Vibration and very hot, smelly passenger side wheel arch

[Ennine]

28 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

Mine are the Spectrum 16" alloys  - fitted to both the poverty spec Superb II and some versions of the Yeti (with different tyre size)

 

I have two sets - one with winter tyres on (although I'm trying a set of Michelin Cross Climates on the summer set - will still swap to my Conti TS850's in the depths of winter though, for now)

 

 

 

 

Thank you. Local Bobby uses the cross climates and says they are pretty good although I have always considered all seasons a bit of a compromise but  my winter set with alloys went with my Rover. My tyre guru says that winters on the 18" should be pretty good so I may hang onto them but for now I'm on a decent 16" alloy hunt with a conservative look to get a bit of a floaty ride back. I am also aware this has been a bit of a thread hijack so do apologise to the OP for that.

 

Nige

[bigjohn]

2 minutes ago, Ennine said:

Thank you. Local Bobby uses the cross climates and says they are pretty good although I have always considered all seasons a bit of a compromise but  my winter set with alloys went with my Rover. My tyre guru says that winters on the 18" should be pretty good so I may hang onto them but for now I'm on a decent 16" alloy hunt with a conservative look to get a bit of a floaty ride back. I am also aware this has been a bit of a thread hijack so do apologise to the OP for that.

 

Nige

 

One other advantage with the 16" - got over 35k miles out of the original Continentals. The 18" wheels look better though.

 

I thought the same about all season tyres - and vowed when I got my next car I would get a set of winter tyres/wheels( which I did of course). However when the summer tyres were at the end of their life I though I'd try a set of Cross Climates as thy are summer tyre based. They have been fab during the summer especially in some of the heavy rain conditions we have been having recently. The big suprise is how quiet they are - quieter thaan the original Continentals. This combined with the quiet engine has made it a sublime cruiser.

 

Edited 8 October, 2017 by bigjohn

[Ennine]

6 minutes ago, bigjohn said:

 

One other advantage with the 16" - got over 35k miles out of the original Continentals. The 18" wheels look better though

 

Yes, looks are a consideration of course. Don't really want to spoil the look but I find the ride a little too harsh. I need to do some  trawling and see what Superbs look like with 16" on board with various alloys. Tyre wear as you say, is also something to take into account.

 

Nige

[bigjohn]

Spectrum alloys on Superb II:-

 

 

Edited 8 October, 2017 by bigjohn

[georgieporgie70]

On 10/7/2017 at 18:55, drefaldwyn said:

 

I have those wheels on my Elegance - Themisto's. From my experience I would strongly encourage you to stay with the 16" wheels - much better ride that the 18's!

 

Just my opinion - you pays your money & you takes your choice tho'

 

Drefaldwyn

 

[georgieporgie70]

if your car is fitted with 16" from new, and you have not replaced the original wheels that came with it your warranty will be void if it is still in place, however, your insurance company will not pay out if you have not informed them and you have an accident, the vehicle is made with specific size and designed wheels for safety reasons, the wheels on my 2013 4x4 elegance superb estate are 7 spoke twins, and they are XL rated which means extra load, the tyres should also be XL rated so a Skoda Superb 2013 4x4 elegance wheels should be on the car for safety, the correct tyres should be 225/40/18" 92Y, the 92Y is the speed rating =186 mph. you can also lose your car by default as your car is not as insured by doing the above 

[Ennine]

1 hour ago, bigjohn said:

 

One other advantage with the 16" - got over 35k miles out of the original Continentals. The 18" wheels look better though.

 

I thought the same about all season tyres - and vowed when I got my next car I would get a set of winter tyres/wheels( which I did of course). However when the summer tyres were at the end of their life I though I'd try a set of Cross Climates as thy are summer tyre based. They have been fab during the summer especially in some of the heavy rain conditions we have been having recently. The big suprise is how quiet they are - quieter thaan the original Continentals. This combined with the quiet engine has made it a sublime cruiser.

 

Thank you for the photos,They look ok. I have time to source alloys and tyres to suit. and run the 18"s in the meantime as they have almost new tyres fitted.
The wheel change size will make very little difference to insurance. I doubt there is anyone foolish to make such changes to a  car and NOT inform their insurance company is there ?

 

Nige

[bigjohn]

29 minutes ago, georgieporgie70 said:

if your car is fitted with 16" from new, and you have not replaced the original wheels that came with it your warranty will be void if it is still in place, however, your insurance company will not pay out if you have not informed them and you have an accident, the vehicle is made with specific size and designed wheels for safety reasons, the wheels on my 2013 4x4 elegance superb estate are 7 spoke twins, and they are XL rated which means extra load, the tyres should also be XL rated so a Skoda Superb 2013 4x4 elegance wheels should be on the car for safety, the correct tyres should be 225/40/18" 92Y, the 92Y is the speed rating =186 mph. you can also lose your car by default as your car is not as insured by doing the above 

 

Just to make sure - I fitted Spectrum alloys with the same part no and I phoned the insurance company to say I'd fitted winter tyres

 

 

However you are certainly allowed to fit other approved wheels, infact you have too in some parts of Europe where snow chains are compulsary  on some roads as the cars owners manual mentions NOT to fit these on 18" wheels/tyres

 

You also won't find Y spec winter tyres 

 

In South Germany it's normal for the dealers to stock smaller cheap steel wheels for the fitting of compulsary winter tyres

 

Edited 8 October, 2017 by bigjohn

[BJM]

4 hours ago, georgieporgie70 said:

if your car is fitted with 16" from new, and you have not replaced the original wheels that came with it your warranty will be void if it is still in place, however, your insurance company will not pay out if you have not informed them and you have an accident, the vehicle is made with specific size and designed wheels for safety reasons, the wheels on my 2013 4x4 elegance superb estate are 7 spoke twins, and they are XL rated which means extra load, the tyres should also be XL rated so a Skoda Superb 2013 4x4 elegance wheels should be on the car for safety, the correct tyres should be 225/40/18" 92Y, the 92Y is the speed rating =186 mph. you can also lose your car by default as your car is not as insured by doing the above 

 

That is approximately 90% urban myth / pub lawyer rubbish.

Provided the wheels are approved for use on the model, what it was delivered with is irrelevant.

[superbdreams]

7 hours ago, BJM said:

Provided the wheels are approved for use on the model, what it was delivered with is irrelevant

That is exactly the correct statement.

it doesn't mean you can fit any aftermarket wheel without informing your insurance company.

 

A previous insurer insisted I contacted them each time I swapped from summer to winter wheels. why!?

Happy to cover me with either so it makes no sense to have to keep telling them..oh wait - 0845 number lol

[chimaera]

These are the approved tyre sizes taken from Skoda's service manual.

 

Pre Facelift (2008-2012 model years)

 

Facelift (2013-2014 model years)

[Tan62]

Hi All - I have the Michelin Pilot 4 Sport tyres - brilliant! Not cheap @ £150 each but was shocked to hear how much tyre prices can go up to for other vehicles. I was a Motability customer for 20 years so just lost track of such costings.

 

All seems to be working well with brakes, no smell or heat build up and noticed the oil temperature gauge now reads between 80-86 when hot has warmed up considerably whereas before it was going to 106.

 

However, the blooming brake pad warning lights flickers on and off – the front discs have just been changed and the large said there is still maybe at least 50% life left for the rears. Could it be that the sensor has not been placed?

 

Also how often should one change the auto gearbox oil?

 

Tan62

[chimaera]

16 minutes ago, Tan62 said:

Hi All - I have the Michelin Pilot 4 Sport tyres - brilliant! Not cheap @ £150 each but was shocked to hear how much tyre prices can go up to for other vehicles. I was a Motability customer for 20 years so just lost track of such costings.

 

All seems to be working well with brakes, no smell or heat build up and noticed the oil temperature gauge now reads between 80-86 when hot has warmed up considerably whereas before it was going to 106.

 

However, the blooming brake pad warning lights flickers on and off – the front discs have just been changed and the large said there is still maybe at least 50% life left for the rears. Could it be that the sensor has not been placed?

 

Also how often should one change the auto gearbox oil?

 

Tan62

It sounds like there's a loose or damaged wiring connection to the wear sensor on one of the pads. A scan with VCDS or other VAG specific scan tool should point you to the specific wheel where this is occurring. The fact that it's occurring right after major work on the brakes suggests it might be an installation fault.

 

DSG service is required every 60000 km.

[bigjohn]

4 hours ago, chimaera said:

These are the approved tyre sizes taken from Skoda's service manual.

 

 

Really useful - thankyou

[lowedb]

Insurers vary. But the one I use says that it's OK to use any wheel tyre combination that is approved by the manufacturer, without informing them. What can be surprising is what is approved. I was caught out on our Roomster, where a certain wheel tyre combination was approved, except for the scout version we had. So I bought the steel wheels to fit tyres that I already had from a previous car, but only realised they weren't approved for the roomy scout when I tried to search Elsawin for the correct pressures. On the Superb I was lucky enough to get a second set of Themistos at a good price that avoids any questions. Not so when we moved to a Furby 3 when a complete new set of winter wheels and tyres were needed!

[numskull]

On 08/10/2017 at 19:48, georgieporgie70 said:

if your car is fitted with 16" from new, and you have not replaced the original wheels that came with it your warranty will be void if it is still in place, however, your insurance company will not pay out if you have not informed them and you have an accident, the vehicle is made with specific size and designed wheels for safety reasons, the wheels on my 2013 4x4 elegance superb estate are 7 spoke twins, and they are XL rated which means extra load, the tyres should also be XL rated so a Skoda Superb 2013 4x4 elegance wheels should be on the car for safety, the correct tyres should be 225/40/18" 92Y, the 92Y is the speed rating =186 mph. you can also lose your car by default as your car is not as insured by doing the above 

 

Sorry, but this is utter nonsense.

It's nowt about safety- it's solely about the manufacturer raising the perceived value for a higher spec vehicle, which actually cost the manufacturer the same unit cost whatever size they purchase; that's why they put 18" wheels on the Elegance, L&K versions etc. So no, your insurance will not be void if you change onto another size OEM wheel. But it most certainly will if, like the boy racers in their massive lowered, nitro'd and pimped 1998 Honda Civic or 2005 Vauxhall Corsa with the worlds largest backbox, you wrench 185 tyres onto 225 rim, which deflate and fly off as you go round a corner and crash into a bus shelter, killing one and injuring 10 others.... then you'll be in trouble with your insurer.

[georgieporgie70]

11 minutes ago, numskull said:

 

Sorry, but this is utter nonsense.

It's nowt about safety- it's solely about the manufacturer raising the perceived value for a higher spec vehicle, which actually cost the manufacturer the same unit cost whatever size they purchase; that's why they put 18" wheels on the Elegance, L&K versions etc. So no, your insurance will not be void if you change onto another size OEM wheel. But it most certainly will if, like the boy racers in their massive lowered, nitro'd and pimped 1998 Honda Civic or 2005 Vauxhall Corsa with the worlds largest backbox, you wrench 185 tyres onto 225 rim, which deflate and fly off as you go round a corner and crash into a bus shelter, killing one and injuring 10 others.... then you'll be in trouble with your insurer.

 

[georgieporgie70]

hello numskull, interesting name! when i bought my first Skoda Vrs (new) in 2011, it was fitted with 5 twin spoke alloys at 225/40/R18 9Y tyres low profile tyres, i had the car for two and a half years only selling it to buy my Superb 4x4 elegance to tow my caravan at the time, it was fitted with 225/40/R18 92Y XL tyres, i had to spare wheels with tyres on them for winter use, a man from scotland came to buy them for his Vrs estate, later that day he called me to say the wheels were no good for his car as they were not xl rated, i made him aware of the fact that you can put a higher rated tyre onto a lower rated car but not the opposite, this was made aware to me by Skoda.

 

my point is this; when insuring a vehicle the insurer asks if there are any modifications to the vehicle, (specifically for cars) and you have such mod's and you do not declare them and you have an accident, the owner will not be paid out for the deception if there is an accident and the police are attending and the police are aware of mod's and they find this out the car will be seized as it it is not insured, this has happened to a friend of my son.