Tim's Fabia vRS

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joe2612
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by joe2612 »

Ah awesome ta!
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Haven't updated this in a while.

My previous amp was giving my grief, so I had it returned and bought a Hertz HE4. Little bigger than the previous though so I had to do some fabrication in form of a false passenger footwell floor.

I looked at a false floor in the boot, but I need boot space for all my gear when I'm on jobs.

It's great because I don't have to re-run cables, and I'll only loose about 70-80mm depth in the footwell, so the ill-formed wouldn't even know.

I made a template on a basis of 20mm additional to the edge of the rear mat, then trimmed to fit perfectly. I use thin sheets of ply, and doubled up (it was easier to cut this way and keeps things light)

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Amp fitted:
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It sounds so much better than the Ground Zero one, and I get no interference! The additional sound proofing on the face of the carrier has definitely made a big difference.

All done

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I decided not to ad vents as planned, as they'd be useless once the mat is on top. Instead I've used some well placed blocks to elevate the lid (over wood around all sides) meaning air can flow freely. There's also a slight gap around the edge (as you can see in pics) so this, plus a cold blast of air from the air con when I'm pumping music will be more than adequate im sure to keep heat down.

The carpet is a perfect match, it's dark grey from car audio direct if anyone's looking for some.
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More updates:

My dash was looking a little butchered from the previous owner:
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Got a new one off a scraping vRS, much better:
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Also got a new centre console, mainly for the cigarettes lighter, but will come in handy with my new arm rest also:
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Also got some VW interior lights for the rear of the cabin, will LED these and wire them up to centre festoon
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Bought some standard rear calipers. I've got these so I can paint them at the same time when I purchase some 312mms, to keep it all consistent. Saves hassle with removing mine as I need my car daily
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4 new tyres also. Toyo T1-Rs in 195s. 205s are ugly and you save over £25 a corner! These are now fitted
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After being off the road for 5 weeks, I finally have my car back!!

It hopped in and out of a couple of garages, and went to the body shop to fix a ding.

The massive problems I was encountering turned out to be camshaft failure.

Check out my lobes and tappets...
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It was diagnosed and repaired at Euro-Performance, couldn't have asked for better service! Top guys who carried out a fantastic job, really know their stuff and went out of their way to ensure it was done in time for my holiday.

It's had a new camshaft, tappets, timing belt, oil and filter, engine flush, diesel treatment and shell bearings.

The car sounds and feels better than ever. Didn't realise just how noisy it was (coming from a 3 cylinder Diesel it sounded quiet!).

And Latest updates:

Got one of my cup holders (still waiting on dash mounted one)
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Got a auto switch on light kit from a Brisky member. This ignites the fogs and sidelights when you unlock the car and it's dark.
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And I've finally made a start on my FG sub box! I started by taping the area up:
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And the first layer of FG. Will get another one on tomorrow.
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Endi_GTI
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Endi_GTI »

Very nice Tim. As usual a great progress list and all done to exceptional precision. Lovely to see and you are a credit to any car that you own 8)
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Endi_GTI wrote:Very nice Tim. As usual a great progress list and all done to exceptional precision. Lovely to see and you are a credit to any car that you own 8)
Thanks mate, means a lot B)
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6N2 GTI 00
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by 6N2 GTI 00 »

Some great updates there Tim :) top work as normal

Shame about the camshafts but least it's all sorted now, is that a common problem on Fabia's or is it mileage related?
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Thanks mate.

I'd never heard of it via fabia word and mouth, but according to the garage that fixed it, it's a common issue with PD engines. He had a Passat in for the same job at the same time.

It was an expensive fix, but glad it's all done. The car feel completely different now, much stronger and quieter.
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by 6N2 GTI 00 »

Excellent stuff mate :)

What future plans have you got for the car then Tim?
Will you be going down the Hybrid Turbo route with a FMIC & Mapping etc?

I have heard the best Intercooler for the PD engines is the Seat Sport FMIC used on the PD160 Ibiza Cupra's, apparently its better than anything Forge have to offer but I'm not sure if that's true? Did you go to the Briskoda track day at Castle Combe a few weeks back?
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Future plans:

Finish of sub box
Finish off the interior with new steering wheel and gloss black bits
312mm brakes (maybe next month), plus refurb rears and grooved discs all round
New wheels
Remove backbox
Maybe some engine bay colour coding like my polo

That's probably it. Also a remap, although when it was in for repair the guy was convinced it had already been mapped, which is bad news for me as I was lookin forward to the extra power. I'll have it dyno'ed when a day pops up to tell for sure, or wait for Rhys' to get back on the road to compare!

I'm not gunna get anything extra power wise, as it gets expensive. And I want to keep the build cheap as I'm saving for a host of camera gear!

Nah I didn't go mate, it was the same weekend my car broke :(
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by 6N2 GTI 00 »

Plans sound good Tim :) the 312mm brakes are really impressive, if you could source a set of AP 4 Pot callipers that would be a great buy. (not sure if they would clear the OEM rims though) Quiet a few Ibiza Cupra's are being broken these days so they do come up for sale every now and again. The normal 312mm set-up is great though

Does removing the backbox give any performance benefits? I assume it would but I must admit I haven’t seen it done before, it will no doubt smoke more 8)

It would be a shame if yours has already been mapped, I guess you will find out when you get it on the rollers.
The PD130 & PD160 engines normally tend to put out more power & torque than quoted by the manufacturers, my mates vRS pulled 143bhp with just a PD160 intake and the other lad there had a Leon which was totally stock but pulled 148bhp. I know the dyno's are never 100% accurate but they used P-Torque in Wolverhampton and their Dyno seems to be better than most.

Shame you missed the track day mate but fortunately they do a couple every year so I’m sure you will make the next one :)
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Yeh 4-pots are nice but expensive in comparison to 312mms! A decent price will still fetch you over twice what you'd pay for 312mms. If I was pushin big power maybe so, by I can't justify that price (nice as they are B) ). They don't it over standard wheels also.

Does make much (if any) difference performance wise, it's more of a weight save. The thing is massive! And I've fitted a fair bit of sound proofing so would be nice to she some weight back off.

Yeh later models can push a lot more power, which is what I thought I had. by I've found recently that mine is the earlier engine code, so unsure! A dyno wil tell, any map will be over 160, anything under would be a strong standard engine I think.
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by 6N2 GTI 00 »

Yeah in fairness the 312mm will be plenty enough, nice little upgrade from the 288's and relatively inexpensive compared to aftermarket big brake kits.

If I remember correctly my mate had a scorpion oval cat back system fitted to his vRS which looked very nice, the oval tail pipe fitted perfectly in the bumper recess but like any TDi's you don’t really benefit from an improved sound so I can see why most people would not bother changing.

I know exactly what you mean about weight saving, most factory exhaust systems are really heavy these days I’m sure I must have shedded close to 25KG's with my civic by changing the OEM set-up to a full stainless system, the CAT alone weighed over 10KG's.

I think with the earlier Fabia's they had a different turbocharger, my mate was always badgering on about his KKK turbo which evidently was fitted on the later vRS Fabia's.
Not sure what the exact difference was between the two but the KKK turbo was apparently stronger?

You're spot on anything under 160 would suggest it hasn’t been mapped, stage 1 maps are normally anything between 165-180bhp and 275-300lbs ft of torque.
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Few pics pre-inters after a wash, clay, wash, glaze:

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And you can see my new tyres. 195s look and fit soo much better. Always had this awkward over hang with 205s that made the tyres look flat.
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Also new my cup holder which will soon be off to the sprayers.
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Ben - I found out that it was[/u] a strong standard engine.

I took a wrong turn on the way to the strip, saw the 40% all remaps sign and couldn't resist!

Car feels great, not much difference in the lower gears, as this is where my car shown in the first place. It's always had so much bite in 2nd gear. Shark confirmed it hadn't before mapping it. The difference is higher up in the rev range, engine has much more endurance. I love the extra grunt it has is higher gears.
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by 6N2 GTI 00 »

Nice one Tim 8) glad your enjoying the power, they give you a hell of a kick in the back after being mapped

Looks stunning in the pics, just something special about Black cars which makes the extra cleaning worthwhile :)
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by Tim_GTi »

Thanks mate,

Black cars are a pain in the ass, but I wouldn't have it any other way!! 8)
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Re: Tim's Fabia vRS

Post by JackClap »

Looking very nice! 8)
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