Steel wheels

[SkodaKing]

Hi all,

 

I'm after some black steel wheels for my black octavia 3 to replace the elegance alloys i currently run. I would like to fit them without and hub caps as a sort of all black look and to hopefully improve the ride quality with a high walled tyre. 

 

Please could you advise where i could get some from, ideally new without breaking the bank and what sizes would fit the octy3. 

 

A set of 4 non space saver wheels with decent branded tyres the correct size.

[Tech1e]

If you want new steel wheels then it would be a dealer or TPS.

[logiclee]

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/Steel_wheels_summer.html

[SkodaKing]

19 minutes ago, logiclee said:

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/Steel_wheels_summer.html

 

That's a shame I thought I could get away with 15" wheels and 65 side wall tyres but it seems 16" and 55mm is the min. Would an increase of 10mm make much difference on the ride quality over my 225 45 17? 

 

 

[logiclee]

5 minutes ago, SkodaKing said:

 

That's a shame I thought I could get away with 15" wheels and 65 side wall tyres but it seems 16" and 55mm is the min. Would an increase of 10mm make much difference on the ride quality over my 225 45 17? 

 

 

 

I think the ride quality is mainly down to the firm setup and the rear torsion beam rear suspension.

 

Dropping from 17's to 16's winters on my Elegance did take the edge off the harshness but still didn't ride as well as our Mk2 on 16's.

[vRSWitter]

Just a word of advice, I recently went from 18" alloys to 16" alloys to try and improve harsh(ish) ride and there is hardly any difference. I'm on sports setup as far as springs/damping goes though, so that might be different for you. 

 

Like you said I doubt 10mm extra rubber would make a difference.

Edited 10 June, 2019 by vRSWitter

[wyx087]

Try winter or all-season tyres?

 

On my 18 inch, I went from Dunlop performance summer to Michelin crossclimate+, there were a slight better ride comfort improvement. Winter/all-season tyres tend to be softer than summer tyres. The ride is now acceptable and I no longer have the urge to downside to 16 inches.

[Ootohere]

So back to the 'mean black steel wheel stylee', 

 odd as it is but if the car never came with Steel Wheels as an option remember and just tell your insurer. Not that you should need to as many use Steels in winter, 

but they can claim the car will be more desirable on steels to thieves,  maybe as it will look more like a NHS / Social Work Fleet vehicle.

[Tech1e]

1 hour ago, SkodaKing said:

 

That's a shame I thought I could get away with 15" wheels and 65 side wall tyres but it seems 16" and 55mm is the min. Would an increase of 10mm make much difference on the ride quality over my 225 45 17? 

 

 

 

FYI the ‘55’ as a profile isn’t 55 mm. It’s 55%. 

[logiclee]

2 hours ago, Tech1e said:

 

FYI the ‘55’ as a profile isn’t 55 mm. It’s 55%. 

 

True but he's still about spot on with the 10mm difference in sidewall.

 

 

[Tech1e]

2 hours ago, logiclee said:

 

True but he's still about spot on with the 10mm difference in sidewall.

 

 

 

205/55 = 112 mm

225/45 = 101 mm

 

👍🏻

[MC Bodge]

4 hours ago, Skoffski said:

So back to the 'mean black steel wheel stylee', 

 odd as it is but if the car never came with Steel Wheels as an option remember and just tell your insurer. Not that you should need to as many use Steels in winter, 

but they can claim the car will be more desirable on steels to thieves,  maybe as it will look more like a NHS / Social Work Fleet vehicle.

My Mk4 Mondeo Edge Estate (in that odd mushroom/silver colour)  was on steel 16" wheels. I removed the wheel trims and periodically painted the rims with Black smoothrite. 

 

I had also fitted a pair of Hella FF50 (with HID conversions) driving lamps in neat cut-outs in the grille. 

 

It wasn't flash and was known to friends as the unmarked Police car. 

 

It rode and handled superbly for such a large car. The best car I've owned. 

 

The Mk3 Octavia is pleasant, steers well driven hard, has a fantastic TSI150 engine and a better size for UK roads, but a step down in ride quality, suspension bump compliance, braking, and wind noise. 

Edited 10 June, 2019 by MC Bodge

[logiclee]

My current car (XF) has 19" wheels and 40 series tyres, it's firm but rides much better than my Elegance did even when the Elegance was on 16" 55 Series winters.

 

I wouldn't say the Octy Mk3 on standard springs is too firm it's more the way it deals with initial shocks like potholes and ridges, it's just too crashy.

Edited 10 June, 2019 by logiclee

[MC Bodge]

1 minute ago, logiclee said:

My current car has 19" wheels and 40 series tyres, it's firm but rides much better than my Elegance did even when the Elegance was on 16" 55 Series winters.

 

I wouldn't say the Octy Mk3 on standard springs is too firm it's more the way it deals with initial shocks like potholes and ridges, it's just too crashy.

It seems to be the damping that is the problem.

 

We have a 56 reg Fiesta Zetec with quite firm springs and a rear torsion beam, which is a great handler, but rides bumps and ripples far better than my Octavia. 

[SkodaKing]

Just now, MC Bodge said:

It seems to be the damping that is the problem.

 

We have a 56 reg Fiesta Zetec with quite firm springs and a rear torsion beam, which is a great handler, but rides bumps and ripples far better than my Octavia. 

Is there any way to improve this? Want to keep this car long time 

[MC Bodge]

19 minutes ago, SkodaKing said:

Is there any way to improve this? Want to keep this car long time 

Without adjustable or custom tuned dampers, I suspect not. 

Edited 10 June, 2019 by MC Bodge

[MC Bodge]

I had a Seat Arona (Ibiza crossover thingy) 1.6TDI on holiday in Spain. The engine was unresponsive, but had very good mid range pull, as you might expect. 

 

It rode far better than my Octavia, and was quite good along forest dirt roads. 

 

On road, however, it rolled and initially understeered far more than my Octavia. When driven hard and once set up in a bend on mountain roads it improved. I think I'd prefer a Fabia estate. 

 

My Octvia felt quite pleasant to return to, other than the ride over bumps. 

[AllanDJ]

Not sure how much of a difference you'll notice in ride quality dropping from 17 inch to 16 inch wheels but saying that I had an early Octavia Elegance Mark 3 car back in 2013 with the 17 inch alloy wheels and it had pretty poor suspension overall. Current car is the facelift version with 16 inch wheels, an Estate version like the first one but I'd have to say that it seems far more refined in day to day driving but I'm guessing that the suspension setup has probably been tweaked a fair bit in the last six years, so it isn't just the size of the wheel which is affecting ride comfort.