Would it be something to do with compatibility for Snow Chains?

i.e. you may use snow chains on the 6J rim but not on the 7J rim; a matter of clearance between the wheel rim and suspension strut.

It's probably not worth speculating or crediting SUK with too much logic. If it were to do with chains then (i) why not say so and (ii) why would SUK approve the use of the 7J wheels and 215 tyres for other (presumably mechanically identical) 1.2 Yetis, especially when the TUV approved wheel/tyres combinations only match the 215 tyres with the 7J wheels?

Hi

I'm also going to receive written cofirmation within 4 working days - it will be interesting to see if the amswers are cosistent, i.e. isit policy or the supervisors best guess. Must admit there was some surprise that the summer and winter tyres were on a diferent size and material of wheel - 17" alloy summer and 16" steel winter, but as long they were both Skoda supplied and Skoda approved that seemed to be O.K.

I also quoted the SMMT and ABI statement that the fitting of winter tyres should not be considered a modification.

We will see!

Life never used to seem so complicated.

As someone who works in the insurance industry, I am not surprised by the unenlightened response most folks have received when raising the issue of winter tyres.

In my humble opinion, I would not waste my breath by phoning a motor Insurer to advise the fitment of winter tyres, as long as the wheel size, tyre size, load index and speed rating remains the same as the OE wheels/tyres. In the case of the speed rating, if you chose a higher rated tyre this would not be detrimental.

Even dropping from say 16" to 15" wheels but matching the OE circumference with higher profile tyres should not really be an issue, as it this is fairly common practice. The smaller tyres will also be cheaper to buy.

If my employer agreed to refund the cost of winter tyres, I wouldn't hesitate to buy a set, however, for the meantime, I'm happy to carry a pair of Auto Socks in the boot for emergency use in snowy conditions.

Edited 22 December, 201015 yr by veloplus

Even dropping from say 16" to 15" wheels but matching the OE circumference with higher profile tyres should not really be an issue, as it this is fairly common practice. The smaller tyres will also be cheaper to buy.

I'm intrigued with the suggestion that we're OK as long as the OE circuference is matched.

When considering fitting my ex Passat 215/55-16 93H winter tyres, I used the excellent tyre size calculator, and came up with the following circumference measurements:

225/50-17 (original) - 2063.4 mm

205/55-16 - 1985.2 mm

215/60-16 - 2087.3 mm

But note that the 215/55-16 circumference is 2019.7 mm, so 215/55-16 is actually the closest to the OE tyre size (technically the 215/60-16 tyre is nearer but as the circumference is higher than the OE tyre it will make the speedo over-read which I think may not be legal). So I've kept the width to that of the original and the circumference is as close as I can get. Problem?

I'm also quite clear in my mind that reducing the speed rating, so long as it exceeds the UK speed limit would not affect insurance or result in an MOT fail. In my case the tyres are H rated which means the maximum speed possible is 130 mph (210kph) which is well outside my Yet's capability. I think the reason for being able to set a maximum speed for winter tyres in the MPD is if a tyre with speed rating lower than the car's maximum is fitted. In fact I think it is a German requirement that where winter tyres are fitted that have a lower speed rating than the car's maximum a sticker showing the maximum permissable speed should be placed in the driver's line of sight.

Likewise with the load rating. The maximum permissable gross vehicle weight is 2095kg. The maximum axle weight rating is 1200kg for the front axle and 1250kg for the rear axle. That means that the most heavily loaded tyres should be capable of a maximum of 625kg. The load allowance for a 93 rated tyre is 650kg which exceeds the maximum rating of the axle with the highest load capability by 50kg and 4 fitted exceed the maxium load capability of the car by 505kg.

John

The Co-op saga drags on...

I'm still waiting for written confirmation of what the Co-operative Insurance told me on the 'phone that providing it was a Skoda recommended tyre size on Skoda supplied wheels it didn't matter that the steel wheels are 16" whereas the original alloys were 17". So no argument about matching circumference in this case.

I will update when I receive something.

(The supervisor's main concerns seemed to be that the wheels were Skoda and no bigger or wider than the original.)

We've been having a saga with Saga insurance. I gave them every possible detail of the wheels & winter tyres and a copy of Will fisher's email, and told them I would not be fitting chains, and it's been a hard struggle trying to get something in writing. Finally today we had the following reply( the odd English and punctuation is theirs, not a mistake).:

"I can advise that following contact with our Underwriting Department that where the wheels and tyres fitted meet the manufacturers standard specification as detailed in the owners handbook and if only the tyres are fitted, and are fitted professionally, we can accept cover these under normal terms."

As we know, our owner's handbook says "permissible sizes of winter tyres are in your vehicle documents"........NOT! So I'm clinging on to Will Fisher's email as evidence if needed. Saga's reply does not mention winter tyres as such, and is vague enough to be worthy of SUK. Tony

We've been having a saga with Saga insurance. I gave them every possible detail of the wheels & winter tyres and a copy of Will fisher's email, and told them I would not be fitting chains, and it's been a hard struggle trying to get something in writing. Finally today we had the following reply( the odd English and punctuation is theirs, not a mistake).:

"I can advise that following contact with our Underwriting Department that where the wheels and tyres fitted meet the manufacturers standard specification as detailed in the owners handbook and if only the tyres are fitted, and are fitted professionally, we can accept cover these under normal terms."

As we know, our owner's handbook says "permissible sizes of winter tyres are in your vehicle documents"........NOT! So I'm clinging on to Will Fisher's email as evidence if needed. Saga's reply does not mention winter tyres as such, and is vague enough to be worthy of SUK. Tony

Your response from Saga is totally different than mine. When I rang Saga a few months ago, I explained to them that I would be taking my car to Europe in January and that in some of the Countries I would be driving through, both winter tyres and snow chains were legal equirements. I told them that according to my handbook, snow chains cannot be fitted to the OE 17 inch wheel/tyre copmbination therefore I would be fitting 16 inch steel wheels with winter tyres. The lady I spoke to went away to her supervisor and came back saying that this was not a performance enhamcement, it was for safety reasons and would not be a problem or see an increase in premium. She then said that there was no need to put anything in writing, me to them, them to me.

I would seriouly like to see an insurance company wriggle out of a claim for an accident in the middle of winter because the car had winter tyres instead of the OE tyres.

John

I'm intrigued with the suggestion that we're OK as long as the OE circuference is matched.

When considering fitting my ex Passat 215/55-16 93H winter tyres, I used the excellent tyre size calculator, and came up with the following circumference measurements:

225/50-17 (original) - 2063.4 mm

215/60-16 2087.3 mm

Pardon me if I go off topic slightly ...............

I'm intrigued with this as there is a 1.16% difference between the 225/50 17 as fitted to SE and Elegance Yeti and the 205/60 16 fitted to the E and S Yeti.

I will be fitting 225/50 17 Winter tyres to Kevin (when I get him in a few days) and then for the summer will be using 225/45 18s with 2072.5mm circumference that are therefore 0.44% bigger than the 225/50 17 and 0.71% smaller than the 215/60 16s.

Seems like a perfect tyre size to me!

Coming back on topic ...................

There is one thing though that disturbs me in this whole Winter Tyre saga which is the recommended use of 205/55 16 tyres.

These are, at 1985.1mm circumference, 3.79% smaller than 225/50 17s and 4.89% smaller than 215/60 16s; both these figures being well outside the usually recommended maximum difference of + or - 2% versus OE size.

Similarly the approved winter size of 205/50 17 is 3.05% smaller than 225/50 17s.

How come?

How come?

SNOW CHAINS

SNOW CHAINS

Ah yes.

There is one thing though that disturbs me in this whole Winter Tyre saga which is the recommended use of 205/55 16 tyres.

These are, at 1985.1mm circumference, 3.79% smaller than 225/50 17s and 4.89% smaller than 215/60 16s; both these figures being well outside the usually recommended maximum difference of + or - 2% versus OE size.

Similarly the approved winter size of 205/50 17 is 3.05% smaller than 225/50 17s.

How come?

Dunno, could never work that out myself. But it's why I'll almost certainly go with 205/60 16 for my winters when my SM arrives. 5mm/0.76% difference to standard which is significantly closer than the 205/55 16, cheaper than the 215/60 16, easier to source and fills the arches imho better than the 205/55 16 with that deeper profile. Unless the 215/60 16 are cheap enough when I'm looking to buy, in which case I might just that route.

Daft question, but how easy is it to buy winter tyres in the height of summer (July/August)?

225/50-17 (original) - 2063.4 mm

205/55-16 - 1985.2 mm

215/60-16 - 2087.3 mm

But note that the 215/55-16 circumference is 2019.7 mm, so 215/55-16 is actually the closest to the OE tyre size (technically the 215/60-16 tyre is nearer but as the circumference is higher than the OE tyre it will make the speedo over-read which I think may not be legal). John

Surely a larger circumference will make the speedo under read. On the basis that the speedo can be 5% out but must NOT under read then this may be a problem.

But in the real world ?????

tom

I'm completely mad then, got 6.5Js!!!

Maybe you're not that mad after all - the table in the following link (and I don't know how authoritative it is) states the maximum tyre width that should be fitted to 6" wheels is 205, the 6.5" wheels can accommodate up to 215.

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

Surely a larger circumference will make the speedo under read. On the basis that the speedo can be 5% out but must NOT under read then this may be a problem.

But in the real world ?????

tom

You're right....I should have said under-read. It didn't feel write as I wrote it.

John

Surely a larger circumference will make the speedo under read.

But in the real world ?????

tom

Using TomTom on a straight flat road, with my 215/60 R16's my speedo was still overeading - indicated 73, actual 70mph. Which sort of ties in with the 205/55 R16, figures I saw earlier somewhere of about 80 indicated with tom-tom about 73 or so.

Mike

Are many of you using 4 season tyres, rather than going for full Winters?

225/50R17 98V GOODYEAR EAGLE VECTOR 4 SEASON XL's are going for about the same price as the equvalent summer tyre at Event Tyres right now - and they appear to have 'em in stock too.

I finally got my winter tyres fitted today (Dunlops from "reifen.com" ). When I called Skoda Insurance to notify them about fitting the winter tyres and 16" wheels the customer service girl said there was new internal guidance regarding winter tyres/wheels such that there's no issue as long as:

(i) the wheel/tyre sizes has been approved by the manufacturer, and

(ii) the rolling diameter of the wheel is identical to the original wheel/tyres fitted to the vehicle.

As previously discussed on the forum the second condition is not achievable if you change wheel size. I told her there was a slight difference (reduction) in overall diameter but that it was approved by Skoda and within legal limits which seemed to satisfy her. Skoda Insurance had previously advised me that having SUK approval would be sufficient.

I also asked if it was necessary for me to notify Skoda Insurance evey time I changed the wheels/tyres and, after speaking to a supervisor, she confirmed that this was the case (although it's hard to understand what it achieves??).

Let Winter commence!

Let Winter commence!

Where have you been since mid November ?

Where have you been since mid November ?

In my house looking at Bumble* snowbound in the driveway.

* I stole the name from someone else on the forum a few months ago and it's too late to change it now as it won't answer to anything else :S