Skoda Superb - Winter Tyres and Rims

[stevehg]

17" Octavia Hawk alloys look good and are only £140 each new. If I was buying a set of winters for a Superb this is what I get

http://www.skodaparts.com/product/octavia-alloy-wheel-hawk-black-2013-2015-50673

[Bigpikle]

you can get new 16" Superb alloys for < £140 each - I'd go for these personally but I think steel will do.

[JakeBlade]

Why not get winters on your 18s, and run them all-year round?

[Huskoda]

Why not get winters on your 18s, and run them all-year round?

Its more expensive than a set of 16" VAG alloys off ebay and tyres to match.

[Bigpikle]

Why not get winters on your 18s, and run them all-year round?

just as normal tyres work less well in cold temps, winter tyres work/wear less well in warmer temps. As said above the tyres to fit the 18's are much more limited in choice and cost loads more - 1 set would pay for the additional wheels and I plan to have the car a few years and would probably do 2 sets of tyres anyway. Not to mention it doesnt hurt to keep the nice alloys looking a little smarter for longer by avoiding the dreadful winter roads, salt and crud....

[doleawg]

One of the main reason I swapped to 16's as well was that at 18inch rims the tyres were to thin and I live in a country spot and kept getting punctures. Running 16inch rims now and haven't had a puncture from a pot hole since. The 18 inch were a nightmare.

[stevehg]

I'm not one for putting 22" wheels on my car, and I am the first to appreciate the benefits of not using low profile tyres, but even I couldn't contemplate putting 16" alloys, or even worse, steels on my superb for 4-6 months of the year....

Given the bluff sides and large volume above rear arch on both saloon and estate it has to be at least 17" alloys imho. ;) ;)

[Bigpikle]

^^^ thats certainly not a good look!  Do all 16's look like that on a Superb?

[Bristolf2b]

I am quite happy to have 16"steels with genuine Skoda covers between Nov and March. I can't see them when I'm driving, when I'm not, they look OK to me and I'm not bothered what anyone else thinks about them.

Edited 17 June, 2014 by Bristolf2b

[JakeBlade]

I think I could stand up in the gap between the tyre and the wheel arch. Is that thing on axle stands?!?

[stevehg]

^^^ thats certainly not a good look!  Do all 16's look like that on a Superb?

I think the one pictured is Indian spec, so has lifted rough road suspension. So not as much a gap in wheels arches, same gap as on 18's, so still a good few inches at top of arch

[Gizmo]

No they don't all look like that on 16's!!

http://i1138.photobucket.com/albums/n523/SuperbCombi/Cars/DSC01386.jpg

[andrehj]

Nice wheels. Does anybody know the make and model of these rims?

[mfj197]

No, they certainly don't all look like that on 16s!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ml4nn1ku68zvxkb/20131122_142915.jpg

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Edited 17 June, 2014 by mfj197

[Gizmo]

Yes they are BBS Abitos's, - they are a genuine Audi winter wheel.

Not sure what I am doing with them now the Combi has gone, they may end up on the Yeti if I cannot find some OE Yeti alloys that I like, but if I can then I may sell them??

[Bigpikle]

Yes they are BBS Abitos's, - they are a genuine Audi winter wheel.

Not sure what I am doing with them now the Combi has gone, they may end up on the Yeti if I cannot find some OE Yeti alloys that I like, but if I can then I may sell them??

 

shout if you are interested in selling them please!

[Bigpikle]

Anyone help with the load rating for winter tyres on 16" for a 170 estate please? Will 91 H do it or is that not a high enough load and speed rating? Car arrives Monday but I thought it was a 94 load rating that I needed?

Many thanks

[stevehg]

Your top speed for a 170 estate is 135mph, H is 130mph, however, you are permitted to fit a winter tyre with a lower speed rating and there is a setting in maxi dot for winter tyres to remind you when you go above 90mph.

The load rating is fine, the heaviest superb estate is the 4x4 DSG and with max payload is ~2200KG GVW, so 90 or higher are easily within safe load ratings of the tyre.

So in summary 91H is ok to fit.

cheers, Steve

[Bigpikle]

Really appreciate that Steve - thanks

[Hedgecutter]

Have to agree with Bristol, who cares what 16" wheels look like; certainly no other drivers. 16" also copes with deeper snow much better, are much cheaper, and lessen the crashy, poor ride that 18`s give. Wider wheels are just a marketing tool on family estates, not some kind of sport enhancement. You won`t see drivers in the Alps or Scandinavia concerning themselves with wide, low profile tyres. It`s functionality before looks for me, and I would also look for winters with reinforced side walls if you are running fully laden at motorway speeds; Nokian offer this option on all sizes, marked XL.

[Skoda4x4man]

What happened to proper offroad/winter/snow tyres you used to be able to buy ?

Like 4x4 tyres but, for cars - with a proper tread pattern, not sipes and wider block gaps

 

 

Chris

[psycholist]

What happened to proper offroad/winter/snow tyres you used to be able to buy ?

Like 4x4 tyres but, for cars - with a proper tread pattern, not sipes and wider block gaps

 

 

Chris

Tyres like that are probably still out there, but they tend to be made of very hard rubber for durability, so achieving the grip on normal wet and dry roads to make them safe to use on modern cars isn't possible. I'm pretty sure modern winter tyres grip better in ice and snow than more aggressive looking off-road tyres anyway unless you're relying on the tyres to dig their way through the snow as would be required for mud and sand.

 

I'm looking at a set of these for the winter. Mostly because in reality they're a lot more likely to be used in freezing water than actual snow and ice and Avon are the cheapest winter tyres out there to do better than 'C' rating for wet weather grip as well as being pretty quiet, which in a car like the superb is essential. The tyres are all I can hear above 60 km/h on the current 72 dB tyres unless I'm near the red line: http://www.eiretyres.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?s_p=Avon-Ice-Touring-ST-205_55-R16-94V-XL

[ruffday]

What happened to proper offroad/winter/snow tyres you used to be able to buy ?

Like 4x4 tyres but, for cars - with a proper tread pattern, not sipes and wider block gaps

 

 

Chris

They used to be called Mud and Snow tyres but that was in the days when we had more than a few days of snow, 

Modern winter tyres are far better than any of the old M & S tyres ever were on a std road car.

[ILOVEMYSUPERB]

If this hot weather and sunshine disappears we know who to blame......

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[psycholist]

If this hot weather and sunshine disappears we know who to blame......

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Sunshine? I wish, overcast and light rain at the moment - it's been so humid in Ireland for the past couple of days that I'm getting condensation on the outside of the windscreen with the aircon on...