Tyres

[WillWord]

Hi just purchased 6 month old Fabia elegance Estate 1.2 dsg with Amundsen+ Sat Nav, (love it) got rid of my Yeti last December. Car came with 16" Elba wheels & Dunlops Maxx 205/45/16 tyres. Starting to get disappointed with ride comfort. I have searched forums re more comfortable rides etc still a bit confused. Can I put on 195/55/16 on existing wheels for a better ride? I am aware of insurance notification etc. Or I am I better with 195/55/15 I assume I would need new wheels as well. any advice welcome.

[m8t]

Not well up on tyres but I think a change in wheel size may alter speedo calibration. link to calculator

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

[WillWord]

Thanks, had looked at speedo issues and think above sizes are only 2 to 3% increase

[Ootohere]

You might find useful

http://www.kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator

You should have no problem with or need to inform the insurer when changing tyres for other tyres in the size range that is available or an option for the vehicle type you have.

When changing standard steels to alloys, the reason for increased premiums or loading is usually given as increased theft risk for the more desirable wheels.Not as a performance up-grade.

(funnily they say the same thing when someone lets then know they are replacing alloys with steels.)

george

[WillWord]

Thanks, which would give me the better ride, ie copes better with pot holes etc. Also any brands better for comfort?

[tlx]

^{A 55 profile is a deeper one than 45 and should give a slightly softer ride. Touring rather than sport tyres have more flexible walls and should give a softer ride. You can find tyre reviews with ride comparisons on the tyrereviews website, but remember than judgements about these things are subjective. Reducing the recommended tyre pressure , particularly if you are regularly running below the passenger/luggage load indicated, should also slightly improve ride. So do all these things for opimum results.}

[Ad Lav]

Buy 15 inch wheels and 55 profile tyres.

I can;t understand why a 45 profile would be disappointing? I have 40 profiles on my vRS and no issues with bumps - I just avoid them

[WillWord]

tlx will look at reviews on touring tyres.

So if I understand correctly I can put 205/55/16 tyres on my existing wheels to improve ride comfort (better on lumpy country roads)?

Ad Lav I am in North Yorkshire it would be like a slalom ride if I tried to dodge every pothole.

[tlx]

The best solution is 15" wheels and 55 tyres. You may find you can sell your 16" wheels and tyres on eBay to someone who has 15" wheels but wants the more fashionable larger wheels and rubber bands. Also secondhand smaller wheels tend to be cheaper because most people are going the other way. Consider buying secondhand wheels and having them refurbished at around £60 a wheel. For what it's worth my Fabia 1 had a better ride on 55 tyres than my current car with the bigger wheels and lower profile tyre (but I'm not sure whether the suspension set up is different), but not enough to persuade me to go to the bother of changing. Perhaps because my other car is a BMW 320D where I have changed from sports run flats (standard BMW fit) to touring non runflats (Michelin Primacy HP). This has given a softer and much less crashy ride, but the Fabia with 16" wheels and standard Continentals still has a far better ride, though of course it doesn't go around corners nearly as well!! Another advantage of touring tyres is that they wear better than sports (though the trade off is less grip - this is usually relatively marginal and wouldn't affect the average driver).

[WillWord]

Thanks tlx,

Spent this morning looking at alternatives would prefer to stick with 16".

I Have looked at the 2.5 Dia difference rule.

Can I put 185/50/16 on my original wheels = nil difference or 195/50/16 = 1.69 difference

Which would give me a smoother quieter ride.

[Pete in Notts]

Thanks tlx,

Spent this morning looking at alternatives would prefer to stick with 16".

I Have looked at the 2.5 Dia difference rule.

Can I put 185/50/16 on my original wheels = nil difference or 195/50/16 = 1.69 difference

Which would give me a smoother quieter ride.

Hi, I'm in a similar position but its not the ride that bothers me but the noise. Just changed back to my 16" Elba's with 205/45 Continental Premium Contact 2's and the increase in noise and slighter harsher ride is very apparent.

The winters I had on were Avon Ice Touring 195/55 x 15 on steel rims which were very quiet, actually no road noise at all, and gave a softer ride but steering response and turn in where not as good as the Continentals but that could be down to the winter compound being a lot softer.

If you look at the tyre tests the Continentals come out very well for tyre noise and comfort so to get any reduction in noise/harshness may be difficult without going down to 15" rims. The 195/55 x 15 is an approved tyre/rim combination so should not make the insurance companies too jittery.

I've also considered fitting a higher profile, narrower tyre to my 16" rims but it would be an expensive experiment that might not yield any dividends whereas the 15" route will having driven other Fabia's on this wheel size.

Most of my tyre noise comes from the rear tyres so I might look at putting some extra sound proofing in the boot and around the rear wheel arches which would be a lot cheaper option

[logiclee]

Thanks tlx,

Spent this morning looking at alternatives would prefer to stick with 16".

I Have looked at the 2.5 Dia difference rule.

Can I put 185/50/16 on my original wheels = nil difference or 195/50/16 = 1.69 difference

Which would give me a smoother quieter ride.

The 185/50x16's have exactly the same height tire walls as your standard tyres so will have virtually the same ride, the 195/50x16's have tyre walls that are very slightly taller than your standard tyres but only a few mm. I doubt either of these would give the improvement in ride you are after.

The only way to dramatically increase tyre wall size and keep the same rolling circumference is to drop a wheel size. So I'd go 195/55x15's.

Cheers

Lee

[WillWord]

Thanks Lee, makes more sense now, tyres are a minefield, looks like I may have to go down to 15" tyres to get what I want.

Now if I do this (next Minefield) what spec Alloys would fit my car I have goggled but just looks gobbledygook to me.

Regards.

[Ootohere]

You will get a set of new 15" Alloys and Tyres to fit in Halfords for under £350,

Not the best of tyres, or guaranteed to improve the ride that you have.

or

http://www.alloywheels.com

Or a Wheel place near you.

Not meaning this in a cheeky way, just asking,

'Are you maybe just being a little picky?'

As the Salespeople say, 'Its just that style of car and suspension, sporty.'

Actually just very firm and not the most expensive or best quality of springs or dampers.

Actually the suspension might well just be different from what you are used to, and the tyres might improve nothing very much.

What tyre pressures are you running?

george

Edited 23 April, 2012 by sk4gw

[WillWord]

Hi George, no problem, yes I may be being a little picky, had it for a week and 80% of my roads are good, just the lumpy ones near my village. What I am trying to do is get all the information together prior to making my decision, so if I need to change I will go forward with the correct information, I will probably wait until I need to replace tyres.

Tyre pressures 31 Front 33 Rear.

I came from a Yeti 1.2 tsi Dsg so similar tyres but better ride.

I am sure I will get used the new ride. I will save all information received and goggled until/if needed.

Thanks for all replies.

[logiclee]

Having driven mk2 Fabia's on 14, 15, 16 and 17" wheels I can definately say wheel size has a dramatic effect on ride comfort.

Personally I think 195/55x15's are the best compromise on standard suspension which is quite soft. I'd say the standard suspension does not have enough control for the 16's and 45 series rubber and that's why it gets crashy over bad roads.

My wife preffered the ride and handing of her Mk1 with 185/60x14's. She ran her Mk2 through winter with 175x14's fitted and when I put the summer 195/55x15's back on she complained about the ride straight away.

My Passat runs 235/45x17's summers and 205/55x16 winters. The around town over pot hole ride is better with the winters on but high speed motorway ride is better with the summers on.

Just to show how over tyred the little standard Fabia is the Escort RS Turbo came with 195/55X15's and the Sierra Saphire Cosworth had 205/50x16's. I'm sure the 1.2htp Fabia has more than enough rubber on the road. Lol. Of course it's all about looks now but nice big alloys come with expensive tyres that affect ride quality.

Cheers

Lee

Edited 23 April, 2012 by logiclee

[Merlin3046]

I have 195/55 x 15s on my 1.2HTP and am considering a change because of a nasty ride and high noise (Kuhmo on the front). Echoing some of the comments above, my old Mk1 Fab had 175/70 x 14s and whilst it's no go-kart in the corners, the refinement was lovely.

I recently rented a Polo abroad and it was fitted with 185/60 x 15s. The ride was great (acknowledging the later technical platform of the car) so to me, this seems the favourite route. Need to check the rolling diameters, though, but I suspect they'll be fine.

[The Plumber]

Would normally support the idea of smaller rims and larger tyres; even had our Yeti specially built with the European spec 16" alloys rather than the UK standard 17" rims. However with the wife's Fabia, we have found it drives and handles better on the 16" 205/45 set-up than the 15" 195/55 which we run on in the winter; admittedly the softer winter rubber needs to be accounted for in comparison. Only benefit of the 15" from our experience has been reduced tyre roar.

TP