46 minutes ago, DerekU said:

This 'tool' is widely advertised on eBay/Amazon for around £7-upwards and the M14 x 1.50 version will be required.

The first alignment tool I got was a gift from a friend (more later why it was bought for me) with using it I discovered two are needed on on wheel really for them to work well (four if swapping round wheels), the second one I bought myself and it was a poorer and rougher finish.

 

So different prices and different finishes the rough one I got could scratch the wheel bolt hole for those that worry about such things.

52 minutes ago, DerekU said:

This link may be of interest (though the basic 'European' argument is incorrect.)

Thanks for that but personally I don't care as for four plus decades all my cars, real Skodas, British/English and Japanese made and all the European (current one only as VW product) and Japanese cars that my wife has had in that time have all had studs and nuts (four each wheel not five) and those studs and nuts have caused me no problems or injuries.

 

The (add in expletive of your choice, or not) VW product my wife currently has with its bolts, instead of studs, caused me 6 years, so far, of ongoing back problems by the wheel slipping off the centre (hub) and falling 1" (25mm) to the ground, so if anyone suggests to my face that the bolts are a good idea I will disagree from my experience and the fact you need to use an alignment tool (TWO really) and if it's while my back is playing up they'll hear a wide range of expletives.

 

Maybe I am missing something, but I just shove a screwdriver or something similar into the hole. Possibly showing my age again.

Alignment tool? What happened to just holding the wheel up and screwing a bolt in? 🤔

1 hour ago, Tintowellfan said:

Maybe I am missing something, but I just shove a screwdriver or something similar into the hole. Possibly showing my age again.

Alright I'll play along, when do you put the screwdriver into the hole, it'd have to have a small handle to slide a M14 hole over it and if you put the wheel up first and then the screwdriver you might as well use a bolt.  But whatever works for you great, each to their own.  I'm 64 so possibly older that you, possibly not.

 

 

40 minutes ago, Blue8793841 said:

Alignment tool? What happened to just holding the wheel up and screwing a bolt in?

Perhaps Octavias are different to Fabias, holding the wheel up is fine until it slips, a gob of manly macho split won't hold the wheel to hub and the centre ring is only a bout a millimetre or deep (I've never measured with manly macho callipers or anything else to confirm this).  Your procedure was the one I was using until the (insert expletive) wheel slipped 1" (25mm) to the ground as I was about to put the sixteenth wheel bolt which of course was the first on that wheel.

 

Again you do it whatever way you want.

 

I can assure all I don't want to fart about any number of alignment tools or ANY wheel bolts.

 

You just look at the holes, position the wheel the same, fit wheel and fit bolt nothing hard about that. There's a pretty big lip on the drive flange it's not french. Maybe your not macho enough to hold the wheel in place?

Edited 25 June, 20241 yr by Blue8793841

12 hours ago, Tintowellfan said:

Bookmark this website for future reference, save you another wasted journey.

Saved me a few anyway.

 

https://www.wheelfitment.eu/car/Skoda/Fabia (2021 - ).html

Just when I thought I'd got it hacked and then you post that link!   So, Fabia Mk4; PCD, 5x100, check! 185/65R15 (in my case), check! Offset 40, ...sorry? That is the same as a contemporary Polo (2017 -) but earlier Polos were 38, as were earlier Fabias. So what is offset, please? I feel like like they must have done at Bletchley Park when they realised that the Kriegsmarine had just added a fourth wheel to their Enigmas! 

Edited 25 June, 20241 yr by Chug41

1 hour ago, Blue8793841 said:

Maybe your not macho enough to hold the wheel in place?

Correct I'm not.  Maybe you're think of having a lift available.

 

Hold up, I've just had a realisation, perhaps - are you now or have you ever been a mechanic?

 

@Chug41 have a look at one of your wheels on the inside IIRC the details are on it for offset, or IIRC they are on my wife's 2015 Fabia.

 

What happened to the modern day man? Unless your over 60 or have some form of injury a wheel replacement should be a walk in the park. Yes.

9 minutes ago, Blue8793841 said:

What happened to the modern day man? Unless your over 60 or have some form of injury a wheel replacement should be a walk in the park. Yes.

What are you on about I've already put I'm over 60, I'm 64 and have suffered from many in the motor trade including mechanics, I know mechanics around my age so time served from 1960s and 1970s.

 

I was just about to add to my previous post, I'd already put twice that the lip isn't big and that I got a bloody injury from the stupid wheel slipping 1" (25mm) to the ground I've had the injury from that for about 6 years, stupid half a second slip, from bloody wheel bolts instead of studs.

 

Are you now or have you ever been a mechanic?

 

Edited 25 June, 20241 yr by nta16
typos

I'm an 80-years-old male and weigh a weedy 52kg. Removing and replacing my Skoda Fabia's wheels at home is fairly easy without using the type of tool being discussed above (I took the alloy wheels off soon after buying the car to give them a good waxing and check that the steel spare-wheel would fit), but carrying out a single-handed road-side 'emergency' wheel change would be a real challenge without some means to safely hang the wheel on as it's replaced on the hub.

 

As I said above, an alignment tool suitable for the Fabia's wheels is widely marketed and (as nta16 has highlighted) the quality varies. A good quality alignment tool will be made from strong metal (You do NOT want the threaded end to snap off in the hub!), be smooth and - if possible - have a 'tommy-bar' hole in its outer end to aid insertion/withdrawal. (Examples here)

Regarding Chug41's enquiry about offset, alloy wheels normally have their offset (ET) cast on their inner surface. 

 

https://helpcenter.wheelpros.com/hc/en-us/articles/360055697352-Identifying-Wheel-Markings#:~:text=Wheel Size and Offset - The,and an offset of 0mm.&text=Manufacturing Date - This is the month and year of manufacture.

 

https://www.oponeo.co.uk/blog/how-to-read-the-wheel-markings

 

 

Edited 26 June, 20241 yr by DerekU

DerekU those alignment tools look a lot better than either of the ones I have.

 

I was doing the wheel rotation on my concrete hard(luck)standing "drive", cold autumn in between cold showers/rain and like an idiot because I'd got three done I thought I'd get the last one done before it got dark to save doing it the next day.  I'd only jacked the car up enough for the tyre to clear the ground by about an inch but I could easily see the alignment of the five holes (why 5, it's not a lorry or commercial) and was balancing the tyre on my shoe toe caps and the near non-existent centre ring and was reaching for a wheel bolt when the wheel slipped off and like a total idiot I moved to stop the wheel falling on its face and perhaps scratching, instead buggering my back to this day.  My own stupid fault for being macho instead of sensible.

 

IiRC the ET was clearly marked on the inside of the wheel or I'd not have noticed it, but I could be wrong.

 

I hope you've got the conversion wrong as 52kg is only 8 stones 3 pounds.

 

30 minutes ago, nta16 said:

DerekU those alignment tools look a lot better than either of the ones I have....

 

...I hope you've got the conversion wrong as 52kg is only 8 stones 3 pounds.

 

 

1: The 9CIRCLE=branded tool is an American product and expensive even in the USA. It was just an example of a tool with a tommy-bar hole.

 

2: Nope - that's my weight. Cleopatra was described in one of Shakespeare's plays with the line "Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale her infinite variety". Sadly, age has definitely withered me, though I like to think it has not yet staled my variety.

You sound like a Precious McKenzie to me, I've got arms and legs like bits of string now and lifting my body from the ground is an achievement sometimes, lifting a wheel takes a lot more effort now, even a 15" (or a 13" x 4.5" as I used to have until a couple of years ago).  😄

 

Same here.   Shoulder killing me. Distraction from the prolapsed discs, the ankle and knee and arthritis in hands.  Even changing  light weight 16" alloys at home was a struggle to change last week, but getting off the ground each time was really awkward, then I left it a while before the tidy up and put away.   I used to change plant wheels, and offroaders just a few years ago and big stuff using slider plates years back.  

 

 

Edited 26 June, 20241 yr by Ootohere

But as my elderly neighbour used to say, better living with some problems than the alternative. and when you see what some people have had to put up with everyday of their life you can be happy about being able to change a wheel (with or without alignment tools).

 

Just got a set of these delivered. Never knew they existed until saw mentioned here, been using a screwdriver, the one you get in car toolkit that handle slides off.

Anyway, what a piece of kit this is, very heavy weighs almost 1Kg. Will be useful for several family cars.

I managed to get it for just over 7 quid, not sure why as it immediately went up in price to over 30 quid after I bought it.

I will be keeping on eye on this item on Amazon, as another set would be a useful spare when I no doubt forget where I have located this one in my garage. Getting old comes with no advantages other than a free bus pass.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Q8F2L23?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

Edited 28 June, 20241 yr by Tintowellfan

I hadn't either until the guy I bought a set of wheels off for my first XC40 gave me one.  Those wheels are very heavy and an alignment tool would be essential for most of us.

 

I'm 6 foot and nearly 15 stone with little fat but a few months over 70 now and have definitely noticed over the last 12 months or so that muscle has reduced and I think twice now about lifting and carrying things as am definitely weaker.

 

I could probably manage the Fabia wheels Ok but wouldn't take the risk of not using an alignment tool now unlike when I was younger.

 

Edited 29 June, 20241 yr by VAGCF

It's not rocket science, just "Simply NOT Clever", things are a LOT easier if you get a car designed with these, beneath the German engineers obviously but available from others -

 

On 28/06/2024 at 18:08, Tintowellfan said:

Just got a set of these delivered. Never knew they existed until saw mentioned here, been using a screwdriver, the one you get in car toolkit that handle slides off.

Anyway, what a piece of kit this is, very heavy weighs almost 1Kg. Will be useful for several family cars.

I managed to get it for just over 7 quid, not sure why as it immediately went up in price to over 30 quid after I bought it.

I will be keeping on eye on this item on Amazon, as another set would be a useful spare when I no doubt forget where I have located this one in my garage. Getting old comes with no advantages other than a free bus pass.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09Q8F2L23?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_product_details

 

Sets of 'wheel alignment pins' in multiple sizes are widely advertised and their price can vary from fairly cheap to very expensive. I've seen the set you provided a link to for around £17 on-line (identical but with a different brand-name) but you definitely got a bargain at under-8-quid.

 

I have one of these

 

 

Its light weight suggests it's some sort of alloy. It has a hard super-smooth black (anodised?) finish, is very nicely made and is easily inserted and removed from the hub's bolt-holes. I know it still works OK as I used it when removing/replacing a wheel on my Skoda Roomster yesterday! If I remember correctly it cost about £9.

 

For the record, a Fabia Mk4 alloy wheel with a 195/55 R16 tyre weighs about 19kg (42lbs). 

The last time i weighed a 15" Steel Wheel and tyre to fit a Mk2 or Mk3 Fabia and the Jack & Tools in it that was 19 kG. 

Edited 1 July, 20241 yr by Ootohere

Yesterday, out of interest, I weighed the now-redundant alloy wheel that I used to store in a wheel-bag behind one of the front seats of my 2021 Hyundai i20. As that wheel is 16"-diameter and fitted with a 195/55 R16 tyre, its weight should be reasonably close to my Fabia Mk4's wheels that have a similar specification. The exact weight of the i20's wheel i(in its storage bag) is 19.4kg/42.7lbs, and knocking off the weight of the bag and padding, results in around 19kg/42lbs. ("Close enough for jazz" as the saying goes") I can lift the wheel relatively easily using the bag's 'handle' and could get it into the space behind the i20's front seats without too much difficulty - but getting it out again was another matter. 

 

The wheel-changing procedure for the i20 was easier than my Fabia's, as the Hyundai had wheel-studs not wheel-bolts. On the other hand, the Hyundai anti-theft nuts (photo below)

 

 

were complicated and challenging to undo or to torque to the required setting. It was widely reported that Hyundai/Kia dealerships had no 'universal' keys and, if an owner did not have the appropriate matching key-nut and a wheel needed to be removed, they were in deep trouble as a consequence. The centre part of the anti-theft nut is essentially cosmetic and freely rotates, so traditional brute force methods cannot be used. I feared those nuts and replaced them with less secure but more conventional anti-theft nuts that I could undo and tighten straightforwardly and, if necessary, that could be undone in the traditional way.

I was very keen to buy a new car with a good sized boot already equipped with a spare wheel. That was one reason for choosing the Fabia but isn't it better to have breakdown cover as well?  If I do need help following a serious puncture calling in the aid of a breakdown service to do the heavy work will be my preference.  What am I missing here? 

 

As far as disk brakes  are concerned I've never had them front and rear.  Rusty disks were an MOT issue every few years with previous cars and that was just with front ones.  The Fabia stops very effectively without disks at the back.

All, every single one, of the cars I've had over 40+ years came with their own sets of alignment tools already on the cars, called wheel studs. 😁  Each to their own but I'd not want a set of various sizes of these alignment tools as I'd never want my wife to get another car that needs them.

 

A couple of common misconceptions mentioned already, that alloy wheels (with tyres) are lighter and that there's a real need for rear disks instead of drums on such cars as standard Fabia's, the rear discs are on often for the same reasons as the oversized wheels and tyres, a matter of fashion and ego.  What is often overlooked is that a big contributor to braking is good quality and condition tyres.

 

Discs go rusty through lack of use and/or poorer quality.

 

I hope VW improved the quality of its front dampers and suspension bushes on the MK4 to that on my wife's 2015 Mk3.