Hi all 

I have just ordered a new Fabia which comes with 16inch Proxima alloys.  I notice that it comes with air drills on the wheel, however the wheel bits/locking wheel nuts are not visible. Can anyone advise what the purpose of these grills are and how you access the wheel bolts? 
thanks 

They will be to cool the disc brakes.

 

http://briskoda.net/forums/topic/504905-mk4-colour-edition-wheel-caps

 

They also slightly improve aerodynamics (less air turbulence, so marginally less fuel used at speed)

Except where others have been doing tests in a real world with them for the past few years on the likes of Teslas. 

But the Engineers must know best and it might have worked better in a wind tunnel or on a rolling road for a WLTP / RDE etc World Wide Harmonised Testing for the EU and not actually the whole world.. 

 

Mony a mickle maks a muckle so maybe worth trying with and without, 

but if it costs £50-£60  to get Bolt Covers and Centre Bore covers then maybe not worth it.  Unless you can not stand the uglyness.

 

 

 

Edited 24 June, 20223 yr by roottoot

Thank you for advising the purpose of the alloy air grills. Does anyone know if these are easy to remove ? 

Best tips I can provide:

 

Measure centre cap bore. Buy centre caps that match such a measurement.

 

Wheel bolt covers can be had off eBay for not too much. Once again measure and buy accordingly.

To remove the covers I would probably do as an opportunist thief will.   Put my hands into the gills, be sure no sharp edges to cut my hands.  Pull off the wheel cover hoping it does not break.    That is what will happen at tyre fitting centres as well.  Unless the owners hand book says otherwise. 

Edited 25 June, 20223 yr by roottoot

Those plastic aero things look awful, I see the new Karoq also has them.

Just wheel trims.  Back to the old days. 

Hello,In reply to removing aero caps,there is a special tool supplied to remove them.There really easy to come off,insert the tool as near to center  of cap and pull ,The tool looks like a wire thingy,usually kept in spare tyre well.They do look cool but so does bare alloy with center cap and nut cover,a personal choice i suppose.Happy motoring Cheers Andy😀

21 hours ago, Drewmac said:

Hello,In reply to removing aero caps,there is a special tool supplied to remove them.There really easy to come off,insert the tool as near to center  of cap and pull ,The tool looks like a wire thingy,usually kept in spare tyre well.They do look cool but so does bare alloy with center cap and nut cover,a personal choice i suppose.Happy motoring Cheers Andy😀

Cheers for the info about the trim removal tool.

 

Just picked up a new Monte and have already ordered centre caps and nut covers

No removal tool in my 'full' tool kit and full size steel spare.

Eventually got them off (as the dealership suggested they might be part of the road/tyre noise issue. They're not) with a pry bar. 

Couldn't get my fingers in the gap and really sharp edges so a few cuts ! 

But, try getting them back on again 🥵

@PMSIs it not just the tyres on your car that is part of the road / tyre noise issue?

 

Have you tried another one on different tyres to see how it sounds?

 

Re. tyre noise issue.

Now waiting for the dealership to get hold of a like for like car with a different brand of tyres on so we can test drive to establish if it's the Goodyear's that's the problem.

Might take a while 🤔

7 hours ago, PMS said:

Re. tyre noise issue.

Now waiting for the dealership to get hold of a like for like car with a different brand of tyres on so we can test drive to establish if it's the Goodyear's that's the problem.

Might take a while 🤔

The road noise will be the style of tyres fitted, more than the brand.  There will be few other factors, wheel size, temperature, tyre pressures.

 

What you find is the tyres are probably quite hard, although will soften as the get warm, then will be quieter.  Obviously in current hot weather will sound different to on a cold day.

 

Goodyear nowadays make their summer tyres, very summer like, as don't need them to compete with all season or winter ranges.  I am guessing you have efficient grip, which are very Eco and firm (and firm can mean rumbly on rougher tarmac).   Basically they are designed for cruising good tarmac in a European summer, not all year use on indifferent quality UK road surfaces.

 

It's not Goodyears fault, as they make more appropriate tyres for UK climate.  I have Goodyear ultragrip 9+ for my winter tyres and they are very quiet, (and amazing grip, and slow wear), the tread pattern is very similar to vector 4season gen3 which many on here have praised.

 

Your solution is to change the tyres to quieter and softer all seasons.  There are threads in tyres section with recommendations 

Surrey John

Yeah got all of this and yes not Goodyear's fault, it's fully down to Skoda fitting inappropriate tyres to UK cars and assuming that we all drive up and down the motorways all day on smooth surfaces, which as we know here in the UK 90% + of our roads are rough to say the least !

Interestingly, no difference between the last week of hot temperatures and the lower temps we've now got.

Anyhow I'm waiting for the dealership to locate an identical car with a different tyre type to try.

Skoda have agreed that if we find a suitable quiet tyre they will replace the ones on the car.

It'll just be a time thing now to get it sorted.

Thanks for your thoughts.

PMS

There is no such animal as summer tyres and 99% (true figure because I just made it up!) of motorists do not change their tyres with the seasons with the exception of those living in or visiting alpine regions with restrictions.

 

There are normal tyres (not called summer tyres) for use all year round which will not give the best grip in cold winter conditions and will be biased towards the best performance for probably 50 weeks of the year for the average European motorist, there are winter tyres which will give better grip during the snow and icy conditions that a minority encounter each year and there are all season tyres which are somewhere between the two, they will give  better grip than the standard tyre during the snow and icy conditions but not perform as well as a standard tyre the rest of the year round.

 

As most sensible people do not push their cars to the limit of their grip then an all season tyre will have plenty in reserve all year round.