Steel wheel for vRS

[imikk3]

Hi all,

 

I was browsing the forum for answer for the above but couldn`t find what I need. 

 

I`m thinking to buy a steel wheel with tyre or buy them separate and get it fitted. What size I should look for?

 

Would a 17" x 6.5J ET50 with a 225/45/17 fit on the front giving me enough clearance for the calippers? It would cost around £100 if new or less if 2nd hand plus the tool kit from Skoda. Don`t like the space saver spare as I will travel in Europe soon and if anything happens don`t want to slow down due to the limited speed on the spare.

 

Thanks for any info  :sun:

[SimonD316]

I think it depends on how old your VRS is. If it was built before 1st Jan 2016 it will have larger calipers so you will probably need an 18".

 

If it's newer a 17" may fit over the smaller calipers but I'll leave it to someone with more knowledge to confirm.

[Ootohere]

If you are fitting a odd one out wheel with a slightly different tyre & weight to the other 3 or to the one on the same axle it really will still be a temporary wheel and require you to slow down for safety sake.

 

Why not get a matching wheel to the 4 on the car even if this does take a bit of space up?

[meb90]

If you've got mismatched wheels (not tyres) across an axle, it is advised to travel at a reduced speed anyway, as if you've got a space saver on.

 

A full sized wheel will fit in the wheel well, but it may lift the boot floor up about 2 cm. This is what I have done.

 

For a VRS, if you've got the 340mm front brake discs, you'll need a minimum of a 17" wheel. If you've got the 312mm front brake discs, you'll need a minimum of a 16" wheel.

[imikk3]

I think it depends on how old your VRS is. If it was built before 1st Jan 2016 it will have larger calipers so you will probably need an 18".

 

If it's newer a 17" may fit over the smaller calipers but I'll leave it to someone with more knowledge to confirm.

 

I`ve placed the order on the 30th Dec 2015 so i guess it`s built after January 16

 

If you are fitting a odd one out wheel with a slightly different tyre & weight to the other 3 or to the one on the same axle it really will still be a temporary wheel and require you to slow down for safety sake.

 

Why not get a matching wheel to the 4 on the car even if this does take a bit of space up?

 

I understand your point but I don`t really have the budget to buy another alloy for almost £200  :no:

 

If you've got mismatched wheels (not tyres) across an axle, it is advised to travel at a reduced speed anyway, as if you've got a space saver on.

 

A full sized wheel will fit in the wheel well, but it may lift the boot floor up about 2 cm. This is what I have done.

 

For a VRS, if you've got the 340mm front brake discs, you'll need a minimum of a 17" wheel. If you've got the 312mm front brake discs, you'll need a minimum of a 16" wheel.

 

Is there a way to check what size of my disc is without taking the wheels off? I`ve got it delivered in March 2016 if that helps

 

Compare the 2 wheels - the space saver one and the one I`m looking to - there is a huge difference in terms of the sizes and the wheel rigidity if you know what I mean. The space saver size is 125/70/18 and the other is almost the same size. I thought with that kind of size I can drive the car for longer distance and a bit higher speed (like 70-75mph NOT 50mph)

[imikk3]

I have got a comparison for the original and other one

 

 http://www.willtheyfit.com/index.php?width=225&aspect=40&diameter=18&wheelwidth=8&offset=51&width2=225&aspect2=45&diameter2=17&wheelwidth2=6.5&offset2=50&Submit=Calculate#content

 

Not much difference I think

[Ootohere]

A like for like alloy with a tyre on might not be £200 if you find one for sale, salvage, ebay, Briskoda etc.

 

Might even come with a part worn tyre that is a near match to those on your car.

(for a spare to travel abroad a kerbed / cosmetic damaged one might even be perfect, and allow a journey to continue at a decent pace.

Personally i carry 2 spares on trips that i do not want to waste time searching out a repair centre, and they are not directional tyres on the rims.

Edited 15 June, 2016 by GoneOffSKi

[meb90]

I agree, the rolling circumference is very similar, but there will other differences. I'm not saying don't do it, just that it isn't advised.

 

I can't help with the brake sizes, they changed at some point this year. Have a look at this thread, there are pictures showing the differences (mainly what the caliper looks like):

http://www.briskoda.net/forums/topic/396273-have-skoda-reduced-the-front-brake-disc-size-on-new-vrss/page-1?hl=+brake

[Gabbo]

Doh, too slow to click send.

+1 for what everyone else said.

 

A 17" alloy with tyre (its a spare so you don't need to worry about style/tyre brand) shouldn't be so expensive new & then theres always a hunt around a few scrappies/eBay for a 17" Golf/Passat/Leon/Octavia Wheel.

Edited 15 June, 2016 by Gabbo

[imikk3]

Thanks guys for the info. I will check which brakes i have, but I guess it`s the smaller one  and i start looking to see what I can come up with. To be honest I don`t like the boot floor lid raised by an inch ( I may have a slight OCD  :p )

[Ootohere]

It will have to be raised for a while when you carry the alloy with the puncture and you drive along with one steel wheel on your car.

Unless you have it sitting on top and you pack your stuff in the spare tyre well.

(just short term OCD required until you find a Tyre Fitter with the correct size new tyre for you, maybe not so cheap or one that matches the other so you might end up buying a pair.)

[anthmcm]

just get one big enough to fit on the rear, worst case if you get a front flat you can always stick the back wheel on front and the spare on the back as stop gap to get you where you need to go

[neiln]

its cheaper to get the right size alloy, and its not a space saver/temporary wheel then.   cheaper because the tyre cost long term is zero, as the right tyre can be used on the car when existing ones wear down.  you'll get a 18" et51 5 bolt rim for about £75 if you aren't fussed on pattern and can wait/hunt.  I picked up a set of borbet bs5 for my winter wheels for under £300 from tyre leader.  A quick look there and cheapest is some rondells et45, its close enough.  7.5 inch or 8 inch width will work fine

https://www.tyreleader.co.uk/alloy-wheels/rondell/0223-894/7.5x18-et45-5x108-70.4-146103

[philbes]

If one wheel/tyre does not match the other three than the car is limited to 80kph by law.  By not match that means a difference in diameter, width or profile/aspect ratio.  So even a 225/45-17 on a car fitted with 225/40-18s (less than 1/2-% difference in rolling circumference) still means speed legally limited to 80kph in the whole of the EU, including the UK.

 

I bought a cheap 18" alloy wheel and fitted a 225/40 tyre which was the same as those already on the car.  Cost  almost £200 but has been invaluable when I have suffered a puncture twice in the 3 years I have owned the car.

[FlyingGecko]

If one wheel/tyre does not match the other three than the car is limited to 80kph by law.  ..

 

 

Obviously doesn't apply to the Audi A4 driver who passed me at around 80 on the motorway on Monday. I was half hoping the front wheel would come off just so he knew why the yellow stickers were on there.

[FlyingGecko]

If one wheel/tyre does not match the other three than the car is limited to 80kph by law.  ..

 

 

Obviously doesn't apply to the Audi A4 driver who passed me at around 80 on the motorway on Monday. I was half hoping the front wheel would come off just so he knew why the yellow stickers were on there. My dashcam would've got it in HD.

[imikk3]

So if I guess right then, I don`t need to buy an ET51 offset wheel as I have the smaller brakes on MY16 or am I wrong?  :think:

 

Obviously doesn't apply to the Audi A4 driver who passed me at around 80 on the motorway on Monday. I was half hoping the front wheel would come off just so he knew why the yellow stickers were on there. My dashcam would've got it in HD.

 

I wouldn`t do 80mph with a spare wheel running on Frankfurters  That`s why I want to go with wider rubber 

[meb90]

So if I guess right then, I don`t need to buy an ET51 offset wheel as I have the smaller brakes on MY16 or am I wrong?  :think:

 

The ET value is the offset of the wheel, i.e. the distance from the centre of the tyre to the face that bolts to the hub. The size (diameter) of the brakes doesn't affect what this value can be, only the wheel diameter. As long as you get wheel with an offset close to 51, you'll be OK and it'll still fit on the car.

 

The lower the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the suspension shock absorber.

The higher the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the wheel arch.

[imikk3]

The ET value is the offset of the wheel, i.e. the distance from the centre of the tyre to the face that bolts to the hub. The size (diameter) of the brakes doesn't affect what this value can be, only the wheel diameter. As long as you get wheel with an offset close to 51, you'll be OK and it'll still fit on the car.

 

The lower the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the suspension shock absorber.

The higher the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the wheel arch.

Oh sorry, I meant the brake caliper size, since mine doesn't have the bigger disc and caliper as the TSI I can go lower and don`t have to worry about the spare wheel will touch the caliper

[meb90]

I see your point. I don't know what the minimum offsets for both brake sizes are. I reckon you could definitely go lower than 51, as there will be some clearance but I wouldn't like to say how much.

[GlenAnderson]

I've got a set of 7j 16 , ET45 steels that I've been using as winter wheels on our Yeti that I'm hoping will fit on our new Octavia vRS come winter time. I prefer to use steel rims rather than alloys, in conjunction with deeper profile (and cheaper) hoops. They've currently got 215/60 R16 tyres on, which are a little tall. As they've done four winters I'll not be too upset if I have to swap the tyres for lower profile ones. I shall report back when I've tried them.

[GlenAnderson]

An unfortunate encounter with what looks like a stray brake shoe securing stud resulted in a puncture on one of the front tyres of our MY16 Vrs diesel today. Being on late shifts, and not wanting my wife (who's daily it is) to have to travel any distance on the space-saver spare, I had the joy tonight/this morning on my return from work, of swapping the tyres around and fitting one of the aforementioned steel wheels on the back so she can go to work this morning and I can get the offending puncture repaired before work and swapped back after I get home again tomorrow morning.

 

One good thing though, is that the tyre deflation warning system picked up the issue with the tyre at 2 bar versus the other three at 2.4 bar, so then tyre wasn't run flat, the rim wasn't damaged and SWMBO wasn't left stranded at the side of the road - all of which are things I'm keen to avoid! All, I can happily confirm that a 7J x 16 ET45 steel wheel, with 215/60 R16 tyre will fit over the caliper of the diesel Vrs with no issues, and the tyre doesn't rub or scuff anywhere either. I think I will be able to get another winter season out of the current tyres, but 215/55 or 225/50 would be a better match for the rolling diameter of the 225/40 R18 summer tyres, and either size would be OK on the 7J rims. I'll have to see what the differences are in cost between the two sizes, as well as speed rating availability/requirements, to be able to make a proper decision, and weigh up the outlay now for four new tyres when I could claw a bit back for the 215/60 ones whilst they've some life in them, versus running them to the point they have no value...

 

First world problems! 

Edited 13 September, 2016 by GlenAnderson

[philbes]

225/45-17 or 205/55-16 are the closest match to the standard 225/40-18 .  215/60-16 is close enough not to be a problem (rolling circumference 1.15% difference).  225/50-16 is 4% different.

[Black_Sheep]

The ET value is the offset of the wheel, i.e. the distance from the centre of the tyre to the face that bolts to the hub. The size (diameter) of the brakes doesn't affect what this value can be, only the wheel diameter. As long as you get wheel with an offset close to 51, you'll be OK and it'll still fit on the car.

 

The lower the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the suspension shock absorber.

The higher the offset, the closer the wheel will be to the wheel arch.

This is incorrect. The lower the ET the closer the wheel to the arch - spacers lower the ET as opposed to increasing. You also need to take the wheel width into consideration with the ET.

[PetrolDave]

This is incorrect. The lower the ET the closer the wheel to the arch - spacers lower the ET as opposed to increasing. You also need to take the wheel width into consideration with the ET.

http://www.wellerwheels.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/ET_Diagram.png