low profile tyres

[jamk]

I have a roomster scxout with 16 inch wheels and low profile tyres. Is there sufficient room in the wheel arches to fit standard sized tyres in place of the low profile.

Thanks

JAMK

[Babs]

No you don't - they're not low profile at all!

There is room, but your speedo and odometer will show incorrect reading.

[Calomax]

No you don't - they're not low profile at all!

There is room, but your speedo and odometer will show incorrect reading.

Those on my Roomster 3 with standard 16 inch wheels certainly look like low profile tyres. Their depth is only half of those that were on my old Spacewagon.

[KenONeill]

Yes, as long as you either change the wheels for lower diameter, say 15" rather than 16", or go to narrower tyres.

The formulae are well-covered (try a search rather than kitten-cide), but I can run some alternatives if you tell me the current tyre size.

[Babs]

What tyres are on the standard 16's?

[Jonny5ive]

What tyres are on the standard 16's?

205/45/16 as the wheels from the fabia Mk1 and Roomster are interchangeable much to SWMBO's disgust

[Babs]

That's not low profile!

[Decron]

That's not low profile!

It's all about percerption.....

45's are a lower profile than the tyres fitted to a lot of shopping trolly's but in the grand scheme of things they are just standard tyres.

[KenONeill]

I'm struggling to find anything that won't go higher rolling radius unless you go way down on width to 175/55 or 185/50 (not worth bothering with spending out for), or drop to 15" rims.

Frankly, unless the ride is too hard, I'd keep the stock tyres.

[dibujo]

A tyre is regarded as low profile if it is 50% or below.

[Babs]

A tyre is regarded as low profile if it is 50% or below.

According to whom?

[dibujo]

The tyre manufacturers. e.g Firestone

[Babs]

Source?

[Decron]

According to Bridgestone the OEM Turanzas are classed as "Touring" tyres.

[The PM]

Regardless of source I certainly regard any tyre with a 50 or less profile as low profile (especially when fitted onto an ordinary car like the Roomie)... and I hold them mainly responsible for the awful decline in ride comfort I have seen recently... my 2001 Fabia had 75s on and rode very smoothly, the 2007 replacement had 55s and was bloomin awful, so bad that if I hadn't been swaping it for the Roomie I'd have fitted a replacement set of 75s i'd found for it... My problem now is that Motoabilty won't let you specify smaller wheels/higher profile tyres but insist on the factory fit rubbish...

I'm not racing my car and don't go round corners at excessive speeds and some of us prefer comfort to looks, you know!

Edited 28 January, 2010 by The PM

[Babs]

I prefer the stable handling that lower profiles give.

But I'm young and reckless

[Decron]

My Roomy rides better than my Golf which had 55 profiles and far better than the VRS which had the same tyres. It's great and the "profile" of the tyres hasn't made any difference to anything. The only one thing I could complain about is the roadnoise, but I put that down to the fact it's a cheap car.

What I don't get is if everyone knew what they were getting, why would anyone buy it like that and then moan they don't like it ???

[fabia55]

Regardless of source I certainly regard any tyre with a 50 or less profile as low profile (especially when fitted onto an ordinary car like the Roomie)... and I hold them mainly responsible for the awful decline in ride comfort I have seen recently... my 2001 Fabia had 75s on and rode very smoothly, the 2007 replacement had 55s and was bloomin awful, so bad that if I hadn't been swaping it for the Roomie I'd have fitted a replacement set of 75s i'd found for it... My problem now is that Motoabilty won't let you specify smaller wheels/higher profile tyres but insist on the factory fit rubbish...

I'm not racing my car and don't go round corners at excessive speeds and some of us prefer comfort to looks, you know!

I have 15inch standard wheels on my Fabia mark 2. Would you be interested in a px?

[KenONeill]

It's nonsense to claim that "low profile tyres give a hard ride" anyway. What gives a hard ride is a hard suspension, and/or low sidewalls. For example, which is the lower sidewall between a 165/70 and a 205/55 section tyre?

[Gizmo]

It's nonsense to claim that "low profile tyres give a hard ride" anyway. What gives a hard ride is a hard suspension, and/or low sidewalls. For example, which is the lower sidewall between a 165/70 and a 205/55 section tyre?

The 205/55 has a lower profile, 112mm compared to the 165/70 of 115mm.

The profile of the tyre has a lot to do with the comfort of the ride, the other thing being of course as you said the suspension, however tyres are the easiest thing to change to give a smoother ride.

A 195/55/15 tyre (assuming the 15" wheels clear the calipers?) will give you near as damn it the same circumferance as your current 205/45/16's, of course the trade off would be a tyre that is 10mm narrower, but you would increase the sidewall by 15mm = more flex in the sidewall = more comfort.

[The PM]

It's nonsense to claim that "low profile tyres give a hard ride" anyway. What gives a hard ride is a hard suspension, and/or low sidewalls.

Ok, they "contribute" to a hard ride, I agree that suspension settings have a marked effect as well, but the tendancy these days towards low profile, wider tyres and firmer "Sporty" (!) handling has ruined most ordinary run of the mill cars. Most people don't give a toss how fast it will get to 60 in and how fast it will go round a corner before letting go, they just want a car that is safe to drive and comfortable... and that can be done a with 75 or 80 profile and thinner tyres and softer suspension without making the car in any way dangerous but improving ride quality... If I was driving all day on a billiard smooth racing circuit I'd be quite happy with the new set ups, but I'm not, I'm living in the real world of badly filled potholes, poor repairs and speed humps!

My issue with the Manufacturers is that they don't give you the choice, they just assume that the more expensive the model the lower and wider the tyre!

Sorry, Rant over!

Fabia55, thanks for the offer, m8, and had it been my own car I might well have taken you up, but its a Motabilty car and they insist on things like wheels being kept as they were delivered, so I'm stuck with them!

Edited 30 January, 2010 by The PM

[NZ100]

My Scout had 205/45/16's on but now have 205/55/16's on now with no problems. This came about when i realized how many people were passing me on the motorway when i was supposingly doing 70mph, also when i was taking me longer to do a regular journey up north. It turned out that i was infact only doing 65mph and the speeds were 5mph out, right through all speeds. I asked my local Skoda to check it out but they said it was "within tolerances" so nothing being done there then. I went to see my regular tyre guy, told him the problem, i was going to have 50's fitted, but he worked everything out and said i could go to 55's, which i thought would make the ride a bit better, i think it did. He tried one on the front just to check clearances, this was ok so did the rest. Sorry got a bit carried away there. The only problem i can see about fitting 55's apart from your speedo, is if you are transporting elephants regularly.

[Robjon]

If I was driving all day on a billiard smooth racing circuit I'd be quite happy with the new set ups, but I'm not, I'm living in the real world of badly filled potholes, poor repairs and speed humps!

Agreed, PM. Much as I love my Scout, it will be the first and last car I buy with wide, low profile tyres. They are cr@p in the snow and they are more susceptible to pothole damage - as I have found to my cost.

[Calomax]

My Scout had 205/45/16's on but now have 205/55/16's on now with no problems. This came about when i realized how many people were passing me on the motorway when i was supposingly doing 70mph, also when i was taking me longer to do a regular journey up north. It turned out that i was infact only doing 65mph and the speeds were 5mph out, right through all speeds. I asked my local Skoda to check it out but they said it was "within tolerances" so nothing being done there then. I went to see my regular tyre guy, told him the problem, i was going to have 50's fitted, but he worked everything out and said i could go to 55's, which i thought would make the ride a bit better, i think it did. He tried one on the front just to check clearances, this was ok so did the rest. Sorry got a bit carried away there. The only problem i can see about fitting 55's apart from your speedo, is if you are transporting elephants regularly.

Under Construction and Use rules, a speedo must never over-read, so manufacturers make them under-read by about 10% to make sure they stay within the rules and to allow for wear and tear. And possibly to accommodate the use of higher profile tyres, Comparing my speedo with my GPS, which gives accurate speed readings, it needs to show just over 75mph to be dong 70, about 33 to be doing 30, and corresponding differences at different speeds.

My old Mitsubishi was exactly the same as I think you'll find most cars are.

Edited 1 February, 2010 by Calomax

[NZ100]

Under Construction and Use rules, a speedo must never over-read, so manufacturers make them under-read by about 10% to make sure they stay within the rules and to allow for wear and tear. And possibly to accommodate the use of higher profile tyres, Comparing my speedo with my GPS, which gives accurate speed readings, it needs to show just over 75mph to be dong 70, about 33 to be doing 30, and corresponding differences at different speeds.

My old Mitsubishi was exactly the same as I think you'll find most cars are.

Hi there,yes you are right. My GPS and my speedo now read exactly the same now i've fitted the bigger profile tyres, could not have done it if the readings had been less. I think what is was, i went from a Passat which was only 1MPH out, to the roomster which was 5 out. Didn't want to keep thinking i can go 5mph faster than the speedo said, also didn't want to have to explain it all to my wife, or put a notice in the car which told her she could go 5mph faster. Thanks for that.