My 06 Octavia vrs passed it's mot today!! Excellent!!

Unfortunatley, it got an advisory notice for all 4 tyres! They are cracking up between the treads.

I currently have on Bridgestones 225/45/17 which appear to be Y rated, looking online, tyre firms keep saying the correct tyres for my car are W rated!

Gonna have to change them before long, any recomendations?

On the rating issue, also make sure that the load rating is sufficient. That's the number before the letter. So 92Y for example.

Depending on what you're looking to spend per corner I'd consider Falken FK452, Uniroyal Rainsport2, Goodyear F1 Assymetric, Michelin PS3, Hankook V12 Evo, Vredstein Sessanta.

Also check out www.tyrereviews.co.uk

Dunlop Sport Maxx are trash. My rears are hopeless, completely sawtoothed now. Worst tyre for it IMHO.

what milage had you done on the Dunlops? my Sportmax rears have lasted 20k.. same opinion on Dunlops over on the GTI forum http://www.golfgtiforum.co.uk/index.php?topic=153349.0

Speaking of load rating, my Octy with 17" rims had 94s fitted, while the 16" ones are 91. Is it essential to use 94-rated tyres on stock 17" rims? Both cars are pre-facelift PD 140s.

Mileage seems irrelevant if Sportmaxx are fitted to the rear of an Octy2 running OEM suspension settings - as they'll sawtooth and rumble way, way before the entirety of the tread's worn down

what milage had you done on the Dunlops? my Sportmax rears have lasted 20k.. same opinion on Dunlops over on the GTI forum http://www.golfgtifo...?topic=153349.0

30k, but they have been bad from the start. The GT version is a different tyre and do wear better.

Speaking of load rating, my Octy with 17" rims had 94s fitted, while the 16" ones are 91. Is it essential to use 94-rated tyres on stock 17" rims? Both cars are pre-facelift PD 140s.

Pretty sure that 91 load index will be fine. Mine are 91 rated, 94 will be stiffer sidewall too which might help handling but not ride.

Mileage seems irrelevant if Sportmaxx are fitted to the rear of an Octy2 running OEM suspension settings - as they'll sawtooth and rumble way, way before the entirety of the tread's worn down

Very true. That's why I am now going for Pilot Sport PS3 which are not directional and my current fronts have lasted 20k!

Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 (http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Goodyear/Eagle-F1-Asymmetric-2.htm) looks like it could have a very good balance between performance, noise, and fuel consumption.

Not enough reviews to know, and don't know of any octavia's that use them so might saw tooth but I see you can buy them pretty cheap (http://www.oponeo.co.uk/tyre-details/goodyear-eagle-f1-asymmetric-2-225-40-r18-88-y/).

Could be worth a punt?

If you get let us know how you get on, I'm sure everyone else would be interested to know (I would).

Edited 24 March, 201115 yr by DbD

Pretty sure that 91 load index will be fine. Mine are 91 rated, 94 will be stiffer sidewall too which might help handling but not ride.

Sounds right to me - thanks! In due course I expect I'll replace the 17" rims with 16" steels from the Superb - my wife will be driving that one, and there's no point at all in keeping the 17s. Too expensive and too fragile!

Speaking of load rating, my Octy with 17" rims had 94s fitted, while the 16" ones are 91. Is it essential to use 94-rated tyres on stock 17" rims? Both cars are pre-facelift PD 140s.

I wondered about the extra load business and it seems (like so much in life) to have a complication.... and perhaps someone else can explain this better than I can...

I read that it is misleading in the sense that if you want to take advantage of the higher load capability then 94 rated tyres can take a higher inflation pressure.... if you use them at normal tyre pressures then they are actually not working at optimum and are not supposed to carry the same load as a 91 rated tyre would at the lower pressure. SO my understanding on a 225/45 R17 is that you are better to stick to the 91 and will likely get better ride quality.... check the owners manual - it wouldn't be recommended to use a lower rating than specified for the engine size etc....

Groovers,

Following much reading and thinking, then more reading I've finally gone for the Michelin Pilot sport 3, extra load variants.

The standard Dunlop's were pretty bad though it took me 16000 to get the fronts down to the wear bars! {Trips to the alps, Wales and Dorset}

That said they were poor in terms of feedback and performance tailed off significantly at around 3mm! Lots of understear, Terrible in the wet and not better in the dry. Also experiencing "sawtoothing" on the rears! They were so bad i ace the car to the wife for her to drive!

The Michelin's are awesome in comparison! I'm aware that any change from knackered tyres to fresh rubber will feel good but they are leaps ahead in terms of feedback, noise and the grip from the front end is tenacious! Pin sharp turn in and very stable!

Recommended!

Any questions let me know!

Octavia MKII, VRS TD CR ETC......

30k, but they have been bad from the start. The GT version is a different tyre and do wear better.

I've had Sport maxx GT's since new. Now at 17000 miles and 2 need replacing and the other 2 have about 5000 miles left.

Other than pure dry road grip at new, they have been a terrible tyre with sawtoothing and inside camber rounding/wear

Well, I have ordered 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 225/45/R17 91 Y tyres from www.etyres.co.uk £119.80 each all in, £479.20 total.

I have requested fitting Wednesday 30/3/11.

Well, I have ordered 4 Goodyear Eagle F1 asymmetric 225/45/R17 91 Y tyres from www.etyres.co.uk £119.80 each all in, £479.20 total.

I have requested fitting Wednesday 30/3/11.

Tell us how you get on - they're on my list if I do decide to keep the 17"s after all.

Never save on tires. Not 20 quid for a low end tire when you can have one of the premium brands. Obviously read the reviews as decent tire manufactures also make cr@py tires.

Obviously it depends greatly on the performance of the car and the urgency of the driver, but I have to say, much to my surprise, my cheapo "Sunny" had its first longish drive in lousy weather today and I purposely pushed it a bit on wet bends etc., and it feels no different from the other tyres, and that is with just the one Sunny tyre on the rear (Continental on the rest) which you would think would make it even dodgier.

The £50 Sunny is just as grippy in the wet, and no noisier at any speed.

But I must stress this is not on a VRS, just a 1.8TSi, and was driven firmly but not crazy!!

So the only other aspect would be mileage, and it will be a long time before I can judge that.

I love Uniroyals, but they wear out really quickly. I went through a set in 12k on my old car!

12k from just one set of tyres....I dream of the day...

Just ordered 4 x Michelin Pilot Sport 3 (225/45 R17 91Y) for less than £120 each fitted. Good value. The ones I have on the front have just lasted 21,000.

Goodyear Eagle F1's now on the car!

Very good service from www.etyres.co.uk

They rang as promised with a fitting time before 09.30, & said they would be with me between 10 & 12.

They arrived at 10.20, & left at 11.40.

Only driven the car 5 miles, but it seems to be handling well, very positive steering, not too much noise,

I'm happy, just got to remove the excess lube from tyre walls.

Good result that, especially for the total price paid