Petition to KIA about Reversing speed limiting !!

[StingerGTT]

Sign the Petition

There is my petition guys and gals please feel free to sign it to help us all out that this matter to !!

 

[Sensibly Spirited Driver]

I wanted to get 18" wheels, but when I saw the large warning that those would come with a factory limit of 130mph, and it "couldn't" be changed, I got the 19" (which I didn't want). In addition to your petition--and that really sucks for the people who didn't know it was locked--I'd also ask Kia to put Y rated all season tires (186mph) on there. It doesn't make sense to have the 130mph limit for A/S tires when plenty of makers have high-speed rated A/S tires, including Michelin. Ultra high performance all seasons have been my standard tire for a long time. In terms of size, I just want the superior ride quality, and increased durability of 18's. The 19's are too large for the car (outside of track use), with the rubber band tires easily bursting under potholes, and the nearly absent sidewalls begging for rims to be scratched.

So, yes, Kia, please help out those like the OP get his car restored it to what it's supposed to be, and put UHP A/S tires on the 18's so the speed limit is tossed altogether.

 

[BigDave802]

spoke with Kia today about the top speed limiter for vehicles with the 18" all-season tires. Their response was "The dealership knew about this and should have told the buyer so any action you take should be on them because we aren't liable since we sell the vehicle to them and they as the seller are responsible for relaying this info to the buyer."

Talk about complete bullshit. When I bought my Stinger the lower top speed was not mentioned ANYWHERE except in some pamphlet which most never read.

 

[Waynerm002]

The dealer staff goes to training on these vehicles and should be aware of it. KIA offers different vehicles to the dealer, the dealer decides what to purchase based on what they believe folks in their area would want. Some sales folks only care about selling a car and making money, they just want to make the deal. If you inquired with the dealer and they provided you incorrect information, KIA corporation is not at fault, the folks at the dealership that provided incorrect information would be to blame.

That being said, KIA should be able to offer a software fix for this to make their customers happy. My guess is they may have tested it and feel that the 18" will not achieve the 167 mph limit safely and want to ensure they don't sell you a car not equipped to handle that speed in case some folks do try it, have a blow out and and accident.

 

[BigDave802]

The dealer staff goes to training on these vehicles and should be aware of it. KIA offers different vehicles to the dealer, the dealer decides what to purchase based on what they believe folks in their area would want. Some sales folks only care about selling a car and making money, they just want to make the deal. If you inquired with the dealer and they provided you incorrect information, KIA corporation is not at fault, the folks at the dealership that provided incorrect information would be to blame.

That being said, KIA should be able to offer a software fix for this to make their customers happy. My guess is they may have tested it and feel that the 18" will not achieve the 167 mph limit safely and want to ensure they don't sell you a car not equipped to handle that speed in case some folks do try it, have a blow out and and accident.

I even asked them if they would reflash if the proper tires were installed and they said they will NOT reflash the vehicle no matter what changes you make.

 

[Yellow Jacket]

This is futile. NO dealer will EVER do this. Kia or otherwise.

 

[Mikebluegt1]

Signed - I did not find out about the limiting until I read the manual. Told the sales guy and he was not ware either. Not that plan to run around at 167 mph but that is what the adverting offered and I paid for.

 

[StingerGTT]

Thank you to all that have signed this !!! Keep um coming ! Sorry to the negative Nancy’s out there that don’t agree but it’s better to try than just take it up the pooper with a smile !

 

[DiabloStinger]

My 98 Escort ZX2 was speed limited to 112... technically. Once race-chipped i hit 113!

 

[eflyguy]

Don't want to come across as Nancy - my aunt was definitely not one to tangle with - but I don't believe there is any way they would do this, simply because if they equip a car with tires that are not safe above a certain speed, there will be one idiot somewhere that will get the restriction removed but put those tires back on, kill himself, possibly his family, and a bus-load of girl scouts headed to a retreat...

I agree, we should have the option, but in this Nanny (not Nancy) state, the lawyers simply won't allow it. Aftermarket "tuners" can, because they almost certainly will have language along the lines of "for off-road/track use only"..

I hope I'm proven wrong.

 

[KiaofMuncie]

Thank you to all that have signed this !!! Keep um coming ! Sorry to the negative Nancy’s out there that don’t agree but it’s better to try than just take it up the pooper with a smile !

This will never happen. Too many claims could happen as a result of this. KIA is not going to get sued over the benefit of going fast.

 

[KiaofMuncie]

Signed - I did not find out about the limiting until I read the manual. Told the sales guy and he was not ware either. Not that plan to run around at 167 mph but that is what the adverting offered and I paid for.

KIA never told anyone of this. It was never brought up in the stinger training.

 

[Yellow Jacket]

Guys, even if 100% of you signed this petition, Kia won't do it. This is a liability issue.

 

[KiaofMuncie]

Guys, even if 100% of you signed this petition, Kia won't do it. This is a liability issue.

Agreed

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'd sign a petition to Kia advocating for no speed limiter at all. But as others have said, the limiter is a liability avoidance necessity. I can't sign your petition because it is worded 18" wheel-specific. I never considered the 18s. Had my car come with 18s I would have found about it later, and yes, I'd have been annoyed. But I am confident that the limiter can be altered or voided altogether by a tune shop. Warranty? What would be voided by tuning to reach/exceed 167 mph? When are you actually going to push past 140 (not 130, so far as I have understood in previous discussions: Kia simply says "reduced top speed" for the 18s without specifying what that top speed is)? In the event that you do, what will fail on the car that is under warranty? If you blow the thing or break it, the warranty is voided anyway, because Kia does NOT cover abuse of the car in "racing" conditions.

 

[Never thought]

Not sure if you guys saw this but LAP3 is releasing a chip called pro tuner that gets rid of the speed limiter.

 

[Helo58]

... Warranty? What would be voided by tuning to reach/exceed 167 mph? When are you actually going to push past 140 (not 130, so far as I have understood in previous discussions: Kia simply says "reduced top speed" for the 18s without specifying what that top speed is)? In the event that you do, what will fail on the car that is under warranty? If you blow the thing or break it, the warranty is voided anyway, because Kia does NOT cover abuse of the car in "racing" conditions.

This relates to the actual construction of the tire, not the car or wheel. The way the tire is constructed prohibits it from "performing as designed" over the rated speed. In simplest terms, the tire is not as strong at resisting rotational forces [F=mass (velocity^2/radius)]. As you can see, the force goes up exponentially with the velocity. Higher speed rated tires will maintain their balance, contact patch, and shape up to the rated speed (in laboratory conditions). Running a lower speed tire at a higher than designed for speed could result in catastrophic failure of the tire at a high speed. This is why KIA is unlikely to change the Vmax for cars shipped with 18" wheels.

I don't have the 18" wheels, but if persons with 19" wheels replace the stock "Z" rated tires with "H" rated tires, then drivers would be in the same boat. In the owner's manual, KIA only states that they recommend replacing worn tires with the same tires that came on the car. I guess this is how they would address that situation from a liability standpoint. Someone else likely mentioned this, but I did notice that the new window stickers clearly state the Vmax for 18" wheels/tires. https://www.kia.com/us/en/data/dealerinventory/windowsticker/KNAE55LC6J6016077

 

[eflyguy]

It comes down to "as supplied, standard equipment" - you can't require a consumer to know every detail, so a warning to not exceed H-rated speeds if so equipped would not stand up in court. It is fair for them to expect any tire changes to be performed by a company/installer with the knowledge to check.

 

[MerlintheMad]

@Helo58: As far as I can tell, Stinger drivers who are discussing this understand tire ratings. The 18" wheeled car is limited to 140 mph top speed. So even if the wheels are changed to 19s the 140 limit remains. Even if the 18s are given 186 mph rated tires the car cannot be driven above 140 mph. So, bypass the limiter, get the 186 rated 18s and go for it? Does any of that void a Kia warranty? I'm guessing not, as long as the owner is mum about the bypass. Why should anybody at Kia find out?

 

[Helo58]

@MerlintheMad , yeah, that seems to be the only logical course for people with the limiter who don't want it. I think the whole business is silly. Kia should have never limited the cars from the factory without a way for the owner to remove the limitation in the driver editable settings. Of course the setting change would result in a warning message followed by a confirmation (i.e "Are you sure you want to make that change?") Short of that, any change not from KIA (aftermarket) opens the door for them to deny warranty claims or damage that they can tie to the change. Not saying they will, but they can with any software change they detect.

I am going through this now with my truck. It has cylinder deactivation (8 to 4) and a there are several tunes that turn this feature off. Some seem to think this feature causes excessive oil consumption along with other things and they don't want the feature active. I am hesitant to implement a tune, because GM is denying engine claims based on the implementation of aftermarket software for some users. This should be a user editable feature IMO.