I have just bought a 2016 vRS diesel Hatch that has the Gemini 7.5J x 18 wheels as (I believe) the standard fitment for that model. The tyres are 225/40 x 18 but they look very skinny on those wheels, to the point where the rim protecting rubber ridge on the sidewall has no effect with consequent "kerb rash" on all the rims. Has anyone fitted wider section tyres, say 235/40 or 245/40 section, to give better protection to the rims? If anyone has done, what was your experience? Do they clear the suspension and wheel arches OK?
I've been a diesel Skoda Octavia driver since 2002 when I persuaded my MD to allow me to have one as my company car and when I retired in 2014, bought the last one which was just traded in for the vRS....

Chris.

As you can see in the chart below, the ETRTO approved rim widths for a 235/40 tyre size are 8" to 9.5".

As ETRTO approves the same rim widths for the wider and lower profile 245/35 tyre size fitting a 235/40 to a 7.5" rim might not seem extreme.

Some Octavia MK3 owners have changed their 225/35R19 tyres to 235/35R19 tyres on the standard 7.5Jx19 rims...and most seem happy with the change.

225/45R17 fitted to 7" rims would give slightly more protection from kerbing damage than 235/40R18 fitted to 7.5" rims.

For much better protection from kerbing damage than even 225/45R17 fitted to 7" rims, perhaps consider 17" Octavia MK3 Scout wheels, ie. 225/50R17 fitted to 7" rims. However, this would raise the gearing by 3.1% compared to 225/40R18 tyres.

ETRTO approved rim widths for passenger car tyres

235/40 8.0-8.5-9.5

235/35 8.0-8.5-9.5

245/35 8.0-8.5-9.5

Amount tyre sidewalls bulge out each side (ie. amount of protection from kerbing damage)

225/40R18 fitted to 7.5" rim 4.75mm

235/40R18 fitted to 7.5" rim 7.25mm

225/45R17 fitted to 7" rim 8.6mm

205/55R16 fitted to 6.5" rim 12.45mm

225/50R17 fitted to 7" rim 15.6mm

Edited 25 June, 202525 Jun by Carlston

Thanks for that, adds even more to the confusion....

This morning, I took one of the front wheels off to measure the front disc diameter so I can order the correct Greenstuff pads. I laid the wheel down on the inside and there was a loud clatter when the inside wheel rim hit the brick paved drive. I had expected the wheel to land on the sidewall of the tyre but no.

Your table above says there should be a bulge of 4.5mm in the sidewall; I can assure you the wheel rim exceeds that by some 3 - 4mm. Makes me wonder whether at some stage in its past, it has been fitted with wider rims but kept to the same 225/40 x 18 tyre size. Sadly I do not have access to a wheel rim measuring caliper to confirm its width.

On a similar but slightly different tack, are there spacers built into the inside of the wheel? Mine appear to have spacers but I don't have another vRS to compare with.

The Gemini rims do protrude quite a bit past the sidewalls of the tyres, even with tyres with supposed rim protection. Unfortunately you just have to live with it and drive very carefully or change your rims for ones that don't stick out so much.

That's put my mind at rest somehat, Rich - thankyou. The rim edges are in such a poor state that I think I'll have to have them refurbished. They spoil the look of the car which is otherwise immaculate.

Different tyres will fit differently, depending on the rigidity of the carcass, if they have rim protectors, etc. I have PS5s on mine and it's a very nice fitment, even if I do need to get the wheels refurbed (previous owner, not me).

I'm not sure what you mean about built in spacers - they either have spacers or they don't. The wheel is a standard ET51. If you post a photo here, we should be able to tell you if the poke looks standard or not.

I wouldn't be laying a wheel down - always keep it upright until you have something to put underneath, just in case.

Ultimately, you shouldn't be relying on a tyre to protect the wheel from a kerb... arguably, I'd rather chunk a metal alloy than chunk a bit of safety critical rubber. It might be worth using the mirrors dropped when parking, or maybe avoiding tight car parks until you're used to the car? I always open my door when parking by a kerb, and take my time in car parks. People might laugh, but I've never kerbed a wheel.

On 27/06/2025 at 11:51, SwallownAmazon said:

That's put my mind at rest somehat, Rich - thankyou. The rim edges are in such a poor state that I think I'll have to have them refurbished. They spoil the look of the car which is otherwise immaculate.

That's no bother at all.

Yeah mine are the same. I'm sending one to the wheel shop next week for straightening and refurbishment. The other three will be done sometime.

On 27/06/2025 at 20:26, OccyVRS said:

I'm not sure what you mean about built in spacers - they either have spacers or they don't. The wheel is a standard ET51. If you post a photo here, we should be able to tell you if the poke looks standard or not.

I'd never seen the inside of these wheels before until I took one off to measure the front disks (see separate thread) and now, having had the parts manager at the Skoda dealer in T. Wells look at it, the car has had 1.0cm spacers fitted. I was a bit flummoxed as it seems that one of the previous owners has super-glued the spacers to the wheels to make fitting a bit easier. That's why I asked about built-in spacers.....

13 hours ago, SwallownAmazon said:

  On 27/06/2025 at 20:26, OccyVRS said:

I'm not sure what you mean about built in spacers - they either have spacers or they don't. The wheel is a standard ET51. If you post a photo here, we should be able to tell you if the poke looks standard or not.

These specific wheels or not, it should be fairly obvious to see if a bit of metal has been glued to the inside of the alloy (never really heard of superglued spacers, btw). As said, if you would like to post a photo of the barrel of the wheel, someone may be able to help further. A quick look on ebay should give you some idea.

If you really want some rim protection as well as comfort, you can get 17in "Crystal" (winter) factory fit alloys which are 6J, with 205/50/R17 (with snow chains) or 205/55R17 (without snow chains, or with snow chains if suspension raised, it's Scout size) tyre. They come in silver or black.


These particular ones will even take the larger 340mm brakes such as on petrol Octavias. Granted, not the racing wheels / tyres, but for everyday use incl high speed autobahn driving they are more than adequate. These offer over 25mm+ rim protection on each side of the wheel, and I have not managed to scuff these in 6 years / 60k+ miles, including driving on some very poor quality roads in the UK and abroad.