Hi all,

Sorry for this novice question, but I am looking at fitting a set of winter tyres to my Fabia. The standard tyres are 165/70 R14 81T, what I was wondering is this:

Would it be safe and legal to put 175/65 R14 on the original steel rim?

The tyre that I am going for is the Avon Ice Touring, has anybody used these before?

Any advise that you can shed on this will be much appreciated.

Ad

The one thing you don't want to be doing is going WIDER, so going up to a 175 is not a good idea.

AutoExpress did quite a good review recently, have a look at that.

Many thanks for that good piece of advise. I will replace like for like :-)

Ad

175/65x14 isn't an approved tyre size for the Fabia so you could run into insurance issues and as already said narrower is better.

I've just taken off 195/55x15's from my wife's Fabia and fitted 165/70x14 Bridgestone Blizzaks on steel wheels.

You should be able to source premium brands for £65 for that size

Cheers

Lee

Just fitted 165/70 R14 81T Goodyear Vector 4seasons to my sons Fabia I Classic. These have a full winter rating and will be just a capable in the snow as any budget winter if not better and with the added bonus that they will run through the summer too. So far they appear very good, particularly in the wet.

TP

Just fitted 165/70 R14 81T Goodyear Vector 4seasons to my sons Fabia I Classic. These have a full winter rating and will be just a capable in the snow as any budget winter if not better and with the added bonus that they will run through the summer too. So far they appear very good, particularly in the wet. T

Just a word for anyone else thinking about going down the "one tyre all year" route, yes it does save buying a second set of wheels and tyres, but, it is well acknowledged, that a premium all season tyre will always under perform when compared against premium winter tyres in winter and premium summer tyres in summer, but as I have said, in some instances, some people do need to go down that route - just don't expect that a premium all seasons tyre will be "premium" performance wise all year long - ie horses for courses.

I know someone that out of "tightness" has done just that and expects miracles, he might just be okay as he does tend to do lots of miles in winter for ski trips etc, but I'd reckon that he will get only one "good" winter's use out of that set of tyres and they will be okayish to finish off during the next summer period, trouble is, he has also bought a couple of extra wheels from a scrappy and I'd expect he will do the same before summer, so he has spent his money and will need to spend more in 6 months time. Remember, it is not by accident that ebay traders sell lots of part used winter tyres - they are coming in from mainland Europe where they get replaced when they are down to 5mm.

Edited 6 November, 201114 yr by rum4mo

Just a word for anyone else thinking about going down the "one tyre all year" route, yes it does save buying a second set of wheels and tyres, but, it is well acknowledged, that a premium all season tyre will always under perform when compared against premium winter tyres in winter and premium summer tyres in summer, but as I have said, in some instances, some people do need to go down that route - just don't expect that a premium all seasons tyre will be "premium" performance wise all year long - ie horses for courses.

I know someone that out of "tightness" has done just that and expects miracles, he might just be okay as he does tend to do lots of miles in winter for ski trips etc, but I'd reckon that he will get only one "good" winter's use out of that set of tyres and they will be okayish to finish off during the next summer period, trouble is, he has also bought a couple of extra wheels from a scrappy and I'd expect he will do the same before summer, so he has spent his money and will need to spend more in 6 months time. Remember, it is not by accident that ebay traders sell lots of part used winter tyres - they are coming in from mainland Europe where they get replaced when they are down to 5mm.

Fully aware there a 'jack of all trades'. However for a 54bhp Fabia I running on skinny tyres as standard, then personally I feel there just the job, and with careful rotation should last at least a couple of winters. Already noticed a big improvement in ride, handling and grip over the budget summer tyres the Skoda dealer fitted when we bought it nearly two years ago and that's in temperatures ranging from 4 to 16 deg.

TP