AWD stingers are only 130 mph able

[SteveCo]

RWD and AWD cars factory equipped with 19" wheels and tires have Michelin PS4 summer performance tires, and no ECU enforced speed cap. Cars shipped with 18" all season tires from the factory are/were speed capped due to a lower tire speed rating.

Many have tried (and complained bitterly about it), but dealers cannot/will not clear the ECU speed cap on those cars, regardless of what subsequent wheels and tires are mounted. That's almost certainly a liability issue for KIA.

In MY2018 ALL 3.3L Canadian market cars (yes, land of the ice and snow) were shipped with 19" rims with summer performance tires. I don't think that has changed in 2019. All Canadian market cars are AWD.

Factory equipped 18" all season tires on AWD cars were only supplied to the U.S. market - though I don't know if all U.S. market AWD cars were equipped this way, including shipments to the deep south.

We get a full four seasons here - one of my first aftermarket purchases for the car was a set of 18" snow tires, on a separate set of winter rims.

 

[Hapa88]

Have Kia potentially governed the top speed down to match that speed rating on the cars that have those 18" wheels with all-season tyres down to match that speed rating, simply to avoid the potential that they may get caught out allowing the car to exceed that speed rating and land themselves in a law-suit?

It seems some AWDs have the limitation and some do not - have Kia lifted it on the AWDs that come with 19" wheels now at some stage (whereas earlier it was simply a blanket decision for all AWDs to be governed to 130mph?

Cars equipped with the 18” all-seasons at the factory have a different ECU than cars equipped with 19” summer tires (see my previous post showing the different part number). I suspect that the different ECUs have different speed governors to match the tire speed rating.

Dealerships that get cars with 19” summer tires and swap with the 18” all-seasons after they left the factory (either because of the particular market or due to customers opting for them) will end up with cars without the 130mph speed limiter.

 

[MerlintheMad]

What speed rating to the 18" all-season tyres have?

Have Kia potentially governed the top speed down to match that speed rating on the cars that have those 18" wheels with all-season tyres down to match that speed rating, simply to avoid the potential that they may get caught out allowing the car to exceed that speed rating and land themselves in a law-suit?

It seems some AWDs have the limitation and some do not - have Kia lifted it on the AWDs that come with 19" wheels now at some stage (whereas earlier it was simply a blanket decision for all AWDs to be governed to 130mph?

I remember years ago there was semi-trailer/prime mover truck racing in Australia, with the trucks limited to 130km/h because that was the highest speed rating tyres that they could get (the engines in the trucks were capable of going a LOT faster, but they had to govern them to 130km/h for all trucks participating in the series to avoid potential legal issues).

Specifically, the 18" tires only come as A/S, which have a "W" rating of 168 MPH: too close for comfort for the 167 speed limiter, since all cars will exceed the listed limit by several miles per hour. The 19" Michelin tires are "Y" rated, at 186 MPH+.

 

[Hapa88]

Specifically, the 18" tires only come as A/S, which have a "W" rating of 168 MPH: too close for comfort for the 167 speed limiter, since all cars will exceed the listed limit by several miles per hour. The 19" Michelin tires are "Y" rated, at 186 MPH+.

In the US, AWD cars equipped with 18" wheels come with POTENZA RE97AS-02 which are "V" rated (149 mph).

 

[MerlintheMad]

In the US, AWD cars equipped with 18" wheels come with POTENZA RE97AS-02 which are "V" rated (149 mph).

All this time I thought the Potenza was "W" rated. Thanks for the correction.