I've just bought a set of used 16" Skoda OEM wheels for my Superb II Elegance Kombi to replace the 18" Themisto alloys.

 

The question is which tyres to go for? I only cover between 8,000 and 10,000 miles each year, mostly town and motorway with little country lane driving. Because it's a large and not very sporty car, I don't care about sporty driving, but don't want to end up in a ditch. A key priority for me is reducing tyre and road noise, but maybe the drop from 18" to 16" will do this anyway?

 

I'm mainly torn between Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance at the posh end with a 68dB noise rating, or Kumho Ecsta HS51s in the mid-range.

 

Any opinions?

As a generalisation, the narrower the tyre is the lower the road noise (for a given tread design).

 

The EC tyre rating is even more useless than usual here, because it's "drive by noise" and not "cabin noise". I'd still care about aquaplane resistance if I was you because it doesn't take that much rain to cause a "rut puddle" on a worn inside lane, but again a narrower tyre will always have better aquaplane resistance than a wider one with the same tread design and depth.

8 hours ago, HopefullyJOllyRoger said:

I've just bought a set of used 16" Skoda OEM wheels for my Superb II Elegance Kombi to replace the 18" Themisto alloys.

 

The question is which tyres to go for? I only cover between 8,000 and 10,000 miles each year, mostly town and motorway with little country lane driving. Because it's a large and not very sporty car, I don't care about sporty driving, but don't want to end up in a ditch. A key priority for me is reducing tyre and road noise, but maybe the drop from 18" to 16" will do this anyway?

 

I'm mainly torn between Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance at the posh end with a 68dB noise rating, or Kumho Ecsta HS51s in the mid-range.

 

Any opinions?

How about all weather stuff like Cross Climates or Goodyear Seasons one. 205/55/16 is one of the main sizes out there, so about £65 odd a corner depending on what you buy. 

Good idea. Thanks. I'll run some prices for all-weather tyres.