CharlieH

Most insurers struggle to identify the correct car but if it came down to a technical point, they would have to prove that a (probably lower load rated tyre) would have had an effect. I just changed my Fabia's tyres and bought the correct load rating of 84. It might be my imagination but the ride does seem better, however that could also be attributed to the different tyre brand and having the allignment done too.

Funnily enough my son is taking the Fabia on a skid pan in a few weeks so I will report back as to how they performed .

I think you are mistaking it with an EV specific option, or some other tyre. The Primacy 4 gets excellent reviews cocerning wet weather performance. I've run them on a Polo and now our Fabia and it will cling on way beyone what I would expect (and the previous tyres) on my test roundabout. Aquaplaning resistance is also very good on this tyre. See example reivews below. https://www.blackcircles.com/brands/michelin/primacy-4/185-60-r15-h-84?tyre=39311119

I used to run separate wheels and tyres for winter, but as others have mentioned the wet weather performance of winter tyres is usually fairly poor. I looked at all-season tyres, but again the stopping distances in the wet and not good. I've just decided to go with Michelin Primacy tyres on our Fabia as they are excellent in both dry and wet conditions. For the number of snow days we get a year now it's just not worth going all-season. The challenge the tyre manufacturers have is that the sipes required for snow compromises the wet weather performance, so they are kind of stuck really. It's also unfortunate that Fabia/Polo tyre size is one of the most expensive.

Thanks again for all your input. On the way to the tyre place I did fill up with Shell V-power which I have used for many years with good results on other cars, and particularly like this fuel as it will not go off in my hibernated car over winter, unlike most of the E10 fuels. I gave the car a good run and pushed the limits of the existing tyres a bit (with full consideration that the fronts were 9+ years old!) and found something amiss with the handling, it was not keen to turn in as well as our previous Polo, and just to add some background I have decades of road and track driving performance cars, so do have a feel for what a car should be doing. After looking at many MOT histories of Fabias around this age I noticed a pattern of uneven front tyres wear at low mileages and I suspect that many were not set up correctly from the factory. Intiially I suspected they had just been bumped into a curb etc, but it has been just too common to put it down to that. Indeed, after the new tyres (rotated to the rear) and then the wheel alignment done the car was transformed - no longer does it wash out wide but has a pleasant willingness to turn it but still keep the safe FWD handling that suits these cars. My tyre place is Micheldever Tyres in Hampshire, been using it for many decades now and they've always done a good job, one of the few places I would trust to work on my cars. The alignment service is on a special offer currently, if you have two or more tyres replaced then you get it for half-price. Good value considering they took around 40 mins to check and adjust the alignment. Yes, Costco would work out cheaper for the tyres, but with respect to their employees I wouldn't trust them to change my socks. Next job is brakes next week and I've ordered plugs, oil, pollen and air filters so I have something to keep me busy over the holidays. Will update you with my progress and thanks again!

I was a little surprised to see the guy using a proper torque wrench to tighten the wheel nuts up. I think one of the reasons a lot of places don't, is that almost nobody checks them after 100 miles so they cover themselves by over-tightening. I noticed early on in the car's life it had MOT advisories for uneven tyre wear. For some reason the former owner just replaced the tyres but without doing any alignment check, and so I thought I'd get it done since I'm spending ££ on tyres. The toe-in was way out, and on the drive home it felt much more willing to turn into corners, can't believe it had not been checked for the sake of 25 quid.

Thanks your help Nigel! I'm off to get new tyres this morning and whilst I'd like to do the discs/pads myself I've got back issue currently, so will get a local VW specialist to do these. Looking at the service history I don't think it has ever had new plugs so will get these done too when they do the brakes.

Does the car need to be lifted or on ramps to do this job? The seller had a set of the original tyres on the front. I explained how date codes worked to him :). I'll be putting a new set on tomorrow and also getting the discs/pads/fluid replaced as this was noted in the sale (and price factored in).

Thanks Nigel, it seems to be the original Exide EFB battery.

Thanks all for your helpful replies. Usually I wouldn't look at such a low mileage vehicle but this was owned by a retired engineer and has been very well looked after, with oil changes done after only 2k miles some years. The service work was done by a well-respected independent garage, and looking at the service receipts they've used the correct oil for the fixed annual servicing. Moving forward, I will probably switch to the Millers Oils C3 as I use them in my other car (a different oil though) and results seem good. Might have a go at changing the oil in the summer myself.

Hi, I have just aquired a very nice 2016 Fabia 1.2 TSI with just over 20k miles on the clock. The last nine years the car has been serviced annually using Comma Syner-G 5W-40 oil, which meets the VW 502 00 but not the newer 504 spec. I usually use Millers Oils in my other cars, so my quesiton is, given I will continue with annual oil changes, would you recommend switching to EE Performance C3 5w30 oil or just carry on with the 502 spec? I have searched through the forum posts but not really found an answer. The Fabia replaces a 2016 Polo Match (exact same engine) that was written off, and so far I have to say I prefer the Skoda. Much cheaper on insurance too. Cheers, Charlie.