My Fabia is coming up to 25k miles and needs two new front tyres. It is currently on Bridgestone Turenza ECO. I thought about keeping it original, but they are coming in at around £165 each. A local tyre dealer that I have used for years has some Falken at £95. What have other owners fitted and your experiences?

I have Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun 195/55 R15 85V tyres on all 4 wheels of my 2009 Skoda Roomster and, when one of the tyres needed to be replaced quite recently following a puncture, the cost (including provision, fitting and balancing at a local garage) was around £70.

My 2024 Fabia SE L DSG has (factory-fitted) Goodyear 195/55 R16 91V XL tyres and I've seen Falken Ziex ZE310 Ecorun tyres with that specification advertised online for around £70 (tyre only).

I've no complaints about the performance of the Falken tyres fitted to my Roomster and I would have no hesitation replacing my Fabia's Goodyear tyres with the Falken equivalents.

(You haven't said what size wheels/tyres your 2022 Fabia Colour Edition has, nor whether the £95 price is 'tyre only' or includes fitting/balancing, so I can't comment on whether that's good value or not.)

Yes, I've Falkens on another car too and they're fine. Tyre size is 195/55x16 91V. I'm just have two fitted now.

£95 is fully fitted including getting aero trims off, which took two fitters to pull them LOL

It is a shame, didn't read the handbook, and switch them front to back around 10k - 12k miles

Then wouldn't have needed any new tyres yet, and could have not spent any money for few more months/years

Yes, I would have done that if I had owned the car at 10k miles. I'll probably get new rears anyhow as one was a cheap Chinese replacement when the car had a puncture. It is the wrong speed rating and has an uninspiring name like Triangle or Wanda....

3 hours ago, SurreyJohn said:

It is a shame, didn't read the handbook, and switch them front to back around 10k - 12k miles

Then wouldn't have needed any new tyres yet, and could have not spent any money for few more months/years

Yep, I always have rotated my wheels/tyres annually so that they not only last longer as a set, but can replace all four with tyres of my choosing rather than feeling the need to replace like with like. Also in recent years I have being using National Tyres, now owned by Halfords, and if having four tyres fitted they are fitted free at home address. Their online prices have been unbeatable for me for several of our family cars for very many years. Our local mobile fitter is excellent, takes his time cleaning tyre locating edges on wheels with a sanding tool, then paints on a sealant, also has replaced TPMS rubbers and valves rather than just replacing the inner valves. Also balances tyres properly, ie. fitting balance weights, and spinning wheels again to check no more balance weights are required. Really annoys me when a tyre fitter does not do a recheck. Anyway, boring story over, just my tuppence worth.

At 22,000 miles it’s time for the first tire change on my Fabia MK4 1.0 TSI. From the factory, the car came equipped with Continental Eco 6 tires in size 195/55R16 V 91XL. I’m looking for something "soft" and compliant that can absorb bumps on poor road surfaces and warm up quickly. In short, I want something focused on comfort and a quiet ride. Tread life is of little concern to me as the car only covers about 5,000 miles per year and i always replace the tires every four years due to aging (the Greek summer sun is unforgiving), even though they always have plenty of usable tread left. I’d welcome your experiences and recommendations.

Been using GT radial FE2 and GT radial all season. Mid priced tyre and so far been excellent. Have them on my Octavia MK2 and sons Fabia mk1. Good in dry and wet plus all season excellent in wet as well. Been getting discount if ordered online through tyre service I use. £15 off for two and £40 off for four. Working out after discount at around £75 fitted (205/55/16)

Alasdair

@Alasdair1

The specification of the tyre fitted to the 16"-diameter wheels of Skoda Fabias Mk4 cars is 195/55 R16 91 V XL with the 91 Load Index figure indicating that the tyre has been tested as being capable of carrying a per-tyre load of 615kg. The V Speed Rating indicates the tyre is suitable for a car with a maximum speed capability not exceeding 240km/h (149mph). And XL indicates Extra Load (ie. reinforced construction).

Assuming you plan to fit replacement tyres with that specification, there is plenty of choice at a wide range of prices. Each different tyre should carry a label having the data explained here

https://www.rac.co.uk/drive/advice/tyres/what-do-your-tyre-labels-mean/

(The Noise Rating relates to the noise the tyre produced when the vehicle is being drive, but it's reasonable to assume that, if a tyre produces a lot of 'external' noise, that noise will find a way into a car's interior.)

However, although the tyre label is helpful and independent testing and car ownership comments can confirm the accuracy of the label, the 'softness' of a 195/55 R16 tyre and its ability to absorb the bumps on poor-quality road surfaces will depend directly on the pressure that the tyre is inflated to. The Skoda recommended pressure for Fabia Mk4 tyres is 2.5 bar (36.26psi). This is on the high side for a car of the Fabia type and undoubtedly will result in a firm/harsh ride, particularly on rough roads.

This has been discussed here a couple of times in the past, but, for a genuinely 'softer' ride, the only realistic option is to use a tyre-pressure well below the 2.5bar recommendation - say 2.1bar (30.46psi).

Edited 51 minutes ago51 min by DerekU