new tyres fitted to front axle are odd sizes

JanWel

Hello, my front passenger side suspension went this morning while taking the kids to school. Drove to garage and they said it was a broken spring and will cost £200 to fix. But while there they pointed out to me that two tyres fitted to front axle are odd sizes - one is 15" and the other is 16". They were both fitted last summer by a well known national outfit. I do remember that they had trouble getting hold of tyres as they said they were an unusual spec (Skoda Roomster).

My question is: is it OK to fit odd size tyres on same axle? Could this have caused my suspension to break?

Please could anyone tell me? The receipt which I've dug out this evening states that I paid for 2 x 16" tyres.

Thanks

---lee---

Interesting one this.

No it's not ok. Running like this long term would not be good for the suspension.

It would certainly cause havoc with traction control, electronic braking etc.

Are they on the driven axel? If so, it will have been an additional strain on the diff.

JanWel

yes, it is a front wheel drive. So the odd size tyres are on the driven axle. Do you think I should ask the tyre fitters to fix the suspension as well as correcting their mistake with the tyres?

Iceweasel

AFAIK Škoda Roomsters have any one of three different sizes of wheel and tyre.

Of course they should be the same size all round.

175/70 R14
195/55 R15
205/45 R16

But they are all the same outside size (circumference and diameter) due to the different profile of the tyre.

It depends on the year and exact model.

What size are your other wheels?

anotherbaldrick

I would have thought it made the handling terrible. It means that even driving in a straight line the diff is having to compensate for the imbalance. But hang on it's impossible to fit a different size tyre without also changing the wheel size as well . Did you leave one of the wheels with them and when you picked it up they gave you the 15" tyre and wheel by mistake ? If so theres another bloke in your area with the same problem

Iceweasel

anotherbaldrick wrote: »

I would have thought it made the handling terrible. It means that even driving in a straight line the diff is having to compensate for the imbalance

The handling would be rubbish, but the overall diameter should be within a couple of mm of being the same if it is a proper fitment to suit a Roomster no matter what diameter of wheel.

So little or no extra stress on the diff.

Ultrasonic

JanWel wrote: »

yes, it is a front wheel drive. So the odd size tyres are on the driven axle. Do you think I should ask the tyre fitters to fix the suspension as well as correcting their mistake with the tyres?

Did the tyre fitters sell you a new wheel as well? Or did you drive in with one 15" and one 16" wheel?

I'm assuming it's not possible to get a 16" tyre to fit onto a 15" wheel, or a 15" tyre on a 16" wheel...

Mark_Mark

This can't be right, one 15" and one 16" means different size wheels on the front axel. Are you sure the 15" one isn't the spare?

Iceweasel

Ultrasonic wrote: »

Did the tyre fitters sell you a new wheel as well? Or did you drive in with one 15" and one 16" wheel?

I'm assuming it's not possible to get a 16" tyre to fit onto a 15" wheel, or a 15" tyre on a 16" wheel...

You assume correct - but I know some numpties in Kwik-Nit who would have a try.

JanWel

Hi, I just know that the garage that looked at the suspension pointed out that the tyres had different numbers printed on them - one indicating 15" and the other 16". I left the car with the tyre fitters for several hours because they couldn't locate two tyres for me. That was last summer. Today my suspension broke and this came to light.

Ultrasonic

What are the full size details of the tyres on the front left and front right (e.g. 205/55 R16)? Whether the different tyres are likely to have caused suspension damage would presumably depend on if there is a significant difference in the tyre outer diameters.