My TDi FR And some questions about upgrades

jonboy1066 · Mar 22, 2010

Hi.

I've been a member here for a few weeks and have had my Ibiza FR for 2 weeks now:

My kids have named her "Bubbles De-Beeza" after I told them she couldn't be called "Bella"!

I've been reading a lot of threads and trying to learn as much as I can from this forum. Up until a few days ago I didn't even know what a "Coilover" was! So please bear with me if it seems like I'm asking stupid questions.

I've never even contemplated modding any cars and never really owned a car that was worth lavishing any attention on, (My last car went > 2years without a wash!) But now I've been reading through a few "Readers Rides" threads (particularly aimez and ST10587's cars) and my head's spinning with new acromyns, and ideas on what to do, although it'll probably be a very slow process as I doubt my wife would go too much for the idea of spending big money on "Just a Car"

Can anyone give me advice on this list of things I may like to do in the future.

Spacers

Looking around at a few threads I've seen spacers mentioned and had a bit of a look around, as far as I can see a set of 2 spacers will cost around £50. I'm not too worried about the handling aspect although improvements on what's already good can only be a good thing. In sunny Hastings we've got loads of those pesky speed cushions which I have always been able to straddle with a car, the Beeza's track is just a tad to narrow to straddle the bumps so I was wondering.....can you fit spacers to front wheels as well as rears? and what size to go for.....

Coilovers

My only real critisism of the car's looks is that it seems a tad high and could benefit from being lowered..............it seems that Coilovers are the way to go, but I will be starting a new job in 3 months and will soon be commuting 60miles a day along bumpy A&B roads which will be great fun when the driving conditions are right but I'm worried about spending all that money if it affects the ride negetively. For me the ride in "Bubbles" is hard enough so does fitting coilovers improve or worsen the ride?

Power

Not a big concern of mine as I feel the FR has plenty of grunt where I need it, I don't care for 0-60 times but I'm sure over time as I get used to the car I will lust after better 30-70 times to make the overtakes on the commute easier. I've seen that a re-map seems the way to go there and I can expect an increase of around 50BHP and 50 lb'sft, depending where I go but the price can vary for a Stage 1 remap from £250-£400....why is there such a big gap? And what should I go for?

With the higher power, does it affect your insurance? Being Group 8 was a major selling point for me with this car and she's fast enough so will it cost me a lot more to increse output?

How much does the extra beans effect the economy, all those claims from tuning companies of more power with better MPG's seem too good to be true to me.

Brakes

I know the general advice is to upgrade brakes before power, but I'm of the opinion that I wont be driving at any higher speeds, just getting to my normal speeds a bit quicker and making easier overtakes so not overly fussed about the anchors until they need replacing, then I may upgrade them (or am I being a bit contraversial)

Cleaning

Like I said my last car went >2years without a wash, yet in 2weeks of owning Bubbles I've washed her twice LOL.

So far I have a bucket, a sponge and a leather. I have no idea about polishes, wax etc and only heard the term Clay from reading this forum over the weeks.

What's a good....but cheap.....product to go for? I'm not going for concourse shine, but do want to keep Bubbles looking clean and shiny and with the mileage I'll soon be doing I guess I'll need something that can handle stone chips well.

What do I do for wheel protection too? I've never had a car with alloys so is there a right way/wrong way to look after them? Is there some product I should use to protect them from tarnishing etc.

Thanks for reading this long post, any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

JB [B)]

dicky FR · Mar 22, 2010

jonboy1066 said:
Hi.

I've been a member here for a few weeks and have had my Ibiza FR for 2 weeks now:

My kids have named her "Bubbles De-Beeza" after I told them she couldn't be called "Bella"!

I've been reading a lot of threads and trying to learn as much as I can from this forum. Up until a few days ago I didn't even know what a "Coilover" was! So please bear with me if it seems like I'm asking stupid questions.

I've never even contemplated modding any cars and never really owned a car that was worth lavishing any attention on, (My last car went > 2years without a wash!) But now I've been reading through a few "Readers Rides" threads (particularly aimez and ST10587's cars) and my head's spinning with new acromyns, and ideas on what to do, although it'll probably be a very slow process as I doubt my wife would go too much for the idea of spending big money on "Just a Car"

Can anyone give me advice on this list of things I may like to do in the future.

Spacers

Looking around at a few threads I've seen spacers mentioned and had a bit of a look around, as far as I can see a set of 2 spacers will cost around £50. I'm not too worried about the handling aspect although improvements on what's already good can only be a good thing. In sunny Hastings we've got loads of those pesky speed cushions which I have always been able to straddle with a car, the Beeza's track is just a tad to narrow to straddle the bumps so I was wondering.....can you fit spacers to front wheels as well as rears? and what size to go for.....

Coilovers

My only real critisism of the car's looks is that it seems a tad high and could benefit from being lowered..............it seems that Coilovers are the way to go, but I will be starting a new job in 3 months and will soon be commuting 60miles a day along bumpy A&B roads which will be great fun when the driving conditions are right but I'm worried about spending all that money if it affects the ride negetively. For me the ride in "Bubbles" is hard enough so does fitting coilovers improve or worsen the ride?

Power

Not a big concern of mine as I feel the FR has plenty of grunt where I need it, I don't care for 0-60 times but I'm sure over time as I get used to the car I will lust after better 30-70 times to make the overtakes on the commute easier. I've seen that a re-map seems the way to go there and I can expect an increase of around 50BHP and 50 lb'sft, depending where I go but the price can vary for a Stage 1 remap from £250-£400....why is there such a big gap? And what should I go for?

With the higher power, does it affect your insurance? Being Group 8 was a major selling point for me with this car and she's fast enough so will it cost me a lot more to increse output?

How much does the extra beans effect the economy, all those claims from tuning companies of more power with better MPG's seem too good to be true to me.

Brakes

I know the general advice is to upgrade brakes before power, but I'm of the opinion that I wont be driving at any higher speeds, just getting to my normal speeds a bit quicker and making easier overtakes so not overly fussed about the anchors until they need replacing, then I may upgrade them (or am I being a bit contraversial)

Cleaning

Like I said my last car went >2years without a wash, yet in 2weeks of owning Bubbles I've washed her twice LOL.

So far I have a bucket, a sponge and a leather. I have no idea about polishes, wax etc and only heard the term Clay from reading this forum over the weeks.

What's a good....but cheap.....product to go for? I'm not going for concourse shine, but do want to keep Bubbles looking clean and shiny and with the mileage I'll soon be doing I guess I'll need something that can handle stone chips well.

What do I do for wheel protection too? I've never had a car with alloys so is there a right way/wrong way to look after them? Is there some product I should use to protect them from tarnishing etc.

Thanks for reading this long post, any advice would be much appreciated.

Cheers

JB

Welcome to the forum.
First thing I will say is allot of people have different opinions of coilovers on this forum, personally I have them and I do a 80 mile daily commute and I find the ride better than standard. Others don’t like the idea of coilovers for a road car and say to go spring and shock.
As for the spacers I can’t help there as I have tt comp wheels which are wider as standard.
The price difference in a stage one map I’m not sure about however people on here swear by the stage one ptorque map which is around £260 iirc. Ideally with this you should upgrade your brakes especially if your letting your kids ride in the car, for the sake of £150 for a tt set up however thats totally your choice.
Last thing keep the sponge limited to the alloys they do more damage than good to paintwork get yourself a lamb’s wool wash mit, as for polishes if you want something fairly cheap you cant go wrong with auto glym super resin polish, ultra deep shine (works wonders on a black car), and liquid gloss protection as sealant.

NickyJam · Mar 22, 2010

welcome

they do look good when new

suspension: if you're worried about bumpy roads but want it lowered go spring n shock setup
brakes: don't really need to upgrade even with a stage 1, just get better pads when the time comes
power: i would go with p-torque, they're cheaper as most people need to commute a fair bit to get there but the power delivery is possibly the smoothest of the lot, and torque is kept to a high but decent level to spare your standard clutch better
spacers: most go for 15mm on rears but i can't vouch for any improvements it gives, along with rear ARB
cleaning: the world is your oyster in this category, too many to choose from but as above, auto-glym products are good (my local hand carwash gives a good waxing so mines always neat

)

tyres: look into getting better tyres when the time comes as the standard ones are never grippy enough...do a search for this as many threads have arisen due to tyre opinions
i've also found the front upper strit brace tightens it up a tad more through bends at speed, more responsive going into a bend, but more cosmetic than performance upgrade

jonboy1066 · Mar 22, 2010

Some good tips there thanks Dicky and Nicky.

Interesting about the sponge, I'll keep it for wheels only and get a Mitt.

Didn't realise that the Brake upgrade could actually be one of the cheapest one's to do, so I'll give that some more thought.

I've seen hardly any talk of Spring and Shock setups and their benefits here. I'll have a nosey around in the Search topic function of the forums and try to learn some more.

Are they more expensive than Coilovers?

*Edit* A quick look around and it seems that going for Spring and Shock kits is about £200 cheaper than Coilovers....so.....

Is there anyone here with an FR that has gone the Spring and Shock route and can if there is can you tell me how the ride is?

Thanks again.

JB

flegz16 · Mar 22, 2010

spacers- iv gone for the 20mm ones off ebay, cost bout £50

coilovers- iv got AP coilovers, there are a great bit of kit. even though there only £390 they are really good, they give a good drop (mine's 80mm) and the ride is a slight improvement than the standard.

power- quite alot of people have gone for P-torque remap, it cost £265 and from what iv heard its a very good map. when i got my car the it already had a custom remap and full sach clutch done by JBS auto designs in york, if it hadn't had it done i would of gone to p-torque. the standard clutch can take about 300lb/ft torque, so bre that in mind when you get a remap.

cleaning- before you buy anything please take a look at this thread http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ProShine-Spra...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item35a12872cc this stuff is amazing. all you do is spray it onto your mucky car, wipe on with one cloth then wipe it off with another, thats it. i have a black car the same as you and i know how hard they are to clean but this stuff does the job. theres no need for water, soap or anything. it takes me about 45mins to do the whole car, have a look in my readers ride thread for some pictures.

jonboy1066 · Mar 22, 2010

flegz16 said:
cleaning- before you buy anything please take a look at this thread http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ProShine-Spra...arts_Vehicles_CarParts_SM?hash=item35a12872cc this stuff is amazing.

Some good advice there, thanks, but this stuff above seems too good to be true, I just followed your link and watched the video......is it really as good as the vid suggests? Where does the dirt go?...Think I'd be inclined to wash the car anyway, then use that stuff after.

Dopsonj · Mar 22, 2010

jonboy1066 said:
Some good advice there, thanks, but this stuff above seems too good to be true, I just followed your link and watched the video......is it really as good as the vid suggests? Where does the dirt go?...Think I'd be inclined to wash the car anyway, then use that stuff after.

Got this review from an MG Forum:

This stuff and other products like it are loaded and I mean loaded with silicons and fillers,any dust or fine particles on your car that havent been removed by washing will be dragged all over the paintwork when applying this stuff leaving plenty of fine scratches but cos of all the fillers the fine scratches are filled in and the silicon in it will leave it looking and feeling superslick,thats why it looks shiny and beads well cos silicon is basically like an oil but underneath all that shininess your paint is covered in swirls and fine scratches,some people dont mind this as long as they cant see it and the car looks shiny but just be aware that this stuff IS damaging your paintwork the more you use it.I use to detail cars full time but only part time at the moment and I've had more than a few cars to correct that used this stuff,when you strip this stuff off the paint and shine a strong light onto the bare paintwork you'll see yourself the damage,go onto any of the detailing sites and read the comments about this stuff,valeters love to use it as its quick and easy and gets your car out the door quick and looking great but detailers who actually have to correct scratched and damaged paintwork hate this stuff.The choice is yours and if your happy with it all well and good,but just be aware that its a big shortcut to proper car care and in the end is damaging your paint.Good luck

Sounds like a bad idea!

luke c · Mar 22, 2010

front spacers are a no go apparently so you would still hit the speed bumps on the front even with 20mm rear ones . i also have ap coilovers and find the ride better than standard and improves the handling loads . i have apr stage 1 and even tho its a bit more pricey the power delivery is very smooth but p torque seem highly recomended on here .

Neo · Mar 22, 2010

jonboy1066 said:
Some good advice there, thanks, but this stuff above seems too good to be true, I just followed your link and watched the video......is it really as good as the vid suggests? Where does the dirt go?...Think I'd be inclined to wash the car anyway, then use that stuff after.

I use that stuff! me and my old man have done for years with no negative results but we always wash and dry the cars first... never liked the idea of applying wax onto dirt - even if they say you don`t need to clean first. I`ve always used it as a standard wax not a cleaner too.

It`s good for a soft wax and as flegz says does`nt take long to do the car and gives good results. Also you can use it on your windows and trim too - just don`t do the windscreen... streaks like hell when you use the wipers!

Neo · Mar 22, 2010

jonboy1066 said:
Didn't realise that the Brake upgrade could actually be one of the cheapest one's to do, so I'll give that some more thought.

Yes you can upgrade to 312mm brakes for less than £200 if you get standard discs and pads for it.

You need the ATE calipers and carriers from: Audi TT mk1/Octavis VRS mk1/ Golf GTI anniversary Mk4/ or early Audi S3.

Then discs and pads for the above and that`s it.. and pad clips.

jonboy1066 · Mar 23, 2010

luke c said:
front spacers are a no go apparently so you would still hit the speed bumps on the front even with 20mm rear ones .

Nice one thanks for that, is it due to rubbage when steering?

Neo said:
we always wash and dry the cars first... never liked the idea of applying wax onto dirt - even if they say you don`t need to clean first.

Yeah I think I'd do that too....cheers, after all it only takes 5 mins to wash the car - 10 mins to dryas long as I keep on top of it, so it won't hurt.

Neo said:
Yes you can upgrade to 312mm brakes for less than £200 if you get standard discs and pads for it.

You need the ATE calipers and carriers from: Audi TT mk1/Octavis VRS mk1/ Golf GTI anniversary Mk4/ or early Audi S3.

Then discs and pads for the above and that`s it.. and pad clips.

Cheers, I'll look into it further when the time comes.

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My TDi FR And some questions about upgrades

jonboy1066

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FR - gone, not forgotten

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