Fitted Winter Tyres to the mk2

[Wibb]

Booked the car in to Hayselden Skoda of Doncaster for a saturday morning rubber swap.

Tyres Off: Conti Sport Contact 2 205/40 R17

Tyres On: Pirelli Sotto Zero 204/40 R17 (£125/ea from camskill)

Arrived at just after 8, greeted by the nice lady at the reception who gave me a complementry hot drink from the machine.

They took the car into the workshop 08:30hrs where they did their thing.

I had a set of Alloygators fitted which i wanted to take off when they changed the tyre which they did without a problem.

I got bored sitting in the lounge so i wandered out to the shop floor door outside and took a few pictures.

I watched them refit the wheels, everything by the book, torqued up the bolts using a torque wrench as opposed to an air ratchet.

Driving home by 10:30hrs.

£57.50 for fitting, new valves & balancing.

They even gave the wheels a wash down afterwards which is nice.

I gota say the winters are definately quieter on road noise and harshness compared to the Conti SC2s

[Auric Goldfinger]

Nice Reg Number

[VRsCation]

Wibb are you expecting the sub 7deg temps before me? Don't go wishing it on us too soon!

[Wibb]

wanted a chance to see how these behave in mild temps before the cold hits :p

[the mad monk]

what happens with the alloygators? can you reuse these

i quite fancy some but not if i have to renew them each time i change tyres

Edited 3 October, 2011 by the mad monk

[Wibb]

yes you can put them back on as normal, but you might need some replacement metal clips as some tend to get lost when they take them off.

[the mad monk]

ah, thats ok then, you can buy the clips separately too. im guessing 2nd time round is even easier than first as there cut to fit now

only thing now is, white car black alloys, do i get black or white gators?

[Gizmo]

Hang on a minute.... you chose (possibly) the hottest day of the year to fit WINTER tyres?

Hope there is something left on them when the temperature drops low enough for them to 'work'.

[the mad monk]

we could have them 365 24/7, not everywhere in England seems to get the sun these days

[VRsCation]

wanted a chance to see how these behave in mild temps before the cold hits :p

My experience of running in temps above say 10deg is they feel very floaty and actually loose grip just like a summer tyre in the cold and wet.

The wear can be pretty rapid too, I ran a set of Nokian's on my 1st Stilo multiwagon through the spring and summer and they were shot after 5000 miles... that was an expensive experiment!

[apmaman]

Looks good!

Surprised you didn't op for a cheap set of alloy or steel wheels to use with the winter tyres but whatever floats yer boat!

Bring on the snow I say!

[Wibb]

insurance (admiral) didnt let me get a second set of wheels steel or alloy so hence the low profile winters

[Can]

Thats interestingly diffrent to what I was told by the same insurance company.

Though my factory option black alloys are listed in my insurance and they said as I had alloys declaired it didn't matter.

[sharkrider]

like OP my insurance company said no problem with winters IF they are the OE size, i.e. 205/40/17's... I will put some on, but I'm going for the nokians at £62 a corner

[Auric Goldfinger]

Fitting some Kumho Winters on the Wife's Fabia MkII Vrs, 205/45/16 on Alloy wheels, I've informed her Insurance company, no problem with wheels or tyres, they just made a note on there system, no extra charge

Will be doing the same on my Octavia Vrs

[logiclee]

All UK Insurers must class winter tyres with steel wheels as standard fitment as long as you fit a size approved by the manufacturer for your vehicle. This situation was clarified last year when some insurers were charging extra for fitting winter tyres.

So it's worth checking with Skoda what's recommended for the vRS.

For my Passat the standard alloys are 235/45X17's but VW allow 16" steels with 205/55X16's or 215/55x16's winter tyres. I have 205/55X16 Pirelli Sottozero's.

For my wifes Fabia 2 the standard alloys are 195/55x15's but Skoda allow 14" wheels with 165/70x14's or 185/60x14's winter tyres. I have yet to order some steel wheels and 185/60X14's for the Fabia.

You also have to comply with the Load rating but are allowed to fit a lower speed rating, again this is in VW and Skoda hand books and some VAG protucts allow you to select winter tyres on the MFD and program in a lower speed. Again UK insurers must not class this as a modification as the ABI (Association of British Insurers) ruled last year. The ABI says the issue is down to call centre staff wrongly classing wheel changes as a modification when you are actually fitting approved wheel/tyre combinations.

Cheers

Lee

Edited 4 October, 2011 by logiclee