Hi all,

 

I know there has been extensive comment on this topic, but I have some questions which I don't think have been answered.

 

Recently bought a 2020 SE L 1.0 hatch 110ps in metallic silver.  It's a nippy car that handles well on the backroads, but I find the ride a bit harsh on our poorly-maintained surfaces.  My wife wanted the SE L model for all the bells and whistles, but it comes with 16" wheels.  I've read the posts in this forum about 15" wheels being more comfortable and which size to fit.  I'm not bothered about alloys as they soon corrode and need a lot of maintenance.  So I'll probably replace them with steel wheels.  But I still have a few questions:

 

MyTyres sell these nice-looking Alcar 131500 steel wheels in silver for £106:

 

 

But they are very expensive compared to the bog-standard Alcar 7760 black ones for £38:

 

 

In another post someone said that steel wheels get rusty after a couple of years, so if I bought the cheap ones I would fit a plastic trim.  You can get really smart-looking ones these days.  But I would consider the silver wheels above if they were not going to get rusty.  Presumably at that price they will have a rust-prevention coating? 

 

Whichever wheel I choose I am hoping to get them fitted (with 185/60R15 tyres) by a local tyre specialist, but I have two more questions:

 

Will the fitters be able to use the existing bolts from the alloy wheels, and if not will they have the correct ones?

 

Will they be able to transfer the TPMS sensors to the new wheels?  Or do I need to go to a local garage?

 

Any advice would be most welcome.

 

 

 

Edited 30 October, 20241 yr by vandjq
Clarification

Hi, welcome.

 

Steel wheels will rust but how soon and fast depends on how well made and finished they are, of course like all painted steel if you want to you can maintain them by proper preparation and painting.  Stands to reason that less expensive wheels may not be made and finished using the best materials but still might be serviceable if looked after, you would have to ask the manufacturer what the quality of the silver wheels is to justify the price.

 

Decades back all cars were on steel wheels and they were fine, commercial vehicles have steel wheels and they are fine, alloys wheels became the must have fashion along with oversized wheels and tyres even on shopping trolly cars, sometimes (often?) because of the size and weight of the tyre combination the alloy wheels were heavier than the steel wheels negating their original purpose.

 

Check the offset range of the wheels is suitable for use on your car.

 

I would be surprised if the stupid wheel bolts (instead of studs and nuts) didn't fit the steel wheels but do check with whoever you buy the wheels from.

 

If you have TMPS sensors in the tyre valves AFAIK they can be transfer but might need setting up, I don't know as I've never had them and looked into this.  On my wife's 2015 Fabia it's the other system.

 

Bear in mind the comfort it's just about the size of the wheel and tyre it's also about which tyre you select.

 

If you've not already seen there's a 'Tyres & Wheels' forum on Briskoda and I recommend for those stupid wheel bolts (instead of studs and nuts) and putting wheels back on to save possible back pains and ease the job you buy a set of two "alignment" tools (four if rotating wheels) as just one example of good ones. - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/232330617636

First the TPMS sensors, I'd think that there will not be any fitted, the ABS wheel sensors are used for that job.

 

Steel wheels rusting, in my experience, these Alcar wheels do not get much in the way of paint to protect them, so you'd be better buying a set of - maybe used - wheel covers.

 

If you look at the picture of the black Alcar steel wheels, you will see that they have a small hole between each of the pairs of large holes - these small holes are to accommodate the locating spike/pegs on newer wheel covers - what I mean is a long long time ago wheel covers were secured only out at the recess/dip in the rim, then these extra fixing points appeared. When I bought a set of Alcar steel wheels for my wife's 2002 Polo, at that time Polo wheel covers did not have these extra spikes/pegs to locate, so when I bought a suitable looking set of what was Golf 15" wheel covers, I had to cut the spikes/pegs off them so that they fitted the Polo wheels, and that worked well, no wheel cover ever fell off while in use.  I've only added that bit in in case you find some much earlier other Skoda 15" wheel covers being sold at a good price - and they don't have these extra spikes/pegs, from my experience don't worry they will still stay on these steel wheels. 

 

Edit:- these wheels positioning/locating pegs, yes very useful, I've got a pair in my garage and each of our family's cars have the VW Group black plastic version in with the tool kit in the boot.

 

Another Edit:- my older daughter was getting a pair of new winter tyres fitted to her winter wheels yesterday - due to a curious "hairy" fabric stuff breaking through at a point in one tyre - probably pothole impact had caused that (and caused a slight deformation on the inner rim on the wheel on the other side!), I was helping her "car mad" partner to swop these 2 wheels over,  he was amazed just how quickly I could get the plastic caps of the wheel bolts - I was using the proper/correct plastic "tweezers" - he had been used the wire hook that on cars that have a hole in the centre of the wheel bolts, that tool is used on, but on this car, that hook is used maybe to remove some trim pieces.

 

Ah, yes, I forgot to answer the most important question - the wheel bolts - sorry!

Edited 30 October, 20241 yr by rum4mo

1) The wheel bolts are fine.

2) The black steels are great as long as you make sure you get the right offset.

3) The TPMS do not have sensors on the wheels.

4) My Tyres do a good selection of wheels with the tyres fitted and balanced at good prices.

5) If you can get these wheel covers 1UO 601147C and get some new centre badges off Ebay they do the job a treat. (See my post in Fabia register)

Edited 30 October, 20241 yr by peter3197

15 minutes ago, peter3197 said:

1) The wheel bolts are fine.

2) The black steels are great as long as you make sure you get the right offset.

3) The TPMS do not have sensors on the wheels.

4) My Tyres do a good selection of wheels with the tyres fitted and balanced at good prices.

5) If you can get these wheel covers 1UO 6011147C and get some new centre badges off Ebay they do the job a treat. (See my post in Fabia register)

Maybe check that p/n you wrote down, it looks like there are too many digits, maybe just "1" needs removing, I remember looking into VW small van steel wheel centre covers initially when I bought these Alcar steels for my wife's Polo, but had to give up and get a set of easy to clean, okay to look at, wheel covers.

 

Ie 1U0 601 147 C

Edited 30 October, 20241 yr by rum4mo

Thanks for all the helpful replies.

 

nta16 -  I agree with you that the old studs were a better way of fitting tyres.  MyTyres allows you to enter your vehicle details and match them with a rim, so the offset range should be correct.

 

rum4mo - Thanks for the info re TPMS/ABS sensors.  I'll probably order the cheapest steel rims then put nice covers on.  I'll look for covers with those locating pegs, which sound much better than the old ones which were clipped on the rim.

 

peter3197 - Thanks for the reassurance that the existing bolts will work with the new rim.  I looked at the photos of yours and your wife's cars.  That 15 plate looks brand new!  My car is OK in metallic silver, but I really like that Race Blue.  Also I like the wheel covers, which look like alloys.  But when I Google'd 1U0 601 147 C it brought up a different model:

 

 

 

Could you tell me where you got yours from please?

 

I'm new to this forum and am amazed at how much help I've had with my first post.  Thank you all.

@vandjq sorry I've just noticed a typo in my previous post (and I can't edit it now) i.e. there's more to comfort from tyres than just their size, the design and build, their composition and compounds and even tyre pressures you run at.

 

On 30/10/2024 at 09:10, nta16 said:

Bear in mind the comfort  isn't  just about the size of the wheel and tyre it's also about which tyre you select.

 

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by nta16

If you're getting the Alcar 7760 steel rims which have a specification of 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 there's at least three different sets of Skoda wheel trims shown in the Skoda accessory catalogue that are made to fit these rims...as shown below.

 

By quoting the relevant OEM part number, ie. 5JA071455A or 5JA071455 or 6V0071455, these wheel trims can be ordered from any VAG parts department. I've shown the Czech online price, but the UK price might be slightly more.

 

Set of four wheel trims for Alcar 7760 steel rims 5JA071455A (1269CZK is about £42)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/sada-poklic-costa-15/p/5JA071455A

 

Set of four wheel trims for Alcar 7760 steel rims 5JA071455 (1349CZK is about £45)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/sada-poklic-dakara-15/p/5JA071455

 

Set of four wheel trims for Alcar 7760 steel rims 6V0071455 (1549CZK is about £52)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/sada-poklic-dentro-15/p/6V0071455

 

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by Carlston

2 hours ago, vandjq said:

1U0601147C

 

1U0601147C are Octavia MK1 wheel trims which are made to fit Alcar 8380 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 steel rims (not Alcar 7760), as shown below. They might fit the Alcar 7760 steel rims, but they don't look correct for the more modern Fabia MK3.

 

Alcar 8380 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Octavia MK1) (8.85kg)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=180274277222716516&rimCode=ALCAR8380

 

Alcar 7760 6Jx15 ET38 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Fabia MK3 and Rapid) (8.02kg)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=799637973241959524&rimCode=ALCAR7760

 

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by Carlston

As well as 185/60R15, you might also want to consider non-standard 16" wheels such as 195/55R16 fitted to 6Jx16 ET35 steel rims.

 

185/60R15 fitted to 6J rims and 195/55R16 fitted to 6J rim will have a similar ride quality...both are a big improvement over the hard riding 215/45R16 fitted to 7J rims.

 

195/55R16 is fitted to the Rapid (which is based on the Fabia MK3) in some markets outside of the EU where the low profile 215/45R16 isn't suitable for their poor roads.

 

195/55R16 is a common and inexpensive (for a 16" tyre) tyre size.

 

As you can see in the chart below, 195/55R16 has a 3.0% bigger outside diameter compared to the standard 15" tyre size.

 

Notice that surprisingly, the 16" Alcar 6664 steel rim is actually lighter than the 15" Alcar 7760 steel rim. Normally, 16" steel rims are heavier than 15" steel rims.

 

Outside diameter of tyres

185/60R15 603mm

195/55R16 620.9mm (3.0% bigger outside diameter compared to 185/60R15)

 

Alcar 6664 6Jx16 ET35 5/100 57.1 steel rim (from Kamiq and Scala) (7.44kg)

https://www.mytyres.co.uk/rims/details?vehicleId=1077003525243802724&rimCode=ALCAR6664

 

Set of four wheel trims for Alcar 6664 steel rims 658071456A (1459CZK is about £49)

https://eshop.skoda-auto.cz/cs_CZ/sada-poklic-lhoste-16/p/658071456A

 

Michelin CrossClimate 2 185/60R15 84H (Euro label C B 69dB) (3PMSF)

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m138b0s7989p208603/Michelin_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Michelin_Cross_Climate_2_185_60_R15_84H_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_B_Noise%3A_69dB

 

Michelin CrossClimate 2 195/55R16 87H (Euro label C B 69dB) (3PMSF)

https://www.camskill.co.uk/m139b0s7952p208526/Michelin_Tyres_All_Season_Car_Michelin_Cross_Climate_2_195_55_R16_87H_TL_Fuel_Eff_%3A_C_Wet_Grip%3A_B_NoiseClass%3A_A_Noise%3A_69dB

 

Edited 31 October, 20241 yr by Carlston

This is what I ordered in 2023 to go on the blue car, subsequently fitted to the red one, Complete wheel for SKODA Fabia 5J(6V), '14 - '18, 1.2 TSI, 1197 cmc, 66 KW / 90 PS with rim ALCAR 6Jx15 5/100 38 6 x 15 (LK 5/100, 57.00, ET 38)and tyre Nankang Cross Seasons AW-6 185/60 R15 88H XL. The trims are these, the part number is in fact as shown on my photo. I got the number wrong, too many old covers lying around in the garage, got it right this time, I pulled this one off the car.

peter3197 - Thanks for taking the time to clarify that.

 

Carlston -  I've placed an order with MyTyres for 4 x Alcar 7760 rims 6.0 x 15 ET 38 and 4 x Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 185/60 R15 88H.  These are excellent tyres which I had on my Ford Focus and were highly rated by Gute Fahrt magazine in Germany.  Apparently Gute Fahrt means 'have a good trip'.   I've also ordered a set of those Dentro wheel trims 6V0071455.  They are the closest look to the alloys currently fitted.  I used your link to the Czech website but was not able to order from there.  The cheapest I could find them in the UK was £65 plus postage.

 

Hopefully I'll soon be having a Gute Fahrt 😁

 

Thanks again

Van

 

 

Well, MyTyres let me down.  First they doubled the price of my alloy wheels, then they told me my order had cleared customs and was going to be delivered by DPD.  Only DPD said they had not received it.  I should have looked on Trustpilot before ordering as a lot of people have had problems with MyTyres.  Some of them blame it on Brexit, I don't know.  MyTyres have promised me a refund, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

While I'm waiting for the refund I've been looking at cheaper ways to improve ride comfort.  Carlston said:

Quote

 

As well as 185/60R15, you might also want to consider non-standard 16" wheels such as 195/55R16 fitted to 6Jx16 ET35 steel rims.

 

185/60R15 fitted to 6J rims and 195/55R16 fitted to 6J rim will have a similar ride quality...both are a big improvement over the hard riding 215/45R16 fitted to 7J rims.

 

 

My rims are 7jx16.  All the tyre sellers say that you can fit 195 tyres to these rims, but they are the minimum size allowed.  So is there a problem with them?  

 

18 minutes ago, vandjq said:

While I'm waiting for the refund I've been looking at cheaper ways to improve ride comfort.

I have four 15 x 6 inch wheels?

PM me for more info.

 

Thanks. AG Falco

Edited 12 November, 20241 yr by AGFalco

On 12/11/2024 at 18:35, vandjq said:

Well, MyTyres let me down.  First they doubled the price of my alloy wheels, then they told me my order had cleared customs and was going to be delivered by DPD.  Only DPD said they had not received it.  I should have looked on Trustpilot before ordering as a lot of people have had problems with MyTyres.  Some of them blame it on Brexit, I don't know.  MyTyres have promised me a refund, but I'm not holding my breath.

 

While I'm waiting for the refund I've been looking at cheaper ways to improve ride comfort.  Carlston said:

 

 

My rims are 7jx16.  All the tyre sellers say that you can fit 195 tyres to these rims, but they are the minimum size allowed.  So is there a problem with them?  

 

 

The 215/45R16 tyres on the Fabia MK3 use a 7Jx16 ET46 rim specification.

 

Fitting 195/55R16 tyres to wide 7J rims will make the ride noticeably harder compared to fitting the 195/55R16 tyres to narrower 6J rims, such as 6Jx16 ET35 or 6Jx16 ET40.

 

Using narrower 195/55R16 tyres on the 215/45R16 rims (ie. 7Jx16 ET46) will make the tyres look sunken into the wheelarch.

 

The Rapid that is sold outside Europe fitted its 195/55R16 tyres to 6Jx16 ET40 rims. Bear in mind, that the 15" wheels on this Rapid use the same 185/60R15 tyres that the Fabia MK3 uses...so it is only the 16" wheel size that is different from the Fabia MK3, ie. the two cars aren't that dissimilar.

 

Another problem with fitting 195/55R16 tyres to relatively 7J rims is that they don't provide much rim protection from kerbing damage because the sidewalls are stretched rather than bulging out. The below chart helps to explain this lack of protection from kerbing damage when fitting a 195/55R16 tyre size to a 7J rim.

 

As you can see in the chart below, the 195/55R16 tyre size bulges out from the narrower 6J rim more than twice as much compared to fitting it to the wider 7J rim, ie. 12.3mm versus 5.6mm.

 

Amount 195/55R16 tyre bulges out each side from rim

195/55R16 fitted to 6J rim width 12.3mm

195/55R16 fitted to 7J rim width 5.6mm

 

As you can see in the ETRTO chart below, the 195/55R16 tyre size can be fitted to a rim width between 5.5" and 7"...with 6" being the standard rim width for this tyre size, and hence highlighted in bold.

 

ETRTO approved rim widths for passenger car tyres

175/70R14 4.5-5.0-6.0

185/60R15 5.0-5.5-6.5
195/55R16 5.5-6.0-7.0

215/45R16 7.0-7.0-8.0
 

Edited 13 November, 20241 yr by Carlston

Carlston - Thanks for the very detailed explanation of why I shouldn't use my existing rims for narrower tyres.