Here, in The royal Kingdom of Norway, the general advice is: Stick to 16" rims in combination with winter-tires (spiked as well as spike-free). Bigger rims will cause the car to "float" in conditions where the snow has not yet settled or has not yet been scraped/ bulldozered from the asphalt.

While still waiting on our new superb estate we have not yet decided on the extra set of rims with winter-tires that are obligatory in wintertime. As of today we drive 16" rims with spiked tires which offer good all round performence here in Northern Norway, some 400 kilometers into the arctic circle. But...

There is one big disadvantage with 16" rims and that is that the car picks up a lot of snow. We have huge chuncks of ice and snow dangling from the underside of the car which are notoriously difficult to remove (we don`t have a garage).

Now my tiny brain has come up this idea that putting 17" rims on the car will lift the car 2" more inches away from the road, thus picking up less snow, Is that a correct assumption?

Furthermore I have pondered about the "floating" problem. The roads where we live are continiously buldozered in wintertime as long as it is snowing. This means that we almost never are confronted with "loose, fresh snow" as a surface to drive on. The bulldozers scrape away all snow, just leaving behind a hard packed layer of compressed snow, no more than a few centimeters thick.

Now my questions are:

Who of you has experience in driving 17" rims with winter-tires on a regular basis, in a country that has real winter-seasons? Have you ever had problems when driving, that you can correlate to having 17" rims?

Am I correct in the assumption that having 17" rims will lift the car 2 more inches away from the roadsurface, thus picking up less snow?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Edited 27 October, 201015 yr by Doc Watchtower

I doubt youll get the answer you need from British members here.

Most British drivers are ignorant about the benefits of winter tyres

They are under the misconception that they are not needed!!

OK..We dont get much snow but when we do, the roads are paralysed!!

Edited 27 October, 201015 yr by ChrisRs

Am I correct in the assumption that having 17" rims will lift the car 2 more inches away from the roadsurface, thus picking up less snow?

No you have misunderstood how it works, when you increase rim size you then decrease the sidewall profile of the tyre to suit (otherwise your gearing would be all over the place) the overall rolling circumference of the tyres will remain the same.

HTH

Sweden-Stockholm answering. I drive on studded 17" all winter and they work just fine but I agree that they do pick up a lot of snow especially next to the mud flaps. Sometimes the snow even toches the tire with the whole space being obliterated.

I have now swithched from "Sedan" to Combi but I assume I'll still have same problem.

The car before my superb sedan (2009 model) was a Land Cruiser 100 and I was very apprehensible (with regard to winter driving) about switching from this SUV-truck to a 2 wheel drive superb. I was especially fearfull of traveling up to go skiing. I can report the Superb

preformed much better than I expected!

Hi I find this site quite good for calculating tyre sizes

As I run an off roader and change tyres and rims to suit occasion

http://www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp

It's quite good at working out different tyre rim combinations and calculating

Any speedo errors

Hope this helps

Andy

The 17 inch tyres not only have smaller sidewalls, but they are also considerably wider. The rolling radius is about the same

What worries me is not so much about the snow clearance but the words in the handbook that you cannot fit snow chains to 18 inch wheels as fitted as standard to the excellence. Since I plan to go skiing this winter I am still trying to come up with a solution to this problem other than buying a completely new set of wheels.

John

Edited 27 October, 201015 yr by johnE

No you have misunderstood how it works, when you increase rim size you then decrease the sidewall profile of the tyre to suit (otherwise your gearing would be all over the place) the overall rolling circumference of the tyres will remain the same.

HTH

Thanks for your info! I was led to believe that larger rims would mean bigger ground clearence because the visual impression I got when looking at a superb with 17 or larger rims. It seemed to have bigger ground clearence. This is as I understand, an optical illusion?

Conclusion is therefore that larger rims will not give the car more ground clearence because of the also changing sidwall - circumference ratio?

17" tyres / wheels are a mere 20mm wider than 16" (225 vs 205)

using correct size tyres for 17" rims will NOT alter the rolling radius, and the car will remain the same height.

i have 18" rims with winter tyres for my superb - altho never used as yet as i have only had my car since late April.

For the UK - i think it's personal choice over life and death... but we'll soon find out!

Al.

What worries me is not so much about the snow clearance but the words in the handbook that you cannot fit snow chains to 18 inch wheels as fitted as standard to the excellence.

IMHO I think the 18" wheels on the Superb Elegance are a bit silly. Quite honestly I would have been happier with 17" wheels but on the Elegance spec that isn't possible. The car maybe fantastic in all sorts of ways, but it aint a VRS. Apart from appearance (which is entirely subjective) I cannot see anything but disadvantages such as more expensive tyres, potentially harder ride and now you point out they won't take snow chains.

I know that this could be seen as heresy on an enthusiasts forum but enthusiasts are not necessarily representative of the general market (but then again maybe I'm not either).

Best regards

David

Edited 27 October, 201015 yr by cookdn

IMHO I think the 18" wheels on the Superb Elegance are a bit silly. Quite honestly I would have been happier with 17" wheels but on the Elegance spec that isn't possible. The car maybe fantastic in all sorts of ways, but it aint a VRS. Apart from appearance (which is entirely subjective) I cannot see anything but disadvantages such as more expensive tyres, potentially harder ride and now you point out they won't take snow chains.

I know that this could be seen as heresy on an enthusiasts forum but enthusiasts are not necessarily representative of the general market (but then again maybe I'm not either).

Best regards

David

Strange- My Elegance has 17" rims as standard... Must be a marketing thing, I guess that Luxembourg cars share the belgian (and possibly Dutch?) importer.

Maxbert

I agree with David... although having ordered an SE spec (17" alloys as standard), you might think that comes as no surprise!

The 17" rims are the perfect size for the Superb if you ask me. The larger rims look out of place... as huge rims do on ANY car. Who wants to look like a chav??

I also think the Trifid alloys are the best-looking of the whole range! Who's with me?!

The 17 inch tyres not only have smaller sidewalls, but they are also considerably wider. The rolling radius is about the same

What worries me is not so much about the snow clearance but the words in the handbook that you cannot fit snow chains to 18 inch wheels as fitted as standard to the excellence. Since I plan to go skiing this winter I am still trying to come up with a solution to this problem other than buying a completely new set of wheels.

John

Why not try a pair of autosocks, these will fit on 18" with no problems, and on reading the reviews, seem as good as chains, in most situations. I have just received my set, and they are now set to be placed in boot, in case needed over winter.

Why not try a pair of autosocks, these will fit on 18" with no problems, and on reading the reviews, seem as good as chains, in most situations. I have just received my set, and they are now set to be placed in boot, in case needed over winter.

I realise that autosocks do not meet the legal requirement to carry snow chains in the alps in winter, but then the gendarmes have never actually pulled me over and instructed me to put them on. However, I suspect that I will be in deep dodos if ever I got stuck and did not have snowchains on. But what if I got stuck with autosocks on? Autosocks are not held in high regard in skiing forums where they are regarded as a bit fragile. Has anyone ever used them and can comment?

Also has anyone actually tried those very expensive devices that do not actually go over the back of the wheel. Will they fit?

John

Edited 27 October, 201015 yr by johnE

I agree with David... although having ordered an SE spec (17" alloys as standard), you might think that comes as no surprise!

The 17" rims are the perfect size for the Superb if you ask me. The larger rims look out of place... as huge rims do on ANY car. Who wants to look like a chav??

I also think the Trifid alloys are the best-looking of the whole range! Who's with me?!

I'm with you! :yes: But then again I'm a comfort junkie and have gone for the 16 " alloys. They don't look as good as the Triffids, but I will not see them sitting in my car (eventually). And what other outside the car thinks is their problems, not mine... :p

/Superbjoser

I realise that autosocks do not meet the legal requirement to carry snow chains in the alps in winter

Well, they do at least in Slovenian Alps.

Aleš

How about carrying chains as required by law but using socks when you absolutely need to?

I have18" and continental ts810 winter tyres..but also have the benefit of the 4x4..so I carry chains(when heading to austria etc) but I doubt I'll ever have to use them.. (just as well considering the 18" handbook comments of no chains!..and no, I haven't practised fitting them to see if they do fit as I have a very hard time thinking there'll be situations that the winter tyres+4x4 won't manage)

Edited 29 October, 201015 yr by SimonK

How about carrying chains as required by law but using socks when you absolutely need to?

I have18" and continental ts810 winter tyres..but also have the benefit of the 4x4..so I carry chains(when heading to austria etc) but I doubt I'll ever have to use them.. (just as well considering the 18" handbook comments of no chains!..and no, I haven't practised fitting them to see if they do fit as I have a very hard time thinking there'll be situations that the winter tyres+4x4 won't manage)

Thanks for the advice. I willgive that a go. I have a set of thin chains I last used on a 17 inch Audi wheel that will probably fit, but wondered what would happen on full suspension movement etc.

Does Skoda say anywhere why you cannot use snow chains on 18 inch tyres? I suspect it is the clearance between the suspension and the wheels (Which will make them horrible to fit if they do fit.)

As others have said, the difference in rim size will only affect the tire's profile - not the radius or car height.

I have 17" rims (on oem rims) on my Octy II RS here in Finland, with studded Nokian tires, and have not had major floating problems so far, even compared to my previous car (Focus w/ 14" rims). Just moved to the countryside, so time will tell.

The thing that makes the most difference is the tire width. In wintertime, the narrower the better. That reduces the floating problem, as the surface pressure is greater - reverse of what eg. wider tracks will do on a tank as it stays better on top of snow and mud.

For those that live in areas that have a lot of snowfall, my recommendation is:

- If studded tires are legal, get them - particularly if your roads are icy.

- If not, get the best non-studded winter tires. Tires made for Scandinavian conditions have fared much better in tests here in actual winter tests than those made for Central European markets (which tend to fare better in cold-wet driving conditions than the Scandinavian market versions).

- In addition to the winter tires, not instead of them, consider getting chains if the conditions tend to get really bad.

Thanks for the advice. I willgive that a go. I have a set of thin chains I last used on a 17 inch Audi wheel that will probably fit, but wondered what would happen on full suspension movement etc.

Does Skoda say anywhere why you cannot use snow chains on 18 inch tyres? I suspect it is the clearance between the suspension and the wheels (Which will make them horrible to fit if they do fit.)

Even when the label says, "Aye..." be careful when you fit chains and try them out before the day comes when you need them. I had a set of one of those quick-fit snowchains ("noname") for our Vauxhall Vivaro that according to the users manual shoul fit like a "T". The day I really needed them (there was now way around) they showed to be a somewhat "loose fit" and as I struggled over the icy road, trying to get home, the chains happily chewed away at the cars` inside of the plastic wheel-arches leaving them shredded to pieces when I arrived home.

The alternative would have been "pirouetting" home in the dead of night, on a un-illuminated B-road, bordered with pinetrees and elks with an "can`t be bothered" attitude.

So...Try out those chains, BEFORE that day comes around when they are supposed to get you home safely.

Another thing to "have" lying around in your car and which does not take up so much space are these anti-spinning mats:

When skidded of the road and being unabvle to drive on sometimes it is just enough to place these in front of your wheels, giving you enough grip to emerge from a ditch, or for example an exceptional slippery surface that leaves you spinning in the same spot.

Edited 30 October, 201015 yr by Doc Watchtower

I like those mats, you got a linky ?

Alas, I can find only the Norwegian version at the moment but I am sure UK shops will have something similar in their catalogue?

Oh wait! here is one that is more in your vicinity.

Aptly called "The escaper"

Edited 30 October, 201015 yr by Doc Watchtower

Here, in The royal Kingdom of Norway, the general advice is: Stick to 16" rims in combination with winter-tires (spiked as well as spike-free). Bigger rims will cause the car to "float" in conditions where the snow has not yet settled or has not yet been scraped/ bulldozered from the asphalt.

While still waiting on our new superb estate we have not yet decided on the extra set of rims with winter-tires that are obligatory in wintertime. As of today we drive 16" rims with spiked tires which offer good all round performence here in Northern Norway, some 400 kilometers into the arctic circle. But...

There is one big disadvantage with 16" rims and that is that the car picks up a lot of snow. We have huge chuncks of ice and snow dangling from the underside of the car which are notoriously difficult to remove (we don`t have a garage).

Now my tiny brain has come up this idea that putting 17" rims on the car will lift the car 2" more inches away from the road, thus picking up less snow, Is that a correct assumption?

Furthermore I have pondered about the "floating" problem. The roads where we live are continiously buldozered in wintertime as long as it is snowing. This means that we almost never are confronted with "loose, fresh snow" as a surface to drive on. The bulldozers scrape away all snow, just leaving behind a hard packed layer of compressed snow, no more than a few centimeters thick.

Now my questions are:

Who of you has experience in driving 17" rims with winter-tires on a regular basis, in a country that has real winter-seasons? Have you ever had problems when driving, that you can correlate to having 17" rims?

Am I correct in the assumption that having 17" rims will lift the car 2 more inches away from the roadsurface, thus picking up less snow?

Thanks in advance for your input!

Cheers DOC :yes:

Hi, as a fellow norwegian I feel I can contribute somewhat to the discussion. As stated by several of repliers to this post, increased rim size do not increase the ground clearance, it's the sidewalls that decreases, so the ride-height remains the same. Having driven a BMW 1-series coupe, with 17" studless winter tyres for the last 2 winters (have a Superb Combi now, ah the pleasures of family life!) I must say the difference is not that big compared with 16", except in rather snowy conditions. 16" tyres beeing narrower is much better, and that's the reason I've opted for 16" winter tyres for my Superb.

By the way, I'm wondering a bit about you english Superb owners opting for 4wd, I've never driven anything other than 2wd (rear or front driven) in Norway for 20 years now, very seldom have I wished I had 4wd. Of course, you don't normally change to winter tyres as we scandinavians do, and I know conditions in Britian can be bad in wintertime, but still!