Modifications and Tweaks

I haven't taken a really good look at it yet but I've been pondering weather stripping.

 

So, if I get a scratch I can visit You??

 

Brake lights do not go on at AUTO REGEN setting, either. Haven't tested Level One or Level Two yet. Of course, the car in Norfolk, England (on the video) may be slightly different from cars come to Canada recently.

 

The brake lights go on.

 

All Kona Electrics coming to western Canada recently come with Nexen tires. These are low quality tires. For your personal safety, swap them out immediately! Driving occasionally in snow, I installed Nokian WRG4 All Weather tires, same size as original Chinese tires. Very happy with my Nokians, which I'll use year-round. Same road noise (maybe less), same range (maybe more), and definitely better handling and better acceleration, especially noticeable in rain & snow. Still poor braking---the car is heavy and there is no brake feel. As an old autocross and track driver in high performance cars, I know how important tires are to handling and road safety: I recommend selling Nexens (if you can!!) and getting good All Season or, depending on your winter-driving habitat, All Weather tires.

 

That's very good news. Thank you, Wildeyed.

 

We had Michelin CrossClimate tires put on before we took the Kona EV home (they are all weather too). Love them. We had 2 or 3 snow falls with about 20 to 30 cm. of snow and they were dandy on the hills etc. Great traction. Hubby had Nokian's on his SUV and loved those too. We have not had any luck selling the Nexen.

 

Thanks. Autocross driver here too. The OEM tires are rubbish IMO.

 

Happy to hear you have Michelin CrossClimate tires, CJC. Apparently you learned, as I did, that Hyundai dealers will find reasons not to buy unused or barely used Nexens.

 

"same range (maybe more)" with an All Weather tire? They do have the triple peak and snowflake symbol, no?
One of our concerns with EVs is the winter range, and I was assuming that an All Weather tire would decrease it.

 

While I have no trouble believing the quality of the OEM tires is less than the best I think calling "safety" into question is a bit of a stretch. The OEM tires are designed to maximize range. Like all "e" tires, road noise, breaking and wear resistance are secondary. I'll use mine for a couple summer seasons, rotate with my winters, and in two years when their tread is going I'll buy some better quality summer tires. There's no way I'm chucking brand new tires on principle.

 

100% with you on this. I'm definitely not chucking out perfectly acceptable tires on principal. Especially with the amount of driving I do, I go through tires dater than I go through underwear lol. I'm more than happy to pay anyone $100 for their set of 4 tires if they're looking to get new ones. Will even pick up around Ontario or figure out shipping. I can't even get used crappy tires with 50% tread for $25 per tire ahah

 

I'll deliver my 4 Nexens with 900 smooth kilometers on them to anyplace in the Lower Mainland west of Abbotsford in exchange for $200. The buyer will suffer my brief description of what happened after a greedy dealer of a well-known Japanese brand sold me a 'certified used car'---300hp BMW 135is--- with new Nexens on it. No one was hurt, but it's a cautionary tale.

 

I only drove the Nexens for 900 km before I could get the Nokians, so comparing the effect of these two sets of tires on range is difficult, considering that weather and road conditions differed before and after the switch. But during the brief times with fairly similar conditions I did not notice any significant difference in range. The difference in car control was VERY significant.

 

Our beloved Kona Electric, no matter how shod, suffers from understeer and poor braking. In emergency situations, cheap tires make these matters much worse, of course. What to do? Some would spend extra money on new snow tires (and new steel rims) for winter safety and drive the OEM Nexian All Season tires during summer. Others would spend $800 on good All Weather tires driven year-round. (That's assuming they find someone who will give them $200 for their Nexens.) I'm arguing for the All Weather tires option. I will not tolerate unnecessary (even if only summertime) dangerous understeer and long ABS braking distances. It's a matter of priorities: what do I value more, $800 or the lives of those I share the road with?

 

EVs lose range during cold weather because of the effect of temperature on chemical reactions. Tire-type is a small, maybe insignificant, part of the equation.

 

My only experience is with an ICE and full winter tires (not just All weather), and there my difference is about 12%
But much of that is prolly the ICE, fuel composition, and All Weathers should have less effect than the full winter tires as well.

So maybe just a few % difference, as you say.

Personally, I would switch to All Weathers asap just so I don't have to go through the bi-annual ritual of switching and storing shoes.
An annual rotation, preferably done for free at the Canadian Tire shop, is about all I want to deal with these days.

 

I am basically on board with your thoughts. I think the Nexens are not necessarily a safety concern per se as in having defects, but they are a cheap tire that certainly doesn't perform as well as my all weather Michelin tires. I would always want a good quality tire on my cars, and our choice of the Michelin CrossClimate tires was one of our better buys. Driving with the Nexen tires would always leave a little doubt in my mind especially on a long trip. I would not feel totally safe and at ease with them, but that is a personal opinion. My Nexen tires are in my garden shed as so far I haven't been able to sell them even listed at $100 for all four brand new so that says something.