After research I have few questions:

1. Is it better 15˝ or 16˝?

2. Is it ok 15 on skoda octavia mk3 2019 Anthracite grey (ugly or not)?

3. Steel or alloy?

4. AZW Peak - what are those wheels? OEM or replica? Is it better to get Škoda Tunga?

5. TUV - how to know if wheels have it?

 

Tires I want are Continental WinterContact TS860 which I see are good on ADAC in size 195/65R15 and 205/55R16. Also I prefer 15˝ because everybody says they are better for winter conditions and traction...only maybe they might seem ugly and small? I don't mind ugly. Just want to be safe, comfortable in family car. Also they are cheaper then 16˝ - thats always better, right!? 16˝s seem as standard ok option. Option 15˝with conti could be around 600 Euro. AZW Peak 16˝ are cca 800-900 Euro. Tunga 16˝ with Pirelli is 1050 Euro.

I drive on roads, there isnt much snow, or ice on roads, they clear it up. No hills or mountains.

 

 

I run 205/55R16 winters and am happy. They're on original rims, which wasn't necessary but is a nice-to-have. I would go for alloys over steels, simply for corrosion issues; but make sure they are winter-approved.

15" vs 16" makes a difference what engine you have and whether they fit. "Better" .... no, neither way is "better", they are different. Some cars will demand 16 to fit over the brakes. Better for traction? No. Rim size makes zero difference, it can't. Narrower tyres for better grip in snow and less resistance through the snow, yes, but other than that you want as much contact as possible and therefore wider (within reason) are probably the better choice. If you want to use chains, you might have different requirements.

 

Why do you need TÜV? Look for rims with an ABE on one of the German sites - like wheelmachine2000.de or reifendirekt or any of the others you'll find with "winterkompletträder" as a search term and you'll see those rims which come with the paperwork to state that they fit. They may well come with "auflagen", so conditions. Read them carefully. An ABE normally means that this wheel / tyre combination has been tested and is acceptable for use such that you do not need to go to TÜV to have it inspected, but you are supposed to have the paperwork in the car if the police ask (and they are perfectly entitled to). This would imply that the safety is assured enough even for other countries (such as here, which demands TÜV ABEs or similar Gutachten for certain parts, like suspension).

 

 - Bret

 

 

Thank you!

Car have 15, 16, 17, 18 written in cars documents. Also on tank door pressure for those sizes. Engine is 1.6 tdi 85KW. I believe 2.0 have larger front calipers and min is 16˝.

Do you know anything about AZW? Is it VW wheel? Is it ok or should I avoid - thats my only concern. Škoda Tunga is too much for winter wheel. I could buy Thule mounting equipment, or how is is called.

TUV for Germany. Dont want to get no name wheels without proper paperwork and to have problems with Polizei...

I’m planning on getting a set of 225/45/18’s soon for mine.  

18” for the higher sidewall and lower cost compared to a 19. Also Sticking with 225 so I still have similar feel/handling. 

Mytyres list the Continental TS860 195/65R15 91T for £51.70 and the  205/55R16 91T  for £71.40

 

So 195/65R15 91T is much cheaper. The area of the contact patches are the same because the load indexes of both tyres are the same and therefore the tyre pressures are the same.

 

The difference comes in the shape of the contact patches with the road. As the 205/55 tyre is wider, the contact patch with the road is shorter. As the 195/65 tyre is narrower, the contact patch with the road is longer.

 

195/65R15 doesn't look narrow. The VW Golf MK4 was available with 175/80R14 tyres. That does look narrow. 195/65R15 is a really good size. Really comfortable and economical too. Sure the 205/55 can have advantages, but not in winter. Just make sure that a 15" wheel can clear your front brake discs/calipers.

Edited 24 October, 20196 yr by Carlston

Disagree.

 

Your grip - especially when braking in snow or wet ice - is from the sipes across the width of the tyre, and their ability to shift water away from the contact of the rubber (or spike), not from the length of the patch.

 

Please explain what the load index has to do with the contact patch and why?

 

Once upon a time, yes, I would have possibly agreed that narrower tyres are better in winter. Since I've been here and driven many thousands of winter kilometers in conditions that the average UK driver will never see, I'm a fan of a) keeping the tyre sizes similar in winter and summer b) wider is generally better and c) spikes. but they aren't the be-all and end-all. They help, but 300+bhp onto the wet ice by studless tyres is eminently possible, especially with AWD. 

 

Just because there's a UK price differential of £20 doesn't mean that the differential is the same elsewhere. Mine is €110 vs €140. €30 isn't as much at that point. Germany is €80 vs €60. Wheels 

We're also driving them for at least six months of the year, and steels are virtually unheard-of. Corrosion is a real problem. Octy winter tyres are the same size, A2 ones are 10mm narrower because 195/50R15 doesn't exist, and the Swift has such a strange size I can't even remember what it is. They both use the same size rim as summer.

It's also eminently possible that the registration documents actually forbid the use of 15" wheels, depending on where the OP is. I know I have flexibility, others do not.

 

 - Bret

 

 

 

Continental makes winter tyres in size 155/65R15 such as their highly regarded TS860. No one makes summer tyres in this size. 155/65R15 is popular with Audi A2 owners. Summer tyres for the Audi A2 are 175/60R15, 185/50R16, 205/40R17. Notice that Audi A2 owners tend to run narrower winter tyres than their summer equivalents. 175/60R15 winter tyres would also be a popular choice for Audi A2 owners.

 

It's not a big deal whether you run winters in size 195/65R15 or 205/55R16. So much will depend on the make and model of tyres that you run and how much tread depth that you have left. Performance decreases massively as you run out of tread depth on winter tyres. Don't go below 3mm or 4mm tread depth is my advice!

Edited 25 October, 20196 yr by Carlston

I belive I will go with Škoda original steel 15˝ and Continental WinterContact TS860T. Just because it is cheaper. That way I can sooner get new tires. My experience is new tire is the best tire. After 2 or 3 years we can debate. I have had Sava Eskimo S3 and it was great first winter. After running it also in summer - next winter was terrible, I ruined it. But it is cheap - so I get new ones for winter. 

 

Tire index T or H - what do you recommend for winter? 190 or 210 km/h? I belive 190 is enough and great (cheaper)!

190km/h is enough as long as you don't drive over this speed. I have heard that MOT testers are happy with T rating for winter tyres. They don't expect you to be driving at 210km/h in the snow!

Yes, that seams reasonable. My summer tires are rated V - I hardly drive over 140...So 240 is redundant.

Thanks for advises.

if you are in Germany and the speed rating of the tyre is less than the top speed, you *must* either get the sticker to warn you or have the limiter set. You can be penalised otherwise, if I remember correctly, though it has been a while. The "betriebserlaubnis" is also under threat in the worst case, which means insurance companies make a fuss. Read the paperwork, be very clear what you're doing. How fast you want to drive is irrelevant, it's about what the car is capable of.

 

If you really are in Germany, then also make sure you get a set of rims with an ABE or you MUST go to TÜV (and only TÜV, not DEKRA!) to get them entered into the car papers. ABEs mean you only have to have the ABEs with.

 

 - Bret

 

 

 

Do I get ABE if I get original Škoda steel rims from licensed dealer where I have bought the car? Do I have to request some sort of certificate?

Just fit 16 inch  Michelin all season tyres , they last a long time and when you replace just fit new , saves paying for 2 sets

 

@Carlston

What UK Mot Testers accept as to tyres, just like with headlights or tinted windows does not mean they are legal or acceptable to a DVSA roadside inspection, Police Crash Examiner or an Insurance Loss Adjuster.

But if enough tread and the correct load / speed ratings then that sould not be an issue.

But then the UK MOT and legislation and EU legislation and construction and use is like much with the UK & EU, grey areas and contradictions.

On 25/10/2019 at 20:31, Carlston said:

They don't expect you to be driving at 210km/h in the snow!

 

No they don't but it is HEAT that kills a tyre not speed. Speed is the way they measure the heat going into the tyre. Speed is only one way you can put heat in the tyres. You can easily put 210km/h worth of heat in the tyre not going over 50km/h.

 

Some cars are able to heat the tyres up at slow speed more than others, power, acceleration, cornering forces all heat the tyre and so need a higher speed rating even though you may never go above the national speed limit.

 

Winter tyres are sometimes, in some places allowed to be a slightly lower rating because you are less likely to be able to generate the forces to heat up the tyre in winter conditions. It is only partly to do with the speed you may or may not drive.

 

There is a list of allowable wheel and tyre combinations published by Skoda for each Octavia engine combination. You need to think and check very carefully before you go outside this list wherever you live.

 

As @Roottootemoot (or whatever name George is using today ) says above, in the UK having got the car through an MOT will give you no protection whatsoever if your car ends up being the target of an investigation.

& Load / Speed rating are showing Max Speeds, but these rating include considerations on Cornering and braking on sidewalls for the weight and power of vehicles when the car manufacturer selects tyres, and speed / load rating.

People with vehicles that have a UK MOT or not even old enough to need one might well take their vehicle off the British Isles and drive them.

 

Between now and March 2020, or even now and October 2020 there will be nice warm sunny days and warm roads around the UK, 

and also lands overseas that people might take their UK Registered cars to, some places with no 60 MPH NSL like in the UK, 

or 70 mph limits.

Edited 27 October, 20196 yr by Roottootemoot

The German rules apply in this case (to my understanding). That means a couple of things:

  - summer tyres *must* be rated to the car's top speed or higher

 - sizes are listed  in part 1 and any changes *must* be approved in some way

 - paperwork is important

- the approval of cross climates as 'winter tyres' is not necessarily a given in insurance  terms

... and the limit of the winter tyres must be visible to the driver, either as a sticker or warning in the display. And yes, I would not be surprised if this was checked at some point.

 

The answer to the question about steels coming with an ABE from the dealer: yes, they probably would, but I would check the pricing. Your alloys may be a very similar final number and an ABE means you do  not *have* to go to TÜV. @mlesic

 

 - Bret

On 25/10/2019 at 20:31, Carlston said:

I have heard that MOT testers are happy with T rating for winter tyres.

 

In the UK the MOT only checks that the speed rating of the tyre is above 70 MPH. ( L )

The speed rating compared to the top speed of the car and the tyres weight rating is not checked.

 

You can find a lot of vans with car alloy wheels and tyres fitted which have a lower weight rating than were originally fitted. 

They still pass the MOT. 😮

 

The tyres do need to match each other on each axle.

 

Thanks AG Falco

Thanks for info. Thats why I have V rating - it seamed redundant to me...

I dont want to buy all season tires because I have new summer, so it is same money in question. On other car I have Continental Allseason - that was cheapest and best option that works ok.

14 hours ago, mlesic said:

Thanks for info. Thats why I have V rating - it seamed redundant to me...

I dont want to buy all season tires because I have new summer, so it is same money in question. On other car I have Continental Allseason - that was cheapest and best option that works ok.

 

If I understand correctly, as long as you have wheels & tyres with exactly the same dimensions are those already homologated by Skoda/VAG or your car, you do not need any special paperwork.

This is why all European websites make you select which year, model, make, engine etc you have before offering you the choice because they are offering your sizes which are already approved by the TUV.

 

When I bought my wheels (Dezent but the same as the official Golf wheels) I was told that I didnt need a certificate because the wheel size was already approved for my model/engine.

If buying no-OEM wheels you should make sure that everything is exactly the same (My colleague had his MOT/TUV check failed because he had tyres with ET48 when the "official" size should be ET51).

 

 

+1 for the Conti TS860s. This is what I have on order for my winter wheels.

Contis are always No1 in the Swiss ADC reviews every year so there are good prices at most tyre places due to increased demand.

 

On 27/10/2019 at 12:35, brettikivi said:

- the approval of cross climates as 'winter tyres' is not necessarily a given in insurance  terms

 

I though the 3 peak mountain snowflake (3PMSF) symbol was enough to classify crossclimates as 'winter tyres'.

 

Is there some other accreditation or symbol needed to count as a winter tyre for insurance?

How does influence current size of wheels - 17¨? Is it to big difference to go for 15, or 16 is more close to 17 that car used to be day to day?

The size of the wheel 15, 16, 17... is your choice, except the versions with bigger engines come with bigger brakes so smaller rim sizes won’t fit on some as brakes are too big

 

The main advantage of the smaller rim sizes are tyres and rims are generally cheaper.
Also by going for a bigger sidewall 60, 65, 70 etc if you do slide a bit into a kerb less likely to get kerb damage to the rim as tyres taller.

 

For most insurance companies, any approved size is acceptable (there is an insurance list in tyres section of technical), but some need notifying 

 

There is a winter wheels speed limit that can be set in infotainment, which is effectively an electronic displayed max speed sticker required in some countries 

 

On 27/10/2019 at 13:35, brettikivi said:

The German rules apply in this case (to my understanding). That means a couple of things:

  - summer tyres *must* be rated to the car's top speed or higher

 - sizes are listed  in part 1 and any changes *must* be approved in some way

 - paperwork is important

- the approval of cross climates as 'winter tyres' is not necessarily a given in insurance  terms

... and the limit of the winter tyres must be visible to the driver, either as a sticker or warning in the display. And yes, I would not be surprised if this was checked at some point.

 

The answer to the question about steels coming with an ABE from the dealer: yes, they probably would, but I would check the pricing. Your alloys may be a very similar final number and an ABE means you do  not *have* to go to TÜV. @mlesic

 

 - Bret

I have decided to get AZW Peak (2055516PE4860) from licensed dealer where I have bought the car. So this should be ok?

I see there is same wheel for VW, Audi, Seat, Skoda in Deutschland and Croatia. Same product number, same wheel and tire.

How des ABE looks like? How looks like to go to TUV? If That wheel is in brochure for VW 2019 winter - thats probably ok and no extra work for me or problems!?

In store they told me that AZW is cheaper brand wheel that is made exclusive for them (VW i think). I google in englisch and german but find poor info about AZW...

Dont want to get into situation where in 1-2years if I want to import car in Germany I get removed from the streat, or other kind of atest, check, maybe buy new OEM wheels. Thats why want quality solution wright now. Škoda Tunga is probably what I need - but if AZW pass ok by German laws - that ok for me also.

My 1.5 dsg gets 16" wheels and winter tyres every Nov to March. The wheels and tyres supplied by my local Skoda dealer.

15" would look a little small.