Alloy Wheel Sizes?

[Morganash]

Hi, A question I can't find answer to - What is the standard/Original size Alloy Wheel for a January 2019 TSi vrs Octavia Estate? I've been looking to change my 18" Gemini Alloys that the car came with, but on a Wheel site yesterday when I input my Reg it only showed me 19" Wheels..? So are my current wheels not the right wheels for the car? In which case my car insurance would need to know. 

[JD52]

The 18s are a correct size. At purchase you could choose 18 or 19 inch wheels. 

Some tyre websites don't allow for the choice. 

[Carlston]

10 hours ago, Morganash said:

Hi, A question I can't find answer to - What is the standard/Original size Alloy Wheel for a January 2019 TSi vrs Octavia Estate? I've been looking to change my 18" Gemini Alloys that the car came with, but on a Wheel site yesterday when I input my Reg it only showed me 19" Wheels..? So are my current wheels not the right wheels for the car? In which case my car insurance would need to know. 

 

The Octavia MK3 owner's manual shows that 205/50R17 fitted to either 6Jx17 ET45 or 6Jx17 ET48 rims can be used with snow chains on the VRS. So that's one of the Skoda approved tyre and rim sizes.

 

You will probably also find 225/45R17, 225/40R18, and 225/35R19 listed in the car's CoC (Certificate of Conformity) and possibly shown inside the fuel filler flap.

 

wheel-size.com lists all four of these tyre sizes for the Octavia MK3 245HP VRS.

 

Edited 28 November, 2023 by Carlston

[SC03OTT]

In addition to the above, the build sticker on the boot floor will tell you what it came with from factory. 
 

My registration also returns 19” wheel/tyre suggestions. My car came with 18”s though. 

[Morganash]

Thankyou all for answering my question! Very helpful. 👌

I now have the choice of maybe going for a 19" Alloy now, which would reduce the large gap under the wheel arch a bit. Though I've read somewhere that ride quality would be reduced too with 19's ? 

[Carlston]

2 hours ago, Morganash said:

Thank you all for answering my question! Very helpful. 👌

I now have the choice of maybe going for a 19" Alloy now, which would reduce the large gap under the wheel arch a bit. Though I've read somewhere that ride quality would be reduced too with 19's ? 

 

The outside diameter of all four tyre sizes is almost identical, so changing between these sizes won't reduce the wheel arch gap.

 

Outside diameter of tyres

205/50R17 636.8mm

225/45R17 634.3mm

225/40R18 637.2mm

225/35R19 640.1mm

 

19" rims when fitted with the very low profile (ie. very little sidewall height) 225/35R19 are very prone to pothole damage. That might explain why the Octavia MK4 doesn't offer 225/35 tyres. If 225/35 were offered on the Octavia MK4 it would be 225/35R20 rather than 225/35R19 because the tyres on the Octavia MK4 have an outside diameter about 1" bigger than the tyres on the Octavia MK3.

 

Edited 28 November, 2023 by Carlston

[Morganash]

Great, useful info - Thanks again Carlston, I'll stick with 18's then and 225/40R Tyres 👍 lot of potholes in my area of Norfolk...

[Morganash]

Hi, One last post ( promise ) about Wheel sizes... I'm still wanting to change my Gemini Alloys & Tyres. And I've found one Wheel I really want to buy now, but the smallest Rim they do is an 18" x 8 with an ET of 45. This appears to be doable in width as the wheels will only stick out 12.4mm more than the standard 7.5j's. And probably staying with a 225 x 40 x 18R Tyre - a better fit maybe would be a 235x 40 x 18R Tyre? but that would put my speedo out by a few percent.

My question is - Would this new set up make any negative difference to the handling? or MPG? I don't want to wear out adjacent parts sooner but if this increase is only a negligible difference? then I'm okay with it to have some better looking wheels.. and lastly is this modification to the car likely to increase my insurance premium when I tell them? Thankyou 

[The_Bomber]

Why would you want to tell your insurance that you have 19” wheels?? 

[JD52]

If you have changed your wheel size then it counts as a modification and the insurance company needs to be informed.  If you don't, then they can refuse a claim. 

[The_Bomber]

2 minutes ago, JD52 said:

If you have changed your wheel size then it counts as a modification and the insurance company needs to be informed.  If you don't, then they can refuse a claim. 

Are you actually being serious?

[JD52]

Sadly, it's correct. Even if the change is to an option when the car is new.

In a lot of cases there won't be a change of premium - but they need to know.

 

[The_Bomber]

Just now, JD52 said:

Sadly, it's correct. Even if the change is to an option when the car is new.

In a lot of cases there won't be a change of premium - but they need to know.

 

that’s news to me. I’ve been driving for 18 years, half of which I’ve been a front line police officer. In that time I’ve attended/dealt with all types of collisions from minor damage to fatal collisions. I’ve personally dealt with insurance companies for hundreds of insurance claims involving: stolen vehicles, criminal damage, material damage collisions, minor and serious injury collisions and fatal collisions and never in my life have I EVER heard of an insurance company refusing to payout a claim because a car had 19” wheels instead of 18” wheels.

 

This notion that “they need to know” annoys me so much. I’m not trying to argue with anybody or come across as condescending but telling people to ring their insurance company because they changed their wheels is absolute nonsense IN MY OPINION.  that’s just my 2 cents worth from actual real life experience in the real world. 

[JD52]

You're missing the point, it's not about what insurance companies do, it's about what they CAN do.

They get a huge claim and they might look at any reason not to settle. 

 

[Stonekeeper]

I doubt changing the wheels within the specification of the Model would negate the insurance.

 

But the insurance would only cover up to the value of the wheels expected to be fitted, unless they were aware of what you fitted.

 

I.e if you changed steel to alloy or alloy to expensive aftermarket alloy without notification you couldn't claim the extra if the car was a total loss.

 

It is my understanding that only mods that make the car illegal on the road that would invalidate insurance.

 

(Modifications not declared would not be covered for replacement if stolen)

[JD52]

9 minutes ago, Stonekeeper said:

I doubt changing the wheels within the specification of the Model would negate the insurance.

 

But the insurance would only cover up to the value of the wheels expected to be fitted, unless they were aware of what you fitted.

 

I.e if you changed steel to alloy or alloy to expensive aftermarket alloy without notification you couldn't claim the extra if the car was a total loss.

 

It is my understanding that only mods that make the car illegal on the road that would invalidate insurance.

 

(Modifications not declared would not be covered for replacement if stolen)

Wrong. 

ANY modifications to the manufactured specification should be declared. 

I had a similar discussion with my insurance company, over 20 years ago, when I wanted to upgrade my wheels to the wheels that were an option at the order point. It was considered a modification as the car would not be "As built"

It's up to you to take the chance. 

[J.R.]

Do you understand the difference between "should" and "must/has to be"?

 

Take a look at your policy terms and conditions.

[JD52]

13 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Do you understand the difference between "should" and "must/has to be"?

 

Take a look at your policy terms and conditions.

What does yours say?

 

[J.R.]

A lire si vous êtes un con 😀

 

I have third party only liability which they will always pay out on, I dont really give a four X for any of the conditions which would not affect me, its the car that is insured not the driver, they have a condition that if someone under 18 is driving and has an accident then my franchise (excess) is doubled, except twice nothing is still nothing, there is nothing that I could claim for so I could never pay a franchise.

 

[kodiaqsportline]

3 hours ago, The_Bomber said:

This notion that “they need to know” annoys me so much. I’m not trying to argue with anybody or come across as condescending but telling people to ring their insurance company because they changed their wheels is absolute nonsense IN MY OPINION.  that’s just my 2 cents worth from actual real life experience in the real world. 

 

I see that you are in Ireland and the OP is UK.

 

Whether or not that makes a difference I don't know, but here in the UK if you alter your car from the manufacturer's specification, a condition of the insurance is you have to inform the insurer. It's written in black and white on every UK policy.  Whether you adhere to that or not is up to the policy holder, but the above is correct, if you have not informed the insurer of a change then that insurance can be voided.

 

3 hours ago, JD52 said:

Sadly, it's correct. Even if the change is to an option when the car is new.

 

That's dependant on the insurer so it's wise to read the policy. In my experience, all the insurance policies I've had are based on the manufacturers invoiced specification - i.e. when the car left the factory. So if you opt for a sunroof, larger wheels and a upgraded Sat Nav system all fitted at the factory, that's not an issue.  If however you ask ACME Sunroof Inc  to  cut a hole in your brand new car and fit a sunroof, ask Alloys-R-Us to replace the Skoda alloys with their BBS alloys and Halfords to install a Satnav system to the car...  those would have to be declared.

 

I have to say it's a tad concnerning that someone who was in the business of administering Law is replacing a legal document with what happens in the real world? 😲  have you ever been in a court? We have a solicitor in this country who the media labelled 'Mr Loophole' who's infamous for examining every single punctuation mark in a policy. He has a long list of rich and famous clients who he's help avoid punishment. Adhering to every word of your policy matters a great deal, especially if a competant no-win-no-fee solicitor gets involved.

 

58 minutes ago, J.R. said:

Do you understand the difference between "should" and "must/has to be"?

 

Take a look at your policy terms and conditions.

 

Jeez Oh.  First it's an Irish copper and now it's Inspector Clouseau telling us UK policyholders our legal status.

 

I believe one of Briskoda sponsors is Adrian Flux.

 

https://www.adrianflux.co.uk/blog/2022/06/how-popular-modifications-affect-your-car-insurance/

 

If anyone has an issue, take it up with Adrian.

 

Edited 2 December, 2023 by kodiaqsportline

[The_Bomber]

So @kodiaqsportline I am quoting Adrian flux directly here: 

 “The definition of a ‘modified’ vehicle, as far as insurance is concerned, is a vehicle that has been altered from factory standard (or since it has left the factory). This could be anything from installing a new engine to simply adding a bumper sticker, but every modification you make to your car comes with a compromise.”

 

so someone replaces their car mats with ones from Halfords instead of factory standard Škoda mats. 
 

or someone replaces their window wipers with cheap halford ones instead of factory standard ones 

 

or someone just replaces their 18” alloys for 19” alloys like I’m talking about in the post. 
 

are you honestly coming on here saying someone’s insurance is going to be void?? Come on, seriously. 
 

That reminds me, I must ring my insurance company Monday and ask them is it ok that I used autofill ceramic coating on my car yesterday as it didn’t come from the factory like this. 

[Morganash]

Interesting discussion... So I'm not alone in thinking Don't give the Insurance people ANY even a trivial excuse to not pay out in the event. Which is why the first add on I got for my VRS was a good Dashcam. So I agree with it being nonsensical that 'they' could refuse a claim on this basis, for the sake of a phone call I'm not taking the chance!  My paranoia about Wheel sizes comes from my very limited knowledge of the knock on effect of fitting non standard equipment... I've asked Skoda directly for a list of their recommended wheel sizes but they only sent me a part list of Winter wheels and then told me to call my local Skoda dealer. I've looked up all previous posts on here relating to this and they're all dead links now. 

So insurance issue aside can anyone tell me please if an 8" Rim with a 18" Alloy would make any noticeable difference to my car? as I don't want to lessen the nice handling of this car as it is now. 

[MarkyG82]

No an 8j wheel with similar offset will not make a significant difference. I have used such wheels in the past and tyre wear and usage has been a non-issue.

Insurance discussion aside, crack on.

[J.R.]

14 hours ago, kodiaqsportline said:

Jeez Oh.  First it's an Irish copper and now it's Inspector Clouseau telling us UK policyholders our legal status.

 

Thankyou for your kind words, setting the racism jingoism aside I didn't tell anyone their legal status.

[HappySam]

I'll just leave these here...

 

Insurance cancelled due to painted wheels !

 

Insurance voided due to car having PPF! HELP PLEASE!