

 

 

 

I'll see how mine feels when i've got the ST X coilovers installed then, personally, i'd rather have it understeer than oversteer, you can usually save understeer by letting off the throttle a bit, but oversteer you have to counter-steer and maybe accelerate to pull it back in, and by that time you're probably off the road in a hedge lmao

@FabiaGonzales

On a FWD car youre pretty safe, no counter steering needed. It is a very predictable and adjustable chassis and you are able to steer on the accelerator so when the rear starts stepping off, you can just let go of the throttle and that brings it back

If you want to gain control I suggest consider disable TC and fitting an LSD , wavetrac for the track, ask AMD87, or Quaife , as I've got fitted , for the road.

 

 

2 hours ago, Kenrw8 said:

If you want to gain control I suggest consider disable TC and fitting an LSD , wavetrac for the track, ask AMD87, or Quaife , as I've got fitted , for the road.

 

 

 

4 hours ago, Fab1493 said:

@FabiaGonzales

On a FWD car youre pretty safe, no counter steering needed. It is a very predictable and adjustable chassis and you are able to steer on the accelerator so when the rear starts stepping off, you can just let go of the throttle and that brings it back

 

Fair enough, i guess ill see how it handles, i still feel like i'd prefer an understeer situation though.

 

My future plans for my Fabia are quite extensive;

-Vibra Technics Engine Mounts

-Remap to ~130PS

-ST X Coilovers

-Rear ARB (and maybe uprated front, mine already has 18mm one despite all dealers saying its 16mm for some reason, i've measured it and it's definitely 18!)

-New Alloys (probably buying original ones from skoda and recolouring and diamond cut facing)

-Higher Flow Intake (Forge Carbon Fibre one)

-Bigger Exhaust (aiming for similar sound as stock, for the stealth)

-Injectors & Plugs

-Hybrid Turbo & Map to ~180-200BHP

 

Then later down the line;

-Maaaaybe swap to a 6spd Gearbox

-Uprated Clutch

-Billet everything that's currently Cast in the engine (Head, rods, shafts, everything).

-Bigger turbo, charge pipe & manifold

-Try to take it toward 250-300PS

 

Ultimately, i want it to look and sound stock, but to go like **** off a stick when you put your foot down! Basically stealth.

 

Probably gonna have to change a few bits and bobs down the line too, maybe uprate the brakes at the same time as doing wheel bearings - i need to get my front left properly checked out, i get kinda bad vibrations above 85 (reduced now that i put tyre pressures up), braking makes it more noticable and at low speeds as im coming to a stop i can feel the brake disc is not straight. It's also burning through its pads quite fast compared to the other side, It doesnt pull to one side or anything when heavy braking though, unless i lock a wheel but thats another story 😂

3 hours ago, FabiaGonzales said:

 

 

Fair enough, i guess ill see how it handles, i still feel like i'd prefer an understeer situation though.

 

My future plans for my Fabia are quite extensive;

-Vibra Technics Engine Mounts

-Remap to ~130PS

-ST X Coilovers

-Rear ARB (and maybe uprated front, mine already has 18mm one despite all dealers saying its 16mm for some reason, i've measured it and it's definitely 18!)

-New Alloys (probably buying original ones from skoda and recolouring and diamond cut facing)

-Higher Flow Intake (Forge Carbon Fibre one)

-Bigger Exhaust (aiming for similar sound as stock, for the stealth)

-Injectors & Plugs

-Hybrid Turbo & Map to ~180-200BHP

 

Then later down the line;

-Maaaaybe swap to a 6spd Gearbox

-Uprated Clutch

-Billet everything that's currently Cast in the engine (Head, rods, shafts, everything).

-Bigger turbo, charge pipe & manifold

-Try to take it toward 250-300PS

 

Ultimately, i want it to look and sound stock, but to go like **** off a stick when you put your foot down! Basically stealth.

 

Probably gonna have to change a few bits and bobs down the line too, maybe uprate the brakes at the same time as doing wheel bearings - i need to get my front left properly checked out, i get kinda bad vibrations above 85 (reduced now that i put tyre pressures up), braking makes it more noticable and at low speeds as im coming to a stop i can feel the brake disc is not straight. It's also burning through its pads quite fast compared to the other side, It doesnt pull to one side or anything when heavy braking though, unless i lock a wheel but thats another story 😂

i think you will have to change a lot of the drivetrain to take it to even 200bhp (i looked a year ago when i got mine and most stuff can handle upto about 170-180 but after that things will start breaking

 

@FabiaGonzales That sounds pretty exciting and I can't wait to see that! This shape Fabia definitely deserved a VRS version... 

I will be watching this Project, sounds great, maybe you better ask admin to move this post to Fabia Projects

 

Edited 12 August, 20196 yr by Kenrw8

6 hours ago, Pumbajunior said:

i think you will have to change a lot of the drivetrain to take it to even 200bhp (i looked a year ago when i got mine and most stuff can handle upto about 170-180 but after that things will start breaking

 

 

Yeah, i'll either have the 5spd rebuild with solid billet input/output shafts, or i'll swap it with a 6spd box which can take 250nm already. I cant imagine a 1.2 putting out any more than 300nm torque.

 

I've already poly-bushed the large bush on the wishbones, still got the small ones to do at some point, and the rear axle pivot bushes too. Ill also be uprating the clutch if its to get close to 200bhp.

 

I might have a look what bits the MK2 VRS is using and see if i can get hold of parts rated for that, but even thats only 180bhp.

 

3 hours ago, Fab1493 said:

@FabiaGonzales That sounds pretty exciting and I can't wait to see that! This shape Fabia definitely deserved a VRS version... 

 

2 hours ago, Kenrw8 said:

I will be watching this Project, sounds great, maybe you better ask admin to move this post to Fabia Projects

 

 

It'll be a few months before i can even start work on it unfortunately, then depending on what job i can land myself after i graduate will determine how far it goes from there.

 

When it gets to the end stages, ill probably buy a separate engine entirely, they're relatively cheap from scrappers, build everything on that first, then swap it with  the one in the car.

 

No point making a project post now, itll be a while before anything starts happening.

My 1.2tsi, getting it mapped and having a custom turbo-back exhaust built the first week of October. Also fitting an MST intake system. Im planning on getting Eibach coilovers and some alloys December time.

Re  tyre pressures, I set at 32 psi all round , tyres 195 45 R16. Also recently fitted valve caps that have pressure indicator set at 32, change if pressure drops by 25%. Bought from Amazon , £3.99 for 4 , other tyre pressure setting available.

 

In hindsight probably should have got 38 or 40 so warning at 28/30 not 24

Edited 19 September, 20196 yr by Kenrw8

1 hour ago, Kenrw8 said:

Re  tyre pressures, I set at 32 psi all round , tyres 195 45 R16. Also recently fitted valve caps that have pressure indicator set at 32, change if pressure drops by 25%. Bought from Amazon , £3.99 for 4 , other tyre pressure setting available.

 

In hindsight probably should have got 38 or 40 so warning at 28/30 not 24

The Fabia has built in pressure warning

i rotated wheels front to back and it detected that now more tread on front (or as it sees rear tyres not as big)

On 11/08/2019 at 18:34, Fab1493 said:

@FabiaGonzales

On a FWD car youre pretty safe, no counter steering needed. It is a very predictable and adjustable chassis and you are able to steer on the accelerator so when the rear starts stepping off, you can just let go of the throttle and that brings it back

Recently accidentally took a roundabout way too fast, thought it was round but had never been round it from the particular direction i came from, turns out its oval!

 

At first the front end stepped out slightly, with a lot of tyre squeal, i let off the accelerator completely (i was attempting to maintain stability by lightly holding it at first), the front end kicked back in and the rear end shot out and i had to counter-steer and re-plant my foot on the accelerator to get back pointing in the correct direction.

 

The ol' butt-cheeks were clenched very tightly together during that maneuver!

 

What seemed to cause the rear-end to shoot out was the sudden backlash through the drivetrain forcing the engine to rock on its rather sloppy mounts. I notice it quite alot since then, even in a straight line it causes a little lurch and you can feel a thump as the engine rocks. Far worse in corners when you've got 100kg of engine flopping about, most likely what upset the balance.

 

My first two mods will be Vibra-Technics engine mounts, then ST X coilovers.

 

For those curious, the ST X by KW coilovers are exactly the same as KW variant 1's in terms of spring rate damping valving and adjustment. They are just made of galvanised steel rather than stainless so they are a little less rust resistant, fine for those who prefer to set it once and leave it.