Tyres

[Rowlers]

We have an Octavia too, 19 plate Estate with a tiny little 1.0 ltr engine, bit of a boat. Mrs Saint drives that, I’m not keen on it, no where near as good as the Yeti it replaced.

I drive a Passat estate. Was a bit of a boat, lowered it with Eibach springs on std shocks. Now drives like a GTI. Literally, like night and day. All because the Mrs couldn't stand the rolling about with the roof box on. I think the the spring kit was £150 and possibly £100 to fit or DIY, but I CBA working on cars anymore...

 

[Benz3ne]

We have an Octavia too, 19 plate Estate with a tiny little 1.0 ltr engine, bit of a boat. Mrs Saint drives that, I’m not keen on it, no where near as good as the Yeti it replaced.

1.5L with the DSG here, and it’s a dream to drive. V smooth, pretty economical (49mpg over 310 miles with 4 people, myself included and stuff for camping in Dorset, not particularly conscious of the speed limits).
Tempted to get lowering springs in due course. They’ll make all the difference. Doesn’t feel like a big car though.

 

[Chief Brody]

1.5L with the DSG here, and it’s a dream to drive. V smooth, pretty economical (49mpg over 310 miles with 4 people, myself included and stuff for camping in Dorset, not particularly conscious of the speed limits).
Tempted to get lowering springs in due course. They’ll make all the difference. Doesn’t feel like a big car though.

Which tyres are currently on your Octavia? How do you find them?

 

[Benz3ne]

Which tyres are currently on your Octavia? How do you find them?

Continental something or others I think... they’re on 16” alloys anyway so spongy and not built for handling.
Tempted to get some 17’s or 18’ on there at some point anyway.

 

[Northam Saint]

Continental something or others I think... they’re on 16” alloys anyway so spongy and not built for handling.
Tempted to get some 17’s or 18’ on there at some point anyway.

I have 18”‘s on my 308cc. The suspension is sports and with that and the weight they give a very harsh ride, you’d feel going over a 1p piece. Yeah they look good, almost a liquorice wrap, but Looks aren’t everything. Currently have Avon’s, nice and grippy. Looking more and more like I’ll be ordering an A Class Before Christmas so the Pug will be going.

 

[p.b]

Continental something or others I think... they’re on 16” alloys anyway so spongy and not built for handling.
Tempted to get some 17’s or 18’ on there at some point anyway.

17 or 18 rims will just wreck the ride, you’d need to swap out the dampers and probably the springs to improve the body control plus low profile tyre are so susceptible to pothole damage. Enjoy the ride you get with a decent amount of rubber on the wheels!

 

[Rowlers]

I have 18”‘s on my 308cc. The suspension is sports and with that and the weight they give a very harsh ride, you’d feel going over a 1p piece. Yeah they look good, almost a liquorice wrap, but Looks aren’t everything. Currently have Avon’s, nice and grippy. Looking more and more like I’ll be ordering an A Class Before Christmas so the Pug will be going.

Have you test drove the A class? I've had a couple as hire cars. Really nice inside, cockpit and controls are very nice. The most uncomfortable seats I have EVER sat in though. I guess they just didn't suit me. The 180d as I understand it is a Renault engine, 70mpg easy on a motorway, but it wasn't a smooth drive with the dual clutch auto. Very snappy and jerky gear changes. AFAIK you need the 220d to get a Merc diesel and this comes with better rear suspension too..

 

[Northam Saint]

Have you test drove the A class? I've had a couple as hire cars. Really nice inside, cockpit and controls are very nice. The most uncomfortable seats I have EVER sat in though. I guess they just didn't suit me. The 180d as I understand it is a Renault engine, 70mpg easy on a motorway, but it wasn't a smooth drive with the dual clutch auto. Very snappy and jerky gear changes. AFAIK you need the 220d to get a Merc diesel and this comes with better rear suspension too..

I’m looking at a manual petrol, but you are right the diesel is a Renault engine. Lovely inside. Good level of spec too. I’m just not sure about an auto, I’ve only driven on once. The only thing about the petrol is it’s premium fuel. Slightly more, but not enough to rule it out. The SE is the base and as you move up through the sport and AMG Line there ain’t a lot of difference on spec. I don’t do a lot of miles and not a lot of motorway so a diesel wouldn’t make sense really. The Pug is Diesel and I’m not so keen. Did look at C class but considering we have an Octavia too we don’t really need two big cars. Not so keen on the B class.

 

[Benz3ne]

17 or 18 rims will just wreck the ride, you’d need to swap out the dampers and probably the springs to improve the body control plus low profile tyre are so susceptible to pothole damage. Enjoy the ride you get with a decent amount of rubber on the wheels!

Oh don’t get me wrong, I’m loving how quiet it is etc.
Would likely only change if I do fewer miles, but interestingly the dampers/shocks are the same for the non-VRS or 4x4 models if I’m not mistaken regardless of wheel size.
If i did go to the hassle of changing up for bigger wheels I’d probably go about changing out the springs too, at the very least, for aesthetics more than drive.

 

[Rowlers]

I’m just not sure about an auto

Modern Autos are streets ahead of what old skool autos were, although there are still loads of bad ones. My Passat DSG is fantastic and this is what I judge all other autos against. The Merc was a harsh and snappy, I guess you'd learn how to drive it though. Vauxhall autos were very decent. As were Nissan's. Hyundai's Tucson's were fekkin terrible, slow changes and unpredictable too. I also had the pleasure of a Jag XE. In normal mode the auto box was lethargic, sedate; very disappointing TBH. In sport though, feck me it was incredible. Knock the engine into sport too and it was simply fantastic, probably the nicest car I have driven.
The worst was the CVTs of the Toyota's and Mitsubishi's - holy feck, they were absolutely dreadful!

 

[Vacumatic]

Modern Autos are streets ahead of what old skool autos were, although there are still loads of bad ones. My Passat DSG is fantastic and this is what I judge all other autos against. The Merc was a harsh and snappy, I guess you'd learn how to drive it though. Vauxhall autos were very decent. As were Nissan's. Hyundai's Tucson's were fekkin terrible, slow changes and unpredictable too. I also had the pleasure of a Jag XE. In normal mode the auto box was lethargic, sedate; very disappointing TBH. In sport though, feck me it was incredible. Knock the engine into sport too and it was simply fantastic, probably the nicest car I have driven.
The worst was the CVTs of the Toyota's and Mitsubishi's - holy feck, they were absolutely dreadful!

Before Lockdown I was in a Passat taxi with a DSG, 225,000 miles and it changed gear so gently it felt stepless, all original engine and gearbox, just oil changes according to the book.

Would prefer the old type of auto in place of a CVT, I was in a smaller Lexus and that was horrible, I like engones that pull from low down and this thing was whining away at up to 6000 rpm, it became just plain annoying.

Speaking of Vauxhall boxes, I had a two Vauxhall autos in the past, just set the the engine for 1600 rpm and let the torque converter pull you along, perfect. Tall gearing too, 75 was just over 2000 rpm.

 

[Chief Brody]

Do "XL" tyres bring any benefits or change performance? I have read that it can firm up the drive. In an Ocatvia - no idea if that is a good or bad thing.

n.b. the car wasnt originally fit with XL tyres.

 

[Vacumatic]

Do "XL" tyres bring any benefits or change performance? I have read that it can firm up the drive. In an Ocatvia - no idea if that is a good or bad thing.

n.b. the car wasnt originally fit with XL tyres.

I must admit that I didn't now what XL meant in terms of tyres, if it is of benefit to others:

'XL stands for Extra Load – or is sometimes referred to as Reinforced. Essentially, tyres bearing this stamp are designed for heavy cars rather than ones that carry big loads. Not only are they constructed to cope with weight, but also the higher tyre pressure these vehicles need to run at.'

My own opinion is that you should keep the car to manufacturers spec, especially on safety items, the last thing that I would want is for an insurance comapny to refuse to pay out following a serious crash because I had modified the car with non standard tyres which, in their opinion, contributed to the accident.

 

[p.b]

What @Vacumatic said. You’ll find XL tyres on SUV and battery vehicles to cope with the higher weights, they won’t be needed on the Octavia, plus they’ll be more expensive.

 

[Chief Brody]

I must admit that I didn't now what XL meant in terms of tyres, if it is of benefit to others:

'XL stands for Extra Load – or is sometimes referred to as Reinforced. Essentially, tyres bearing this stamp are designed for heavy cars rather than ones that carry big loads. Not only are they constructed to cope with weight, but also the higher tyre pressure these vehicles need to run at.'

My own opinion is that you should keep the car to manufacturers spec, especially on safety items, the last thing that I would want is for an insurance comapny to refuse to pay out following a serious crash because I had modified the car with non standard tyres which, in their opinion, contributed to the accident.

Thank you @Vacumatic & @p.b - I'll stick with the sizing that's on the car (or somewhere near)