Hello there,

Im looking at some winter tyres for my Octy. I had a mondeo last winter that did ok in the harsh conditions but now I have an auto im doing everything I can (and afford) to try to ensure the octy is as good in the cold contions we hope we don't get! It also scares the hell out of me as the wife commutes across the high point of Yorkshire on a daily basis and is usually first on thr road at 5:45am.

My current tyres are Bridgestone 205/55/R16 91V

I ordered some Nokian WR G2 205/55/r16 91T

I have now cancelled that order as im led to belive that going to a slower speed rated tyes can invalidate insurance.

Does anyone have any ideas for alternatives?

Do I have to stick to 205/55/ R16 for the rims I have (standard Crateris Skoda elegance rims)

Im not intrested in steelies or another set of alloys, i plan to simply store the tyres myself (ive researched the best way to do this).

Any thought, Ideas, tips, advice.

Thanks in advance.

It is a dear way of doing it if you have to pay for your tyres to be swapped over and rebalanced twice a year, as most people will charge you around £10 per swap (so £80 per year) they also wont take up any more room to store than the tyres alone.

Anyway back to your question, you are allowed to use a lower speed rating for winter tyres without it affecting your insurance, ideally you need to stick to the size you currently have.

thanks for the quick reply.....I only plan on having this car for 3 winters so shouldnt be paying more than 240 for trye fitting. I prefer to keep the look of the car as it did when it left the factory. Just a personal prefoerance thing.

Given that, what winter tyre would you use? Are you sure about the speed rating, I have googled it and wikipedia'd it and both come out saying it can invalidate UK insurance?

Thanks

Chris

Youll be fine with H or V rated ones

These are mine:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=86902917.110.19295&typ=R-156571&ranzahl=4&Breite=205&Quer=55&Felge=16&weiter=80&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&sort_by=brand&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi

These are good too:

http://ssl.delti.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&cart_id=86902917.110.19295&typ=R-149242&ranzahl=4&Breite=205&Quer=55&Felge=16&weiter=0&kategorie=6&Ang_pro_Seite=20&sort_by=brand&Transport=P&dsco=110&sowigan=Wi

You can get V rated Nokians in that size - I've got some!

It's best to check with your company regarding insurance.

I couldn't seem to get W rated ones, so went with V. I don't think I'll be going over 150mph this winter anyway!

Make sure the load rating is the same or higher than standard too.

Edited 17 October, 201015 yr by blank

Given that, what winter tyre would you use?

I have bought a set of Nokian WR G2's (205/55 R16 94V XL) I bought the V rating ones as they were only £1 per tyre dearer than the H rated tyres.

Taken from the Superb manual:

"You can fit winter tyres of a lower speed category to your vehicle provided that you also do not drive faster than the permissible maximum speed for such tyres, even if possible maximum speed of your vehicle is higher. The corresponding tyre can damage the tyres when exceeding the permissible maximum speed."

"Please remember that the tyres should be inflated to 20 kPa (0.2 bar) more than is the case for summer tyres"

I have bought a set of Nokian WR G2's (205/55 R16 94V XL) I bought the V rating ones as they were only £1 per tyre dearer than the H rated tyres.

Taken from the Superb manual:

"You can fit winter tyres of a lower speed category to your vehicle provided that you also do not drive faster than the permissible maximum speed for such tyres, even if possible maximum speed of your vehicle is higher. The corresponding tyre can damage the tyres when exceeding the permissible maximum speed."

"Please remember that the tyres should be inflated to 20 kPa (0.2 bar) more than is the case for summer tyres"

Excuse my ignorance but whats the XL, logic dictate it mean Extra Large but why and whats the difference?

XL means extra load. In the size of tyre you are looking at 205/55R16, the normal load for this tyre is the '91' number, if the tyre has '94' it's an extra load tyre. For the Octavia you only need the normal '91' load rating.

Load ratings listed here: http://www.blackcircles.com/general/load-rating

Edited 17 October, 201015 yr by Bogwoppit