Hello fellow Skoda drivers.

Yesterday I fitted winter tyres on my vRS TFSI and today it seems as if the fuel economy has in improved?!

Has anybody else experienced this? My summer tyres are 225/40-18 and the winter tyres are 205/55-16, so they should be pretty similar in terms of size. At 110 km/h the difference in true speed is 2 km/h. Perhaps it is the aerodynamics...?

A 2 x 35km trip yielded and average about 12.8km/l (30 mpg) at 120km/h for 80% of the distance and 90km/h for the rest. This is around 1.3km/l or 3mpg improvement compared to last week on summer tyres.

Has anyone seen similar behavior? My old Fabia had much less size difference between summer and winter tyres, so I didn't notice anything with that car...

Seen over a year, the consumption difference costs +£200 - if it is for real

It's to do with the width of the tyre that increases the wind drag and the increased friction on the road due to the wider footprint (which is what you want on a grippy summer tyre).....

Yes I am getting better economy on 4 brand new winter tyres...

Well should compensate you for the drop that you'll get with the colder weather and shorter days (headlights on more) and when the winter diesel starts appearing at the pumps for us diesel users.

Better get my winters on quick then.

Well should compensate you for the drop that you'll get with the colder weather and shorter days (headlights on more) and when the winter diesel starts appearing at the pumps for us diesel users.

Better get my winters on quick then.

I live in DK where you must have headlights on all the time Apart from that, you are right - especially with diesel cars.

Definitely better fuel consumption on winter tyres but I suspect similar size summer tyres on same pressure would deliver even better economy. All things being equal the softer compound and blocky tread of the winter tyre should translate to higher fuel consumption so I was pleasantly surprised.

Slightly off topic, do you find that the ride quality & tyre noise is also better?

Slightly off topic, do you find that the ride quality & tyre noise is also better?

yes, that's the consensus on the yeti forum too, most people moving from 17 inch SUK supplied bling wheels to 16 inch have reported improved ride

I've not changed wheel size or tyre size but the winter tyres seem to be as good (mpg wise) as the "low rolling resistance" summer tyres that came on the Greenline II. The winter tyre is also quieter.

It's to do with the width of the tyre that increases the wind drag and the increased friction on the road due to the wider footprint (which is what you want on a grippy summer tyre).....

Totally agree because your correct No magic involved

I've moved from 225/50R17 Dunlop SP01s to the same size Dunlop WinterSport 4D and there seems to be a definite improvement. I think its the first time the Scout has reported better than 54mpg. I was driving a bit gingerly because it was a very warm weekend, so not a very scientific test, but I'm really pleased. They also seem quieter than the part worn (4mm) SP01s. I'm wondering if the much more modern design has made a difference - the SP01 has been around for ages.

Edited 18 November, 201114 yr by London Les

Slightly off topic, do you find that the ride quality & tyre noise is also better?

Ride quality is subjective, so it is hard to say... But at least I find it less rigid and more prone to understear, but I guess that is what you could expect.

I have done some searching on the Internet on this topic, and I have not found much "official" data to support my findings. Nevertheless I found this article from ADAC in Germany: http://www.adac.de/_mm/pdf/Reifenbreite_Vergleich_27982.pdf

In the article they state that going from 185 to 225 tyre with will typically increase your drag 6%. Then you also have to add the extra tyre friction from the wider tyres, and in the end you might be able to add everything up to 10%.

The article also finds that the wider tyres will stop your car more than 5 meters earlier from 100km/h, which is a lot I think - the additional friction really is good for the braking distance