Fabiamania has bitten again!

[Fabia17]

Hi guys, and here we are, spring is in full flow and the desire to get out and about is getting intense, so to quell my desire I have embarked on a series of new projects with my babyfabia, so here is a little update, and I hope we can all get together soon.

Last time I wrote, I had just had my BC Racing coilovers fitted and in the earlier photos you can see the back end sitting low. This was because the wrong springs were sent, being 3kg/mm instead of 4kg/mm.

Having had the new springs fitted she is sitting much better. Along with this we changed out the fixed Anti roll bar links and fitted Whiteline adjustables, which had to be shortened and rethreaded to accommodate the lowering, and at the same time I had to set of Whiteline lower wishbone rear bushes with +0.75mm of castor added. These were for the Octavia so a pair of 5.5mm spacers had to be machined and welded onto the wishbone to accommodate the extra depth of the bushing.

That all done the steering is not so jittery and although slightly heavier in the corners it allows for a sharper recentering. There is also a nice little bit of oversteer when you gun it through the corners allowing greater cornering alignment flexibility.

All arriving now and over the next couple of months:

A Full set of Brembo Max Plus brake discs with matching Max Plus pads arrived today, also professional Brembo Red caliper paint and custom made "Monte Carlo" high temperature vinyl caliper stickers. 26/04/21

Somewhere between made and shipped is a full set of Goodrich stainless steel braided brake hoses with transparent red coating and stainless steel fittings.

A new set of iridium spark plugs.

A Tony Banks Turbo Back exhaust system is booked for June, consisting of a sports cat a resonator and back box. Due 29/06/21

This will hook up to a low mileage turbo from a 1.4tsi Octavia which is currently on its way from Germany.

Day after the exhaust (30/06/21) my baby hits the Rolling Road for a full stage 2 custom remap. Excepting around 150+ hp.

Thinking of a boost gauge with built in temp gauge so I can monitor the intercooler water temp.... In thought!

I'm looking to finish the red coordination in the cabin but it's not urgent,

So that's me for this summer guys. What are you doing?

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

When you start on the mods it's hard to stop Been there done that.
Am considering BC's for my Honda so would appreciate your impressions.

 

[Fabia17]

When you start on the mods it's hard to stop Been there done that.
Am considering BC's for my Honda so would appreciate your impressions.

Yes it is difficult, who would have thought I would get smitten all over again

The BCs are great build quality and the guys who do all my hard work had no complaints and did not take all that long to fit. The only thing that did come up via the racing guys at the garage was a problem with the top plates for his Honda racer, and that was not having enough camber adjustment from the set up he ordered, I think maximum was 2 degrees and he runs 4 degrees. This necessitated the welding up the holes and remachining them to suit which hacked him off because BC were sponsoring him and he couldn't get exactly what he ordered from them.

With my setup they sent the wrong rate rear springs 3kg/mm instead of 4kg/mm and although the car now sits more naturally it has lost a touch of the oversteer, which I liked more.

The ride is great, it really handles well and has loads of adjustability but for street use it's very low. As you see my car in the pictures, this is everything set to the highest position, so at the lowest it would be slammed, not my thing. There is heaps of (composite) compression and rebound adjustment but you don't get seperate adjustment at this price point (c$AUD1500)

The ride height caused a few headaches, the whiteline heavy duty adjustable sway bar links had to be chopped and rethreaded. And I chose to fit the plus castor bushes because the steering became a tad twitchy and sensitive to road undulations, ridges etc.

The coilovers are a work of art to look at, they appear to perform well, only done a couple of thousand miles on them but very happy overall, they are quiet, no knocks, taps or rattles.

If you can get over the camber plate issue, I'd give them a go. The guy who had the camber plate issue is still running them and he is reasonably successful on the track locally so they can't be all that bad.

Customer Service. Now thats a debacle.

When I was having spring issues, I went straight to the main importer here in't UK, they were very helpful, but my middle man was not, in fact he was an arse, the only problem with that is he really knows his stuff suspension wise. If you can find a good intermediary you should be fine.

Hope this helps a little.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Great info Fabs

My suspension guru has modded my front struts to get -2 deg without using offset camber bolts so having camber adj top mount plates should help get the -3 deg that Nankang recommend for the AR1 semi slicks. He may need to do the same mod to the BC's if they can't de adjusted far enough to get the -3 deg neg I am after.

Am told the BC's will come with a basic set up but apparently there will be a bit of stuffing around to get it just right .

If you stiffen up the rear dampers that may help the rear end playfullness that you miss. Stronger rear springs ,a stiffer setting on the rear bar if adjustable and /or disconnecting the front ARB are all fixes you can try .

 

[Fabia17]

BCs will arrive with camber plates if your top mounts have the usual tri-bolt pattern. Mine is just a solid bush, so would need to faff with camber bolts but just for road use I'm not sure it's worth it really.

As long as you ensure the spring rates are correct and the lengths are correct the only setting up I forsee is your castor, camber and preload. There are 30 preload settings to play with which should keep you busy. My guys hardened mine up two clicks from factory and its plenty for our rough old roads, particularly the rebound. To begin with it was brutal and the wheel was slammed back into the road when hitting bumps or holes, but six months on and roughly 4000 miles it's starting to soften up nicely.

The Fabia. It does not have a rear arb it's one of those torsion twisty axles (oh I do miss a bag of Twisties and orange fingers ) so not a lot to do back there.

I had 3kg/mm springs on't back which provided the oversteer but the downside was the arse end always looked like it had three adults plus luggage in it, when it was empty.

Doing the spring calculations on paper, they came out at 3.75kg/mm but nobody does a spring that accurately. So it was a 4kg.

If I had endless cash, I would faff a bit more but as I'm no longer well enough to do the work myself, it gets an expensive job. Compromise is the word, and I hate it

Don't know if you remember we talked briefly about improving the turbo on the Fabia? I made enquiries with the main turbo shops around the country and not one with touch this little turbo... So having done some research there are a number of turbos from the 1.4tsi engine which are a direct fit. I managed to find one in Germany for 100 euros complete, including shipping which came off a mk3 Octy of only 17000 miles.

I'm pretty sure the turbine wheel is the same size as the 1.2tsi but has a larger compressor. We'll see. I spoke to a chap in the Skoda Owners Club who fitted the exact turbo to his with no problems, so fingers crossed

On a final note re the BCs they produce a huge range of springs with different rate and lengths, but obviously have no idea what supply is like in Qld these days.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Sounds like your new turbo will add a few more hp to your Skoda MC.

I think that I can get the spring rates changed to whatever rate I need but haven't decided which way to go yet as am asking track oriented FN2 owners for advise ATM.

 

[Fabia17]

If you buy the BCs direct from an outlet they come with standard rated springs but lower... For example mine were 5kg/mm at 180mm long Front and 3kg/mm at 180 mm long Rear. I had to order (and pay extra for) the 4kg/mm x 180mm rears (initially sending 160mm L)
If I remember, my axle weights are 660kg Front and 640 Rear...

I would use an online calculator unless you are good with a pencil to see what the (ball park) rates would be.

BC will issue springs for a road car, so with a stripped out racer the stock springs won't necessarily be any good.

So if you have your current axle weights, which will be on your corner weight readout you can get the correct "starting" values. You don't want to fall into the trap I did... Having to pay for multiple spring changes. I tried to get them to exchange the springs, even for recycling at scrap value to try and save a bit of money but no dice.

You didn't say which series of BCs you were going for? Mine is the BR-RN series.

A mention on the turbo : I am expecting about 160hp +/- 10hp. Any more will be a bonus but I do have reservations about motor, gearbox and CV joint longevity.

 

[obi_waynne]

Nothing much planned for me, we've been focussing on the house and garden in lockdown, and still have some major jobs to finish.

We are hoping to get a road trip in very soon, it's been a while and will be nice to get fully out and about again.

 

[Fabia17]

I have been wondering whether we could arrange a car meet? Perhaps somewhere central so everyone has a reasonable chance of getting their.

So many of these groups focus on the South which is fine if you l ive in the south. What are youre thoughts? Picnic thing for all the family...

 

[obi_waynne]

We have tried meets, but peoples schedules and location tend to cause problems. We have met up at some large shows though.

The Leeds Castle motors by the moat is quite popular with a few of our members who go each year. @SLEEPER is usually exhibiting something interesting.

 

[Fabia17]

Yes, it can be difficult, I just threw it out there... Just in case

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

If you buy the BCs direct from an outlet they come with standard rated springs but lower... For example mine were 5kg/mm at 180mm long Front and 3kg/mm at 180 mm long Rear. I had to order (and pay extra for) the 4kg/mm x 180mm rears (initially sending 160mm L)
If I remember, my axle weights are 660kg Front and 640 Rear...

I would use an online calculator unless you are good with a pencil to see what the (ball park) rates would be.

BC will issue springs for a road car, so with a stripped out racer the stock springs won't necessarily be any good.

So if you have your current axle weights, which will be on your corner weight readout you can get the correct "starting" values. You don't want to fall into the trap I did... Having to pay for multiple spring changes. I tried to get them to exchange the springs, even for recycling at scrap value to try and save a bit of money but no dice.

You didn't say which series of BCs you were going for? Mine is the BR-RN series.

A mention on the turbo : I am expecting about 160hp +/- 10hp. Any more will be a bonus but I do have reservations about motor, gearbox and CV joint longevity.

I researched the Spoon FN2 track car spring rates and they are 9kg front and 6-8-7.2 rear so that's the way I will most likely go.

Spoon are the top Honda shop in Japan and here is some info about them if you are interested.

 

[Fabia17]

Are those the spring rates specific to your own car, from your axle weights, or are those the generic rates provided in the BC Kits? I'd be curious to know the difference. Have a good chat with your local BC Racing office and see what they can do for you, you may even get sponsored if you are looking for sponsorship, you'd get your suspension for free... My mate here does.... Let me know how you get on.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

The Spoon SR's are very close to what the faster FN's use at my local track.

I have spoken to the local BC & Gecko dealers and no discounts offered.

 

[Fabia17]

The Spoon SR's are very close to what the faster FN's use at my local track.

I have spoken to the local BC & Gecko dealers and no discounts offered.

Oh that's unfortunate. Keep me posted though I'll be very interested in how it goes.

 

[obi_waynne]

Me too.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Thinking that I may put my limited funds towards some 1 on 1 instruction from a FWD racer in an effort to refine my driving style in the search for better lap times.

It's a shame that the FN2' front suspension is difficult to work on due to how the way the engine sits back under the screen and getting at the strut tops requires removing the wipers and all the plastic bits and bobs just to get at the strut tops.

 

[Fabia17]

Thinking that I may put my limited funds towards some 1 on 1 instruction from a FWD racer in an effort to refine my driving style in the search for better lap times.

It's a shame that the FN2' front suspension is difficult to work on due to how the way the engine sits back under the screen and getting at the strut tops requires removing the wipers and all the plastic bits and bobs just to get at the strut tops.

Hi, that sounds like a good plan, expert driving instruction is invaluable, especially at a competition level. My father was bought a one day taster course at Silverstone, he was in his early 70s at the time, but for him it just made him crazy. All ego and no I'd, the wife and I stopped going in the car with him in the end, but such was his nature.

I would love to do something similar, and I think in your case it will be money well spent.

I'm not ofay with the Honda set up, having been out of the trade for so many years, you lose touch with so much, so quickly, but from your brief description I can visualise the set up, the Fabia strut tops are well back to, under the scuttle. I wondered about creating some access holes via rubber or silicone bung, the other thing I looked at was small access flaps, quite generic available from ebay, sold mainly to the marine people for boats. Or just trim the hole with a circle of stainless or carbon fibre for weight saving. Plenty of options really but the easiest option by far, if using the BC setup are their adjuster extensions, piece of cake in most situations. For insurance purposes I cannot use them, as I have stipulated I cannot adjust my suspension without visiting a garage... Its cheaper this way.

On the Fabia the rear adjustment is a bit of a pain to because of the rear wheel arch liner. My struts bolt into a single spigot mounting bush which then bolts directly onto the underside of the wheel arch tub, it does not protrude through the body and into the car at all. And the whole design precludes the use of adjuster extenders. If it was purely a track car, the liners would not be fitted but is a must for our weather.

I hope you can find a way forward.
Best wishes
Kev

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

On the streets I drive in a brisk manner up to the speed limit when safe to do so.

IF the traffic is flowing and then on the cruise control if ok to do so and 90% of the time am in the kerbside lane but I read the traffic flow well ahead and drive accordingly with a 2 second gap unless in stop start peak hour congested conditions.

It's a shame your dad thought he was Stirling Moss after his track day.

Have just been giving my youngest grand son who is on his L plates a lesson in my Honda.

I had also done so in his Mazda 3 when we were at their home which is sadly 1.5 hours away as would love to do more for him.

Fabs @ our age we mustn't let our advancing years get the better of us and enjoy whatever time we have left doing things we love and enjoy doing so that's why I intend to keep driving and competing as long as I can get behind the wheel.

Have you seen Clint Eastwood's movie The Mule as I can highly recommend it as well as listening to the song Don't let the old man in.

 

[Fabia17]

I bet your grandson enjoys the Honda...
My grand plan is to sell the Fabia when I feel the time is right and return to Oz on the proceeds for my Swan Song. Its judging the timing that's crucial.

I had this great plan until the UK government stole my pension money away by underhanded loopholes, but was going to buy me a Landcruiser in SA and kit it out, take the wife to Alice, and the National Parks by Aires Rock, then travel Eastward across the Simo and time it so we arrived at Big Red for the Big Red Bash music festival, from there continue East to the Gold Coast and then do a South and Western loop around the coast back to Adelaide. I had planned on 7 months, but now just an idea.

If my cryptos can hit a good'un it might be on, but I'm not sure my lungs would cope, especially if we get stuck and have to dig the truck out.... Ha, can't change a wheel on the Fabia, no bloody chance hey!

But that was my plan a few years back. I always wanted to spend a week or so in the desert, I can think of nothing better.

If I do get back, I'll see if it's feasible to head up your way, would love to see Brissy again, my last address was Bunya Road, Arana Hills, at that time, we were the last house before the dirt and the forest, I bet its not like that now.

Look at me rambling and reminiscing... Hahahah..... Laters..