Twitchy ride - would 15" improve it

[stonyb1]

Currently on 16" with 215/45 tyres (at the correct pressure !).  The ride is fine around town and on decent A roads, but on B roads or any that are a bit twisty, and with less than even surfaces,  the ride is quite 'twitchy' - side to side.

 

My question is -  would changing to 15" wheels be likely to make any real difference to the 'twitchiness' ?

[Ootohere]

Those tyres should not cause an issue like that.

 

What brand are they and what is the correct pressures you are running them at?

 

Best have a Master Tech at a dealership do a road test and also check the setting for the Steering Assist.

[stonyb1]

Current tyres are Turanza @2.1 bar - but am not suggesting that the tyres as such are causing the twitchiness per se - think its an inherent suspension design problem - but was just wondering whether the more forgiving 195/55 on 15" might make enough difference to be worth trying.

 

[Ootohere]

There is no inherent design fault surely, this is The All New 3rd generation Fabia you are talking about, well at least the 4th incarnation.

Yet another Face Lift without ant need for New Type Approval, all tried and tested stuff....

Wider Track, wider tyres than offered before on the Mk1, Mk2, Mk2 FL and had and years of evolution.

Set up much as on a Polo, Ibiza or A1.

 

Twitchy they should not be but then maybe you can go Test Drive a Demonstrator with narrower tyres fitted and see how that drives.

 

Maybe put a couple of PSI more in and go to 33psi rather than the 30.5

That might usually make the steering lighter but it is worth a try.

Edited 16 February, 2017 by Offski

[Amartha]

I had a Mk2 that appeared to be no where near as stable as my previous Mk1 as soon as the tyres started to wear. This manifested itself primarily as 'white lining', ie it followed any deformations in the road surface along your direction of travel without any steering input from the driver.  As a motorcyclist of many years this was not an unusual occurrence - many bikes do this once the tyres wear, though modern designs tend to be better. Similarly, I had a TVR Griffith 4.3 that exhibited the same problem on poor surfaces.  I had the Griff wheel alignment checked and corrected, but the improvement was small (as were the original errors in the settings) so I put it down to the tyre/suspension/car weight and drove around it.  The Fabia Mk2 started to do it within the first 5k miles from new and I again put it down to a combination of tyres etc - tyre pressure changes had little effect. As the tyres wore to near the point of changing I got so fed up of it on wet roads that I changed the tyres early and had the steering geometry checked and corrected (there had been no 'kerbing' or other driving events that would have caused it to change from new). The improvement was very noticeable - not perfect, but much better. As I never 'gelled' with the Mk2 and needed an estate by then, I got a Mk3 when they were introduced; the steering was back to the quality of the Mk1 (possibly better).  However, as the tyres have worn (now at 27k and near ready for changing) the white lining characteristic has shown itself on a few occasions.  If the car is new, I would suggest complaining to your dealer and insist that he checks and adjusts the geometry (with a 'before and after' printout).  If it is older, with tyre wear starting, or you don't know its full history wrt any 'potholing' and kerbing that may have changed the geometry, you may need to get it done yourself and accept the cost.  If this gives no improvement, a change of tyre manufacturer may improve matters before you resort to a wheel change.  Best of luck!

[stonyb1]

Think I have (almost) answered my own question - before I purchased I did several test drives se vs sel vs 90 vs 110 - and I do now recall that I did comment to the dealer that I found the 16" wheels definitely gave a harder more twitchy ride than the 15" when tested over the identical stretch of twisty country lane, but the 16" gave a sharper, more precise feeling to the steering.

 

If I could exchange my current wheels for 15" I would do so, but suspect that it will not be easy to find a seller who wants to do the reverse, and exchange their 15" for 16".

[Ootohere]

I think you would find there are plenty that would like your 16" Rims and tyres in exchange for their 15".

Just ask in the Briskoda Classifieds.

They will need to own the car or the wheels obviously and not have them on lease.

[stonyb1]

Thanks Offski - will follow up as you suggest.

[pfaff]

Not really sure what you mean by twitchy but Ive got a OEM set of each 16" - Turanza summer and 15"- Firestone winter tires.

As I can tell the winter setup are far more silent but doesnt give the same track and stability as the summer setup. 

The Turanzas may be premium tires but there are better so my advice would be wear'em out and get yourself - i.e. the car - a decent pair of Michelins when the day comes.

 

 

 

[Ootohere]

What leads you to think Turanzas from Bridgstone are a Premium Tyre, they are just another brand the VW Group buy because they get a good deal.

Bridgestone are a houshold name and make ECO  or cheep tyres, quality tyres and ones that are just tyres like other major brands do.

 

Which decent Michelin do you recommend are going to change the cars road manners?

[pfaff]

3 hours ago, Offski said:

What leads you to think Turanzas from Bridgstone are a Premium Tyre, they are just another brand the VW Group buy because they get a good deal.

Bridgestone are a houshold name and make ECO  or cheep tyres, quality tyres and ones that are just tyres like other major brands do.

 

Which decent Michelin do you recommend are going to change the cars road manners?

 

Ive had the best experiences with the Michelin Energy Saver+. Even in terms of noise level.

Also Id suspect that Stonybs Fab should be checked concerning the front wheel alignment. Turanzas are not that bad.

 

 

 

Edited 18 February, 2017 by pfaff

[tinkytinca]

I mentioned in another post that I think the handling of the Mk3 is, in my opinion, absolutely terrible not inspiring confidence at any speed on anything but a smooth straight road. I don't believe that any tyre and wheel combination will make any improvement to an inherently bad chassis / suspension setup. Any improvements would be very costly. If you want a nice handling car trade the Fabia in for a Fiesta.

[Ootohere]

The post is about twitchy, if you want handling or comfort then you need to decide sometimes which and are you after a cooking Fiesta or something like a 

ST.  If you want sporty then there are plenty that handle but are maybe not comfy or roomy.

 

Edited 22 February, 2017 by Awayoffski