Can anyone tell me what the recommended tyre pressures are for 16" wheels? Mine says 2.1 Bar for light load, and 3 bar for heavy load (seems a massive difference) for 18" wheels but the manual doesn't state pressures for different sizes. I've currently got some 16" steelies on and found my Avon Ice Touring STs made the car feel under damped when running at 2.3 Bar (manual says extra 0.2 for winter tyres), and I'm wondering if higher profile 16" wheels are supposed to be run at a slightly higher pressure in the first place.

I run my 16" winter wheels at 45 psi. Works for me for the same reasons you stated.

Isn't there a label inside the fuel flap with them all on?

No, annoyingly the sticker only gives the one set of pressures, for the standard 18" wheels, unless they''re all the same which is I'm wondering what someone with 16" wheels as standard has on their sticker.

I upped them to 2.5 bar (36psi) yesterday and they felt a lot better on the motorway, not tried them on a twistier road yet though. Might try going higher if TsvRS reckons 45psi is working well.

for the 205/55R16 on a PD140 the standard pressures are 2.0 bar front and 2.1 bar rear.

The same size tyres on a PD170 are 2.1 bar all round.

Add 0.2 bar for winter use.

45psi would worry me - I wouldn't want to be doing 70mph and the tyre heats up - you will probably have 60 psi in them when hot!

I noticed that I had my winters slightly over inflated last year looking at the tread wear when the tyres came off - I was running at 2.4 bar on the front and the centre of the tyre wore slightly more than the edges, indicating that they were a little high.

I am running 2.2 bar front and 2.3 bar rear this year on the winters.

45psi would worry me - I wouldn't want to be doing 70mph and the tyre heats up - you will probably have 60 psi in them when hot!

The rear tyres for my car are specified at 3 bar for a full load. This is intended to stop them overheating- the sidewalls would be flexing a lot more, producing a heating effect heat, if they were not pumped up.

They definitely do not get hot. The front tyres get warmer than the rears- even when doing a swift run on the autoroutes/autobahns.Using a calibrated hand.

Stick to the handbook recommendations.

I run my 16" winter wheels at 45 psi. Works for me for the same reasons you stated.

My Avon Ice touring 205/55/R16 have max pressure 44psi stamped on the sidewall.

I'm running fronts at 35 and rears at 37 so far.

45psi would worry me - I wouldn't want to be doing 70mph and the tyre heats up - you will probably have 60 psi in them when hot!

The rear tyres for my car are specified at 3 bar for a full load. This is intended to stop them overheating- the sidewalls would be flexing a lot more, producing a heating effect heat, if they were not pumped up.

They definitely do not get hot. The front tyres get warmer than the rears- even when doing a swift run on the autoroutes/autobahns.Using a calibrated hand.

Stick to the handbook recommendations.

The pressures I quoted are from the handbook.

3 bar full load for rears - I don't see a problem with that for the reasons you stated, but 3 bar on the fronts? Seems a tad too high for my liking. As you said, the fronts get hotter, so 45psi at 0 degrees C = what pressure after a motorway cruise when the tyres warm up??

My Avon Ice touring 205/55/R16 have max pressure 44psi stamped on the sidewall.

I'm running fronts at 35 and rears at 37 so far.

About 2.4 and 2.6 bar - not too far off what I am running.

Can anyone tell me what the recommended tyre pressures are for 16" wheels? Mine says 2.1 Bar for light load, and 3 bar for heavy load (seems a massive difference) for 18" wheels but the manual doesn't state pressures for different sizes. I've currently got some 16" steelies on and found my Avon Ice Touring STs made the car feel under damped when running at 2.3 Bar (manual says extra 0.2 for winter tyres), and I'm wondering if higher profile 16" wheels are supposed to be run at a slightly higher pressure in the first place.

Hi

I have 16" wheels on at the moment with Continental WinterContact 205x55x16 tyres fitted.

Currently have rears set to 32psi and the fronts set to 38psi.

The car drives very well at these pressures.

I would think that 45psi is a bit high and would make the ride a bit harsh not to mention the handling would be a bit bouncy round corners and also, the tyres may wear in the middle.

Here is a tip that may help - If you drive the car along a bit of damp road when the tyres are dry, you will see where the dampness goes to on the tread. If it goes onto the sidewall, they are too soft. If it doesn't reach the edge of the tread, they are too hard. You want the dampness to show right across the tread so you know the full tread and nothing more is in contact with the road.

Hope this helps.

Cheers

Dave

Edited 18 December, 201114 yr by FatblokeVRS

Running your tyres at 45 PSI is daft and dangerous, they are over inflated, and will wear out in the centres, and give less grip if you have to do an emergency stop, I just hope your not behind me if you have to do one

2.4 front, 2.8 rear 205/55/16 winter.

Running your tyres at 45 PSI is daft and dangerous, they are over inflated, and will wear out in the centres, and give less grip if you have to do an emergency stop, I just hope your not behind me if you have to do one

Believe me, where you don't want to be when I do an emergency stop is behind me . The grip is just fine and no wear in the centres.

Believe me, where you don't want to be when I do an emergency stop is behind me . The grip is just fine and no wear in the centres.

45PSI is seriously high for that size tyre no matter what the load and I reckon if an accident examiner saw that it would not look good on the report...............

45PSI is seriously high for that size tyre no matter what the load and I reckon if an accident examiner saw that it would not look good on the report...............

I agree it is high but it feels about right. Max pressure is 51 psi for my tyres (Nokian WR-G2 2055/55-16 94V).

I run my car at the recommended tyre pressures.When fully laden with camping gear- 3bar rear and 2.3bar front. The tyres do not wear out in the middle or overheat. Utter tosh to suggest that the manufacturers specify wrongly in the handbook.

Drove 3500 miles this year in France and Germany and the car felt and sounded normal.

Feel free to use Bluecol in the coolant and 20W/50 in the engine.

I agree it is high but it feels about right. Max pressure is 51 psi for my tyres (Nokian WR-G2 2055/55-16 94V).

How many miles have you done with them at 45psi?

After 5000 miles I would be interested in the tread depth in the centre and also at 3/4 of the width.

I know my fronts wore about 1mm more of the centre running at a lower pressure than that last year, which indicates they were at too high a pressure. It was obvious once all the air was out of the tyre and it was off of the rim that the wear wasn't even.

The rears wore evenly though.

Interestingly, the tyres you have are XL rated, which is a stiffer sidewall for extra load carrying capacity, usually for heavier vehicles like MPV's or small vans. Did you opt for these intentionally as XL tyres are not standard spec for the Octavia AFAIK. This may be why you have to run at a higher pressure than Skoda recommend, as the tyres have not got the weight on them that they were designed for. Ordinarily you would go for the standard 91H as a winter tyre on 205/55R16.

Each to their own, but I still think 45psi on the front is a bit high.

How many miles have you done with them at 45psi?

After 5000 miles I would be interested in the tread depth in the centre and also at 3/4 of the width.

I know my fronts wore about 1mm more of the centre running at a lower pressure than that last year, which indicates they were at too high a pressure. It was obvious once all the air was out of the tyre and it was off of the rim that the wear wasn't even.

The rears wore evenly though.

Interestingly, the tyres you have are XL rated, which is a stiffer sidewall for extra load carrying capacity, usually for heavier vehicles like MPV's or small vans. Did you opt for these intentionally as XL tyres are not standard spec for the Octavia AFAIK. This may be why you have to run at a higher pressure than Skoda recommend, as the tyres have not got the weight on them that they were designed for. Ordinarily you would go for the standard 91H as a winter tyre on 205/55R16.

Each to their own, but I still think 45psi on the front is a bit high.

I think I have done about 11,000 miles on them so far and I have about 6mm left on the tread. I will have a really good look tomorrow to check the tread depth again just in case. I think I went for the XL rated tyres onl;y because they were on offer and you may well have a point about the sidewalls.

They are V rated though and feel very solid. The ride quality is excellent too.

I think I have done about 11,000 miles on them so far and I have about 6mm left on the tread. I will have a really good look tomorrow to check the tread depth again just in case. I think I went for the XL rated tyres onl;y because they were on offer and you may well have a point about the sidewalls.

They are V rated though and feel very solid. The ride quality is excellent too.

I did about 8,000 miles on my winters last year in the 4 months they were on the car, and the wear difference was noticeable on the fronts. The fronts were just under half worn (meaning I had just over half the tread depth left), whilst the rears still looked like new.

This year the worn ones are on the rear (contrary to the advice in the other thread about making sure you have the best tread on the rear). I reckon they will do this winter and next before I need to replace them, I am not complaining if I get 25K out of a set of winter tyres, given the softer rubber etc.

Be interested if you can see any difference in tread depth if you get a chance - it usually gives a good indication of correct pressures for the load and conditions.

Edit:

Just checked I did 10K between the beginning of December and the end of March, so it looks like closer to 30K out of them!