Having taken delivery of some new 16x6 alloys for 205/55 R16 winter tyres on my 2008 Scout TDI, I was thinking of replacing the flaking OEMs with another new set, instead of giving them a refurb.

 

My first thought on rim size was something to fit the current 225/50 R17s, 7x17 perhaps. Eventually I started questioning the merits of sticking with 17" for summer tyres, and wondered about putting 205/50 R16 summer tyres on the new alloys next spring, or to possibly get a second set of 16" alloys.

 

Is there any real advantage to 17" tyres over 16" on a Scout in the summer? I guess 16"s might look a bit 'under wheeled' - but I'm not particularly bothered about looks.

 

Technically, does it make better sense to stick with 17" summer tyres (in which case, what size rims should I go for?) or to switch to 16" tyres on 16x6 rims? 

 

All thoughts will be appreciated, thanks.

 

   

Is there any real advantage to 17" tyres over 16" on a Scout in the summer?

 

Well, they are cheaper

Should be a bit more quiet and probably your cars suspension will thank you a little bit as well.

Found a mind boggling tyre bible which leaves me leaning towards the 17" route at the moment, but the jury is still out.

Going to the 205/55/16 you will lose a bit of ground clearance and the speedo will be out a bit. Just depends how important ground clearance and mileage accuracy are to you.

About speedometer accurary:

 

http://www.tyresizecalculator.com/tyre-wheel-calculators/speedo-error-calculator

 

This shows that your choice leads to this:

 

 

What if we change 205/55 to 205/60?

 

 

And the ground clearance is a bit higher too.

 

Sure, there is always a question whether your favourite tyres are manufactured in such size or not...

Edited 18 August, 201510 yr by Jevpls

The only problem with the 205/60/16 is that it isn't a Skoda approved tyre size for the Octavia so may (I'm not say will) cause insurance issues.

Rightly or wrongly the jury has returned a majority verdict in favour of the 17".

Thanks for all suggestions.

Hi,

If you find you have any issues with insurance at all then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

The original OEM 17" Proteus alloys are unique to the Scout.

 

Any MkII Scout not wearing the original alloys looks strange to me.

 

Due to the plastic moldings around the arches 16" wheels look lost, especially against silver paintwork.

 

A decent refurb of my Proteus alloys was £246 inc. VAT and worth every penny...

 

 

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/123460-halting-alloy-wheel-lacquer-delamination/page-5