Extremely sketchy handling when wet

[robz32]

Well I have no suspension mods and my alignment was good, also my tires were always inflated to Kia's recommended specs (sticker found in door jam). I had to replace my rear set at 17k miles because the thread was completely gone in the center. The fronts looked perfect and still are. I am beginning to think, after seeing all these posts about tires wearing out in the center prematurely, that the tire air pressures recommended by Kia are too high.

 

[nhcowboy28]

Well I have no suspension mods and my alignment was good, also my tires were always inflated to Kia's recommended specs (sticker found in door jam). I had to replace my rear set at 17k miles because the thread was completely gone in the center. The fronts looked perfect and still are. I am beginning to think, after seeing all these posts about tires wearing out in the center prematurely, that the tire air pressures recommended by Kia are too high.

Hi rob. Can you post a pic of your door jab sticker?

 

[MerlintheMad]

Well I have no suspension mods and my alignment was good, also my tires were always inflated to Kia's recommended specs (sticker found in door jam). I had to replace my rear set at 17k miles because the thread was completely gone in the center. The fronts looked perfect and still are. I am beginning to think, after seeing all these posts about tires wearing out in the center prematurely, that the tire air pressures recommended by Kia are too high.

Not to mention the inflation that they come with when we buy the car off the lot: mine were above 50 psi for the first c. two weeks, before something alerted me to checking the pressure and I discovered the stupid, rock hard inflation (maybe that was it; the ride felt less than satisfactory after a few days of getting used to the car). I've been trying to keep my tires, Michelin summers and Nitto Motivos, at 38 psi front and 36 psi rear ever since. The Michelins don't look worn in the center as far as I can tell.

 

[TwiceStung]

The warranty is halved if they are not rotated, which we can't do on a staggered setup.

That said, they would only have delivered ~40% of warranted mileage, so a new set should be adjusted accordingly. I recently discovered that with my last change on a vehicle, so instead of ~$900, a new set cost me around $200.

Yep. Money is money. I’m sure you could get something Callum.

 

[eflyguy]

Door jamb specs don't account for carrying passengers. 200-300lbs in the rear seats will make a significant difference to load on the rear tires, but you'd need to do a lot of testing to determine what the "right" pressure is. The example here points to "too much" for this kind of use, but only by dropping a small amount and "trying again" over a few thousand miles could we be sure.

 

[DoctorStiches]

Well I have no suspension mods and my alignment was good, also my tires were always inflated to Kia's recommended specs (sticker found in door jam). I had to replace my rear set at 17k miles because the thread was completely gone in the center. The fronts looked perfect and still are. I am beginning to think, after seeing all these posts about tires wearing out in the center prematurely, that the tire air pressures recommended by Kia are too high.

Agreeeeeeeeeee +1

 

[MerlintheMad]

Here's another pic of the Michelin rears with 10K miles. I think that after reading this thread I am now seeing more wear in the center at c. 36 psi.

 

[nhcowboy28]

I will say that 10k on my previous car was par for the course for UHP TIRES. then it was pilot super sports staggered on a mustang gt.

Spirited driving occasionally but usually just point a to b.

 

[robz32]

Hi rob. Can you post a pic of your door jab sticker?

Here you go

 

[MerlintheMad]

36/36? Kia changed it. Mine:

 

[Kazz]

God dang it the dealer must have miss information.... those numbers make more sense to me... I'll tell them the folly of their ways next visit lol and thank you for correcting my blunder

What does the sticker inside your door say? I assume it would be consistent with how your car was delivered - 18" all-seasons or 19" offset?

 

[Kazz]

Now, reading this far, I guess it's random. LOL

 

[Grayt 8]

Now, reading this far, I guess it's random. LOL

I'm pretty sure the 19 inch summers call for different psi on RWD versus AWD Stingers and it's outlined in the manual.

 

[TwiceStung]

Honestly, a difference of 1-2 PSI should not make a difference in tires wearing out in 5000 vs 15,000 miles. Tire pressures change 1 PSI for every 10 deg ip or down in outside temp, so if we need to stay this close to 36 or 38 or whatever it is we are in a lot of trouble.

 

[Speedy991S]

Tire pressure is set based on max load and speed on performance cars. Porsche,as an example,has a max speed setting and a “comfort “ pressure setting for the 991. They are about 4 lbs of pressure different. They recommend a light load and lower max speed with the comfort setting. It seems that Kia is hedging their bets by recommending the max pressures. That will bulge the center of the tire under light load, and accelerate the wear. The Stinger is also rear biased ,I think, in its power delivery,so entertaining driving will also add to rear wear.

 

[DrGCS3]

My door sticker for 2019 GT2 AWD with 18s. I also have my front and rear tread depths, both are basically the same. 6800 miles. I keep my tire pressures set pretty close to the sticker.

 

[TwiceStung]

My 2.0 Premium with RWD has the same pressure recommendations but I’m a little under them particularly in the cold weather. No tread issues but I’ve also switched out for all weather Nokians for the winter and save the summers for, well, summer.

 

[Callum]

Michelin was pretty good to me. Very happy with the prorate amount they gave me. Super quick, didn't really require any phone calls as they have a great text messaging service.

All in all, happy with the outcome. Sure, having to replace the rear tires is an inconvenience but they stepped up to the plate and got it handled.

 

[TwiceStung]

Michelin was pretty good to me. Very happy with the prorate amount they gave me. Super quick, didn't really require any phone calls as they have a great text messaging service.

All in all, happy with the outcome. Sure, having to replace the rear tires is an inconvenience but they stepped up to the plate and got it handled.

Good for you! I had a similar experience years ago with some Defenders that wore out at about 20,000 miles (70,000 warranty). They paid me back most of my cost and I got another brand. Haven’t bought Michelin’s since.

 

[Callum]

Good for you! I had a similar experience years ago with some Defenders that wore out at about 20,000 miles (70,000 warranty). They paid me back most of my cost and I got another brand. Haven’t bought Michelin’s since.

I will always buy Michelin. I've ran a few other brands but never really loved them. Sort of like owning an iPhone and going to an Android, you only do it once and end up going back to the iPhone.