I need more ground clearance, would bigger tires damage the trany or the diff?

[Kharl]

Hello guys!

 

next weekend i have a trip that will be about 40 km of difficult terrain.

it will be about 600km round trip, from where i am 100feets MSL Altitude to about 8500ft MSL Altitude, there will be sections with very pronounced hills,  i have donde that trip before in my Fabia BUT only two people, there was decent amount of ground clearance and enough power for the climbs, but this time we are 5 people and full of bags. i dont care about the power for the uphills but with that weight, the ground clearance will be significant less.

i have used 165/70/14 tires before for that kind of trips, perfect, nice ride, about 15% reduced fuel efficiency on highways but very nice ride and noticeable increase in high

 

BUT my main concern, with that weight and prolonged hill climbs, wouldn't that break my transmission or my differential or something else with those way bigger wheels??

 

 

[Carlston]

3 hours ago, Kharl said:

Hello guys!

 

next weekend i have a trip that will be about 40 km of difficult terrain.

it will be about 600km round trip, from where i am 100feets MSL Altitude to about 8500ft MSL Altitude, there will be sections with very pronounced hills,  i have donde that trip before in my Fabia BUT only two people, there was decent amount of ground clearance and enough power for the climbs, but this time we are 5 people and full of bags. i dont care about the power for the uphills but with that weight, the ground clearance will be significant less.

i have used 165/70/14 tires before for that kind of trips, perfect, nice ride, about 15% reduced fuel efficiency on highways but very nice ride and noticeable increase in high

 

BUT my main concern, with that weight and prolonged hill climbs, wouldn't that break my transmission or my differential or something else with those way bigger wheels??

 

Your 165/70R14 tyres are normally fitted to 5Jx14 ET35 5/100 57.1 rims.

 

You can fit 185/70R14 to those rims.

 

As you can see in the chart below, 185/70R14 has an outside diameter 4.8% bigger than 165/70R14.

 

Compared to 165/70R14, 185/70R14 will increase the ground clearance by 14mm. That's quite good, as it's almost as much as you would get by going to a 15mm increased ride height car.

 

Outside diameter of tyres

165/70R14 586.6mm

185/70R14 614.6mm (+4.8%)

 

If you can get them in the Caribbean, the Vredestein Quatrac 5 should be good for a little bit of off-roading. They're long lasting too, perhaps around 40,000 miles if you rotate them front to back at the halfway point, ie. 20,000 miles, so that the tyres do 20,000 miles on the front and 20,000 miles on the back. The Vredestein Quatrac 5 tyres are usually cheaper than the equivalent Continental and Goodyear all-season tyres.

 

With the 185/70R14 tyre size, you wouldn't need more than about 2.2Bar (32psi) front and 2.4Bar (35psi) rear tyre pressures when fully loaded. Lightly loaded, such as just two front passengers, 2.0Bar (29psi) front and 1.8Bar (26psi) rear tyre pressures would be fine. So as you can see, this tyre size will be very comfortable especially on those relatively narrow 5J rims.

 

Vredestein Quatrac 5 185/70R14 88T

 

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m137b0s7981p144829/Vredestein_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Vredestein_Quatrac5_Vredestein_Quatrac_5_-_185_70_R14_88T_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_D_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_B_Noise%3A_69dB

 

https://www.blackcircles.com/catalogue/vredestein/quatrac-5/185/70/R14/T/88/m?tyre=36908647

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Carlston

[Kharl]

Thank you a lot for the information

i forget to mention, i currently have 185/60R14, i have them mostly because the great milleage.

 

but when i go tp difficult terrain i tend to reduce the pressure to 20psi, so i reduce the terrible vibration, but in this case, with 5 people and bagas, is it safe to reduce it to 20psi?  the maximum speed i use for those tracks is 40km/h

[Carlston]

32 minutes ago, Kharl said:

Thank you a lot for the information

i forget to mention, i currently have 185/60R14, i have them mostly because the great mileage.

 

but when i go tp difficult terrain i tend to reduce the pressure to 20psi, so i reduce the terrible vibration, but in this case, with 5 people and bagas, is it safe to reduce it to 20psi?  the maximum speed i use for those tracks is 40km/h

 

Do you still have these rims?

 

At 6J wide, they are wider than the 5Jx14 rims that the 165/70R14 normally use.

 

On the 6J rims, maybe go for 185/65R14.

 

Vredestein Quatrac 5 185/65R14 86T

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m137b0s7980p144832/Vredestein_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Vredestein_Quatrac5_Vredestein_Quatrac_5_-_185_65_R14_86T_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_D_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_B_Noise%3A_69dB

 

Be careful about going too low tyre pressure in case you damage the tyre and/or rims, but the low speed won't overheat the tyres. If you use 185/65R14 with a full load, maybe drop the pressures by 0.4Bar (6psi) to 1.8Bar (26psi) front and 2.0Bar (29psi) rear. With five people on board and luggage, going much lower than 26psi front and 29psi rear tyre pressures could damage the tyres and/or rims. With just two front passengers and no weight in the back, going 23psi front and 20psi should be ok while driving at 40km/h (24mph) off-road.

 

6Jx14 ET43 5/100 57.1 alloy rims 6Y0601025

 

Serious off-roaders use a lot of sidewall

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suzuki_Jimny#/media/File:2019_Suzuki_Jimny_SZ5_4X4_Automatic_1.5.jpg

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Carlston

[Kharl]

i have these

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Kharl

[Carlston]

9 minutes ago, Kharl said:

i have these

 

Those alloys are one of my favourite Fabia rims. They look very strong.

 

What rims do you have your 165/70R14 tyres on? Are they steel?

 

5Jx14 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim normally fitted with 165/70R14 on the Fabia MK1. Notice the 7 square holes to locate the wheel trims.

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Carlston

[Kharl]

1 hour ago, Carlston said:

 

Those alloys are one of my favourite Fabia rims. They look very strong.

 

What rims do you have your 165/70R14 tyres on? Are they steel?

 

5Jx14 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim normally fitted with 165/70R14 on the Fabia MK1. Notice the 7 square holes to locate the wheel trims.

i agree, i like those rims too, and yes, very good design, pretty strong, i have hit a pothole twice months ago where other cars had serious accident because broken rims

 

i dont have rims for the 165/70R14, i was thinking to use some subaru legacy rims i have around there but the center hole is couple of millimeter smaller, and i dont want to spend money modifying them so i am planing to go to the tireshop to remove the actual tires and to install the 165/70 14, just for that weekend trip

[Carlston]

2 hours ago, Kharl said:

i agree, i like those rims too, and yes, very good design, pretty strong, i have hit a pothole twice months ago where other cars had serious accident because broken rims

 

i dont have rims for the 165/70R14, i was thinking to use some subaru legacy rims i have around there but the center hole is couple of millimeter smaller, and i dont want to spend money modifying them so i am planing to go to the tireshop to remove the actual tires and to install the 165/70 14, just for that weekend trip

 

As you can see in the chart below, a 6J rim would be too wide for a 165/70R14

 

ETRTO approved rim widths 

165/70 4.0-5.0-5.5

 

The Subaru might have a 56.1mm centre bore, in which case 1mm smaller than the 57.1mm Fabia MK1 rims.

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Carlston

[Kharl]

Yes, but they are way heavier

[Ootohere]

Even with a few mm of even cm with extra the greater tyre circumference is that not lost with the suspension sagging carrying the additional weight?  Is there a suspension lift?   3 additional people and luggage. 

 

EDIT. Now i see. 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/502142-lift-kit-for-fabia-mk-1

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by toot

[Carlston]

5 hours ago, Kharl said:

Yes, but they are way heavier

 

You may be on standard ride height springs.

 

Skoda list increased ride height springs, also known as rough road springs or heavy duty springs..

 

Have you considered these?

 

They are stiffer, maybe 15% to 20% stiffer...which is a lot.

 

This would mean that when you carried 5 passengers the springs would compress a lot less.

 

In combination with increased outside diameter tyres, such as 185/70R14...this could really improve the car's off-road ability...particularly the big dip in the road/dirt track shown on your video...in last year's "lift kit" thread.

 

You can see in the chart below, the four heavy duty rear springs that Skoda list for the Fabia MK1.

 

The four rear springs are labelled 0YA, 0YB, 0YC, and 0YD. This is a hierarchy of stiffness, so 0YA is the softest spring and 0YD is the stiffest spring. On the aftermarket, the 0YD rear spring doesn't appear to be available.

 

No	Part code	Title	Note	QNT	Model
		suspension Shock absorbers for models with heavy duty suspension	rear		PR-1JB	-
1	6Q0511115AH	Coil spring for models with heavy duty suspension 1 paint mark 3 paint marks 1 paint mark	orange blue yellow	2	PR-1JB/0YA
1	6Q0511115AC	Coil spring for models with heavy duty suspension 1 paint mark 2 paint marks 1 paint mark	orange blue yellow	2	PR-1JB/0YB
1	6Q0511115AD	Coil spring for models with heavy duty suspension 1 paint mark 2 paint marks 2 paint marks	orange blue yellow	2	PR-1JB/0YC
1	6Q0511115AE	Coil spring for models with heavy duty suspension 1 paint mark 2 paint marks 1 paint mark	orange blue green	2	PR-1JB/0YD

 

Kilen 65082 and Lesjofors 4295095 match OEM part number 6Q0511115AC

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/6q0511115ac?search=OEN 6Q0511115AC&supplier[0]=246&supplier[1]=253

 

Kilen 65083 and Lesjofors 4295096 match OEM part number 6Q0511115AD

https://www.autodoc.co.uk/car-parts/oem/6q0511115ad?search=OEN 6Q0511115AD&supplier[0]=246&supplier[1]=253

 

These springs are available on ebay in the UK for about £71 for the two rear springs, ie. £35.50 each spring.

 

If you can safely use axle stands and a trolley jack, then swapping over the rear springs can be done in a few hours by a reasonably competent home mechanic.

 

Then if your were happy with the result, you could look at the matching front heavy-duty springs that Skoda list.

 

The front springs take a bit longer to change than the rear springs, but a reasonable competent home mechanic shouldn't have too much difficulty swapping them over.

 

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Carlston

[Kharl]

4 hours ago, Carlston said:

 

ohhh!

pretty interesting!

BUT BUT...

um..  there is a part of the track where the road is covered with oot of small rocks, those that give you that terrible vibration, that is where i compensate with reducing the tire pressure, if i get a stiffer suspension, i would be transferring more vibration to the car and its component.

i think i would prefer a lift kit

[Kharl]

i already installed the wheels , the car feels good, i got a action cam i will post some videos of the trajectory,

 

what other recommendation can you give me for this trip?

(about 600km, and camping at 8k feets msl)

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Kharl

[Gerrycan]

Five people in a Fabia, on the roads you describe is going to be .....uncomfortable?

Where is the camping equipment going to fit?

[Kharl]

3 minutes ago, Gerrycan said:

Five people in a Fabia, on the roads you describe is going to be .....uncomfortable?

Where is the camping equipment going to fit?

🤣 exaclty, thats why, it is already uncomfortable!

nah, seriously, yes, i guess al backpacks, water, two ramps in case i need extra traction and probably pair of wheels in the roof, and maybe a bike, it will fit, between the roof and the trunk and the bike with the.. that thing to carry a bik,e i dont know the name in english

Edited 2 February, 2023 by Kharl

[KenONeill]

16 hours ago, Kharl said:

that thing to carry a bik,e i dont know the name in english

Cycle rack or bike rack.

[Kharl]

On 03/02/2023 at 11:36, KenONeill said:

Cycle rack or bike rack.

That 😉

[Kharl]

 

 

Edited 9 February, 2023 by Kharl

[Kharl]

This was pretty much half of the way

We had to use the ramps for that kind of terrain (worse than the picture above) about 14 or 15 times. in that picture, it was 7600ft MSL and 12:30am, i was really needing a turbo, but i dont think that i could have do it with hotter temps, like 1 or 2pm, there just would not be enough oxigen for the necesary power

[Kharl]

 

After the good part of the road....

then we started to climb at about 530pm and reach the camp site at about 1am,

Edited 9 February, 2023 by Kharl

[TMB]

I'll never complain about potholes on our roads again