My Yeti is a 170 CR TDI Elegance on 17" Spitzberg Alloys shod with Dunlop SP Sport 225/50 R17 94W from new. It is on a 59 plate, has covered 15,000 miles and is going to need new tyres soon. I have followed the discussion about the jiggly/harsh ride and agree that this is something I could do without. I have considered buying 16" steel or alloy rims and tyreing them with 55 or 60 profile rubber to overcome the problem. However I recently read on another forum that XL tyres have stiffened sidewalls and their reluctance to flex could be contributing to the unforgiving ride.

My questions are...would non XL tyres be up to the job and result in an improved ride without compromising handling and warranty. How would insurers and Skoda view this mod'? Has anyone tried this fix ? Lastly if I did go down this route what about Barum Bravuris tyres?

Any comments will be gratefully received.

XL-rated tyres are not necessary, but you don't have them anyway, so you can't improve ride by switching away from them. You have the 94W. The corresponding XL tyre is the 98 W XL.

The Barum Bravuris is said by many to be pretty dire in the wet. http://www.tyrereviews.co.uk/Tyre/Barum/Bravuris.htm

The XL loading only comes into play if you select a particular size and load index for example take the 16" tyre options for a 4x4;

205/55 R16 94H XL

The normal loading for this size tyre is 91 but to take the extra weight required for 94 then its XL strengthened.

In contrast;

21/60 R16 95H

95 is the normal load for this tyre therefore XL is not applied.

Currently running Hankook winters in the 215/60 R16 size but they have a load index of 99H therefore they are also classed as XL. Not noticed much difference between them and the summer Continentals that are 95H. Any additional harshness can be attributed to the extra .2bar recommended for winter rubber.

Hope that makes sense,

TP