Normally I have a second set of wheels with winter tyres to swap onto for the winter. I am due to collect my Octavia in a couple of weeks so I really need to start looking for some suitable winter tyres.

When looking on the mytyres "steel wheels with winter tyres" section they only seem to list the 2.0 TDI 150bhp model which can be fitted with 205/55R16 winter tyres.

 

I checked on some parts catalogues and it appears that the 150bhp model has the same size front brake discs as the 184bhp vRS model so in theory the 16" steelies should fit however I have also read something on here that says the minimum wheel size recommended by Skoda for the vRS is 17"

 

Anyone on here with a vRS and winter tyres? what is your setup?

16s won't fit on the vRS, it as larger discs and calipers than the 150PS models.

 

You need 17's, but you won't find genuine steelies in that size, so you are limited to a second set of 17" or 18" alloys

eBay.

Look for an old set of alloys and shod them with winters !

What size are the front discs on the vRS?

My Leon FR170 has 312mm discs and I use 16" alloys in the winter.

I have a set of CVR 105 18x8J alloys, et45 with 225/40R18 Continental Winter Contact tyres. I also use 8mm spacers on the rear with no clearance issues. I bought them from another Briskoda member.

 

Looks like this:

What size are the front discs on the vRS?

My Leon FR170 has 312mm discs and I use 16" alloys in the winter.

340mm if I remember correctly

What size are the front discs on the vRS?

My Leon FR170 has 312mm discs and I use 16" alloys in the winter.

 

340 mm I think

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Looks like there are a couple of options then.

 

18" tyres and swap them onto the standard wheels (face a £40 charge each side of the winter season to swap the tyres)

17" wheels and some winter tyres

Get some winters on the Mrs car and just use that when on long journeys.

 

Looking at the cost difference between a 17" winter and 18" winter it makes more sense to just get some 18" tyres and stick them on the standard wheels and take the hit having them changed over each year. The car is on a 2 year PCH so after 2 winters i'll be moving onto another car. The 18" tyres should fit my next car but the wheels probably won't.

Thought?

Why not buy a set of 18" alloys and have the tyres put on them. When you get your new car, you can buy another set of alloys and move the tyres over - thus only changing the tyres once and reducing the risk of damage. Then sell the first set of alloys for approximately what you paid, they won't 'depreciate' that much. I bet you could get a set of alloys for about what you'd spend on swapping tyres over.

 

Alloys and tyres take up no more storage room than just tyres.

 

Just me thinking out loud

Thought?

Why not buy a set of 18" alloys and have the tyres put on them. When you get your new car, you can buy another set of alloys and move the tyres over - thus only changing the tyres once and reducing the risk of damage. Then sell the first set of alloys for approximately what you paid, they won't 'depreciate' that much. I bet you could get a set of alloys for about what you'd spend on swapping tyres over.

 

Alloys and tyres take up no more storage room than just tyres.

 

Just me thinking out loud

 

A typical set of 18's (new) are about £360-400 whereas two seasons of tyre swapping will probably cost £160.

 

Do Mk2 Octavia VRS wheels fit the mk3?

I purchased a set of 17" ATS Radial's in graphite for my VRS. They look very similar to the stock Gemni's, but 17" rims and wheels ride slightly better and are more resistant to high kerbs. The wheels cost £322 delivered by Tyreleader and included the correct spigots and wheel nuts to fit the VRS. The ~£50 saving per corner on rubber over 18" made 17's an easy choice for me. It also negates swapping winter/summer tyres between rims twice per year.

Edit: I use Nokian WR-D3 225/45/R17's winters. They provide an almost identical circumference to standard wheels.

Edited 27 September, 201510 yr by Orville

A typical set of 18's (new) are about £360-400 whereas two seasons of tyre swapping will probably cost £160.

 

Do Mk2 Octavia VRS wheels fit the mk3?

99% sure the MK2 wheels fit the MK3. They are the same bolt pattern and will be similar offsets.

MK2 will fit MK3 and visa versa.

Aren't the offsets slightly different between O2 and O3?

Only a couple of mm, but otherwise they fit OK.

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Going on the 18's (standard) I had on the MK2FL and the 19's I fitted (also on the mk3) both have an offset of 51.......at least I think so *confused*

 

But yes even if not the exact same offset it's not really going to be enough to cause an issue.

Thanks for all the replies.

 

Looks like there are a couple of options then.

 

18" tyres and swap them onto the standard wheels (face a £40 charge each side of the winter season to swap the tyres)

17" wheels and some winter tyres

Get some winters on the Mrs car and just use that when on long journeys.

 

Looking at the cost difference between a 17" winter and 18" winter it makes more sense to just get some 18" tyres and stick them on the standard wheels and take the hit having them changed over each year. The car is on a 2 year PCH so after 2 winters i'll be moving onto another car. The 18" tyres should fit my next car but the wheels probably won't.

 

One benefit of just buying 18" winter tyres & swapping is that your wheels & tyres are inspected & balanced twice per year.

This is especially useful if your mileage/tyre wear is low.

 

If you go down the 17" wheel route, be careful with the inner diameter & types of balance weights used.

On my wheels I have the low profile weights & the clearance is only a few mm.

In the Winter Wheels thread there were a couple of people who's 17" wheels didn't fit due to balance weight placement interfereing with the caliper housing.

One benefit of just buying 18" winter tyres & swapping is that your wheels & tyres are inspected & balanced twice per year.

This is especially useful if your mileage/tyre wear is low.

 

If you go down the 17" wheel route, be careful with the inner diameter & types of balance weights used.

On my wheels I have the low profile weights & the clearance is only a few mm.

In the Winter Wheels thread there were a couple of people who's 17" wheels didn't fit due to balance weight placement interfereing with the caliper housing.

Ok, so a few words of advice from an ex tyre fitter of many years.

Do not switch tyres back and forth on wheels bigger than 16". The reason, the larger the rim the tighter the tyre wraps it meaning a greater chance of damaging both the rim and the tyre beading when taking the tyre off. One damaged tyre & or alloy = your saving almost wiped out.

My advice, fork out for a set of alloys and set of midrange winter tyres to go on them. I have a set of winters for my VRS and have them balanced every year by my local fitter prior to fitting. Low profile weights are required and clearance is tight, however as a winter tyre user for many years it is the only way to do it.

are yours 17s blahde?

What are low profile weights? The standard ones my local place use aren't very thick. Haven't had any issues before.

 

I never buy midrange tyres. They are the only 4 things keeping me on the black stuff. Think I will stick to getting either goodyear ultragrip or trying the conti wintercontact

Just to confirm 17" wheels fit the VRS, but it was VERY tight on the balancing weight - i.e. the brake calipers took some of the paint off the largest weights! If you have 17" with a lot of weights - put them on the back.

are yours 17s blahde?

What are low profile weights? The standard ones my local place use aren't very thick. Haven't had any issues before.

 

I never buy midrange tyres. They are the only 4 things keeping me on the black stuff. Think I will stick to getting either goodyear ultragrip or trying the conti wintercontact

 

The weights on my wheels are about 3mm in height (perhaps a tad more with the adhesive).

The downside, I guess is its harder to balance these & they need to use quite a few of them.

 

If they had used thicker weights (like 1cm or so) I imagine there would be clearance problems like Les mentioned.

I'll try to add a link to some pictures of mine when I get home (i cant access google drive from work).

I'd like to think that most good tyre fitters would put the weights on the inner part if the rim.

But definitely worth thinking about will wait and see how mine arrive.

Rims should be balanced on the inner edge and as close to the face as possible as well. The wider the rim, the more important this is.

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Hopefully this link should work so you can see the clearance between the thin balance weights & the brake calipers with my 17" Dezent wheels:

 

https://drive.google.com/folder/d/0B9x-FXLcX4xISnNURk5JZmVFTHM/edit

Thanks Gabbo, put my mind to rest that they will fit mine when they come.

Would these fit?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4xNew-18-Audi-TTRS-Rotor-Black-Edition-Style-Alloy-Wheels-A3-A4-A6-T4-TT-5x112-/121774189291?