I can't imagine there will be, but is there any problem with putting v rated tyres on the fabia vrs?

I know the car sure as hell doesn't go at 150+

Phil

Load rating. Making a notifiable modification.

Load rating. Making a notifiable modification.

83v or 83w

83 is the load

v/w is the spped rating

For loading values in kg see here

For loading values in kg see here

I'm not changing the load - i'm changing the speed ratings

V from W that i had on before.

I can't imagine there's any problem

My local tyre dealer had no w rated 20540r16 in stock but told me i could have v rated for my vrs.

I told him i beleived that v rated were no good as it would invalidate my insurance.

He told me that used to be the case but its now ok to have v rated as long as my speed would not go over 130 and that insurance companies look only on the load rating now.

Im not sure though, decided to look somewhere else as its not worth the risk of having a different rating, then finding out later the insurance is invalid.

Anyone else know anything about this?

Is v rated really ok for the fabia vrs?

The speed rating goes hand in hand with the load rating when they design a car.

Heavy diesel engines give tyres much more punishment than a light gti type car. The torque kills tyres.

You are better sticking to the "W" speed rating with a big heavy diesel up front especially if you have had it re-mapped.

The manufacturers would not put "W" rated tyres on it from the factory if they wern't obliged to - It costs them money.

Technically a move from "W" rated tyres to "V" rated tyres is a modification from manufacturers spec !!

For loading values in kg see here

According to that link, W rated tyres have a max of 167.8 mph (270 kph) and V rated have either 130+ mph (VR) or 150+ mph (VZ). on another site it says V is 150 max and Z is 150+.

This indicates the maximum speed that the tyre can sustain for a ten minute endurance without coming to pieces and destroying itself, your car, the car next to you and anyone else within a suitable radius at the time. Taken from: http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html#speed#ixzz0mxYgRid3

W is the correct speed index for the vRS

So are you saying v rated tyres will not pass an mot

When I was investigating buying Uniroyal RainSport2 tyres I phoned Uniroyal's UK Technical Helpline to ask if their more readily available (and cheaper) 83V tyre was suitable for the Fabia vRS. I was told by them that the 83W rated tyre was the correct one for my car and that is what I bought.

So are you saying v rated tyres will not pass an mot

They should not pass an MOT but many testers wouldn't spot it.

What they will not pass is a post accident police investigation - then the trouble starts !!

When I was investigating buying Uniroyal RainSport2 tyres I phoned Uniroyal's UK Technical Helpline to ask if their more readily available (and cheaper) 83V tyre was suitable for the Fabia vRS. I was told by them that the 83W rated tyre was the correct one for my car and that is what I bought.

Same here for my Ibiza TDi 130 sport - I was told that the "W" tyres must be used.

On most sites there is only a few quid difference - not worth the risk to save less than £5 a tyre.

So does this mean you can not fit winter tyres on as most of them are H rated (130mph max) even though the max seed of the car is 130 mph.

For example. Toyo T1-R are 87W or is it Z (205/45Z R16) and the SnowProx are 87H, the same load, but lower speed rating. Both are Reinforced, (unless RF means Run Flat).

Are we also saying you can not fit V rated tyres even though the Fabia vRS can never get up to 150 mph.

Edited 4 May, 201016 yr by Jim H

So does this mean you can not fit winter tyres on as most of them are H rated (130mph max) even though the max seed of the car is 130 mph.

For example. Toyo T1-R are 87W or is it Z (205/45Z R16) and the SnowProx are 87H, the same load, but lower speed rating. Both are Reinforced, (unless RF means Run Flat).

Are we also saying you can not fit V rated tyres even though the Fabia vRS can never get up to 150 mph.

In those countries where winter tyres are compulsary there is also a speed limit reduction at the same time for tyre safety.

Don't forget that the 130mph "H" rating is only for 10 minutes !!!!! - the vrs is capable of holding 130 for much longer than 10 mins.

This has been very interesting and informative.

I'd still like to know if this would be an MOT fail!

Upon reviewing the VOSA website, the car is a class IV vehicle, and therefore the load and speed rating are not checked to manufacturers standards.

Any further input on this guys?

Seriously though, do we really believe that the majority of car owners are driving around with invalidated insurance because they haven't checked whether their tyres have the right code to sustain 150 mph for more than 10 minutes? That's going to be a lot of people.

If it really is something that insurance companies can use to get out of paying a claim then the warnings need to more visible because I bet most people wouldn't even know what size their tyres were, never mind the load and speed rating. It's only spods like us who go on forums like this that care about these things :p

Which doesn't answer your question. Sorry

Just had a quick look on camskill and there is only a £1.42 difference between a V and W rated Michelin Exalto 2 in 205/45 R16 size.

Is the recession that bad that people are fitting the lower speed rating rather than the ones that Skoda originally specified for the car? For that sort of price difference I would fit the W rated tyres and then not lose any sleep worrying about it.

Edited 4 May, 201016 yr by peter0976

No...purely a mistake.

The guy at the garage told me they were good to go on. And I believed him!

Difficult to take the tyres back when they've been fitted and driven off!

Seriously though, do we really believe that the majority of car owners are driving around with invalidated insurance because they haven't checked whether their tyres have the right code to sustain 150 mph for more than 10 minutes? That's going to be a lot of people.

If it really is something that insurance companies can use to get out of paying a claim then the warnings need to more visible because I bet most people wouldn't even know what size their tyres were, never mind the load and speed rating. It's only spods like us who go on forums like this that care about these things :p

Which doesn't answer your question. Sorry

As I was told by my ex brother in law (Police Traffic accident investigator) - Ignorance is no defence in law !

If they discover the wrong tyres on a car could have contributed to the accident - that is what will take the blame.

The insurance would also class it as a reason not to pay out based on the police report.

No...purely a mistake.

The guy at the garage told me they were good to go on. And I believed him!

Difficult to take the tyres back when they've been fitted and driven off!

No it's not - they are not "fit for purpose"

Not good.

Might be worth mentioning to your insurance company and see whether its a problem or not.

It's not worth potentially having a fault/non fault accident and then the insurance company saying the tyres on the car are the wrong speed rating, blah, blah blah....... you know what they are like, any excuse not to pay out.

The only possible way I can think of a lower speed rated tyre could cause an accident is if it had a blow out due to over speed stress and I reckon you could push most tyres to that if you really drove them.

But would it have contributed to a crash? Unless they were doing 130+, in which case i think itd be speed full stop being the major factor.

Matt

As has been suggested you need to check with your insurers. They are the people that matter when it comes to paying out for your motor if damaged. If they have any reason to not pay out then they will take it. If you are determined to stay with these tyres then maybe even get them to put somthing in writing.

Personally I have never used anything other than Z rated. Currently running Falken 452 zr's.