First of all, hello everyone! I'm new here.

 

I'm seriously considering purchasing a used Fabia III 1.2 TSI 110 (Ambition). The car is less than a year old and has been used by one of the employees at a local Skoda dealer.

 

The car has a sports suspension and black 16" Beam alloys, so the ride is a bit firmer than I'd wish but it looks real neat and sporty on the other hand. Although the alloys look good and all, I was kind of hoping to get a deal and make them put 15" steel wheels + tyres for the winter for 1) better handling in the snow + lower fuel consumption 2) and to protect the beautiful black alloys (there's a lot more gravel and salt during the winter)... But when I went for a test ride today I noticed they had already put the winter Michelin Alpine tyres on it, so it makes me doubt they would want to give me smaller wheels + winter tyres instead.

 

I'd like to ask you for advice: should I worry about driving with 215/45/R16 winter tyres in terms of handling, fuel consumption and possible damage to the alloys (gravel, salt ...)? I'm from Europe.

 

On the test ride today I did cca. 100 km --- mostly highway, some country road and a bit of town and had average fuel consumption 6.1l/100 km according to Bolero, which isn't too bad I guess, since I was doing mostly 130 km/h (and even 140-150 km/h) on the highway.

 

Another question: after driving for a while I noticed a faint higher-pitched sound coming from the engine every now and then... it was barely audible but it was there: sounded like crickets in slow motion if I may describe it like that... and it occurred while I was driving, not idling. Not constantly, though. The engine is very quiet otherwise, except when accelerating you can obviously hear it, which is totally normal. But is it normal for the engine to emit any other sounds than the "regular" engine sound? I raised this issue to the Skoda dealer and they said they'd look into it, though something tells me they'll dismiss it saying nothing is wrong.

 

Thanks in advance for your answers.

The Wife's fabia MKIII SE-L has the same high pitch noise you describe 

 

I'm thinking it might be the water pump whistling slightly.

My Fabia makes the same sound. But I don't really notice it anymore.

If youre driving in snow and slugde during the winter Id recommend narrower tires. But they are already there, so give them a shot and adapt your driving.

I gave a set of winter wheels a coating both in- and outside with clear rattlecan laquer which kept them in a good condition for several seasons. The white found on the streets in these neck of woods will mostly be identified as salt at near sight....

if used by employee, the car will have been used as a demonstrator

 

as to the tyres, down here in southeast UK we don't see much snow, and when we do you only seem to get a grandad tip - toeing slowly at <10mph or boy racer trying to how quick he can get a trip to the local hospital

 

sensible drivers basically leave them to it for a day or so then once they have given up or learnt how to drive in the white stuff its then safe to go out

 

jon15 can you give us a clue where you live? ambition model says not in the UK

Edited 8 November, 201510 yr by bluecar1

That chirping noise, I thought that it was due to a design issue with the EVAP solenoid, with wife's August 2015 Polo 1.2TSI 110PS, that noise only started when the car was driven 3 miles in summer weather, it seems to have changed a bit since the weather has got colder, which might be due to, if it is the EVAP solenoid, operation only starting at a certain engine temperature from cold.

 

Pity you did not get to talk to the dealer about fitting 15" steels for winter though!

Hi!

 

215 is a bit on the wide side for winter tires for such a small car, but that said: any decent winter tires are still better than summer tires, and as they seem to be included in the deal I don't see a problem with them. If you find yourself in deep snow you might have less problems with narrower tires, but if winter for you generally means wet and sometimes icy roads, the width will not be an issue. If snow chains are relevant for you - make sure you can fit snow chains on this tire size on the Fabia.

I don't see a problem with these tires, so if the car feels right for you, just go for it!

 

Are there only 1 set of rims and then 2 sets of tires? If so, then I syggest that you next autumn sell the wide winter tires and get a set of steel rims and smaller tires (probably for more or less what the winter tires sell for   ) instead

 

2) I have the same chirping noise myself, so that is a feature on Fabia III At least in Finland there is a repair campaign for some high-pitch noise ongoing, but I have not yet had my car sorted. Ask about this.

Edited 10 November, 201510 yr by the_raz

Hi everyone, thanks for your input so far!

 

I'm located in southern Central Europe, so we definitely do get snow and ice here.

 

 

Are there only 1 set of rims and then 2 sets of tires? If so, then I syggest that you next autumn sell the wide winter tires and get a set of steel rims and smaller tires (probably for more or less what the winter tires sell for   ) instead

 

2) I have the same chirping noise myself, so that is a feature on Fabia III At least in Finland there is a repair campaign for some high-pitch noise ongoing, but I have not yet had my car sorted. Ask about this.

 

1) Yes, unfortunately only 1 set of rims (16" black Beam). I tried to negotiate to make them give me 15" steel wheels + winter tyres, but they weren't willing to do that. Instead they agreed to keep the 16" Michelin winter tyres on and add 16" Dunlop summer tyres as a bonus.
 

- Is there any way I could protect the wheels from gravel/salt scratching them during the winter? Like some transparent protective film or something?

 

2) Hm, interesting. I will try to capture in on camera sometimes if it appears again.

You can buy steel wheels with winter tyres attached already. They're not actually that expensive and will make it easier in the long rung (just swap your wheels over for winter/summer).

 

With regards to the tyre sizes you normally have to keep the wheel and tyre sizes the same for insurance purposes etc but not sure how it works in your country.

 

Phil

With regards to the tyre sizes you normally have to keep the wheel and tyre sizes the same for insurance purposes etc but not sure how it works in your country.

 

Sure, I am aware of that.