Road/tire noise.

[Royalstorm]

Who else notices significant tire/road noise? I have all-season 18” tires on my AWD GT. It seems that especially with sharp turning at low speeds (parking), that the noise is excessive and reverberates up the stirring wheel. I’m concerned they may even be some tire drag or other malfunction. Has anyone else noticed this?

 

[TV3]

I think the road noise is pretty high for a car of this caliber, one of my few gripes about it overall.

 

[Royalstorm]

Do you notice it more when turning hard to park? I’m just trying to figure out if this normal or if there is a problem that should be investigated.

 

[Waynerm002]

I've driven a 2.0T with the Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS-02 (I think it's the same tires on the GT with the AWD AS package) and I didn't spend too much time with it because I didn't like the noise it gave off. It made the Stinger louder inside than my Optima and I was hoping for it to be as quiet as the GT or at least quieter than the Optima. Those tires aren't highly rated (at least the original version, these are supposed to be 2nd Gen) so if I ended up going with the 2.0T and getting those tires, I will dump them in a short period of time if the new versions are noisy.

Checked tirerack.com and there are no reviews on them yet nor have they done any testing. Would be curious to know what owners with them think. Maybe a few of you can post some reviews on TR for folks to get some opinion on them.

 

[Royalstorm]

As I was pulling into my driveway, I could replicate the sound even at a crawl. So there is no way this is just tire tread on pavement.

 

[Inhoc]

I have a GT1 with Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS-02. The vibration at normal city speeds is so substantial that it makes me sick after driving. I just turned a BMW 335 Grand Turismo in on lease, and while you felt every bump, it didn't vibrate like this. I've never experienced anything like this. My steering wheel isn't shaking, so I don't think it's alignment. Do you all experience the same thing at low speeds? Is it different with different tires?

 

[Royalstorm]

I have a GT1 with Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS-02. The vibration at normal city speeds is so substantial that it makes me sick after driving. I just turned a BMW 335 Grand Turismo in on lease, and while you felt every bump, it didn't vibrate like this. I've never experienced anything like this. My steering wheel isn't shaking, so I don't think it's alignment. Do you all experience the same thing at low speeds? Is it different with different tires?

I have a base GT and lately it seems to have a great deal of noise even at low speeds. Much more notable when turning left at a slow coasting speed without foot on the throttle. It seems like something is grinding.

 

[sean888]

I have a base GT and lately it seems to have a great deal of noise even at low speeds. Much more notable when turning left at a slow coasting speed without foot on the throttle. It seems like something is grinding.

Back to the dealer then to sort. That's what the new car warranty is for.

 

[bugaboo90]

What is this thing "low speed" that you speak of. I didn't realize we could go slower then 100. lol

seriously.. I have gt2 awd 18". no vibration or noise complaints (yet) 5800 miles.

sharp turning at low speeds

 

[WPJoe]

I have only test driven so far, but on my last test drive I did notice something a bit along these lines.
I drove a Premium first and didnt notice anything.
But when driving the GT2 on the highway (in some traffic so not at high speeds) I noticed a small vibrating in the steering wheel which I found odd and remarked on to the dealer. It wasnt from rough road and it was a little strange...

 

[Royalstorm]

Back to the dealer then to sort. That's what the new car warranty is for.

Agreed. I have a service appointment next week, so we’ll see what they say. I had a previous issue with a brake vibration that they initially tried to pass off as normal. So I requested to drive a different GT, and that one had no problem. Replaced to muffler and that sound is gone. I hope I don’t have to ask to drive another one again to convince them this sound isn’t normal either. We’ll see. I’ll keep you guys posted.

 

[Waynerm002]

I test drove a 2.0T some months back and had that vibration issue which based on my experience figured it was due to over inflated tires and them transmitting every bump on the road through the steering and the car. We took it back and a check of the tire pressure showed them at 54 psi, the feeling was also similar to a warped rotor. We located another with the proper tire pressure and took that out, the tires were noisy and turned me off from driving it so I took it back. Not sure if this could be something you are experiencing, have you checked the tire pressure?

 

[WPJoe]

So are you saying that the the reduced psi the vibration went away but the tire noise was worse?

 

[Waynerm002]

The vibration went away, yes. The tire is just noisy. It might juts be a new tire thing, I recently replaced my tires with some UHP AS and for the first 200 miles they were noisy and now they are quiet, I would say better than the Kumho OEMs the car came with. The previous version of the Bridgestone RE97 AS were not great, not sure how these are as I don't own those and no reviews are available on tirerack.com.

 

[SEA Stinger]

Who else notices significant tire/road noise? I have all-season 18” tires on my AWD GT. It seems that especially with sharp turning at low speeds (parking), that the noise is excessive and reverberates up the stirring wheel. I’m concerned they may even be some tire drag or other malfunction. Has anyone else noticed this?

The Bridgestone Potenza RE97 AS-02 tires that my 2.0 Premium came with were simply awful. Very noisy, vibrated and did not instill driving confidence. Pretty much defeated the Stinger's handling capabilities. So I pulled the crappy Bridgestones and replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires.

The difference is like night and day! The Michelins are much quieter, no vibration and my Stinger handles so much better.

The main issue here isn't with Bridgestone. They make some great tires. I put Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires on my 2012 Genesis sedan, and they were excellent on that car.

I suspect the reason the reason that KIA is using the Bridgestones on 18" AWD Stingers is because some moronic accountant and/or buyer (or more likely their manager) in Irvine, California thought that saving $5 to $10 per tire justified using inferior tires. Probably also figured us "idiot customers" wouldn't notice or care.​

As I have mentioned in several other posts, while the Stinger is a fabulous car, KIA USA is doing an absolutely miserable job marketing it. In addition to the RE97 AS-02 blunder, this includes putting summer tires on AWD GTs in cold winter weather markets, previewing but then not offering the GT-line model in the US, de-contenting other US models, etc. Must be some real "geniuses" at the helm in Irvine.

Hopefully the leaders at KIA's HQ in Seoul will take notice and clean house.

Until then, SMH...

 

[Royalstorm]

The Bridgestone Potenza RE97 AS-02 tires that my 2.0 Premium came with were simply awful. Very noisy, vibrated and did not instill driving confidence. Pretty much defeated the Stinger's handling capabilities. So I pulled the crappy Bridgestones and replaced them with Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ tires.

The difference is like night and day! The Michelins are much quieter, no vibration and my Stinger handles so much better.

The main issue here isn't with Bridgestone. They make some great tires. I put Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires on my 2012 Genesis sedan, and they were excellent on that car.

I suspect the reason the reason that KIA is using the Bridgestones on 18" AWD Stingers is because some moronic accountant and/or buyer (or more likely their manager) in Irvine, California thought that saving $5 to $10 per tire justified using inferior tires. Probably also figured us "idiot customers" wouldn't notice or care.​

As I have mentioned in several other posts, while the Stinger is a fabulous car, KIA USA is doing an absolutely miserable job marketing it. In addition to the RE97 AS-02 blunder, this includes putting summer tires on AWD GTs in cold winter weather markets, previewing but then not offering the GT-line model in the US, de-contenting other US models, etc. Must be some real "geniuses" at the helm in Irvine.

Hopefully the leaders at KIA's HQ in Seoul will take notice and clean house.

Until then, SMH...

Thanks for the info. Michelin’s do well in the snow too?

 

[SEA Stinger]

Thanks for the info. Michelin’s do well in the snow too?

Yup, they are very good on snow and ice.

Here are reviews on Tire Rack:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Pilot+Sport+A/S+3++(W-+or+Y-Speed+Rated)&partnum=245YR8PSAS3PLXL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Kia&autoYear=2018&autoModel=Stinger AWD&autoModClar=

 

[Bob Carter]

Who else notices significant tire/road noise? I have all-season 18” tires on my AWD GT. It seems that especially with sharp turning at low speeds (parking), that the noise is excessive and reverberates up the stirring wheel. I’m concerned they may even be some tire drag or other malfunction. Has anyone else noticed this?

Royal ...just got my new Stinger Premium and all is great except terrible road noise. A growling noise from front end...almost sounds like a dry wheel bearing but not that loud. Called dealer and they said to bring it in for a check. I believe it’s the tires as noise is louder on some pavement surfaces than others. It has the Potenza RE97AS-02 tires and it may be the cause. My previous 2015 Genesis was a lot quieter than my new Stinger.

 

[Royalstorm]

Royal ...just got my new Stinger Premium and all is great except terrible road noise. A growling noise from front end...almost sounds like a dry wheel bearing but not that loud. Called dealer and they said to bring it in for a check. I believe it’s the tires as noise is louder on some pavement surfaces than others. It has the Potenza RE97AS-02 tires and it may be the cause. My previous 2015 Genesis was a lot quieter than my new Stinger.

Hey Bob,

Thanks for the message. Your description is almost identical to what I’ve experienced. Initially I was concerned about a bearing issue too because the sound was so harsh/grinding-like but I too noticed differences depending on pavement type. I’ve come to the conclusion that it is most likely the tires, as other members have suggested. In time, I’m hoping to swap the stock tires for some all-season Michelin’s and will update once that change is made. Congrats on your new car! Enjoy!

 

[4wheelpilot]

I agree that previous versions of the Bridgestone Potenzas were terrible tires. Had them on an Infiniti FX and have nothing good to say about them. But in my GR1 I do not notice excess road noise nor balance problems. Although I hate the soft sidewalks and poor handling in dry or wet. Won’t have them on to find out how bad they may be in light snow. Had BFGoodrich g-force comp a/s on my S4 based on reviews and thought they were great. I’m considering switching out before winter. Press the dealership to get the wheels and tires right. You shouldn’t have to pay for new tires unless you want to upgrade. Good luck.