Wheel size

[Ken502]

Just about to receive my Fabia MK4 1.5TSI and with winter in the sight, i am looking for new alloys or steel rims.

Car is currently equipped with Proxima R16 6J ET45 wheels and 195/55/R16 tyres.Unfortunately, the selection of rims in this section with 195/55, 6J R16 ET45 is very slim and i can't even find basic steel rims.

Any suggestion on changing the width or ET of the rims that can retain 195/55 R16 tyres?

I unfortunately am not proficient enough in this matter.

[Carlston]

In deep snow you often can't see the kerbs, so using relatively wide tyres on narrow rims can help protect the rims from kerbing damage.

 

Perhaps try 205/60R15 on the standard 5.5Jx15 ET40 5/100 57.1 alloy rims.

 

Michelin Alpin 6 205/60R15 91H (winter tyre)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Michelin/Alpin-6/205-60-R15-91H/R-377220

 

You could also use a slightly narrower 195/60R15 on the 5.5Jx15 ET40 5/100 57.1 rim, but although it would give more rim protection than the standard 185/65R15 it would give you as much rim protection as the wider 205/60R15.

 

Michelin Alpin 6 195/60R15 88T (winter tyre)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Michelin/Alpin-6/195-60-R15-88T/R-400391

 

Or if you want to keep the car absolutely standard, then 185/65R15 on this 5.5Jx15 ET40 5/100 57.1 rim. However, this will offer the least rim protection compared to the other two wider tyre sizes.

 

Michelin Alpin 6 185/65R15 88T (winter tyre)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Michelin/Alpin-6/185-65-R15-88T/R-400387

 

As you can see in the chart below, 205/60R15 has an outside diameter 1.0% larger than 185/65R15 and 195/60R15 has an outside diameter 0.9% smaller than 185/65R15. To put this in perspective, up to 1.5% difference either way is considered negligible.

 

Outside diameter of tyres

185/65R15 621.5mm

195/60R15 615mm (-1.0%)

205/60R15 627mm (+0.9%)

 

The main reason for going for 195/60R15 over 205/60R15 might be the £30/tyre cost saving. However, the 205/60R15 will move about a little more inside the relatively narrow 5.5J rim, so perhaps go for 195/60R15...unless you really do want that maximum rim protection.

 

In case you're not familiar with Michelin winter tyres, they are one of the highest mileage winter tyres you can get and they are designed to have whole life performance so that even when the tread is half worn they are still performing really well.

 

5.5Jx15 ET40 5/100 57.1 alloy rim (from Fabia MK4)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/alu-kola/c/alloyWheels?

q=%3AscoreDesc%3AcarType%3AFabia%2BIV%2B%282021%2B%29%3ArimDiameter%3A15%22&text=#

 

Alcar 4055 5.5Jx15 ET40 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Fabia MK4)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1360399348768339044&rimCode=ALCAR4055

 

Another option could be 205/60R15 on 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 rims from the Fabia MK3.

 

6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 alloy rim (from Fabia MK3)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/alu-kola/c/alloyWheels?sort=priceAsc&q=%3AscoreDesc%3AcarType%3AFabia%2BIII%2B%282014%2B%29%3ArimDiameter%3A15%22#

 

Permitted rim and tyre combinations for mounting snow chains (Fabia MK4):

Rim dimensions	Tyre dimensions
5Jx14 ET38	185/70R14
5.5Jx15 ET40	185/65R15
6Jx16 ET45	195/55R16

Only use snow chains with links no larger than 13mm, including locks.

 

Edited 14 September, 2023 by Carlston

[Carlston]

One other non-standard option is 185/60R16 on 6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1.

 

However, 185/60R16 fitted to a 6J rim won't offer much rim protection from kerbing damage due to the tyre's sidewalls not bulging out much. My preference would be the 15" options mentioned in my previous post...although some do prefer the aesthetics of the slightly larger 16" rim.

 

Michelin Alpin 6 185/60R16 86H (winter tyre)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rshop/tyre/Michelin/Alpin-6/185-60-R16-86H/R-428619

 

Alcar 6664 6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Scala/Kamiq)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1087670437300683876&rimCode=ALCAR6664

 

VW W6664 6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Scala/Kamiq)

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/steel-wheel/vw-w6664#23055916

 

6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1 alloy rim (from Scala/Kamiq)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/alu-kolo-nanuq-16-scala-kamiq/p/654071496B+8Z8

 

Edited 14 September, 2023 by Carlston

[Ken502]

Cheers, thanks for such a detailed answer, i went with 6Jx16 ET45 195/55R16 Hankook Winter I*Cept IZ2 tyres because i live in we have nordic type winter.

 

[Carlston]

9 hours ago, Ken502 said:

Cheers, thanks for such a detailed answer, i went with 6Jx16 ET45 195/55R16 Hankook Winter I*Cept IZ2 tyres because i live in we have nordic type winter.

 

6Jx16 ET45 5/100 57.1 steel rims are listed on both oponeo.pl and mytyres.co.uk

 

It can be difficult to find the Alcar 6955 on mytyres because you have to enter a car that uses this size steel rim...and for some reason entering the Fabia MK4 on mytyres doesn't bring up this listing. However, entering cars such as the Seat Arona and Seat Ibiza MK5 does bring up this listing. There's also similar Alcar rims using slightly less offset, ie. ET40 and ET35 from cars such as the Scala and Kamiq, ie. 6Jx16 ET40 and 6Jx16 ET35.

 

I doubt you would have clearance issues on the Fabia MK4 with the 195/55R16 tyre size if you used a 6Jx16 rim with an ET40 offset instead of the standard ET45. ET40 is also what the 185/65R15 tyre size uses on the Fabia MK4 with a 5.5J rim.

 

Alcar 6955 6Jx16 ET45 5/100 57.1 steel rim

https://www.oponeo.pl/felga-stalowa/alcar-kfz-6955#23501946

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1273761131039659108&rimCode=ALCAR6955

 

6Jx16 ET45 5/100 57.1 alloy rims from the Fabia MK4 on "skoda eshop cz"

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/alu-kola/c/alloyWheels?sort=priceAsc&q=%3AscoreDesc%3AcarType%3AFabia%2BIV%2B%282021%2B%29%3ArimDiameter%3A16%22#

 

Edited 20 September, 2023 by Carlston

[Ootohere]

Bump for @PMS