Am taking delivery of a 2002 Fabia 1,4 MPI and notice tyres are 165 70 14. We are scrapping an old Astra with 175 tyre size with good tyres. Can they be used on the Fabia legally and safely and be insurance allowed?

Welcome to the forum.

What are the other numbers on the 175 tyres.  Profile, load rating...

If they are good condition tyres and the load rating / speed rating is OK then your insurance should be OK, and the MOT  Examiner or Police Officer will be Larry.

http://kouki.co.uk/utilities/visual-tyre-size-calculator 

Edited 27 July, 20179 yr by Awayoffski

Yes identical 70 and14. Am just thinking of using best two 175 tyres. Would they be best on the front or rear? 

Thanks for you kind reply 

Aslong as the same size tyre is fitted to the same axle it will pass an mot. 

 

And not to sound like an anorak but as as they are different from what is fitted at factory they will be classed as an undeclared modification and possibly an excuse for your insurance company not to pay out, unlikely but possible. 

 

In my opinion, tyres in that size are cheap enough new so not really worth the hassle of getting them swapped over in the first place. 

If you have ABS you cannot have different sized tyres since the wheels will be rotating at different speeds and the ABS will think something is wrong every time you brake.

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Really i have ran 215/40 R 17 tyres on the front & 205/40 R 17 on the rear summer time and other times on a Mk2 vRS Fabia for 6 years.

Really, maybe yours were not different enough to cause a problem.

 

40% of 10mm is only 4mm, 70% of 10mm is 7mm, that's 14mm on the diameter vs 8mm, big difference.

Edited 27 July, 20179 yr by sepulchrave

They are different enough sometimes brand dependent and i have had 205/45 R 17's on the front Sprinting and driving on road, 

no issues, but then practice and theory are different things.

I had 185/65 on the back and 185/60 on the front when I bought the 1.4 and my ABS would kick in whenever I braked hard, very unpleasant. As soon as I changed the tyres the problem went away.

Thanks guys- this seems a great source of info.

Will stick to what's on and sell the other Astra tyres instead.

Had innumerable cars before but never a Skoda - its for my wife actually- but have heard top reports of durability. I believe the car clicks on the driver's side so looks like it needs a cv joint and will get local garage to sort that.

How often should I do oil and filter?

10k for the oil, I'd be surprised if it's a CV joint, more likely to be a torn console bush or a failed drop link.

@Awayoffski @sepulchrave - As you've already shown, the difference between 205/40 and 215/40 is less than the tread depth. ABS (and traction control if fitted) have to deal with new tyres at one end and well-worn at the other.

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Do you want me to go through all the pictures of the different tyres i use because putting on because the difference in size is not only Ooo & Ahhh,

but actually visibly different and why the bigger / taller are going on the front for the 1/4 mile and sprints / hillclimbs.

 

Scores on the doors / or numbers on sidewalls of tyres tell one tale.  run a tape measure around tyres if you want to know the actual circumference.

Thanks for help, Bought car off ebay but owner said a local garage said cv joint so don't know if it does it on lock or all the time.

Already have 5litres of Semi-synthetic 10w/40 I used in the old Astra. Presume ok for Fabia?

2 hours ago, PCshedman said:

Thanks for help, Bought car off ebay but owner said a local garage said cv joint so don't know if it does it on lock or all the time.

Already have 5litres of Semi-synthetic 10w/40 I used in the old Astra. Presume ok for Fabia?

 

That oil is perfect for the 1.4 mpi. It's what I use in mine.

Good-mind you its from Home Bargains and called Viscol and is API SL spec. Always ok in the old Astra so hope ok for Fabia.

Also used in a Mondeo.

I use Halfords own brand but that should be fine.

Well the price is at £9.99 for 4.5 litres!

Good price! I was doing some reading earlier and it seems that Viscol oil is made by Rock Oil which is a good company.

That's reassuring then. Am off to collect the car on Tuesday and it will be a 120 mile journey home. Should soon get an idea of what the clicking is on the drivers front wheel. I know on a Mondeo I had it had a sticking caliper. Seller's garage said it would be a cv joint but a person on here said it might be something to do with the suspension. Other than that nothing else has been declared. Mileage is 83000. Are there any other particular faults likely on such a Fabia 1.4 MPI?

Head gasket and noisy cam chain. Other than that the usual generic Fabia stuff.

Thanks-had two really bad head gasket cars-an 8v Punto (twice) and a Subaru Legacy Outback 2.5 (once-binned-it) My daughter has a Mercedes C180 Kompressor and chain jumped a cog  so overall nothing new here.

Timing chains get rattly but never heard of one breaking on this engine. They are a duplex chain.

 

Check if your head gasket has TEMAC on it in red letters at the front right corner. That signifies the revised gasket which is less prone to failing.

 

Edited 28 July, 20179 yr by TMB

Will do. Thanks for all your help.Probably need some more when I get the car!

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Well I got the Fabia home-150 miles and no overheating or oil loss. But as expected the clicking described from a wheel was more a loud knocking on lock and there was a lot of vibration and droning above about 30-40mph. It selected and drove all gears fine but at 60-70 on the motorway could hardly hear the radio! Previous owner said needed a new cv joint and it reminded me of old rwd cars with the propshaft out of balance. Any thoughts guys?