Hi guys, 

New poster here, but a long time reader of this forum. 

 

I have recently bought my first Octavia and loving everything about it so far, but want to upgrade the wheels as soon as really as the stock ones look ugly. 

 

Can anyone advise me on where the best place to buy online is as I'm totally new to wheel upgrades?! Dealership seems crazy expensive. 

 

And is it worth sticking with 16" (what's already on there) or going to 17?

Try tyreleader website, they're quick and cheap and quality wheels

So, your problem with the stock wheels is limited to the way they look?

 

As a first approximation, the more tyre sidewall you've got (and therefore the less the diameter of the wheels), the more comfortable the ride. On the other hand, the less crisp will be the handling, and the less good will be the looks of the car. This is a compromise, so only you can say what is right for you.

 

Also, there tends to be more grip as the tyres get wider

 

I would encourage you to have a look in either the manual (or the tyre pressure table, by the fuel filler) to see what wheel/tyre combos the car could have been originally fitted with, and see if one of those size combos is likely to suit you.

 

Most people really want to stick with same rolling radius for the tyres, as doing anything else means the speedo cal will be out, and the car gearing will change (a little).

 

While, as a generalisation, bigger tyres are more expensive than smaller ones (so 18s tend to be more expensive than 17s, which tend to be more expensive than 16s), there is a lot of variability, and commonly used sizes tend to have an advantage that you might not expect.

 

Of course, your insurance will expect to be informed and may demand their pound of flesh.

Don't forget aftermarket wheels may not be able to use original bolts and could need spigot adaptors for the central bore.   Using different bolts then might make using a standard spare wheel dodgy.  For my winter wheels I've gone for used Octavia wheels which gets round these issues,  They will generally also have the correct offset. Some aftermarket wheels do allow you to use the original bolts, but they seem to be the pricier ones in my experience.

 

I'm guessing if looks are this issue you will be ditching your 16s for 17s.   In these days of huge wheels I can't see how a wheel design change will ever make 16s look sexy.      

 

One last thing assuming you currently have silver alloys have you thought of getting your current wheels refurbished in a darker colour?  That may do the trick for you maybe?  

 

I have Mk2 Octavia VRS 18" Zeniths on my  O3 VRS for winter. They would look pants in silver on an O3 but look pretty good done in anthracite. 

Edited 7 July, 20205 yr by juan27

If you're upgrading for looks, I'd go at least 17, maybe 18".

 

Tbh 18" looks small on the vRS Octavia however on a non vRS car you don't want to go ott otherwise it'll look ridiculous and not suit the car.

The O3 has 19" as a factory option so it fitting isn't an issue, but whether it suits the car or not will be.

 

Personally I'd stick some other slightly bigger skoda or vag wheels on it.  Putting fancy looking wheels on a non vRS car just looks like you've turned up to a nice restaurant in old ripped jeans and a £200 pair of smart shoes, it'll stand out like a sore thumb.

Edited 7 July, 20205 yr by Alex-W

Hi.

Hopefully you won't but if you do have any issues with insurance for a change of wheels then please feel free to drop me a line.

Regards,

Dan.

Can't you just report new wheels to insurance to cover them also? 

 

I like the new wheels for octavia4

 

 

 

Edited 8 July, 20205 yr by FrankLK

My son once put aftermarket wheels on his car, then contacted insurance, who said he would not be insured unless he put OEM wheels on - mind he was only 22

On 07/07/2020 at 13:55, zenith707 said:

Hi guys, 

New poster here, but a long time reader of this forum. 

 

I have recently bought my first Octavia and loving everything about it so far, but want to upgrade the wheels as soon as really as the stock ones look ugly. 

 

Can anyone advise me on where the best place to buy online is as I'm totally new to wheel upgrades?! Dealership seems crazy expensive. 

 

And is it worth sticking with 16" (what's already on there) or going to 17?

 

Skoda Online Parts Catalogue

 

http://www.oemepc.com/skoda/parts_lst/markt/CZ/modell/OCT/year/2016/hg/6/catalog/sk/drive_standart/753/lang/u

 

The above link shows the wheels page for the Skoda Octavia 2016

 

Make a note of the OEM part number for any rims that you are interested in. Then try searching online using the OEM part number.

 

Alcar 7755 6Jx15 ET47 Steel Rims

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=7755&keywordOrigin=alcar+7755&brandNo[0]=100470

Edited 8 July, 20205 yr by Carlston

1 hour ago, whooshvrs said:

My son once put aftermarket wheels on his car, then contacted insurance, who said he would not be insured unless he put OEM wheels on - mind he was only 22

Was the car under lease?

 

2 minutes ago, FrankLK said:

Was the car under lease?

 

Nope - first car 2nd hand Nova!

I think age does make a difference, also who you're insured with.

Young drivers have to go with certain insurers to make it affordable and quite often those insurers are not going to like any modificaiton.

 

That said, I think it's also a slightly different world now than 15-20 years ago.  Back in the late 90s/early 00s when max power was all the rage people were putting wheels on cars worth more than the car itself.  Alloy wheels were not standard on many cars and wheels got stolen all the time.  

 

Now, youngsters aren't so into that, they drive round in brand new pcp eco wagons and get their kicks out of the brand new smell rather than the fart popping exhausts and fake dump valves or subs that fill the whole boot.

Now everything comes with alloys and most youngsters leave their cars standard.

 

So I'd imagine that to an insurer a person changing wheels now is more just a consideration of what's insured than a red flag that the owner is a tearaway about to park up in mcdonalds and do burnouts, then get the wheels nicked before dawn.

In my country MOT check ups are getting every year more serious, vehicle can not pass if modifications on car are not in factory limits or modified parts are not certified by MOT, how can insurance know, they are not qualified. 

In my case I certified coilovers and reported to insurence and extra covered them also.