I have thought that the suspension on my Octavia seems a bit harsh and, having searched the forum, it seems that I’m not alone.

My car is an ‘Elegance’ with 17” rims and 225/45x17 tyres and the beam axle rear suspension. Looking at the driver’s handbook, it says that the load rating for both 205/55x16 and 225/45x17 tyres is 91. However, it looks like the majority of 17” tyres that are available have a load rating of 94, as are the ones on my car. I think this could be contributing to the problem, along with the 45 profile on our potholed roads.

I’ve decided to go down a wheel size to 16”, as 16” tyres are much more available in 91 load rating, together with the 55 profile, I’m hoping for a more comfortable ride.

Has anyone else tried this?

Out of interest, what size wheels and tyres does the VRS have?

Doubt the difference bewteen 94 and 91 would make any real difference but the increased side wall will help. 205/55/16 against 225/45/17 side wall difference is about 3/4" more. I run 205/55/16 on my mk2. Mid range GT radial FE2 94V and its not bad plus good tyres in dry and wet. Son has 15" GT radial all season on his fabia and again good tyre in dry and wet

Alasdair

Edited 16 hours ago16 hr by Alasdair1

Worth doing a word search with Google or Briskoda.

On 27/08/2026 at 21:25, daveo138 said:

I have thought that the suspension on my Octavia seems a bit harsh and, having searched the forum, it seems that I’m not alone.

My car is an ‘Elegance’ with 17” rims and 225/45x17 tyres and the beam axle rear suspension. Looking at the driver’s handbook, it says that the load rating for both 205/55x16 and 225/45x17 tyres is 91. However, it looks like the majority of 17” tyres that are available have a load rating of 94, as are the ones on my car. I think this could be contributing to the problem, along with the 45 profile on our potholed roads.

I’ve decided to go down a wheel size to 16”, as 16” tyres are much more available in 91 load rating, together with the 55 profile, I’m hoping for a more comfortable ride.

Has anyone else tried this?

Out of interest, what size wheels and tyres does the VRS have?

I own a 20 plate 1.5tsi Octavia SEL dsg estate, it's my 3rd Octavia. I bought it a year ago, it came with 17s, as standard. I sourced 4 decent used late MK 3 facelift Octavia alloy wheels, fitted those for comfort. I've also fitted 4 all season tyres onto them, too.

I see a few positives from this, tyre choice is larger & tyres are cheaper, than the previous 17s. You would also gain on fuel economy, marginally, too.

Also comfort levels are marginally better, compared to running with 17s. You will notice a bit of a difference with comfort levels, hitting potholes, but it's not a massive difference, more of a subtle change.

I've done this on few other cars, previously, down graded their wheels to gain more comfort. Bit more pothole & kerb resilience, too.

I've also stuck with the 91 load ratings for 16s wheels from factory for my car. I'd never fit higher load ratings if not required.

I prefer higher spec trims, with lower spec wheels, mainly for comfort, not vanity.

I've also informed my insurance, there was no extra charge to my premiums.

Edited 1 hour ago1 hr by Phoenixboy