Okay so my beloved Scout is being repalced with an Octavia Elegance 4x4 with rough road pack (winter pack as well but not relevant to this post!) The new car arrives in early September and I'm starting to look out for winter tyre deals.

 

Can anyone tell me what wheels  and tyres (sizes and tyre manufacturers if possible) a UK spec Octavia III Elegance 4x4 with RRP comes with as standard?

 

Any help appreciated.

Think 4x4s come with 16's, as for tyre make/model it'll just be whatever they're using that day....

Mine came with 17" Teron alloys as per Elegance spec, but I don't have RRP as it wasn't available then.

Will be getting a set of 16" 6.5j steel wheels for winter though.

Just sold my offical Octy III winters, having had to sadly let go our rather uncomfortable Octavia.

 

However the RRP quipped cars should come with 6.5Jx16 ET46 rims and for winter the official rim size is 6Jx16 ET48, both with with 202/55 R16 tyres. Our SE 4x4 was OK with 91H but heavier cars would need 94 load rating.

 

 

TP

I have a set of 16" winter wheels n tyres you could fit which came off my previous Superb but annoyingly don't fit over the front callipers of my current Octy 3 VRS! However I doubt you will travel to Germany to pick them up.

What I will say is steer clear of the cheepo Chinese winter tyres and pick a big brand make as I have experienced both at their best and there is no comparison. I currently have Fulda winter tyres and reckon they are pretty good for a mid price deal. Fitting Continental 17" winters in the coming months as the winter forecast for Germany is pants and when it comes to the only 4x things that can help you prevent an accident, they're worth the outlay! Check out www.autoexpress.co.uk winter tyre tests for hard evidence and tyre price options.

It's nice to see that some ppl now fit winter tyres In the UK, as the normal arguments about not needing winter tyres for snowy / winters conditions because others are using improper driving techniques /bad driving styles in the snow etc (or "I have a 4x4 so don't need to worry) is so wrong!!! Yes there are certain techniques which can assist you getting moving and going round corners such as TC, ESR, ASP & ABS etc which all help, but when it comes it the only time you will really will wish you had winters fitted is when stopping in an emergency!

Slam on the brakes in the snow on summer tyres and no amount of engine braking or TC will stop you faster than even a set of cheap CHINESE winter tyres! Fit a quality set and they will be the difference between wiping that kid out or not. I have had my fair share of butt clenching incidents in my 12 years over here (before fitting winter tyres was made law) and held out until nearly the bitter end before taking the plunge and buying a set. They are well worth the money and I will (pon my rat not the UK) always have two sets of wheels n tyres for whatever car I end up with.

Just realised that I have kinda hijacked this post and ranted a bit, my apologies. I will remove if asked.

Just run quality all season tyres. If you have the real need for a 4x4 with RRP then you will benefit from all season tyres all year round and for UK winters they will be more than adequate.

 

I can vouch for Quatrac 3's

Edited 21 August, 201411 yr by loskie

Just run quality all season tyres. If you have the real need for a 4x4 with RRP then you will benefit from all season tyres all year round and for UK winters they will be more than adequate.

 

I can vouch for Quatrac 3's

No!

 

Not wishing to open the can of worms that is the winter tyre debate, All Seasons do not have the correct tread pattern and sipes, and more importantly are not made out of the same compound as winters, which is the whole point of winter tyres. They will not perform anywhere near the same at temperatures below 5 degrees.

Nonsense. "Proper" all season tyres such as the quatrac 3 I mentioned display the Mountain/Snowflake symbol and have a silica based compund.

 

Having run winters and all season tyres for at least 8 years now at 20000m per year in a rural location I am talking from experience.

For example the Quatrac 3 all seasons performed far better than Avon Ice Touring classed as full winters.

I think you are also incorrect in quoting 5 deg c as the temp below winters should be used it is commonly stated as 7 deg.

 

I think you may be confusing all season tyres with what many now call "summer tyres".

 

HTH

Edited 21 August, 201411 yr by loskie

As you say, a lot of the confusion is in the name 'all seasons' as it means various things to different people.

 

As long as it has the mountain and snowflake logo (M+S marking is worthless as it can be applied to anything, but the logo requires certification) you're good to go.

I too have been running winter tyres for years, and know the difference.

They may well have a silica based compound, but I would take a stab that it is not the same compound as a Conti TS850 for example, or the wear rate in the summer would be horrendous. It has also been proven that a winter compound with the increased number of sipes etc. performs worse at temperatures above 7 degrees than a standard or 'summer' tyre, especially in the dry.

 

As I said, I'm not getting in to a debate, there is plenty of evidence available to demonstrate the difference. As you quite rightly said, 7 degrees is the standard, but does that really make much difference? If we are splitting hairs, then the winter tyre will be even better at 5 degrees!

 

Compare these reviews (from a quick 10 second google)

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tyre-guides/45315/vredestein-quatrac-3

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tyre-guides/45310/continental-contiwintercontact-ts-830-p

 

and that is against the old TS830P, the TS830 outperforms the TS830P, and the newer TS850 outperforms both.

 

Nothing against all season tyres, but they don't perform as well as a good winter tyre in winter conditions.

 

If you look at this test, there is no doubt a good all season out performs a standard tyre, but still isn't in the same league as a good winter tyre.

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/accessories-tyres/35835/best-winter-tyre

As you say, a lot of the confusion is in the name 'all seasons' as it means various things to different people.

 

As long as it has the mountain and snowflake logo (M+S marking is worthless as it can be applied to anything, but the logo requires certification) you're good to go.

Not necessarily, all that symbol means is that it has met an American certification. There are plenty of cheap winters about with that symbol on that perform pretty badly. They may be better than the standard reference tyre and have met the certification, but that doesn't mean that they are good

Not necessarily, all that symbol means is that it has met an American certification. There are plenty of cheap winters about with that symbol on that perform pretty badly. They may be better than the standard reference tyre and have met the certification, but that doesn't mean that they are good

True, can't disagree with that, but its a place to start. If it doesn't have the logo then you know 100% it isn't worth it.

Yep - like all tyres, there are good and bad, from what I recall there wasn't a huge amount needed to gain that certification as it is just a comparison with a reference tyre that has next to no grip!

 

As you rightly said, M+S means nothing really in terms of winter use and should be ignored - I think (but could be wrong) that it just indicates that a certain percentage of the tread pattern is open??

Correct. 25% open tread. Nothing whatsoever about sipes or compound. Worthless.

Have run Goodyear 4 Season, Bridgestone Blizzak, and Uniroyal MS winters on Fabia's and not found the Goodyear noticeably lacking ability in comparison to either of the full winter patterns.

 

In summer on the warmest of days, the Goodyear feel a little softer than a standard summer tyre but this was not an issue on a lowish powered car.

 

 

 

TP

Whoa guys, I love the enthusiasm but you're running awayoff topic....

 

My original post was asking what size of wheels / tyres a UK spec Ocativa III 4x4 elegance with RRP came with? Mine is due for delivery 4/9/14 and I was hoping to get an answer from someone who had a similar Octy!

 

So, does anyone have an Octy III4x4 with RRP in the UK who can help me out by answering the question?

Whoa guys, I love the enthusiasm but you're running awayoff topic....

 

My original post was asking what size of wheels / tyres a UK spec Ocativa III 4x4 elegance with RRP came with? Mine is due for delivery 4/9/14 and I was hoping to get an answer from someone who had a similar Octy!

 

So, does anyone have an Octy III4x4 with RRP in the UK who can help me out by answering the question?

 

I did have but now sold it; to uncomfortable for me.

 

When I had my SE the Elegance 4x4 had only just been announced in the UK and initially the RRP was not an option on the higher spec model. In Europe though the RRP was available on the Elegance equivalent and came with 16" alloys of various designs depending on country; all being 6.5Jx16 ET46 size, as 15" or 16" rims were the factory default with the RRP.

 

Our Octavia was shod from factory with Continental Premium Contact 5 205/55 R16 91V, although they didn't appear a good wet weather tyre IMHO.

 

For winter I ran VAG steel rims size 6Jx16 ET48 with Bridgestone Blizzak LM30 205/55 R16 91H tyres (as per the owners handbook). Apart from some initially tram lining issues, they proved to be a much better tyre than the Conti but obviously a winter pattern.

 

 

TP

So the quatrac 3 tyres I have used are no use in winter? Funny that as they do perform better than the Avon Ice Touring. Coverseley I have run Vredestein Snowtracs all this summer as they were down to about 5mm at the start. They have performed fine, no excessive wear, reasonable grip, braking and handling.

 

Do not believe all the marketing hype and folks on the interweb  repeating stuff parrot fashion try for yourself.

So the quatrac 3 tyres I have used are no use in winter? Funny that as they do perform better than the Avon Ice Touring. Coverseley I have run Vredestein Snowtracs all this summer as they were down to about 5mm at the start. They have performed fine, no excessive wear, reasonable grip, braking and handling.

 

Do not believe all the marketing hype and folks on the interweb  repeating stuff parrot fashion try for yourself.

Errr - I have done for a number of years if you bothered to actually read my posts. And like you, I do about 20k a year, and live in a rural location.

 

At no point did I say Quatrac 3 were 'no use'. I am not surprised they out performed the Avons either.

 

My experience with my last set of TS830's was that I left them on for a few months through spring as they were down to about 4-5mm at the end of winter, and the increase in grip and shorter stopping distances were very noticeable when I put the Sport Contact 5's back on.

 

Anyway, as the OP said - this is all OT.

 

Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and ours differ

Ask your dealer?

 

The Brochure makes no mention of the RRP at a skim read. I'm running my SE 4x4 with 17" Elegance Terons and it's all fine so don't see why an Elegance shouldn't come with them in all honesty.

 

Niall

Andyvee

you said" All Seasons do not have the correct tread pattern and sipes, and more importantly are not made out of the same compound as winters, which is the whole point of winter tyres. They will not perform anywhere near the same at temperatures below 5 degrees."

 

which is incorrect because they have the correct compound for winter use, sipes and a deeper tread to start with. Quatrac 3 are all season tyres not winter tyres but perform perfectly well in a similar way that Goodyear Vector AllSeasons do. As the name suggests they are all season tyres and not winter tyres.

It is not a matter of opinion it is whether or not it is factually correct.

Yawn.

 

Quote from Honest John, who obviously knows less than yourself.

 

 

 

You can fit compromise "all weather" tyres with the mountains symbol (such as the Bridgestone A001) that qualify as 'Winter Tyres' to meet the laws in some European countries. These will be adequate for most winter conditions in the UK, but are not as good in summer conditions as standard tyres such as Michelin Energy Savers and are not as good as dedicated Winter Tyres in really severe conditions

http://www.honestjohn.co.uk/news/parts-and-accessories/2010-11/winter-tyres/

 

An all weather or all season tyre does exactly what it says on the tin.

 

And according to this, you should have bought Hankooks All Season as they are better than the Quatrac 3, but hey, who knows, Hankook probably took a full page advert out that month

 

http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/tyre-guides/36694/winter-tyre-test-2011

 

Your opinion differs to mine, unfortunately mine seems to be backed up by the tyre manufacturers and the motoring press tyre tests. There is no doubt that a quality All Season tyre is significantly better than a standard tyre in winter conditions, but please don't try and preach that they are as good as a quality Winter Tyre in winter conditions.

 

If the Quatrac 3 had the same compound and number of sipes as a TS850 for example, why don't Vredestein market it as a winter tyre? And why don't Continental market the TS850 as an All Season if it was suitable for use all year round? And if it was that good why did Vredestein bother with the SnowTrac range of winter tyres? And why does the Quatrac 5 only have sipes across half of its width?

 

There is no doubt that Vredestein make the best all season tyres, and the Quatrac 3 is probably the best all rounder that there is. But I prefer changing to steels with full winters on for 2 reasons - it saves my alloys from all of the salt and the possibility of kerbing if I lose traction, and the narrower profile (205 as opposed to 225) is better for the snow, ice and cold wet conditions of the UK winter. Plus winter tyres in 225/40R18 are an absolute fortune - it is cheaper to buy 205/55R16 and a set of steel wheels.

 

Depending where you live in the UK, all seasons may be the best choice, but up in the hills of Rossendale I think winters are a good choice. Given that I live a few hundred yards from a dry ski slope that follows the contour of the hill, you can get some idea of the gradients I have to contend with that are covered in snow and sometimes ice in the depths of winter.

Do you not fit proper studded winter tyres?

Do you not fit proper studded winter tyres?

They are illegal in the UK.

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As they chew up the tarmac. We very rarely get more than 4" snow

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