Can't remember the exact dimension of the tyres on mine, ( 185/60x14 fitted), but a couple of years ago at a time of financial depression my daughter scrapped her Laguna and kept wheels  with 185/65/14 tyres. No use to her, I put them on the rear end of mine and now I run 65 all round. Far better ride etc. And I notice that the size Skoda fitted to mine as OEM are a size that 's unusual ,with the x65 being fitted to a few other cars ( Laguna/Golf) being cheaper. Word of warning- I don't know what the performance limits on a 1.2 are, but Skoda are pennypinchers on OEM tyres, ( OEM on mine were far below the capabilities of even a humble 1.4TDi). So check that you fir the correct speed ratinf for the car ,not what Skoda fitted.

All this theorycrafting about tyres makes me sad.

 

It doesn't matter about the oversteer/understeer equation or front/rear wheel drive, it's about aquaplaning, if you have worn tyres at the back of a car and fresh ones at the front you can drive much faster on a wet road than the rear tyres can cope with and you won't be able to tell when the back tyres are aquaplaning, at higher speeds this means the car can spin without warning resulting in a serious accident. Most front engined cars are much lighter at the back than the front which makes this phenomenon worse.

However, the back tyres would need to be near the end of their service life for this to become a real danger.

 

Most fitters don't know this because they're FITTERS.

All this theorycrafting about tyres makes me sad.

 

It doesn't matter about the oversteer/understeer equation or front/rear wheel drive, it's about aquaplaning, if you have worn tyres at the back of a car and fresh ones at the front you can drive much faster on a wet road than the rear tyres can cope with and you won't be able to tell when the back tyres are aquaplaning, at higher speeds this means the car can spin without warning resulting in a serious accident. Most front engined cars are much lighter at the back than the front which makes this phenomenon worse.

However, the back tyres would need to be near the end of their service life for this to become a real danger.

 

Most fitters don't know this because they're FITTERS.

You've never driven down a road covered with a film of water, checked your rear mirror and seen the 2 dry tracks you've left behind you?

You've never driven down a road covered with a film of water, checked your rear mirror and seen the 2 dry tracks you've left behind you?

 

Have you been drinking? Yes, in a straight line, of course, the problem with aquaplaning happens when you change direction.

 

As you full-well know, sometimes you can hit a large patch of standing water and aquaplane no matter how good your tyres are, as long as you remain straight and don't add brakes or change the throttle then you're not in any danger.

Have you been drinking? Yes, in a straight line, of course, the problem with aquaplaning happens when you change direction.

 

As you full-well know, sometimes you can hit a large patch of standing water and aquaplane no matter how good your tyres are, as long as you remain straight and don't add brakes or change the throttle then you're not in any danger.

An object in motion at a steady speed in a straight line will remain in motion (on that vector) unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Skodas with ABS all have 4-channel systems. Where is this rear wheel locking you allege supposed to come from?

An object in motion at a steady speed in a straight line will remain in motion (on that vector) unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. Skodas with ABS all have 4-channel systems. Where is this rear wheel locking you allege supposed to come from?

 

You have been drinking.

 

What wheel locking are you on about? I don't need a kinematics lesson from you either thanks, stick with patronising wimmin.

Sepulchrave sounds right to me.  You don't need non-rotating wheels for aquaplaning; just more water 'under-tyre' than they can chuck out the way in time to remain in contact with the road, I think? The less tread depth there is, the easier that happens.

 

Thanks for clarifying what I hadn't previously understood about this best tyres on the rear thing. :)

The guy that does the jobs I really don't want to do at my local VAG specialist sounded quite annoyed when he told me that this was the 'new way', totally opposite to what he'd believed, and told to customers for most of his fairly long career.  Not sure it had been explained well enough to him.

 

Oh, by the way, yes I have been drinking! :D

Edited 2 January, 20179 yr by Wino

You have been drinking.

 

What wheel locking are you on about? I don't need a kinematics lesson from you either thanks, stick with patronising wimmin.

I hadn't been when I posted that. I have now, and still know the difference between basic dynamics and kinematics thank you very much. Since you have confused the two, I'll presume that you need lessons in both, although I'm not qualified to give lessons in kinematics beyond "it's really complicated".

 

So here's the basic mechanics lesson. Even when it is aquaplaning a car moving in a straight line (and probably even on a curve) will not spin until and unless a rear wheel locks. Michelin's much quoted video actually proves this by showing a Corsa without ABS spinning.

I'm not going to worry too much as I don't regularly drive through deep standing water at speed

I hadn't been when I posted that. I have now, and still know the difference between basic dynamics and kinematics thank you very much. Since you have confused the two, I'll presume that you need lessons in both, although I'm not qualified to give lessons in kinematics beyond "it's really complicated".

 

So here's the basic mechanics lesson. Even when it is aquaplaning a car moving in a straight line (and probably even on a curve) will not spin until and unless a rear wheel locks. Michelin's much quoted video actually proves this by showing a Corsa without ABS spinning.

 

You're absolutely unbelievable, I don't how you get away with it, you probably don't do this stuff IRL.

 

Since you're incapable of embarrassment due to a complete lack of self-awareness I'll draw the picture for you:

 

If you have grip with your front wheels then you can brake and steer just fine, the problem is if you have no grip at the back at all, then your car essentially has casters at the back, just like the skidpan test cars do, so when you steer the back continues blithely on following it's original vector and rapidly overtakes the front of the car.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PPMivvF8ABs

 

Here's some evidence, see if you can figure out what's going on all by yourself. Hint: The car isn't braking and I will need to see your working.

 

Pro-tip: When you're in a deep hole, STOP DIGGING and don't try to patronise someone who's actually been to University and works in a professional capacity, rather than someone who just brings you meals and wipes your chin for you; i.e. Wimmin.

I'm not going to worry too much as I don't regularly drive through deep standing water at speed

 

I wouldn't worry at all unless your back tyres are nearly worn out.

they've got 5mm tread and are 2 years old so im not concerned

Maybe it's time to reflect on what's been said and then keep the thread on a more even keel as some of the stuff I've just read isn't really in keeping with what I'd expect to see on Briskoda.

 

Remember. Discussion is good, debating is good, sarcasm is passable, but misogyny should have stopped in the 1960's!

Oh god the Briskoda (boring) Police have been alerted :O

I'm not going to worry too much as I don't regularly drive through deep standing water at speed

So you've got someone driving in front of you at all times alerting you to deep standing water ahead!?!? :D

Must be very handy.............

Oh god the Briskoda (boring) Police have been alerted :o

So you've got someone driving in front of you at all times alerting you to deep standing water ahead!?!? :D

Must be very handy.............

i have eyes

i have eyes

Super powered ones?

Lucky you

Super powered ones?

Lucky you

yeah those ones  :D

Bit of an update I suppose to say Ive not had such a good experience with these Goodyear's as I would have hoped.

7,500 miles and one is already almost on the limit in the centre. Im not putting the wear down entirely to the tyres, I know the wheel alignment may be slightly out but I think the main reason for the wear is due to the fact the Skoda recommended pressures are too much for these tyres.

Im on 195/50/R15 and have been keeping an eye once a month to make sure they stay at the recommended 31psi but there is just so much wear on the centre part of the tread. The outside edges have around 3mm tread left fairly evenly so Im very surprised at how considerably the centres of the tyre have worn. 

I must add I probably do almost  the worst kind of driving for tyre wear in that my driving is 70% A roads stop and start with roundabouts and fast twisty corners. The other 10% is motorway and probably 20% town. 

I would still have hoped that a fabia 1.2 wouldn't have worn the tyres this quickly though as it can't exactly accelerate very quickly and the brakes are more to slow you down than stop you.

Something else Ive noticed now they are getting close to the limits are they squeal like mad on certain surfaces, even at relatively steady speeds on moderate bends

Im tempted just to stick a set of cheaper tyres on next just to see whether they last any longer, maybe not Accelera's tho...

Wow, 7.5k sucks, I'm amazed you only run 31 PSI, I too am on 195/50/15 and I run 33 PSI to reduce tyrewall deflection and squealing, I was running full load 36 PSI at the back but have backed it off now due to it being a bit looser in the wet with the RARB, mine are actually wearing on the outside edges at the front despite the pressure, certainly not in the middle. Mine are not Goodyears though because they're not really a grippy tyre.

Bad tracking generally wears out the inside edges incidentally.

Im down to 25 psi at the moment to try and counter the wear so I can get a few thousand more miles from them. 

This just makes them squeal even more tho and they feel very soft on initial turn in.

I think its just a case of them not being very well suited to the car, as you said tracking would cause the inner or outer edges to wear which is not the case with these. 

Will upload a picture in a bit

Not the clearest photo but you can sort of see the tread on the outside compared to that in the middle...

I purchased a pair of Marshall tyres for my Fabia they are Rebranded Kuhmo my mate is a tyre fitter and did a side by side comparison to the marshal and the Kuhmo ecsta sport the tread pattern is identical as is the code number on the label. It seems that lots of brands are putting out budget lines of the same tyres now. 

Just gone and got some Avon ZV7's

Cheap enough and they've got 8mm tread on them

Wonder how long they will last but will keep a close eye on the wear to make sure its even