My Octavia currently has 205/60 15" tyres, I'm looking to replace these shortly.

Just wanted to know what the difference is between 205/60 and 195/65 and can I put 195/65 on my wheels even though they currently wear 205/60?? Does this make any difference in handling/performance or affect the speedo reading?

Reason I ask is that there seems to be a wider choice of tyre at 195/65 than 205/60!

Thanks.

I bought a used Audi A4 2.6 SE estate some years ago, and it came on 195/65 tyres. I was forever 'squealing' round corners, so I changed them for 205/60 and the handling was very much improved!

Changes to the speedo reading will be negligible but as El Dingo said I think you will notice a difference in the cars handling with more understeer and a tendancy to feel less planted on the road.

What tyres do you want that are not availaible in 205/60? There are fewer about in this size compared to 195/65 but still plenty of choice I think. I run 205/60 R15 on my 4x4 and am thinking of treating myself to a set of Uniroyal Rain Experts.

This is interesting...

http://www.alloywheels.com/Tyre_Calculator

Speedo will read 70 mph on 195/65 R15 (634 mm diameter)

or 69.33 mph on 205/60 R15 (628 mm diameter)

The calculator doesn't seem to work if I input the data the other way around - maybe they assume that all peeps want wider tyres?

I have been through this discussion on this forum recently. The general view seemed to be that the wider tyre is better, but I am not convinced. I asked Skoda if it would be acceptable to use 195/65s all round, so that my full size spare ( which is 195/65) could then be used with no speed restriction. The reply was that I should stay on the 205/60s but offered no explanation. I drive very sedately, so the extra cornering performance is not a factor, and I believe the higher walls will give a softer ride, as it can give more. When I fit my winter tyres, I will replace all four summer tyres, so this thread is quite relevent

Thanks for responses so far - I need the car to get to work so am limited in where I can go to get the tyres done (have asked Skoda dealer for a quote and a courtesy car on the day... still waiting for a reply!)

There's a kwik fit near my work that I can walk to, via them I can get Michelin Energy Savers or Dunlop SP - had these Michelins on my previous Mazda so considering these, but have also found Vredestein Sportrac's for a similar price on Ebay (would need fitting by a garage) - never considered the Sportrac's before, are they any good?

One thing to know about tyre dealers, is that they will try to sell you what they have in stock, or what they bought in the wholesale market that week at a knockdown price. In my experience, Kwik Fit are both expensive and don't take reasonable care in what they do. I'd recommend a ProTyre dealer, but even then you need to 'phone around to get the best price, and you need to haggle.

I've just had four new tyres fitted to my VRS, and have gone for Dunlop Sport MAXX RT - so far they seem to be quiet, grippy and compliant (much better in these respects than the worn out Michelin Exalto that were on before, especially the noise issue) but then I've only done 300 miles or so since they were fitted.

Good luck and good hunting!

I have been through this discussion on this forum recently. The general view seemed to be that the wider tyre is better, but I am not convinced. I asked Skoda if it would be acceptable to use 195/65s all round, so that my full size spare ( which is 195/65) could then be used with no speed restriction. The reply was that I should stay on the 205/60s but offered no explanation. I drive very sedately, so the extra cornering performance is not a factor, and I believe the higher walls will give a softer ride, as it can give more. When I fit my winter tyres, I will replace all four summer tyres, so this thread is quite relevent

Can you get the 195/65 in the same load index? If the 205 is, say, 205/55R15 92W, the figure you need to match in the smaller tyre is the 92.

Yes, the load index is available in the 195/65 and there is a pressure setting for it on the fuel cap lid. This seems to suggest that the 195/65 is acceptable, but it concerns me that in the event of an accident, the engineer may query the tyre size, and Skoda would not support the change of size.

Willtheyfit.com is a good tool for tyre size calculations as it shows you visually what the difference looks like as well as detailing circumference, radius, poke etc. You can safely change tyre sizes within about 2.5% but as with all things you need to inform the insurance.

I have recently changed SWMBO's A2 from 205/40/17's to 185/60/15's (also gone from summers to all season) new size are a little bigger on the circumference but well within 2.5%.

My Octavia is currently on 205/55/16's and I am looking at changing to 195/65/15's which were a standard size in the a3 for a long time. One of the problems with modern cars is they are Over Tyre'd. Like the wife's A2. Weighs less than a bag of sugar and had the same size tyres as the Octavia?