Skoda RS replacement tyres - interesting

[woofy]

I put those on our 6 as a test run for the Skoda. From memory the Skoda size was $430, but only $200 for the 6. I wasn't sure if changing the tyre size wouldn't cause issues in the long run though.

[VRS-Vic]

Got a puncture the other day (rear left), so drove around to about 4 or 5 places to get some quotes on 2 new tyres (After doing 40,000kms both rears were running pretty low themselves) After being offered everything from Toyo, Austyre, to Michellin..In the end decided to buy some Falken ZE912. Got them at $230 each which was around my budget.
First impressions: VERY happy with them. I find them to be quieter than the stock Continentals the RS comes with. I'm also surprised with how well they grip. With the way i drive, i used to get the occassional wheel spin off the lights, but with these, I haven't had one wheel spin yet.

I guess the real test will be how long they last.

[daft1014]

Thanks for the info on the Falkens. Seems like a great price! Just to confirm was that price for 225/40 R18XL 92W?

[K1W1]

I'm intrigued about the price and size as well. It's about half what they want for Michelins or other name brand tyres in the correct size.

[woofy]

Wait and see. It doesn't seem to matter which car, or car forum or friend. Everyone gets falkens, love them initially and then they wear badly, lose grip or don't last very long.

Each time I hope for a different outcome and so far it always ends up the same.

[VRS-Vic]

Yup 225/40/18's

They quoted me around $440 each for the Michelin PS3. I think they had the Michelin's PS3's 235/40/18's on special for $269 and said that although they were bigger and the speedo would be out, it would still be legal. But i'd have to change all 4.

[brad]

But i'd have to change all 4.

Why? It's not AWD & it isn't illegal to have different sizes front to rear. Preferably you'd have the old narrow ones on the front (therefore maintaining gear & speedo ratios) until they wore out but I can't see a 225/40 + 235/40 combo being an issue while you are getting maximum value out of your remaining 2 old tyres.

[dArK5HaD0w]

i was told the "235/40" is too wide for the 7.5" rim, that comes with 18" neptunes!?!?
more specifically - the 40 profile combined with the 235mm width is a bad combo on a 7.5" rim.
Hence the max width that we can safely put on is "225/40".

i researched into 235/40, cause they're more common, and hence cheaper by far. but the rim size required burst my bubble

235/45 is a different story as u got more sidewall to play with.

[brad]

i was told the "235/40" is too wide for the 7.5" rim, that comes with 18" neptunes!?!?
Hence the max width that we can safely put on is "225".

i researched into 235/40, cause they're more common, and hence cheaper by far. but the rim size required burst my bubble

I believe you are correct. 235/40 & 7.5" are out of spec. For some reason, I thought Rs had 8" rims.

[daft1014]

Yup 225/40/18's

They quoted me around $440 each for the Michelin PS3. I think they had the Michelin's PS3's 235/40/18's on special for $269 and said that although they were bigger and the speedo would be out, it would still be legal. But i'd have to change all 4.

Thanks for the confirmation. Would be great if you can give an update in a few months and let everyone know how they fare over time.

[woofy]

Yep PS3s are around that....any other size and they are half the price. I'm wondering whether its early days though and if other VAG cars will cause that size to be more common. When we got our 6 prices were high, but after huge sales of them, the tyres become half the price within a year or so.

[Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi]

I've had Michelin PS3 235/40 18's on my Skoda vRS for just over 10,000km now. They fit the rim without an issue (yep it's a pre FL but the rims are 7.5" wide) and don't bulge that much more than the 225/40 18 Continental's the car came with originally.

In VIC the 235 tyres are legal as they don't exceed standard tyres overall diameter by 15mm. With the Continental's the car speedo was out by approx 4km/h, but now it's 2km/h out - true speed is 100km/h, but the speedo shows 102km/h. The load rating is a little higher on the 235 tyre too.

Must admit the Michelin tyres are impressing me as they handle as well as the Continental's, are a little quieter but don't look to be wearing out as quick as the Continental's.

Two other things with the 235 tyres vs 225 tyres:
1) A little more traction as the tyre is 1cm wider
2) The price - I saved approx $200 per tyre!

Cheers

[brad]

Ocy_RS_TDi_Kombi
Probably/possibly in practice that tyre on a 7.5" rim might be OK. especially if it's a small carcass tyre (eg: Goodyear had several tyres back in the day that had different numbers on the side but came out of the same mold - 175/185x14 IIRC). Tyres in the same nominal size do vary quite markedly from brand to brand. Go to a multi-brand tyre place & get them to line-up different brands in the same size & they differ quite markedly in physical dimensions.

My issue would be if something went wrong & insurance/police investigated enough to realise the tyre was oversize for the rim (on paper).

If it looks OK then you'll probably never have an issue.

Given that you are saving $200/tyre, it might be worth spending your savings on some 18x8 rims. Tyrerack has several nice Enkei rims at the moment for less than $200 each. Most of them are less than 10kg so probably lighter than OEM too.

[Antiplastix]

Oh, and your insurance companies going to love that, ( 18x 8" rims ).

[Diesel_vert]

My issue would be if something went wrong & insurance/police investigated enough to realise the tyre was oversize for the rim (on paper).

If it looks OK then you'll probably never have an issue.

I bet that most inspectors aren't that eagle-eyed or knowledgeable. I also bet that it'd have to be a major accident (causing serious injury or death) before they start to comb every single detail. At the end of the day, it's probably worth the risk, as there are plenty of vehicles out there whose wheel and tyre combinations are waaay more idiotic than Ocy's.

But if they somehow find out and decide to use it against you, then insurance claim = null and void (pretty low if they do that IMO).