RapidReaction

Top right fuse in panel below steering wheel in my Reaction.

Don't discount the Maxxis option. Both Awaoffski and myself have been pleased with their all-season performance although he had a warranty issue. How a brand deals with warranty speaks volumes and I've seen some shoddy reactions from some of the "go-to" brands who inevitably have warranty claims too.

I found the same for my Fabia II but persuaded some 215/45 17" CrossClimates to fit. They're on slightly wider wheels than the 16" stock ones but it MOT'd fine. Obviously can't say whether there's more or less clearance on a MkIII, but mine's based on SE spec anyway so doesn't sit as low as a MkII Monte Carlo. Someone commented that the car looks like a 4x4, but that was someone who has only just learned to drive and probably aspires to a slammed Corsa. The extra ride height has been advantageous in the snow and I've been impressed with the grip - not quite as good in the snow as the Nokians, but better in summer conditions and unlike the Nokians they probably won't go "off" when the tread gets low as some reviews suggest.

Very impressed with snow performance and road traction of CCs yesterday. The extra 17mm of clearance may have helped.

Cheers Chris. First post I could find which confirmed the bulbs needed for my Reaction. (I'm in a different country to my car just now and my wife's moaning about the lights). Told her to get some +90%s from Aldi where they're on special at £5.99 and I'll fit them when I'm back.

Not going to help anyone just now, but just to add some info for future searches: My Fabia II is running happily on 215/45 17s. This was the closest size in 17" for the pattern I wanted. The irregular shape of the N/S/R wheel arch liner didn't help, but it was persuaded to conform with a heat gun. And before you all say anything, I know...but they work fine for me. I'm going to try 2.35s on my new bike now.

I got the same Pumpkin unit as you in last July's Amazon Prime day and it was a steal. But everything you say about it is correct, and I can't help but feel that the sound is a lacking compared to the very basic unit fitted to my Reaction (basically a Fabia II SE). Maybe that's because I never did the second aerial connection. I too have the wrong driver's door showing and despite emails with Pumpkin but I've got used to it as their suggestion failed. I might try again with your code if it's different. But for about £170 iirc on the deal its weaknesses are outweighed by its use for navigation etc. And it's really for my son who does Spotify and streaming. The add-on 3G dongle works but requires removing and reconnecting regularly. It's only there for background data with a free Freedom Pop 200MB allowance, so I normally hotspot my mobile for app updates and when I remember on longer journeys. Unfortunately the USB current can't maintain charge if hotspot is on. One word of caution for Android HUs, and maybe I'm overly cautious here, but suggest anyone set up a Google account for the car so that your email aren't accessible when your car is in for service etc.

Quick Spring update. I've changed from my Maxxis to CrossClimates just over a week ago so I don't have to hold back (all 69 horses) over the summer. Very happy with the CCs so far and they may even stay on indefinitely. I didn't want to compromise the more wintry Maxxis and perhaps suffer some hidden cracks, bulges or delamination which can happen if used aggressively outside their preferred range. A size conversion was required but Maxxis now have more competition on Fabia sized all-seasons regardless.

Mine's got a canbus interface and the display shows the wrong front door open but all others are correct - I can live with that. I've recently noticed an error come up which I'm going to explore with VCDS, but suspect it may be related to the aftermarket HU.

OK, so my car isn't quite a vRS, but I have tried it on 215/45 17s which are nominally just 2mm smaller than the 215/40 18s you were considering. NSR is the most critical due to a bulge in the wheel arch liner which may not be on yours. Wheel arches are filled well, but ride is heightened as opposed to lowered. The tyres I wanted to try were only in this size for 17s.

I live in a similarly rural location and have disabled the stop/start on my other VW Group car. The first time it would normally kick in is after about 5 minutes when I have to cross a crossroad with sometimes limited visibility. The last thing I want is for the engine to stop and cause a moment's hesitation just when I'm coming to rest at the give way, but have spotted a gap to cross safely. I've set mine up to remember the last setting (on or off) so generally leave it overridden unless I consider the traffic flow to merit its use - or it's going into the dealer's. I'd love to see this "toggle" functionality for when I add a Fabia III to the family this year.

I've been running Maxxis too and have been very happy with them but I've just taken a punt and replaced the tyres on my 17" wheels with 215/45 17 CrossClimate which are larger still than the 215/40 17s previously fitted. The CrossClimates aren't available in the right size, but I'm hoping there's sufficient clearance (there's a lot on a Mk 2 Reaction) and if not I'll get them refitted to our other car or a Fabia Mk 3 next spring.Fingers crossed - but they were good value at £92 each fitted and the wheels were nagging me to use them again.

You could fit larger tyres e.g.235/60 instead of 235/55 18 which I believe is one of the sizes.

I'm on Maxxis all-seasons at the moment and they're just fine. Yesterday I bought a set of Michelin Crossclimate on a Costco deal. They're really for another car but I don’t plan to fit them till the Spring and the Costco deal was good. If I sell the other car there's room on my Fabia even if they're a touch bigger. If they made them in a Fabia size I would fit without hesitation but in all fairness I haven't been disappointed by the Maxxis all-seasons yet.

Yes. Pumpkn DAB module is £50 on Amazon, but allow more for a better aerial according to the reviews.

An opening sunroof is invaluable if your dogs travel with you. It can be left on tilt and little or no rain gets in. Obviously you don't leave dogs in cars in the summer, but even when stopping for fuel it's more comfortable for them and when they're out an open sun roof can air the car to reduced any smell of wet dogs.

Asked my normal sales guy today as well as the Master Tech (presumed). Neither knew a thing unfortunately. Got a Fabia III brochure for options though.

Agree with that, and yes, I did point out the tyres before the buyer bought insurance over the phone from my house. I'm really pointing out that thinking a bit more laterally about tyre choice can provide solutions that are "better" (vs your criteria) than blindly following like-for-like replacement etc. and the brand and price only imply suitability.Looking at a conversion size for our other car came up with this interesting set of Michelin owned brands of the same pattern and speed rating (not that I'm buying them): Riken Kormoran - slightly more Taurus + 15% compared to Riken Tigar + 50% I'd have more confidence with Michelin's 2nd tier brand Kleber, but that came up with a different pattern.

Ken, you have my sympathies and I hope you get things resolved to your satisfaction. Personally, I would never recommend part-worns as their history is unknown and there is less comeback. A few things for anyone else to consider (so if the cap fits...): 1) Tyre tests are currently a controversial subject in the industry just now with some premium manufacturers acknowledging they have submitted special tyres for tests. Although brands imply consistency there are better/worse products within the brand leading to occasional surprises as with the two brands the OP refers to: http://www.tyrepress.com/2015/03/landsail-beats-michelin-surprise-result-in-finnish-tyre-test/ These test are almost exclusively on new tyres so make no account of lower tread depths as they age. 2) Alternative brands/patterns, service descriptions (load and speed ratings) and even sizes are not in themselves illegal and can indeed be the only way to fit an obscure pattern to your car. The considerations when you are selling a car can be different to those if you intend to keep it. I would always urge at least a matched axle pair. I would argue that drivers who make these decisions are more in tune with their car than the iSheep that just replace the OE fitment like-for-like. I would, and have, pointed out these conversions (and their logic) to a buyer when selling cars BUT the fuel flap/driver's door sticker is there for them to check against, so caveat emptor. A single unmatched tyre would ring alarm bells to me too. 3) I've tried the BTMA returns system which is there as a logistics system to support the British tyre industry and those manufacturers that have signed up. It provides a defined process and formula, but you may have more success relying on goodwill with the backup of legal instruments which can be referred to even if not used. Just my thoughts...

Any photos of the cracking? I had this on some tyres on my other car and I got a full refund from mytyres. They had been OK otherwise, but time/technology helped and I replaced with Nokian Weatherproofs as the offroadability (for my drive) of the previous all-seasons was less important than the year-round tarmac ability.

This shows the relative obscurity (or otherwise) of the manufacturers mentioned above - next to each other and just below Nokian (hardly obscure). But notice how much further up the list Giti (GT, Runway brands etc.) and ZC (Westlake etc.) are. www.tyrepress.com/leading-tyre-manufacturers/

Did a quick search and its interesting that the 215s were a few quid cheaper than the 205s. I'm running 215s on my Reaction, and the speedo is spot on with the GPS. I've got a set of MA-AS on some 16" wheels which I'm going to fit when I let my son loose on what will be his first car, so it's nice to hear something positive even though my pattern is an earlier version. I think it's quite a winter biased all-season in the same vein as the Nokian Weatherproof and is even categorised as a winter by tyrereviews even though the "AS" bit is fairly obvious. If they're only slightly better than the Z4S ("performance" 4 season) I'll be happy as the Reaction can hardly be described as a performance car.

I've used Aldi/Lidl ones that are like CTEK ones and sell for about £14. They're fine without battery disconnection. They also say to unplug them before connecting and disconnecting, but I think they say these things to cover worst case scenarios and so absolve themselves. It's not as if you see sparks flying off them. I wouldn't turn the ignition whilst connected though.

I've experienced it the other way round, fitting Skoda wheels to various Audis. My wife's TT ran on Skoda wheels one winter. Some of the older style Audi centre caps fit, but not ideally. I'm quite happy to be seen with Skoda centre caps and still prefer the green ones. I've yet to fit any of my Audi wheels to any of my Skodas, but the profile of the receiver for the centre cap is slightly different when I've looked, and there wasn't sufficient flex in the Skoda caps. This isn't an attempt at a sale in case my favourite moderator thinks it is...

I suspect there are a few engineering companies in B'ham that could help, but suggest you first contact www.alloyxchange.co.uk who are part of an OEM in West Bromwich. They will tell you if it is possible although their pricing might be high due to the necessary approvals. At least it's a start and a benchmark. Let us know what you find out as I've got some 57.1s that need a refurb and potential conversion to 66.5 for my Audi (or more likely just keep for my next Skoda) This isn't an attempt at a sale in case my favourite moderator thinks it is...