Skoda RS replacement tyres - interesting

[Diesel_vert]

My Rims (18" x 8") came optionally in a staggered set with 9" rears instead, which I wussed out on, and now nearly 11 months later, I'm thinking of getting the 9" rears. Just wondering if my Kumho 225/40/18 's that are currently on my rear 8"s would be fine on the 9"s, seems so. Thanks again DV.

Your tyres should be able to be fitted on 9.0 J wheels without any problems.

The issue is whether they'll rub or not, which depends on a combination of things; tyre choice, wheel width, wheel offset, suspension settings (lowered springs, etc).

I can't offer any more advice than that, as I'm not too familiar with the Octavia's body.

Also, unless this is purely for aesthetics, there is no practical benefit of staggered wheels on a FWD or 4WD drivetrain.

[kendog]

No problems, rubbing will be trial & error it seems.

Yes, it's purely for aesthetics.

Also, it's actually on a MK4 golf...

[Diesel_vert]

No problems, rubbing will be trial & error it seems.

Yes, it's purely for aesthetics.

Also, it's actually on a MK4 golf...

As long as you're happy with the results, it should be all good to go.

[Perun]

I have about 35k on my Kumhos (KU31 I think, must check). They are definitely getting noisier than when they were new they are probably about 60% worn I guess.

I would check them for uneven wear. KU31s are known for feathering on the inside. As in really bad feathering. In the last week I've had 2 customers come in with KU31s which had this issue. I refuse to sell them because it's just going to be headache.

[brad]

I would check them for uneven wear. KU31s are known for feathering on the inside. As in really bad feathering. In the last week I've had 2 customers come in with KU31s which had this issue. I refuse to sell them because it's just going to be headache.

Surely the comment should be "they are more prone to feathering if the alignment is out"?? The root cause is the alignment with the result being feathering.

I agree though, some tyres will take a pounding & look fine & sometimes, no matter how much you finnesse the alignment, you just can't get it right if the adjustment isn't there or the customer is holding back some vital info. I had one guy that I couldn't get right until I found out that during the week he had a boot full of floor/wall tile samples causing the back of the car to squat onto the bump-stops (and the nose to lift) but used to clean the boot out every Friday night & come in on Saturday morning to get the alignment fixed with the car sitting "normally". Only found out because I saw him driving on a week night.

It's certainly easier not to sell potential headaches when there are so many other choices out there.

[BottomScratcher]

In NSW it is legal to fit tyres of a reduced speed rating providing a warning decal is fitted to the lower right corner of the windscreen stating what has been fitted & the speed rating. it's on the RTA website.

I agree with darkshadow, load rating compliance is more important than speed rating.

I had a discussion about this with some tyre people yesterday. A mid to late 20's guy told me straight out that there were no legal requirements regarding speed ratings. I asked if he was sure about that, and mentioned what brad had said above, which is my understanding of the NSW rules. While he remained polite, professional, and unpatronising I got the distinct impression that he was thinking that I was just another customer that thought he knew more than the guys in the trade.

He asked an older guy there, and the second guy said that he knew what I was talking about, but that rule had been "repealed some time ago". I said that while I wasn't interested in arguing the toss, and that I thought having Y rated tyres on my car was insane, but that I'd remain skeptical as the info is still on the RTA website. He said again that it had definitely been "repealed years ago". The younger guy seemed gobsmacked that the older guy had even backed up my knowledge of the rule, because in his 10 years in the trade he had never heard of it.

I checked the RTA website when I got home and sure enough the info is still there. It's in RTA Vehicle Standards Information publication No.9, Revision 4, 2003. I rang RTA Tech Services, and a guy there said that as far as he was concerned that the info was still current and applicable, and that he had no knowledge of it ever being "rescinded". He said that if it had been rescinded it would've been removed from the website.

The odd thing about it all is that I can't find any Skoda reference to vRS tyre speed ratings. I thought it was law to have it on the vehicle tyre placard, which is inside the fuel cap flap, but it's not there, only the tyre sizes relevant to engine power output in kW. The vehicle Owner's Manual says that the Tyre Plate (production plate) is on the "lower area of the left centre column". It is, but there is no reference to speed ratings. It gives the production date, and some weights, which I think may be relevant to tyre load indexes of axle group 1 (front tyres), and axle group 2 (rear tyres), but it doesn't say so.

The point of all this is that NSW law doesn't say that you must fit the same speed rating as originally fitted by a manufacturer. It says, "It is strongly recommended that the speed rating of the tyres fitted should be equal to or better than the rating of the original tyres fitted by the vehicle manufacturer, however:"
....."If the replacement tyres fitted, including winter tyre treads (commonly called "mud and snow" tyres) and retreaded tyres, have a speed rating less than that shown on the vehicle's tyre placard, then a warning label must be affixed to the vehicle (usually by the tyre dealer) which states: .......".

I'm not going to be doing anywhere near 300 kph in my RS oil burner wagon, but there are possible insurance issues at stake. There have been quite a few references to RSs having "Y' speed rated tyres, because that's what they arrive with, but has anyone got it in black and white as to what the manufacturers speed rating spec actually is? I'm buggered if I can find one.

Logically, it seems from the plate that the younger guy was right. How else could the cars meet Australian ADRs if they didn't have a required spec on them? It's hard to know for sure when the RTA's own boffins are saying otherwise.

Edit: I remember coming across the RTA info on Jax's website as well, and it's still there.

[BottomScratcher]

Petrol filler cap on the RS has a sticker for tyre pressures and those also say that the 18s are 7.5x18

Sorry for the crap photography, but note the differences between dodgey's placard compared to the one on my MY11. No load index, and no minimum speed rating.



And here is the Tyre Plate referred to in the Owners Manual. Again no reference to load index, or speed rating.

[dArK5HaD0w]

Sorry for the crap photography, but note the differences between dodgey's placard compared to the one on my MY11. No load index, and no minimum speed rating.

i've got an my11, but i have the same placard as dodgey's.
but mine is a petrol, not a diesel like urs.

[kaanage]

And here is the Tyre Plate referred to in the Owners Manual. Again no reference to load index, or speed rating.

There's no speed rating but isn't the 650kg at the bottom the load rating required?

[BottomScratcher]

There's no speed rating but isn't the 650kg at the bottom the load rating required?

I'm assuming so. That and that the first two weights are the unladed and laden, or tare and gross weights, and the next two, shown as 1 and 2 are the axle group weights. "1" is always the front, and "2" is always the rear.

Five weights, five assumptions. What's the point of a bunch of numbers on an "information" plate without any indication of what they're relevant to?

And as to the minimum required speed rating,.... zip!

EDIT: If "650 kg" is the load index then the factory fitted 225 40 R18 92Y tyres don't meet the load index. 92 is the LI for 630 kg. 93 is the LI for 650 kg.