Hey guys,

 

Just a quick one for me.

 

I am currently in Europe with the car and am planning to switch my 18 inches to 17 for the winter because some roads have poor quality during winter over here. Was wondering if anyone could tell me if some 215 60 R17 tyres would fit on the car on 17 inch rims, obviously, without creating problems (like touching stuff inside the arch or whatever can happen).

 

The other safe choice would be 225 50 R17 or 225 55 R17, but because of poor road quality, a 60 "balloon" would offer me better comfort over rougher portions.

 

Let me know your thoughts.

 

Cheers,

Andre

The equivalent tyre for those on your 18" rims is a 225/45x17. Anything else and you'll get inaccuracy on the speedo!

 

If you really want to smooth out those potholes go for 16" rims with 205/55x16 tyres

Hey guys,

 

Just a quick one for me.

 

I am currently in Europe with the car and am planning to switch my 18 inches to 17 for the winter because some roads have poor quality during winter over here. Was wondering if anyone could tell me if some 215 60 R17 tyres would fit on the car on 17 inch rims, obviously, without creating problems (like touching stuff inside the arch or whatever can happen).

 

The other safe choice would be 225 50 R17 or 225 55 R17, but because of poor road quality, a 60 "balloon" would offer me better comfort over rougher portions.

You're looking at the wrong dimensions. If you want comfort, go for 205/55R16. There is no "60" tyre that fits the Superb. But 205/55R16 is good enough for comfort.

If you really want 17" winter tyres, and want to be able to use snow chains, you have to have 205/50R17 on a 6J rim. The problem with these rims however is that they can only be bought from Skoda (and even Skoda has them only in one design), I haven't been able to find any after-market rims in that dimension.

 

The normal 17" tyres for a Superb are 225/45R17, but you cannot use snow chains on them.

 

I don't know where you got the other dimensions from (the ones you call a "safe" choice), but there not a safe choice at all! They are (much) too large for an S2.

have you read the thread winter wheels and tyres?

You need to pick a tyre of a very similar overall diameter regardless of what rim size you fit   The front spring bases on the Superb run very close to the top and inside of the tyre on many Superb models which means that a tyre with a greater overall diameter may touch. I believe this is why the manual says that only small link snow chains should be used and that they must not project more than 9mm and should not be used on tyres more than 205mm wide.  Have a look for yourself, if it is like my Superb then there is very little clearance, which means you need to think very carefully about Winter tyre size even if you don't plan to fit chains.  

Edited 28 August, 201312 yr by Pesmog

open filler cap - read sizes - choose one   

Al. 

Edited 30 August, 201312 yr by ukcruiser

open filler cap - read sizes - choose one   

Al. 

 

I would suggest the same, but choose the smallest one as it'll both be cheaper and perform better.

I bought a set of 16" steel wheels and 16" winter tyres and run 6 months with them on and 6 months with them off.

Just bought four Skoda steel rims from my dealer (following others saying you need steel to resist dirt and salt, and that other makes degrade quicker) for £281.64. Their advice for tyres is 215/55/R16.

About to start the search - the reason I didn't get the tyres fitted there is that even a quick glance showed they were more expensive - not surpising as that's not their speciality. Had they offered to store the set which is off..would have done the deal. Maybe some enterprising nearby dealer can assist...and will see me twice a year.

Which? show Continental WinterContact TS 850 in first place, followed by Michelin Alpin A4 and Goodyear UltraGrip 8. Their closest test was 205/55/R16.

Interesting word of warning that above 7 degrees winter tyres perform worse than normal - so wait till the weather changes.

But any advice on which of the above three (or others...Nokian WR D3 comes out best of the cheaper ranges saving about £15 per tyre) is preferred...and where they are cheapest, to include fitting the wheels first time round, very much appreciated. I'm in Hampshire.

Added: Bought the Conti tyres, 205 rather than 215, for £91.25 each from mytyres.com inc. delivery. Fitting will be £12.50 each, balanced and on at local tyre fitters. Just in case it helps anyone...

Go for 205 55 16 - they are cheaper...! 

 

I had Vredestine WintracXtreme on my Superb - in 18" as i wanted to keep the original look of the car, and they were fantastic

 

I have the same tyre, now on the rear of my Wife's Cee'd and Pirelli SottoZero on the front. - The Pirelli's are what Mercedes have fitted to the "Winter package" of wheels for my E Class - I couldn't fault them last winter.  (i bought the "winter package" 2nd hand, off a guy who had bought them with his car, had never fitted them due to writing off his E Class before winter... needless to say, i got a BARGAIN!) 

 

Al. 

Edited 4 September, 201312 yr by ukcruiser

And you need some trims that are as close to the l&k as possible?

The closest that I have found are,

search for - 16" Wheel Trims Autostyle 'Giga' Chrome

and

16" Black & Silver Spoked Wheel Trims - La Mans

also found a £25 set that are not a million miles away from matching from car accessories 4u, their luxury 16 set.

got 4 steel wheels 16" from my local dealer for €200, and then fitted Goodyear ultra grip  205 /55/ 16's, and change over end of oct to early march.

Brockysuperb, I use UltraGrip 8s and they were very good and I will recommend them. We're getting a set of Conti TS850s this winter as we changed one car and they have excellent reviews.

I also use ultragrip 8's although not on my Superb. They are great, and as I think I have said here before was able to overtake 4wd cars with sumer tyres that got stuck on hills in my 2wd Fiat with the the ultragrips 2-3 times last winter. I was expecting them to be noisy but was pleasantly surprised when they weren't.

Thanks all for the replies. I went for 225 50 R17 which are nice and comfy(a lot less rougher than the 40 r18 on those nasty roads).

Just bought four Skoda steel rims from my dealer (following others saying you need steel to resist dirt and salt, and that other makes degrade quicker) for £281.64. Their advice for tyres is 215/55/R16. 

Find a better dealer, since this is a stupid advice because of three reasons:

1. The standard size for a Superb is 205/55R16
2. 205/55R16 is much, much cheaper than the (quite rare) 215/55R16
3. You're not allowed to use snow chains on 215/55r16, since there is not enough space for these chains.

Thanks all for the replies. I went for 225 50 R17 which are nice and comfy(a lot less rougher than the 40 r18 on those nasty roads).

Why didn't you buy the standard size for a Superb: 225/45R17?

http://www.tyresave.co.uk/tyresize.html have a look on here as you will find that the tyre you have bought are outside of the recommendation not sure how your insurance would deal with that.

Edited 6 September, 201312 yr by rabmurray121

I have a related question re the rim size.

Just bought my first Skoda a week ago. Superb elegance 170 TDI  - very pleased with the decision.

The tyres are 225 40 R18 on alloys but the full size Skoda spare is a 205/55/R16 94V fitted to a 7Jx16, ET45, 5 x 112,  57.00 H2 steel rim.

 

For £60 I managed to pick up four steel rims 6.5 J x 16, ET50, 5 x 112, 57.00 H2.

 

A few questions please as I don't know much about tyres

 

1) Will 205/55/R16 winter tyres fit these rims?

2) Will that slight difference in offset be OK on the Superb?

3) Most winter tyres I see, eg the continental, are 91V, Is it usual to have a lower speed and load rating on winter tyres or doesn't that matter?

205/55/16 - YES
Offset - "Should" be Ok. 
Check with insurance company for speed rating info. - but should be fine as long as you advise them - It was on my Sorento, went down to a T (BFGoodrich AT's) 

 

Al. 

@ ukcruiser

Thank you for a very fast reply.

What's the caveat in your "should" ? Anything I need to know?

 

Emailed insurers severl days ago - still waiting for a reply

ET50 fits without a doubt. It is one of the ET's that Skoda advices to use in combination with winter tires.

1) Will 205/55/R16 winter tyres fit these rims?

2) Will that slight difference in offset be OK on the Superb?

3) Most winter tyres I see, eg the continental, are 91V, Is it usual to have a lower speed and load rating on winter tyres or doesn't that matter?

1) Yes

2) Yes

3) - you can have a lower speed rating but I wouldn't recommend a lower load rating. The recommended load rating for your car is I believe 94 (it certainly is for my 170 4x4). I seem to remember one of the Greenlines being rated 91 due to lower weight. The 94 rated winters are rather more expensive unfortunately but that's what is needed for supporting a (not inconsiderable) car when loaded up.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using Tapatalk 2

Thanks for all your replies, very helpful - not something I wanted to get wrong.

I checked with the insurance company (saga) whether I needed to inform them when putting on winter tyres.

Their first response was 'An interesting question, we've never been asked that before"!

 

After them searching around for a while for the answer they assured me that I don't need to tell them, either when putting on winters or when taking them off again

... but you should inform them that the wheels are not factory standard, therefore, possible classed as a modification... 

 

ie. Are the wheels you've bought, VAG? - or are they Aftermarket... 

 

Sorry to throw another spanner in the works! 

Al.