Hi,

 

I need to replace a tyre after an unfortunate encounter with a crater sized pothole, but it got me thinking about whether there was any advantage in fitting a wider profile of tyre?

 

My estate is factory fitted with 165/70 R14 on steel rims and these skinny little tyres have never really felt at home.  I read somewhere that a wider profile may increase ride comfort without sacrificing too much on fuel economy.  That's something I would welcome living in rural Northamptonshire, where some sections of road would be more familiar to Neil Armstrong than a highway engineer.

 

Most online tyre places give 185/60 R14 as an option for my car,  but I'm not sure if they were ever meant for these steel rims (I think mine are 5Jx14 ET35).

 

I would prefer to avoid upgrading to alloys as I've suffered pothole damage in the past requiring heat treatment to turn them back into a circle (that's assuming the steels put up with more abuse that is).

 

Any advice or experiences shared would be most welcome.

 

Dan.

6J x 14 steel wheels are the factory fit for 185/60R14 tyres.  

Probably/definitely some alloy versions of 6J x 14 available too. Should be easy to find secondhand. 

Ok, thanks Pete.

Sounds like I'm probably stuck with what I've got for now but worth knowing if I want to upgrade in the future 👍

 

Dan.

Keep an eye on ebay, or make your requirements known to a local scrapyard, I picked up a set of wheels plus good tyres (only 20% worn approx.) of this size from ebay a few years back for just over £100 delivered.

Generally they're likely to be collection only, and a shade more than that, but you might get lucky with someone 'upgrading' to alloys who just wants rid.

Put a wanted ad on here.

Come to think of it, I've got some in my shed, though the tyres are all needing replacement. Not in mint condition either but could be very cheap! 😁

 

 

2 hours ago, dandare1980 said:

Any advice or experiences shared would be most welcome.

Nothing worth adding to what @Breezy_Pete says except that the 165/70 has a 4mm higher nominal sidewall than the 185/60, and higher sidewalls are definitely wanted from what you're saying.

8 hours ago, dandare1980 said:

165/70 R14 on steel rims

Nothing wrong with steel wheels, I prefer them, and more suited to our third-world roads.  If it was factory standard then there's nothing wrong with that size tyre, it only seems skinny because the fashion for decades has been to fit overwide, bigger wheels with wider lower profile tyres.  The ride comfort of your tyre will be to do with the quality of design, materials and build of the tyre new and the age, wear, storage (parking), use/abuse and maintenance after.  Tyres get hard with age and/or lack of use.

 

Living in Northampton and having travelled around Northamptonshire for work and driven for pleasure on most of the fabulous country roads in the county for decades I know the state of them, since we had to subsidise wealthy bankers pensions and the more recent financial series of crises.

 

A recent new Fabia owner with a Skoda Approved purchase had four different tyres on the car, that usually doesn't help with what the tyres do - braking, steering, suspension, road holding, ride comfort and noises.  Check your four tyres for matching make and model of tyre, similar tread depths, ages (date of manufacture is on the tyre) assuming they correspond reasonably to when they where actually fitted to the car - for at least the two tyres on the same axle.  Tyre pressures, especially if well out of spec and/or variance to each other can make a big difference.

 

In the real rural bits of the county having "skinny" tyres could offer more advantages, even more so than in the towns.

 

If you're replacing one tyre think about the tyre still on the other side of the axle, and perhaps the two on the other axle.  Buying tyres in fours or twos is generally best and having the best set on the most suitable axle.

 

Edited 11 May, 20233 yr by nta16

5 hours ago, nta16 said:

Nothing wrong with steel wheels, I prefer them, and more suited to our third-world roads. 

 

Same here 👍

On 11/05/2023 at 12:44, dandare1980 said:

Hi,

 

I need to replace a tyre after an unfortunate encounter with a crater sized pothole, but it got me thinking about whether there was any advantage in fitting a wider profile of tyre?

 

My estate is factory fitted with 165/70 R14 on steel rims and these skinny little tyres have never really felt at home.  I read somewhere that a wider profile may increase ride comfort without sacrificing too much on fuel economy.  That's something I would welcome living in rural Northamptonshire, where some sections of road would be more familiar to Neil Armstrong than a highway engineer.

 

Most online tyre places give 185/60 R14 as an option for my car,  but I'm not sure if they were ever meant for these steel rims (I think mine are 5Jx14 ET35).

 

I would prefer to avoid upgrading to alloys as I've suffered pothole damage in the past requiring heat treatment to turn them back into a circle (that's assuming the steels put up with more abuse that is).

 

Any advice or experiences shared would be most welcome.

 

Dan.

 

185/65R14 would fit the 5Jx14 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rims.

 

185/65R14 has almost the same outside diameter as 195/55R15.

 

If you're lucky enough to have the small 239x18mm front brake discs, you could fit 5Jx13 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rims, and fit 185/70R13 tyres.

 

Vredestein Quatrac 5 185/70R13 86T

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m136b0s7971p144836/Vredestein_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Vredestein_Quatrac5_Vredestein_Quatrac_5_-_185_70_R13_86T_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_D_Wet_Grip%3A_C_NoiseClass%3A_B_Noise%3A_69dB

 

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

 

5Jx13 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim 6Q0601027E

	6Q0601027E	Steel rim	5Jx13 ET35
	6Q0601027E 03C	rally black			CLASSIC
	6Q0601027E 091	chrome colored			JUNIOR

https://www.lllparts.co.uk/catalogs/skoda/CZ/FAB/225/6/601/601010

 

Edited 12 May, 20233 yr by Carlston

Thanks for all the replies - some really good points made.

Dan.