bigoffy

Easily could be rotating mass, never bothered weighing either style of wheel. It's very clear to me that the Spiders made the car much more thirsty, so much so that, had I known in advance, I wouldn't have bothered with getting them! It's certainly something I will be keeping in mind if/when I contemplate any more wheel changes.

I suspected that the Spiders were responsible for a worsening of fuel consumption when I fitted them 4 years ago but there were too many variables to be sure! I use winter wheels and tyres in the cold months and had gone from these, 185 55 15 on steel wheels with plastic trims, to the Spiders with Kumho KH31 205 45 16. there was no hint of experimental "control". I had noticed a slight improvement in consumption when I fitted the winters but the consumption with the Spiders etc on was much higher than I remembered from the previous Autumn with the standard VRS wheels. This time, going back to standard from Spiders the wheels were the only change, the tyres were literally the same ones, I had them swapped over onto the VRS wheels. Noticed that the average consumption was much better on the way back from the tyre fitters than on the way there. This was on narrow, winding country lanes, a longer drive on dual carriageways confirmed the improvement, easily 5 mpg better, perhaps more! I was very careful not to drive differently. So, there it is, not scientific at all, more of a controlled observation. Food for thought though!

PS, NOW SOLD!

Another member told me they are rare ;-) I only know that sizing, fitment etc is as near to the standard wheels as makes no difference, that it took me a VERY long time to get all five and that they are much less aero than the standard wheels! My fuel consumption improved by nearly 10% when I swapped back to the standard wheels but continued to use the same set of tyres!

For anyone that isn't sound asleep by now, 4 ish years later! Here is an answer to my own question ;-) I recently put the standard VRS alloys back on my Fabia VRS and sold the 16 inch Octavia Spiders, I had the very tyres I was using on the Spiders swapped onto the VRS wheels, so no other change. There was an immediate, clear improvement in fuel consumption!!!!!!!!! Possibly as much as 10%! So there it is, the Spiders have to be far less aerodynamic that the standard items. Shame the VRS wheels are quite plain looking. Cheers, Goffy.

Now asking £150

Now asking £200

Price now £150 Picture of Fulda Kristal

Now reduced to £175!!

Now reduced to £225!

Sorry PEE, see above reply :-)

Hi PEE81, If you are interested in the wheels, we can talk price ;-) Goffy.

For Sale £150 ono Set of FIVE VAG Steel Wheels 6" x 15" offset 38mm, bolt spacing 5 x 100mm All grubby with some surface rust but perfectly functional for the cold months Complete with four VAG plastic trims, again pretty battered but useable. WITH Winter Tyres ALL 185/55/15 T One Fulda Kristal 3.5mm tread Two Michelin Alpin 4 to 5mm Two Kumho WinterCraft 6mm+ Collect only from near Exeter Picture is of the Kumho Wintercraft tyres Happy to mail some more pictures to anyone interested.

Sorry, yes they are 5 x 100.

For Sale, £200 ono Set of FIVE 16" Octavia Spider Alloys 6.5" x 16", 42mm offset, 5 x 100 hole spacing. None of them perfect, one of them quite badly marked. No tyres, No centres. Collect only from near Exeter. This picture is of the worst one I am trying to upload more in the replies! Scroll down ;-)

Am I worried about a 10% worsening or getting excited about the same as an improvement? Well actually, no, since you ask! BUT I do think it worthwhile investigating the options in order to make an informed choice. I think that we all know that the old saw about it being about smiles per mile not miles per gallon is, at £7 a gallon, rather outdated. Many thanks to the guys who have been able to provide constructive info :-) Any more out there?

Can be done but I REALLY don't know why anyone would think it does any good to a 4 stroke engine, diesel or petrol! There is a small risk that 2stroke oil will coke up the engine and/or catalyst, specially the cheapo stuff. In my honest opinion there is no risk at all that it will do any good! Don't bother :-)

Thanks for the input Holmesie, I'm inclined to the idea that the wheels won't make much, if any difference too. But the Spiders do "look" less aero than the standard wheels. I do confess though, that I do very little motorway/dual carriageway cruising, mostly rural B roads and in/out of the great Metrolops (Exeter :-) ) I have found the Kumho 39s very good, loads of grip, specially in the wet and only about £75/corner fitted! my only complaint is the apparently higher fuel consumption. The big problem with the fuel A rated tyres is that they don't come in our sporty size, in fact there are very few in Furby fitment that are better than E or F rated! Fair enough though, it is a Hot Hatch :-) I suppose what I am asking really is, does anyone have experience of the Michelin Pilot Sport on their VRS? I am a closet Michelin fan really and need to know whether the PS3s give the sort of performance, economy and long life advantages that Michelin are famous for but in a "sporty" way :-) I know that there are always compromises to be made, it's a bit like the world of cycling, there are three variables, light/fast v strong v cheap, you can, in reality only choose two of the three! Anyone got any more input? Cheers, Goffy.

I have now owned the Piglet (04 VRS) for 2 years and 20,000 miles ish, when I first got it it wore the usual dogs dinner of tyres, a mix of half worn Continental and Bridgestone with a pair of newish budget specials on the standard VRS alloys. By "enjoying" the torque :-) I very quickly wore out the budget rubber and replaced them with a pair of Kumho KH39s and have since run out of tread on the Cont/Bridge pair too. These have also been replaced by KH39s but at the same time I swapped the wheels too! So Piglet now wears 4 16inch Octavia Spiders and 4 Kumhos. NICE. Except that immediately I swapped everything over it seemed that my fuel consumption became worse. :-( I have now put winter wheels and tyres on and there has been a very clear and measurable improvement in the cars appetite for diesel, in fact it is back where it was on the wheels/tyres that the car came with. In fact it's well over 10% better than it was on Kumhos/Spiders. Before I put the "summer" wheels and tyres back on I probably should be changing the most worn pair of Kumhos and so I have a couple of questions. Does anyone have any evidence that wheels make any difference to fuel consumption, particularly 16" Spiders versus standard VRS Alloys? Second, I am very tempted by Michelins claim to fuel efficiency for their Pilot Sport 3 but according to the new ratings the PS3 are "F" while the KH39 are "C" rated! Can I directly compare the two for fuel efficiency? Or is there more to it than meets the eye? I'am quite happy to add cash to the purchase to get my diesel mileage back,..................... IF.......................it's possible, 10% fuel savings could easily pay back the greater cost of the Michelins, any other benefits would be a bonus! Any solid guidance on this much appreciated. Cheers, Goffy.

Price now £2395 or offers!

Bit of a bump up! New price for 200SX £2595 ono See above :-)

Hi Everyone, I have recently bought my VRS and thought all you fellow petrol/diesel heads on here might like a shot at some organized slot car racing! I'm a member of East Devon Slot Racing Club and we are looking for prospective members. Located in the St Johns Ambulance Hall Honiton, Club night is Friday starting at 7.30pm, we race commercially available Scalextric type cars in a number of classes from F1 to Trucks, via LeMans, Nascar, saloons, rally and some others! We have just completed a new 75ft long 5 lane track made from MDF and surfaced with garage floor paint. Racing, timing, scoring and results are all computerized and displayed live on monitor screens. All good clean fun, indoors, warm and friendly. Regular racers cover all ages from 13 to 70+! We provide club cars and controllers for beginners use and there are no fees in the first few weeks for prospective members. If you search for EDSRC on youtube there are several short films to watch featuring previous tracks and the new one. Anyone interested can call me on 01404 822039 or 07596 435744 or send a private message through this site. Cheers Goffy

Hi Captain, Have a look on youtube, search for EDSRC2011, several films of the new track :-) Goffy.

Looked up H7R HID lamps, ordered a pair! Thanks again guys.