Octavia tyre wear and rim size

Crinkly Dave · 27-08-2007, 12:44

Purchased a secondhand Elegance in December. Quite happy, except for tyre size 215/45 R17 on aluminium rims. Expensive, and now the nearside front is wearing rapidly from outside whilst the offside one is wearing evenly.
Got through MOT without comment, despite local tester being very keen on tyre wear, so I can only think he must be accepting the >2mm over >3/4 of tyre width rule.
Anyway, got the thing booked in for 2 new front tyres (Pirellis or Yokohamas I think) when I had the idea of digging out the spare. Imagine my surprise when I dug out the spare to find it absolutely new and unused (but 3 ½ years old, of course).
Had bright idea of putting it on nearside, despite steel rim on spare, but halfway through this operation, discovered it was 205/55 R16. Despite smaller width specification (205 v 215) it seems wider BUT also about an inch taller.
This would help my suspicion that the previous owner put a set of non-standard alloy rims on, but how do I stand legally. Can I put it on as a spare, on the front or back?

(Of course, this makes a mess of my intention to fit spare and one new tyre, and relegating best of front tyres to the spare.)

Also, is it legal to sell a car with a spare you cannot legally use

shar1296 · 27-08-2007, 13:00

Dunlop Tyres UK

Have a look at the link above in relation to general tyre fitment and cross matching/do's and dont's.

There is no legal requirement for a car to have a spare wheel, in fact most new vehicles are increasingly opting for `run flat` systems or gel packs.....

A dodgy spare would not even fail MOT, unless fitted to vehicle........EDIT !!!!

It is not an offence for it to be the wrong size, however, you would commit an offence if you then fitted it to the car......different sizes on same axle..........hope this goes some way to helping........

Maybe it would be easier to sell the spare and buy a tin of emergency repair thats out there !

Crinkly Dave · 27-08-2007, 14:54

Thank you. If I read the site correctly, the original tyre size was 205/55 R16

simonsheil · 27-08-2007, 16:16

Quote:

Originally Posted by Crinkly Dave

Thank you. If I read the site correctly, the original tyre size was 205/55 R16

Yes that is original size for the MArk 1 Octavia Elegance

Liverpool-Lad · 27-08-2007, 17:26

Quote:

Originally Posted by shar1296

However, the spare must be in a serviceable condition, tread etc....if its in the vehicle, otherwise you would fail MOT........

Afraid to say thats incorrect. Even if the spare was threadbare and there was metal casing showing its fine as the spare wheel is not part of the MOT test.

**mannyo** · 27-08-2007, 18:17

215/45x17 is the incorrect size for an octavia mk1 on 17" alloy wheels. The tyres should either be 205/50x17 or 225/45x17. Its fairly common practice to run 225/45 on 17" wheels as they are much cheaper than the 205/50's. Running 225/45 will give a more accurate speedo than the 215s. I ran the 225s on my old vRS for 40,000 miles without any issues. The 225/45 size has almost the same radius as the 205/50x16 you have as a spare.

shar1296 · 27-08-2007, 18:22

Quote:

Originally Posted by Liverpool-Lad

Afraid to say thats incorrect. Even if the spare was threadbare and there was metal casing showing its fine as the spare wheel is not part of the MOT test.

your quite right.............however, An externally fitted spare wheel or spare wheel carrier must not be so insecure that it is likely to fall off. ..........

clutching at straws now !

Liverpool-Lad · 27-08-2007, 20:25

Crinkly Dave · 27-08-2007, 21:24

Thanks guys.

I never thought I had a claim against my MOT station, but think I will have a go at my car supermarket.

Must make my mind up about the 225/45s, but would be much happier on 205/55s, but can't be arsed to buy 4 rims, so suspect we will put 215s back on.

KenONeill · 28-08-2007, 12:47

205/55 = 112.75mm or 4.439" wall height, on a 16" rim that gives 12.439" rolling radius.
If the speedo's not been recalibrated, you need to match that, so on 17" rims you need a tyre with 12.7mm (0.5") lower walls.

Accordingly you need 100mm wall height, which says you need 205/50 or 225/45 section tyres. In this case you also need W rating, to match the OEM fit on the Elegance (even the diesel, which runs out at about 120mph on power, and would top out on revs at 140). I'd suggest fitting whichever of the 2 sizes is cheaper and getting a 4-wheel alignment check done..

27-08-2007, 12:44	#1
Crinkly Dave Briskodian Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Octavia tyre wear and rim size Purchased a secondhand Elegance in December. Quite happy, except for tyre size 215/45 R17 on aluminium rims. Expensive, and now the nearside front is wearing rapidly from outside whilst the offside one is wearing evenly. Got through MOT without comment, despite local tester being very keen on tyre wear, so I can only think he must be accepting the >2mm over >3/4 of tyre width rule. Anyway, got the thing booked in for 2 new front tyres (Pirellis or Yokohamas I think) when I had the idea of digging out the spare. Imagine my surprise when I dug out the spare to find it absolutely new and unused (but 3 ½ years old, of course). Had bright idea of putting it on nearside, despite steel rim on spare, but halfway through this operation, discovered it was 205/55 R16. Despite smaller width specification (205 v 215) it seems wider BUT also about an inch taller. This would help my suspicion that the previous owner put a set of non-standard alloy rims on, but how do I stand legally. Can I put it on as a spare, on the front or back? (Of course, this makes a mess of my intention to fit spare and one new tyre, and relegating best of front tyres to the spare.) Also, is it legal to sell a car with a spare you cannot legally use

27-08-2007, 13:00	#2
shar1296 Briskodian Join Date: Jul 2007 Posts: 32 Thanks: 3 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size Dunlop Tyres UK Have a look at the link above in relation to general tyre fitment and cross matching/do's and dont's. There is no legal requirement for a car to have a spare wheel, in fact most new vehicles are increasingly opting for `run flat` systems or gel packs..... A dodgy spare would not even fail MOT, unless fitted to vehicle........EDIT !!!! It is not an offence for it to be the wrong size, however, you would commit an offence if you then fitted it to the car......different sizes on same axle..........hope this goes some way to helping........ Maybe it would be easier to sell the spare and buy a tin of emergency repair thats out there ! __________________ Craigs Car - 2001 Octavia VRS, 50K, ECU Remap, Bluetooth, Love it ! What next ?? Last edited by shar1296; 27-08-2007 at 18:26.

27-08-2007, 14:54	#3
Crinkly Dave Briskodian Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size Thank you. If I read the site correctly, the original tyre size was 205/55 R16

27-08-2007, 18:17	#6
mannyo BRISKODA Staff Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Stevenage Herts. Posts: 11,442 Thanks: 56 Thanked 357 Times in 329 Posts	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size 215/45x17 is the incorrect size for an octavia mk1 on 17" alloy wheels. The tyres should either be 205/50x17 or 225/45x17. Its fairly common practice to run 225/45 on 17" wheels as they are much cheaper than the 205/50's. Running 225/45 will give a more accurate speedo than the 215s. I ran the 225s on my old vRS for 40,000 miles without any issues. The 225/45 size has almost the same radius as the 205/50x16 you have as a spare. __________________ Manny 2005 Octavia 2.0TDi Elegance combi my skoda website http://www.octaviars.co.uk Join the briskoda.net folding team click Here for more info

27-08-2007, 20:25	#8
Liverpool-Lad Briskodian Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Liverpool Posts: 1,648 Thanks: 12 Thanked 47 Times in 47 Posts	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size __________________ 2001 Rally Red Octavia vRS...remap complete Whiteline rear ARB, Superpro dogbone bush - 225/45/17 Goodyear Eagle F1 Aysmmetrics and lots of V-Power! Smiles all 'round

27-08-2007, 21:24	#9
Crinkly Dave Briskodian Join Date: Dec 2006 Posts: 11 Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size Thanks guys. I never thought I had a claim against my MOT station, but think I will have a go at my car supermarket. Must make my mind up about the 225/45s, but would be much happier on 205/55s, but can't be arsed to buy 4 rims, so suspect we will put 215s back on.

28-08-2007, 12:47	#10
KenONeill Briskodian Join Date: May 2006 Location: Normally somewhere in Scotland! Posts: 11,043 Thanks: 63 Thanked 548 Times in 536 Posts	Re: Octavia tyre wear and rim size 205/55 = 112.75mm or 4.439" wall height, on a 16" rim that gives 12.439" rolling radius. If the speedo's not been recalibrated, you need to match that, so on 17" rims you need a tyre with 12.7mm (0.5") lower walls. Accordingly you need 100mm wall height, which says you need 205/50 or 225/45 section tyres. In this case you also need W rating, to match the OEM fit on the Elegance (even the diesel, which runs out at about 120mph on power, and would top out on revs at 140). I'd suggest fitting whichever of the 2 sizes is cheaper and getting a 4-wheel alignment check done..

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