Hi Guys

New on here. Finally changed my mk1 52 plate to a mk3 66 plate SE L. Thinking of changing the wheels from the 16 inch supplied to something bigger.

What are my options without upsetting the balance of the car?

 I use it as a van for building  work so couldn’t get the vrs as customers might get jealous.

Just want to jazz it up a touch without being to flashy.

Thanks in advance!!

The SEL/ Elegance models come with 17 inch wheels as standard, nice spoked design, only the S and SE models should have 16 inch wheels out of the factory. Plenty of compatible wheels that will fit your car both from Skoda and other makes, it just comes down to what you want to spend really.

11 hours ago, AllanDJ said:

The SEL/ Elegance models come with 17 inch wheels as standard

When I commented on here that my Elegance has 17 inch wheels I was told that the OE fit on the Elegance was 16 inch wheels - which is one reason why a 1.4 Elegance only has Road Tax of £30 (the 17 inch wheels push up the emissions into the next band if the dealer registered it correctly).

If you want to keep some ride comfort i wouldnt go any bigger than 225x45xR17. I have 17" THERONS and I like the looks of them.

42 minutes ago, PetrolDave said:

When I commented on here that my Elegance has 17 inch wheels I was told that the OE fit on the Elegance was 16 inch wheels - which is one reason why a 1.4 Elegance only has Road Tax of £30 (the 17 inch wheels push up the emissions into the next band if the dealer registered it correctly).

 

When I had a 1.6 TD Elegance Estate it came with 17 inch alloy wheels, pretty sure the hatch version had the same wheels too' not sure about the 1.4 TSI version though. The 16 inch wheels I have on my current car are actually easier to live with than the 17 inch wheels were as the car suspension seems much more comfortable somehow. I don't think Torsion Beam plays well with larger alloy wheel sizes.

 

 

 

3 minutes ago, AllanDJ said:

 

When I had a 1.6 TD Elegance Estate it came with 17 inch alloy wheels, pretty sure the hatch version had the same wheels too' not sure about the 1.4 TSI version though. The 16 inch wheels I have on my current car are actually easier to live with than the 17 inch wheels were as the car suspension seems much more comfortable somehow. I don't think Torsion Beam plays well with larger alloy wheel sizes.

 

 

 

I would concur with the 16" being more comfortable. I came from a Fabia with 15" to a 1.4 TSI SEL with 17" and couldn't put up with the ride. Fitted 16" steels with all seasons tyres, much better. Anybody want some 17" alloys? 

Thanks guys. I think I’ve made my mind up to leave well alone. The car rides well as is and I dont want to pay to knacker it!!

I believe that the earlier Octavias came with 17" and were later changed to 16" for comfort reasons. My mate has a 63 plate that came with 17" and my 66 plate came with 16" as standard.

I've got a 2015 Octavia S EL with 17' wheels shod with Michelin 225/45 R17's. To be honest I find the ride quality appalling on the pot holes roads round the Wirral where I live. I love the car but my wife complains every time we go out and even my 2 year old granddaughter says "it's too bumpy." Don't know whether switching to 16' wheels with 60 aspect tyres would improve matters. Don't want to spend £100's to have only a marginal improvement.

57 minutes ago, Worbobby said:

I've got a 2015 Octavia S EL with 17' wheels shod with Michelin 225/45 R17's. To be honest I find the ride quality appalling on the pot holes roads round the Wirral where I live. I love the car but my wife complains every time we go out and even my 2 year old granddaughter says "it's too bumpy." Don't know whether switching to 16' wheels with 60 aspect tyres would improve matters. Don't want to spend £100's to have only a marginal improvement.

Changing to 205/55 tyres with 16" are the correct combo and I found them to make a considerable difference over rough roads. 60 profile will throw the speedo out by about 5% and on 16" rims are not an approved size which may give you insurance problems.

20 hours ago, silverden said:

I believe that the earlier Octavias came with 17" and were later changed to 16" for comfort reasons. My mate has a 63 plate that came with 17" and my 66 plate came with 16" as standard.

Ditto my 2015, MY16 Octavia came standard with 16s - 17 inch was an option.

47 minutes ago, peter3197 said:

Changing to 205/55 tyres with 16" are the correct combo and I found them to make a considerable difference over rough roads. 60 profile will throw the speedo out by about 5% and on 16" rims are not an approved size which may give you insurance problems.

I run 215/60/R16s as my winter tyre option - yes this does calculate out as making the speedo under-read by a fraction under 5%, but on standard 55 profiles the speedo will almost always over-read. On my winter profiles the speedo reads exactly right on GPS when tested on a straight run.  

8 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

but on standard 55 profiles the speedo will almost always over-read. 

Not if you have 205/55/R16 which are a Skoda original fitment.

12 minutes ago, peter3197 said:

Not if you have 205/55/R16 which are a Skoda original fitment.

I have tested the standard 205/55/R16s -  and they do in fact under-read on the GPS, in fact the manufacturers normally go for this option as they are allowed a percentage for over-reading on the speedo - but it is not permitted to under-read - I.e. speedo is not permitted to indicate the vehicle is travelling slower than it actually is. 

Edited 27 October, 20205 yr by Warrior193
Typo

7 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

I have tested the standard 205/55/R16s -  and they do in fact under-read on the GPS, in fact the manufacturers normally go for this option as they are allowed a percentage for over-reading on the speedo - but it is not permitted to under-read - I.e. speedo is not permitted to indicate the vehicle is travelling slower than it actually is. 

GPS and the speedo are 2 different things, 225/45/R17 and 205/55/R16 for all intents and purpose are the same circumference and give a speedo difference of 0.38%

6 minutes ago, peter3197 said:

GPS and the speedo are 2 different things, 225/45/R17 and 205/55/R16 for all intents and purpose are the same circumference and give a speedo difference of 0.38%

Hi Peter, the point I was trying to make is the GPS reading, providing you have a continuous track on the satellites,  is likely to be much more accurate than the one the speedo gives you. 

Edited 27 October, 20205 yr by Warrior193
Typo

17 minutes ago, Warrior193 said:

Hi Peter, the point I was trying to make is the GPS reading, providing you have a continuous track on the satellites,  is likely to be much more accurate than the one the speedo gives you. 

I wouldn't possibly argue that point with you and I use my sat nav GPS speed to set the speed on cruise control but if you use 215/55/R16 without having a chat with your insurance you may have problems with a claim. 

Edited 27 October, 20205 yr by peter3197

6 hours ago, Worbobby said:

I've got a 2015 Octavia S EL with 17' wheels shod with Michelin 225/45 R17's. To be honest I find the ride quality appalling on the pot holes roads round the Wirral where I live. I love the car but my wife complains every time we go out and even my 2 year old granddaughter says "it's too bumpy." Don't know whether switching to 16' wheels with 60 aspect tyres would improve matters. Don't want to spend £100's to have only a marginal improvement.

 

The ride will be noticeably softer on 16" rims than 17" rims, if you are comparing 205/55R16 tyres with 225/45R17 tyres. 205/55R16 is the standard 16" tyre size for the Skoda Octavia MK3 so it's a 55 aspect ratio tyre.

 

Going with standard 16" rims for the Skoda Octavia MK3 you have a choice of 6J or 6.5J rims. The narrower 6J rims will ride slightly more comfortably than the wider 6.5J rims.

 

Alcar 8247 Steel Rims 6Jx16 ET48 5/112 57.1

 

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/steel-wheel/alcar-kfz-8247#21493148

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/spares-search?keyword=8247&brandNo[0]=100470

 

As you can see, autodoc tend to be cheaper than oponeo for steel rims, but oponeo provide useful information on their website such as what cars each rim was originally fitted to.

 

205/55R16 is the most common car tyre size in the world, hence it's one of the cheaper sizes which is always a good thing come replacement time.

 

As for tyres, Goodyear Vector 4 Seasons G3 won the a major September 2020 all-season tyre test in size 205/55R16

 

Auto Bild All Season Tyre Test 2020

 

https://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Article/2020-Auto-Bild-All-Season-Tyre-Test.htm

 

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110&cart_id=aHMp8QQ1k6ekTdty.110.1053829080&sowigan=GAN&Breite=205&Quer=55&Felge=16&kategorie=6&Marke=Goodyear&Herst=Goodyear&m_s=3&Ang_pro_Seite=50&rsmFahrzeugart=ALL&Label=C-B-70-2&details=Ordern&typ=R-422838

 

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/tyres/goodyear-5452000726902-545077

 

For best comfort, it's best to avoid XL tyres if your car doesn't need eXtra Load aka reinforced. A 205/55R16 tyre with a 91 load index isn't XL. A 205/55R16 tyre with a 94 load index is XL.

 

Edited 27 October, 20205 yr by Carlston

I fitted these, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/4x-steel-wheels-VW-Golf-VII-Variant-AUV-205-55-R16-91V-Goodride-all-season/124080302808?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 and got a set of Superb/Yeti wheel trims and put new centre badges on them. 

Thanks very much everone for this interesting & helpful thread on Octavia wheel/tyre combinations. Plenty to think about.