GT 2 AWD NOT REALLY A STINGER!?!?

[Ginccop]

still fact is you don't get it it's not about the zero to sixty not even really about doing 165mph its the fact that we were not informed about this my car wasn't any cheaper it was hidden on page 8 of some brochure not even the dealers knew about it I didn't get a discount to buy a capped top speed and shit tires its all offered me, so if you and other dont want to help or like this thread then fack off and read another one because there's a lot of us that are pissed and you probably don't own one anyway

I have a 2013 Optima SXL fully paid for that can (probably shouldn't!) go faster than my $52K Stinger. I bought the Stinger for the balls it had with the hopes of taking it to the track. I wouldn't have bought it otherwise. I don't know what these idiots are missing....

 

[Ginccop]

All of this is true. But what it leaves out is that the roll-out of this car was/is very chaotic and unorganized. There was not as much info for early adopters. When the Korean spec models arrived at dealerships, and even to this day, we knew more about the car than they did. There were no commercials. As best I can remember the first commercial aired in February around the Super Bowl. That's a few months after the car launched.

That's where the big disconnect is. The later adopters say "Do your research. Kia mentions it brochures, commercials, etc." This is insulting to early adopters, who did do research, but the 137 limit was not in such a prominent place as it is now. Sure it may have existed in extremely fine print on a brochure that they weren't given, but it wasn't even on Kia's website until later. Yes caveat emptor applies, but Kia should fix this because they dropped the ball. Just my two cents. I don't have a dog in this fight; I'm in the market for the 2.0 anyway.

I bought my Stinger GT2 2 weeks before the Superbowl. To the best of my knowledge, there were no disclaimers about the tire issue at the time.

 

[Ginccop]

I do have a question. The official specs for our cars were (now of course it has changed and is vague) 19" rims. does this give us owners who bought before that change any recourse?

 

[Dan1028]

I do have a question. The official specs for our cars were (now of course it has changed and is vague) 19" rims. does this give us owners who bought before that change any recourse?

I'm not exactly certain what you mean. The 18" all season tire and wheel package is a factory option, whereas the standard GT2/AWD comes equipped with 19" summer tires and wheels. They didn't swap this out to deceive anyone: it is a factory option, much like selecting RWD over AWD.

(I'm not commenting as to the obviousness of changes due to that option).

 

[Kamauxx]

I don't feel like reading 29 pages of this thread. has there been an aftermarket fix for this issue yet? thanks

Yes, Tork Motorsport has an ECU tune available for $1600-1800 (depending on options you choose). $550 less if you tune your car's ECU instead of getting a new one. Check out the tuning forum for more info.

 

[Kato_the_kia_stinger]

Lots of reading on here. I just want to know this: If someone bought a GT with the stock 19s and summer tires, what is the top speed? It’s a Limited Edition GT AWD on 19s bought two weeks ago.

 

[davebo]

Lots of reading on here. I just want to know this: If someone bought a GT with the stock 19s and summer tires, what is the top speed? It’s a Limited Edition GT AWD on 19s bought two weeks ago.

That'd be 167mph.

 

[Kato_the_kia_stinger]

That'd be 167mph.

Well, then. That’s good news. I was worried that they would have tuned them all down at a certain point. But I guess that wouldn’t make much sense to do. I guess I’m happy to have the “full bodied” speed, but I don’t much plan on touching numbers even close to that.

 

[jdouga]

Well, then. That’s good news. I was worried that they would have tuned them all down at a certain point. But I guess that wouldn’t make much sense to do. I guess I’m happy to have the “full bodied” speed, but I don’t much plan on touching numbers even close to that.

Thats what we all say....lol

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'd like to sum up what I've read on this thread so far: I've read c. half of it. The wheel size determines what KIA limited the max top speed to. 18s mean all season tires, or winter tires, as the norm; and as these typically are rated at 150-55 mph, KIA limits the top end to 140 mph. 19s mean summer tires, which are typically rated at 180 mph, so the safety margin is 167 mph (I read somewhere, early on in my researching of the Stinger, that this is the speed governed top end because that is what it is on the autobahn; but I haven't run across that again). In some states in the US only 18s are available; these would all expect severe winter conditions? So if someone buys a Stinger with 18s, and later puts on 19s with 180 mph rated tires, they are still going to be governed to a top end of 140 mph. This isn't a deception, since KIA clearly states in several places in writing that the 18s have a lowered top speed (they don't ever say what that lowered top speed is ); but it is an "open secret", you have to discover it for yourself; they are not going to volunteer that information. Finally, if you have a top end of "only" 140 mph, you can take your Stinger to a tune shop and have the governor either lobotomized or adjusted upward. You can do this with the 167 mph governor too.

I would like to know if my rehearsal is correct or not? Could well informed persons on this thread chime in and correct me or confirm? Thanks.

 

[davebo]

It looks correct except the use of the word "typically". All sorts of tires are rated for all sorts of speeds. The specific tires Kia puts on the 19" rims are Y rated for 186+ mph and the ones on the 18" are V rated for 149mph. I think the main point of contention you leave out is that when the Stinger first debuted here in December, Kia was less forthcoming about the speed governor and many dealers were entirely ignorant of it, which it seems has mostly been remedied as it started appearing on all commercials for the car and in more materials.

 

[Blue Ox]

Purchased an AWD GT1 in Minnesota a week ago. Nearly impossible to find a RWD model here.

The options list on my window sticker clearly stated that the 18" all weather tires limit the top speed (to 130mph on my sticker). Interestingly, I asked two dealers about this before seeing the window sticker and they both were unaware of the decreased top speed. When I pointed out the sticker to the second salesman, he said, "Oh, that's why a guy I talked to earlier was insisting on 19" factory wheels."

 

[Silverghost]

I want to stir the pot a little bit:
Lets assume I am buying a used stinger - no matter what size rims or tires are now on it.
How can I be certain and confirm that this stinger is not one of those governed to max 140 mph?
Would a check of the VIN confirm this and where would one double-check this claim?

 

[davebo]

Well I hope that dude that wanted 19's is planning on getting another set of wheels for Winter. AWD or not, I wouldn't be caught in Minnesota in January on Summer tires!

 

[davebo]

I want to stir the pot a little bit:
Lets assume I am buying a used stinger - no matter what size rims or tires are now on it.
How can I be certain and confirm that this stinger is not one of those governed to max 140 mph?
Would a check of the VIN confirm this and where would one double-check this claim?

You can just look at the tire pressure sticker inside the door. That should say the size and rating of the tire. If there's an 18 and a V in there, it came with the 18" v-rated tires.

 

[Blue Ox]

I wouldn't be caught in Minnesota in January on Summer tires

Hold on there! 365hp + RWD + summer tires + an empty, snowy, frozen parking lot = big time fun!

 

[Blue Ox]

You can just look at the tire pressure sticker inside the door. That should say the size and rating of the tire.

I just checked mine, and that's not correct. My sticker lists R19 tires even though I have factory 18's. There is a disclaimer on the sticker saying to check the manual for more details. My window sticker listed 19's under Standard Equipment. The 18's were listed under Factory Installed Options. As I said earlier, a disclaimer saying this limits top speed to 130 was clearly stated.

I do find it a bit alarming that the door sticker incorrectly identifies the tire sizes the factory installed.

 

[davebo]

I do find it a bit alarming that the door sticker incorrectly identifies the tire sizes the factory installed.

Uhhh, yeah. That's kind of unbelievable. I mean, Kia had a lot of missteps getting this car to market but that seems like a big ball to be dropping. Good to know then, forget what I said about actually believing information printed on the car being accurate. Does anyone with the 18"s want to double-check that and make sure it's consistent across the board?

 

[MerlintheMad]

But "a guy" was going to have to go out of state to get one of those 19" versions. MN is one of those states where only 18" wheels are available. I think.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I was impressed initially by the amount of research, design and development that went into this car. And I am less impressed by KIA marketing and sales. Oh, well. They should get better at that. It is almost a miracle that the Stinger, a wholly new platform, got through the concept car stage and made it to production at all. It is such a cool car. We need to be reasonable dealing with dealers and et al. the infrastructure personnel who "service" our cars. Imperfections and incompetencies will occur. What seems typical with KIA is the opposite, so far, in my experience. I gave my dealership a five star rating. And I admitted that this is the "honeymoon" stage of our relationship: later I might want to drop the rating to four stars. But I still feel satisfied with my five star rating.