Recently purchased a Fabia 1.4 Comfort 2001 plate 19k miles

 

The wheel hubs are scuffed, and I am thinking and changing to alloys - and thet look better !

 

I am aware of pattern and cheap Far East imports that may not withstand kerb knocks or minor collisions

 

Any recommendations as to where I can source durable and safe alloys would be appreciated

 

 

 

Lodestone

If on a budget, I'd go only with OEM wheels. A set of used alloys in good condition should be lasting as long as the car will. The specs are met on a lot of VAG cars. 

 

 

165/70R14 81T   5Jx14 ET35 5x100 

 

175/65R14 81T   5.5Jx14 ET42 5x100 

 

185/55R15 81T   6Jx15 ET38 5x100 

 

195/55R15 81T   6.5Jx15 ET35 5x100

 

195/45R16 81V   6.5Jx16 ET35 5x100 

 

These are the wheels are tires specs that you should be looking for. Center bore is 57.1 (for all of them, of course). The studs are the same for steel or alloy wheels as well (M14x1.5). I've seen a lot of cheap aftermarket alloys which were a pita, like not retaining air pressure, very very hard to balance, getting square shaped at the first pot hole and so on. No to mention about safety. Stick with a set of OEM wheels and you should be good. 

How much are you ready to spend on wheels and tires?

Edited 16 June, 201610 yr by Alexandru

Thank you

 

Very useful information

 

The car is being delivered by the dealer on Saturday (it is being serviced by them) so I'll look at the tyre size

 

I recall that the car had 4 good tread tyres, but 3 of them are cheap Chinese (which I will remove pronto) the other being an Avon - with a new Avon as spare

 

Apparently the previous owner changed the orignal tyres because they perished and were out of safe date

 

I'll spend what it takes

 

Lodestone

I'd say that tires are very important. They make a huge difference in critical situations, as well as in mpg. The best tires on the market at this moment which would be perfect for your car and have a great value are: Uniroyal Rainsport 3, Goodyear Efficientgrip Performance and Vredstein Sportrac 5. These are the ones to go for IMHO.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited 17 June, 201610 yr by Alexandru

Thanks for the above info

 

The tyres on my Fabia  are 165/70R14

 

For alloys would you know if I can use the rims that will take a  175/65R14 or the 185/55/R15  - bigger tyres   which  may enhance  the  look of the car ?

 

Conversely the current non alloy hubs are not too badly scuffed, but the tyres are cheap dubious Chinese imports - and I want to take them off

 

Can I replace them with new tyres but of the larger  175/65 R14 - or even the 185/55/R15 size  - as I may go for this less expensive option

 

My local Skoda dealer has mentioned a cheaper alloy option via EPAC ?

 

Regards

 

 

Lodestone

On short, narrow tires with higher wall (165/70/14) will be flexible, will absorb shocks better (potholes and stuff) and will perform better in snow. Wider tires with smaller wall (195/50/15) will give you better grip, a more precise steering feeling, the ride will be a little stiffer and the mpg might drop a little. I went with a set of 165/70/14 for winter, nice and narrow to cut through the snow and 195/50/15 for summer. Our other Fabia has 185/60/14 for summer. As a comparison, I can notice that the ride is improved, but it's jusy not my thing.

Later edit: have in mind that all tires have the same exterior dimmension. 14 vs 15 inches ... it's about the same in terms of aesthetics. Some of the models come only in sport dimensions, such as Uniroyal Rainsport 3s, which are available only at 195/50/15, not on the others. These are awsome. For the others, you can go with the common size 185/60/14, where I believe are available the other 2, and from Uniroyal, the Rainexperts. If you don't want to cut costs, I'd say to get this size. It's decent.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited 17 June, 201610 yr by Alexandru

I would definitely go with OEM as said above, I got my alloys from a user on here who was breaking a Fabia Elegance. The tyres are 185/60/14, I have Bridgestone All weather tyres fitted and find them to be brilliant.

OEM Alloys from all VW group should fit. Mine are off a VW Beetle. Sure you might have to change the profile on the tyres, but they fit.

I would definitely go with OEM as said above, I got my alloys from a user on here who was breaking a Fabia Elegance. The tyres are 185/60/14, I have Bridgestone All weather tyres fitted and find them to be brilliant.

How are that all-season tires ? Do they perform well ?

How are that all-season tires ? Do they perform well ?

Yes I find them fantastic; no skidding at all in the rain and very little aqua planing at high speed in puddles etc. I also haven't had any problems on soft muddy ground. We didn't have a lot of snow last winter but I found them to work well on icy roads. My MPG dropped slightly but it doesn't bother me as the tyres feel much safer. In terms of wear, I've not measured the tread depth yet but I got them in September last year and have done around 20k miles and still have a lot of tread left. Can't comment on 'performance' use but they seem good enough on a spirited drive whatever the weather.

Edited 18 June, 201610 yr by Dazza95

Correction to my former message above

 

The tyres on my Fabia are 185/60R14

 

The cheap Chinese tyres where taken off today and replaced by 4 new Continentals ECO5 82H  - now feel more comfortable with these premium tyres

 

Presumably, I should ensure that any alloys that I purchase are able to match these new tyres  - any advice would be appreciated

 

Lodestone 

Just something for the OP to be aware of , and perhaps other owners have noticed. locally, we've got a lot of badly fitted in the gutter drains ( or had when I got Furby). The tyres on mine ( original I'd suggest as car had only done 14k) , were some weird name and not immune to potholes, so I changed both fronts after finding that one had developed a sidewall bulge. What surprised the fitter was the speed rating on the originals- in his opinion well below the rating of any small car he could think of.

i don't know if Skoda still practice fitting low speed rating tyres to new cars, but it's something to be aware of.

Tyre size- others better able to advise on sizes, but it happened that last time I needed a pair of fronts, my daughter had just scrapped a Golf and kept tyres and a few other goodies. Tyres were new to her and with a decent bit of tread, and not kerbed ,but treated as a little lady should treat tyres. Profile size differs, but I've found that the front end ( bear in mind that it's the 1.4 derv lump) is more precise and feels better.