Hello, Briskodaworld.

I bought my first Skoda, a vRS TDI DSG, a couple of weeks ago. I've been using winter wheels and tyres for 13 years now and wouldn't be without them, but Skoda UK were no help whatsoever in sourcing a set of compatible wheels and tyres, the line being that they tried selling them a year or two ago and there wasn't much demand. The vRS seems to cause particular problems, because you can't go below 17" rims.

Buried away in another forum on this topic, someone had posted a link to www.tyreleader.co.uk and they have a very helpful wheel configurator, which led me to buy a set of Rial Milano wheels, 7Jx17. Michelin's site then matched my wheels with a recommended set of Alpin 5s (205/50 R17 93H).My local ATS Euromaster did a price match on a set of Michelin Alpin 5s, so they cost the same fitted as they would have done to buy from tyreleader and then find a local fitter. Very happy!

Unfortunately, I can't find out what the recommended pressures should be. Michelin advise that pressures are car, not tyre, specific, so the pressures are those shown on the filler flap, except, of course, that these don't cover the 205/50 size. I'm still hoping to shame Skoda UK's technical section into getting off their bottoms and providing some technical advice, but I'm not very impressed so far. Are they always disinterested, or have I been unlucky?

Hats off to you Briskodians, though. This site has been very useful, even though it takes a bit of digging around sometimes to find what you are looking for - I'm hoping I get better at it with practice.

As a rule of thumb I run winter tyres at +2 psi over summer tyres due to softer compound / bigger sidewall due to reduction in rim size (although I have fitted a 7.5j rim and 225/45/r17 tyres). Running 36 psi all round. Normally 2 adults / 2 kids, medium load (estate - on my mob so not sure if you have hatch / estate VRS?), predominantly A road / motorway driving.

Hello, Black_Sheep and thanks for the post. The Octaviator is a hatch.

Michelin's guidance is to run winter tyres at +0.2 bar over the summer pressures, so very similar to your strategy. My problem is that I don't have a summer pressure for 205/50/17, as they aren't a vRS fitment (in the UK) and  the summer pressures on my filler flap vary from tyre size to tyre size. Michelin used to publish vehicle-specific charts for the various tyre options (I still have a copy of those for my Bora), but they've stopped doing it. If I don't get a (sensible) reply from Skoda UK, I'll try about 2.5 bar and see how it goes. after that, I may have to take German lessons so that I can use Skoda.de - they seem more helpful/useful than the Tommies, I'm sad to say.

Did ATS who fitted them offer any recommendation? These guys usually have charts with plenty of data, and as recommended pressure for a given tyre is governed by weight on the wheel/axle, you could ask them to look for your tyre size on a car of similar axle weight - see the vehicle handbook for your own data. All that said, it's possible to vary pressures quite a few psi (sorry about old units!) without significant risk. I run my cars at slightly lower pressures than recommended, simply because they usually give a better ride that way. Modern pressure recommendations seem to be focused on economy, for which the harder the better, but other things like noise then suffer. So your best estimate with a little help from ATS won't be far wrong.

Did ATS who fitted them offer any recommendation? These guys usually have charts with plenty of data, and as recommended pressure for a given tyre is governed by weight on the wheel/axle, you could ask them to look for your tyre size on a car of similar axle weight - see the vehicle handbook for your own data. All that said, it's possible to vary pressures quite a few psi (sorry about old units!) without significant risk. I run my cars at slightly lower pressures than recommended, simply because they usually give a better ride that way. Modern pressure recommendations seem to be focused on economy, for which the harder the better, but other things like noise then suffer. So your best estimate with a little help from ATS won't be far wrong.

I would suggest that running tyres below recommendations is not good practice on a few counts:

1) When I did a couple of defensive driving courses a few years ago they were adamant that tyres should be inflated a few psi above recommendations, especially on the front tyres. The logic was that emergency braking threw the vehicle weight on the front tyres causing excessive flexing of the side-walls, which caused the contact area to deform and the centre of the tyre lifted off the ground.

In the days before ABS you would commonly see skids with parallel lines for each tyre from the tyres' inner and outside edges contact points. Higher pressure ensures full tyre/road contact during heavy braking. They even demonstrated the effect on braking distance to those on the course.

2) Low tyre pressures and high speeds cause excessive tyre temperatures = dangerous

3) Tyres and rims are more vulnerable to pot-hole damage = expensive and possible dangerous

4) Economy suffers slightly

 

Depends on whether you value comfort or safety more I guess

Hello, Briskodaworld.

I bought my first Skoda, a vRS TDI DSG, a couple of weeks ago. I've been using winter wheels and tyres for 13 years now and wouldn't be without them, but Skoda UK were no help whatsoever in sourcing a set of compatible wheels and  tyres, the line being that they tried selling them a year or two ago and there wasn't much demand. The vRS seems to cause particular problems, because you can't go below 17" rims.

Buried away in another forum on this topic, someone had posted a  link to www.tyreleader.co.uk  and they have a very helpful wheel configurator, which led me to buy a set of Rial Milano wheels, 7Jx17. Michelin's site then matched my wheels with a recommended set of Alpin 5s (205/50 R17 93H).My local ATS Euromaster did a price match on a set of Michelin Alpin 5s, so they cost the same fitted as they would have done to buy from tyreleader and then find a local fitter. Very happy!

Unfortunately, I can't find out what the recommended pressures should be. Michelin advise that pressures are car, not tyre, specific, so the pressures are those shown on the filler flap, except, of course, that these don't cover the 205/50 size. I'm still hoping to shame Skoda UK's technical section into getting off their bottoms and  providing some technical advice, but I'm not very impressed so far. Are they always disinterested, or have I been unlucky?

Hats off to you Briskodians, though. This site has been very useful, even though it takes a bit of digging around sometimes to find what you are looking for - I'm hoping I get better at it with practice.  

What pressures do the other sizes have on the fuel flap decal?  They'll all be within a pound or two of each other.  Otherwise just use the same as a 225/45r17 (that should be one of the options) +2psi.  You'll probably find it near enough to 36psi all round.

I would suggest that running tyres below recommendations is not good practice on a few counts:

1) When I did a couple of defensive driving courses a few years ago they were adamant that tyres should be inflated a few psi above recommendations, especially on the front tyres. The logic was that emergency braking threw the vehicle weight on the front tyres causing excessive flexing of the side-walls, which caused the contact area to deform and the centre of the tyre lifted off the ground.

In the days before ABS you would commonly see skids with parallel lines for each tyre from the tyres' inner and outside edges contact points. Higher pressure ensures full tyre/road contact during heavy braking. They even demonstrated the effect on braking distance to those on the course.

2) Low tyre pressures and high speeds cause excessive tyre temperatures = dangerous

3) Tyres and rims are more vulnerable to pot-hole damage = expensive and possible dangerous

4) Economy suffers slightly

 

Depends on whether you value comfort or safety more I guess

All you say is literally true Gerrycan, but I'm talking small reductions like 2 psi in 30, which I find make my cars generally feel more planted and grippy. At these small reductions, which are what most cars on the road probably run at more often than not because many drivers rarely check their tyres, I can't imagine there is any detriment in practice. Can you recall what respective pressures were being run in the braking demo you are citing, as that would be worth knowing?

All you say is literally true Gerrycan, but I'm talking small reductions like 2 psi in 30, which I find make my cars generally feel more planted and grippy. At these small reductions, which are what most cars on the road probably run at more often than not because many drivers rarely check their tyres, I can't imagine there is any detriment in practice. Can you recall what respective pressures were being run in the braking demo you are citing, as that would be worth knowing?

It was quite a few years ago and so some factors have probably changed a bit since.

Manufacturer's recommendations are more safety orientated now than the comfort based suggestions were then. Wider and lower profile tyres are more common now than then (not sure if low profile tyres worsens or reduces the effects)

Their datum car was an older Ford Falcon (Australia 4 litre), no ABS, on relatively narrow and high profile 15 or 16 inch wheels and I think about 7 psi variation. So I'm guessing 27/34 psi.

The skid marks were quite telling so I have always run a couple of psi over, currently about 36 psi on 17in wheels for the front and whatever is relevant for the rear payload.

 

They did tell a story of a girl who rang after the course complaining bitterly about the ride on her Datsun 120Y. She went in and they tested the pressures with a standard pencil gauge and the end shot out past their ear. Apparently the tyres were running at 80+ psi after she filled them at a garage with a defective gauge. Goodness knows how they did not explode.

So what is the actual offset change of the standard 6.5j et46 wheels to the approved winter size?

I'm not likely to run chains, but I'm interested to see what the clearances are to change the sizes just for chains.

Crikey! 30PSI! I run 40 all round with 18's all the time!

Crikey! 30PSI! I run 40 all round with 18's all the time!

They seem to run unbelievably low pressures in the UK.  I have no idea why as they have their fair share of lousy pot-holed roads.

30 would make the car feel mushy as hell too......not to mention tyre longevity!

 

I can understand driving in snow (I gather it works kind of like driving in sand - low pressures to increase the footprint and increase grip) - but on bitumen it seems strange. I'm sure if so many are doing it there must be a reason (get heat into the tyres is one such reason, as running them that low would generate a lot more heat)