Front tyre wear on VRS

[Clive 1939]

Just been to see a good looking 2010 Octavia TDi VRS estate. Only done 15,000 miles and looks a very nice car, but I'm a tad concerned about apparent front tyres tread wear. Never owned a car with low-profile tyres, so I may be worrying about nothing. Are these cars known for excessive front wear (I've no reason to believe it's been driven maniacally!). My existing 130PD estate notches up over 50,000 miles on a set of tyres!! Grateful for any guidance.

[Davidsr20]

It's normall enough to be honest as the vrs gets a lot of wheel spin in wet or damp weather.

[prolfe]

Wet, damp or dry you mean!

9-15k is normal depending on tyre make and driving style.

1st and 2nd you'll get wheelspin in any weather, sometimes 3rd if its wet and your turning.

[bongobob]

I was about to ask the same thing as I've just swapped my conti sportcontact2's from front to back at only 7k miles. I was down to about 3mm on the fronts, although admittedly my driving style is quite 'spirited'. Even so, I was expecting a bit more wear out of them to be honest.

Anyone got experience of other tyres on their vRS's?

Edited 24 February, 2012 by bongobob

[Guest]

When i had my cr i was well into my second set of tyres by 15k.

[meta55]

I got 30'000 out of the michelin tyres i had on the front of my diesel vrs.

[tuono01]

I've got a fl cr estate and had 18k from the front, could have gone longer but it was the start of winter. Tyres were conti 2s and I'm not light footed. Now have conti 3s and they seem to be wearing quite well so far.

[Clive 1939]

9k to 30K then, it seems - wet OR dry. Gotta be down to driving style then, it seems to me. At 72 I'm no boy-racer but do like a bit of oomph when I need it. I pull a caravan as well, so that probably defines my normal driving style!! Any advances on the 'Michelin' recommendation? I'm less interested in performance than economy (but wanna be safe as well of course). Someone out there will be asking why the hell does the old fart want to get a VRS?. Good question, and one I've been agonising over now for 2 days - but it looks a very good car and the price is right, so I've more-or-less talked myself into it! Many, many thanks for all the responses - much appreciated.</p>

[kevberlin]

9k to 30K then, it seems - wet OR dry. Gotta be down to driving style then, it seems to me. At 72 I'm no boy-racer but do like a bit of oomph when I need it. I pull a caravan as well, so that probably defines my normal driving style!! Any advances on the 'Michelin' recommendation? I'm less interested in performance than economy (but wanna be safe as well of course). Someone out there will be asking why the hell does the old fart want to get a VRS?. Good question, and one I've been agonising over now for 2 days - but it looks a very good car and the price is right, so I've more-or-less talked myself into it! Many, many thanks for all the responses - much appreciated.</p>

I am going towards old fart stage. Stop agonising. Buy yourself a VRS. It is ace.

[bongobob]

So what tyres do people recommend switching to when the OE tyres need changing?

[Wayne Kerr]

If you tow stuff, go for a Skoda in the 4x4 range.

They may be 1.8T but they more than do the job.

Trust me, I towed a race boat with no problems for over 7 years.

[Clive 1939]

You'll probably get as many different views on that as there are members on this forum! I don't myself altogether agree with the 4-wheel-drive argument for towing. My 130PD estate has pulled two different caravans, both 4-berth, the current one a 23 footer, and I've never experienced any problem (and get 30-32mpg towing). With 4WD you're hauling all that extra weight around - 2 diffs etc - (at the expense of mpg) for 90% of the time when you don't really need it. Now back to me VRS - decisions, decisions (I can just picture it parked in me drive-way, but I can also see me bank balance)!!!!!

[Clive 1939]

Bugger, bugger, bugger, and bugger!! Got out-bid in the last 20 seconds on ebay. Now back in the market for a 2008 or later, low mileage VRS estate in red with as many bells & whistles as poss.

[Wayne Kerr]

With 4WD you're hauling all that extra weight around - 2 diffs etc - (at the expense of mpg) for 90% of the time when you don't really need it.

If weight is your problem, go for the petrol version, it's 135kg lighter.

90% of the time don't take into account wet conditions also.

Never had wheel spin in mine, even on wet slipways!