Wheels
Tyres and wheel rims
Introduction
This chapter contains information on the following subjects:
Service life of tyres
221
New tyres
222
Unidirectional tyres
223
Tyre pressure monitor
223
Spare wheel
224
Full wheel trim
225
Wheel bolts
225
Hubcaps
225
Wheel bolts
226WARNING■ The national legal regulations must be observed for the use of tyres.■Observe the national legal regulations relating to the use of snow chains
and the maximum vehicle speed with snow chains.WARNINGThe following instructions for the use of tyres must be observed.■For the first 500 km, new tyres do not yet provide optimum grip, and appro-
priate care should therefore be taken when driving – risk of accident!■
Only use radial tyres of the same type, size (rolling circumference) and tread
pattern on all four wheels.
■
For reasons of driving safety, do not replace tyres individually.
■
Never exceed the maximum permissible load bearing capacity for the tyres
fitted – there is a risk of an accident.
■
Never exceed the maximum permissible speed for the tyres fitted – there is
a risk of an accident.
WARNING (Continued)■ Incorrect wheel alignment at the front or rear impairs handling – risk of acci-
dent!■
Unusual vibrations or pulling of the vehicle to one side could be a sign of
tyre damage. If there is any doubt that a wheel is damaged, immediately re-
duce your speed and stop! If no external damage is evident, drive slowly and
carefully to the nearest specialist garage to have the vehicle checked.
■
Only use tyres or wheel rims that have been approved by ŠKODA for your
model of vehicle. Failure to observe this instruction may impair the road safety
of your vehicle – risk of accident!
WARNINGObserve the following information regarding tyre damage and wear.■Never use tyres if you do not know anything about the condition and age.■
Never drive with damaged tyres – risk of accident!
■
Immediately replace damaged wheel rims or tyres.
■
You must have your tyres replaced with new ones at the latest when the
wear indicators have been worn down.
■
Worn tyres impair necessary adhesion to the road surface, particularly at
high speeds on wet roads. This could lead to “aquaplaning” (uncontrolled ve- hicle movement – “swimming” on a wet road surface).
WARNINGObserve the following information regarding the tyre inflation pressure.■The tyre control display does not absolve the driver of the responsibility to
ensure the correct tyre inflation pressure. Check the tyre inflation pressure at
regular intervals.■
Insufficient or excessive inflation pressure impairs handling – risk of acci-
dent!
■
If the inflation pressure is too low, the tyre will have to overcome a higher
rolling resistance. This will cause a significant increase in the temperature of
the tyre, especially at higher speeds. This can result in tread separation and a
tyre blowout.
220General Maintenance
Always check the inflation pressure when the tyres are cold. Do not reduce the
higher pressure of warm tyres.
With greater additional load, adjust the tyre inflation pressure accordingly.
Driving style
Fast cornering, sharp acceleration and braking increase the wear of your tyres.
Balancing wheels
The wheels of a new vehicle are balanced. When driving, however, there are a
range of factors that may result in an imbalance. This may become apparent by a
“vibration” in the steering.
Have the wheels rebalanced after replacing the tyres.
Wheel alignment errors
Incorrect wheel alignment at the front or rear leads to excess wear of the tyres.
Tyre damage
Drive over kerbs and other such obstacles slowly and at right angles wherever
possible in order to avoid damage to tyres and wheel trims.
We recommend checking your tyres and wheel rims for damage (punctures, cuts,
splits and bulges, etc.) on a regular basis. Remove foreign bodies (e.g. small
stones) from the tyre tread immediately.
Replacing wheels
If significantly greater wear is present on the front tyres, we recommend replac-
ing the front wheels with the rear wheels as shown in the diagram » Fig. 170. You
will then obtain approximately the same life for all the tyres.
We recommend that you swap the tyres every 10,000 km in order to achieve even
wear on all tyres and to ensure optimal service life for the tyres.
Storing tyres
Identify disassembled tyres so that the previous direction of rotation can be
maintained if the tyres are reassembled.
Always store wheels or tyres in a cool, dry place that is as dark as possible. Tyres
which are not fixed to a wheel trim should be stored upright.
Wear indicators
The base of the tread of the tyres has 1.6 mm high wear indicators installed. These wear indicators are located multiple times depending on the make and are evenly spaced around the circumference of the tyre » Fig. 169 -
. Markings on
the walls of the tyres through the letters “TWI”, triangular symbols or other sym- bols identify the position of the wear indicators.Tyre age
Tyres age and lose their original characteristics, even if they are not being used.
Therefore, we recommend not using summer or winter tyres older than 6 or 4 years old respectively.
New tyres
First read and observe the introductory information and safety warn-
ings
on page 220.
Only use radial tyres of the same type, size (rolling circumference) and tread pat-
tern on one axle on all four wheels.
The tyre/wheel combinations which are approved for your vehicle are indicated in
your vehicle documents.
Where possible, replace tyres by axle. Always fit the tyres with the deeper tread
depth to the front wheels.
Explanation of tyre markings
205/55 R 16 94 V
What this means is:
205Tyre width in mm » Fig. 169 on page 221 - 55Height/width ratio in % » Fig. 169 on page 221 - RCode letter for the type of tyre – Radial » Fig. 169 on page 221 - 16Diameter of wheel in inches » Fig. 169 on page 221 - 94Load index » VSpeed symbol »
The date of manufacture is stated on the tyre wall (possibly on the inside). e.g.
DOT ... 10 13 ..
means, for example, that the tyre was manufactured in the 10th week of 2013.
Load index
This indicates the maximum permissible load for each individual tyre. 615 kg
630 kg
650 kg
670 kg
91929394222General Maintenance
