Change of alloys

[RickTT]

Is it possible to buy wheels as spare parts?

Yes, but cheaper as an option normally.

[thewinelake]

I'm being told that the Stratos are unavailable at any price. So I wanted to see if they are available as a spare part. Where should I look?

[Buzzlightear]

Oh Skoda. What is going on?!? So excited when placing my order for your new Superb Estate, but a month down the line and the sparkle of my decision is rapidly disappearing.

 

Whilst I've not yet had any contact from my dealer to advise of delay to leadtime or discontinuation of Stratos alloys, they've also been unable to provide any indication of build/delivery date - and I suspect it's only a matter of time before an inevitable nudge further down the slippery slope of discontent...

 

I really don't like the other 17" wheels designs you offer on this model so it could well be game over if you can'f fulfill my original expectations, unless of course you'd like to upgrade your vehicle (I have gone down the PCH route afterall) to either the 18" Modus or 18" Pegasus rims without additional cost to myself. Then I might just have to forgive you. 

 

I'm not going to hold out hope of a happy ending, but please do feel free to prove me wrong.

[l4wrence]

We all liked to be proved wrong and have a happy ending but life's not always that kind

[sworks16]

Would just be nice if things like this were on say the skoda website

[Pete T]

How many people have actually been officially informed that the Stratos alloys have been discontinued? I have seen two posts on here mentioning it. From what I can gather the Stratos wheel is new for the Superb III so how Skoda can be discontinuing it only a matter of months after the vehicle has been launched is beyond me. I've ordered an SE Business and was expecting these wheels but am happy for the Zeus alternative. That doesn't make the situation any more palatable or right though. Skoda need to get their act together. People want to have confidence in ordering what is usually the second most expensive thing in life, not be faced with a lack of accurate information, conflicting lead times and changes in available specifications. 

I tweeted Skoda UK last week asking about build delays and they didn't even acknowledge my Tweet, yet alone answer the question. What a shambles.

[RickTT]

Bigger wheels tend to mean higher emissions.... so will hurt company car drivers in the pocket.

Unless, of course, software can deal with it!

Just checked as as per the PDF, CO2 only goes from 108 to 109, so Same band

 

http://www.skoda.co.uk/SiteCollectionDocuments/Brochures/seBusinessModelBrochureJuly2015.pdf

[SuperSpaniel]

How many people have actually been officially informed that the Stratos alloys have been discontinued? I have seen two posts on here mentioning it. From what I can gather the Stratos wheel is new for the Superb III so how Skoda can be discontinuing it only a matter of months after the vehicle has been launched is beyond me. I've ordered an SE Business and was expecting these wheels but am happy for the Zeus alternative. That doesn't make the situation any more palatable or right though. Skoda need to get their act together. People want to have confidence in ordering what is usually the second most expensive thing in life, not be faced with a lack of accurate information, conflicting lead times and changes in available specifications. 

I tweeted Skoda UK last week asking about build delays and they didn't even acknowledge my Tweet, yet alone answer the question. What a shambles.

 

I've been told this today. I really don't like the no-cost alternatives. Talking to Skoda tomorrow.

[BillyJim]

Is it possible to buy wheels as spare parts?

 

Yes. In July I ordered a set of bronze Zenith wheels for winter tyres through my local dealership using the German accessories brochure to get the part number.

 

I'm being told that the Stratos are unavailable at any price. So I wanted to see if they are available as a spare part. Where should I look?

 

They appear in the current (September) German accessories brochure.

 

How many people have actually been officially informed that the Stratos alloys have been discontinued?

 

The Stratos wheels are part number 3V0 071 497D 8Z8. They have just been added to the September updated German accessories brochure.

In June there were 11 alloy wheels listed, now there are 21.

[thewinelake]

My guess is that they're worried about cannibalisation within the range and they've possibly had complaints from the dealership channel that sales of the SE L Exec have been suffering, so they're looking for ways of reducing the appeal of the Business. I'm assuming that Stratos is still a paid option for those buying SE.

Edited 29 September, 2015 by thewinelake

[thewinelake]

...also if I were to look for third-party wheels, what's the spec? 

 

Something like this? http://www.wheelbasealloys.com/alloy-wheels/wolfrace/lugano/black-polished/17-inch?currency=GBP&gclid=CjwKEAjwyqOwBRDZuIO4p5SV8w0SJAAQoUSwwWrDGcBLM34r5qUz3ZzZF8d4sP28HSjNsfLmtE9M6RoCNE3w_wcB

 

I had been wondering about a second set for winter tyres anyway. I wonder if it's possible to order the car with winter tyres and get some prettier ones for the spring/summer?

Edited 29 September, 2015 by thewinelake

[Buzzlightear]

They appear in the current (September) German accessories brochure...

 

...In June there were 11 alloy wheels listed, now there are 21.

All the extra variations appear to be colour options only, rather than new styles of alloy. But, interestingly, this brochure also indicates the associated rim widths, confirming the Stratos is 7j x 17 whereas the crappy looking Helios option is only 6.5j x 17.

Call me cynical but as standard Business SE Estate is currently listed as emitting 109g/km on the online configurator - which coincidentally a cut-off point before company car drivers in UK are moved into a higher tax band - I think there may be more to this than availability issues...

Dare I suggest that in light of current emissions rumpus VAG will be looking at some of their other lab results more closely and revisiting any marginal outcomes (e.g. a CO2 result of 109.5g/km) where results may once have been rounded towards a more favourable result than the worse result??

Shaving just a small thickness of rim size and shedding a few grammes of weight may just be all that is needed to move from questionable outcome to squeaky clean if audited. True the 17" Zeus alloys are also currently listed as 7j x 17, but perhaps these are a lighter weight alloy to begin with...

Guess I'll just have to wait for my phone call to find out!

[thewinelake]

Could be simple aerodynamics - more drag with more spokes. Does this affect just the Business or the others as well?

I note that 18 inch wheels are still an option

Edited 29 September, 2015 by thewinelake

[peld]

How many people have actually been officially informed that the Stratos alloys have been discontinued? 

i had contact from Freedom yesterday and they never mentioned it.

 

They did mention the VAG group is a shambles at the moment and build dates are flying everywhere this is what they said when they had moved by build date from week 43:

 

It’s currently showing build week 46 which means it has jumped to mid-December so it is moving around a lot. We've had an apology today from Volkswagen group as the build weeks are moving all over the place due to the upcoming week 45 build changes, however they are hoping to have it all settled in the next 2 weeks at which point the build weeks should stop moving so much.’

[thewinelake]

Any suggestions on ways of getting a straight answer out of Skoda?

 

My guess is that they're lying to their dealers in order to keep things simple in some way. They're saying that they can't make these wheels any more which just strikes me as fishy beyond belief!

 

Can't believe I've turned into a wheel nut.

[peld]

you seem to put faith in your dealing telling you the truth....

[kingofscotland]

My SE Business is on way to the dealer just now and heard nothing of any changes so hoping thats good news and I still have the Stratos as I really dont like the alternitives  - To me they look like cheap 3rd party rims that a 17 yr old would put on his esort back in the day - certainly doesn't say classy exec/family car to me.

[thewinelake]

you seem to put faith in your dealing telling you the truth....

Ha! I don't think he'd see it that way ;-)

Can anyone recommend a dealer that knows his onions?

BTW - I suspect if you got an order in early enough, you would have got Stratos, but the marketing people are behind this change.

Edited 29 September, 2015 by thewinelake

[sworks16]

They are only changing the Stratos wheels at the moment due to short supply, when your new Superb is built next year the Stratos wheels maybe available again. You will need to check with your retailer closer to the time to get this confirmed. Thanks.

Message from skoda uk on a tweet to me

[sworks16]

My car is apparently now back to week 4 next year so end of Jan

[peld]

They are only changing the Stratos wheels at the moment due to short supply, when your new Superb is built next year the Stratos wheels maybe available again. You will need to check with your retailer closer to the time to get this confirmed. Thanks.

Message from skoda uk on a tweet to me

i saw someone tweeted them on this - so if you want your car anytime soon you cant have Stratos?

[sworks16]

From my dealer sent to all people today my order has now moved to Helios

Change of alloy wheels for new Superb

29 September 2015

Affects SE Business and SE

Standard alloys on Superb SE Business are changing from 17-inch Stratos to 17-inch Helios to reduce production lead times. All Superb SE Business cars built from week 44 (starting 26 October) will have Helios alloys unless alternatives have been ordered.

Please check your orders and inform customers affected.

Stratos alloys are being removed from the system so they can no longer be ordered.

The Superb and Superb SE Business brochures are being updated.

[thewinelake]

What I'd like to do is join the waiting list for Stratos, even if I have to wait until March!

 

So who makes these wheels for Skoda, I wonder?

 

And if they're in the German accessories catalogue can they actually be ordered as standalone items?

Edited 29 September, 2015 by thewinelake

[Leeboy]

This is interesting because I ordered a SE L Exec at the weekend and made a deliberate decision to down grade to 17" Stratos rims on account they look better, more side wall should mean better ride, less prone to damage, better economy and cheaper tyres to replace. I've not had any official confirmation that the order has been processed so well be interested to see what happens. Car delivery date not due to early next year.

Edited 29 September, 2015 by Leeboy

[Coops]

According to the brochures, Stratos isn't available on the SE-L? Helios is available as FOC.