Are there better riding tires than stock Nexen?

I changed mine to Michelin Primacy 4 ST mainly for noise reduction but unfortunately did not have my factory fitted Nexens long enough to be able to compare the long term comfort level. I am still constantly getting 7- 8 km/kwh at Eco mode. The Primacy has a softer side wall in general.

 

Or less to be done, manufacturers want to sell you more cars, so the stock tire pressures (36/36) are always the softest while still safe. 33/33 just increases sidewall distortion in corners, meaning sloppy handling, increased wear, and worse economy - your call.
The Kona is short, tall and heavy, so has stiff, screwed-down suspension - tire swaps won't improve this. You are best off with the LRR tires you already have, which have lighter, softer sidewalls than sports/performance tires...

 

There are loads of better tires but I must be peculiar because I am actually fine with the stock Nexen tires. I run them at 42 psi cold. I don't have issues with traction. I don't particularly find them uncomfortable or too noisy during summer use and keeping in mind that I switch to winter blizzaks for about 5 months of the year. I am probably on track to putting on at least 24,000 km per year of modest commuting with predominantly smooth roads and maybe 20% of that mileage is on rural gravel roads. When the time comes to replace the Nexens I would be fine with same tires if I found them cheap enough.

 

What I've come to recognize is that the "comfort" measure of most tires is as much about the road surface as the tire construction. My Kona is running the stock Nexens and it goes from silky smooth and soundless on some sections of road to buzzy and rough on others. Recently I used a decibel meter on a 20 minute drive and saw the interior noise levels swing wildly between high and low levels of background sound, all on the same highway, in the same weather, same road speed. The only variant was the highway surface which changed between old concrete, newer concrete, and brand new asphalt. It really doesn't matter whether you're running Nexens, Michelins, Pirellis, or whatever. They're all going to be noisy and rough on some surfaces. Obviously the handling, durability, wet performance, and other factors are going to vary, but sound and comfort are variables that that a premium (or alternate) tire may not provide a solution for.

 

We had a flat with a slow leak in the sidewall so decided to do some research on replacement tires. Consumer Reports had many recommendations on tires for the Kona EV as we were able to enter the actual EV into the selection. The tire we picked were the Bridgstone Ecopia EP422+ 215/55R17 94V BW Grand Touring A/S. These achieved "Excellent" ratings on "Noise" and "Rolling Resistance". Whats more, they were available on sale at Costco. They seam to be holding up to their claim so far.

 

There was somebody on this blog, writing about putting Nokian WRG4 all weather tires on his/her? Kona EV and was very pleased with it. I used WGR3s for 12 years (on two Priuses/Prii) and I loved them.

We are picking up our 2021 Kona EV Preferred (I got lucky, found one!) tomorrow or Monday. Planning to put WGR4s on it. A small loss on range I can live with in exchange for no tire changes.
Like most things in life there is no perfect, fit for all solution.

 

Like Vince08, I changed to the Michelin Primacy 4.
Car is much quieter, handles vastly better in the wet and I have lost virtually nothing in the range department. Still getting 16kWh/100km at 115kph.
I changed over for safety reasons at 1500km. Wet road traction when it just started to rain (after many months of dry conditions) was almost non-existent with the Nexen tyres. The Michelin tyres have been great. I can also put more of that torque on the road without wheel spin than before.

 

Thanks for you all. Good discussion. As I said I have had good, 12 years, experience with Nokian WG R3s. Talked to an 'old' tire guy at Kal Tire about my options for an 'all weather' tire. He suggested to go with Nokian WR G4. He uses them himself. Prefers them to Michelin. He says the Finns know about winter.
I am fully aware that there will likely be some loss of range but not having two sets of tires - for our particular use of the car I am OK with that.

We pick up the car tomorrow will ride with the factory tires till the seasonal tire sales start, usually around Canadian Thanksgiving. Then I will change.

 

I've been noticing that the Nexen tires slip in wet conditions and when there's a bit of gravel on the road. I appreciate the opinions of everyone here as I search for a tire that is going to hold onto the road better. Thank you.

 

Hey everyone. I've done some more research into tires that will eliminate the slipping in wet conditions. Some people think that no matter what tire I buy, I will still have slippage with an electric. Has anyone found this when they replaced their tires? I don't want to spend $1000 on new tires if there won't be any improvement.

 

If you get grip issues with the Nexens, then that is most likely down to how you drive. I have read plenty of posts from Kona owners who are quite happy with them, some saying they would buy them again. In a year of driving my Kona from new I never had tire slip.
If you are happy with the way you drive, then buy tires rated for grip e.g. sports tires, but be aware that tire manufacture is always a compromise between best grip (softer compounds) but worse range, economy and life on the one hand, and best life, range and economy (harder compounds), but less grip plus usually a little noisier on the other. You need to weigh up your preferred driving style against your budget and travel requirements, especially range in an EV.
Other peoples’ opinions about tires are are just that, personal opinions. They typically compare new tires with the totally crapped-out el-cheapo tires being replaced, and say they are wonderful. They slag tires designed for range, economy and long life, but have a lead foot and continually treat their tires as suitable for best grip and performance. The only research worth doing is looking at group tire testing, and major reviews. In particular, these show that the best tires in any category are all very similar, so it is worth picking the best deal you can get from one of these.
If you DO decide to buy for best grip, then that IS what you will get, and your Kona will feel like it is glued to the road (but it will cost you). Remember too, that if you are fanatical about shredding tires, then you can invoke wheel spin in any car, but that will cost you too - so take it easy out there..

Disclaimer: My Kona now has Michelin PS4’s, but EV’s for me are at best advantage in town, where I have no range issues and some free power. Long distance, my PHEV is as comfortable, has more than twice the range, is cheaper to run, and has also inherited my Nexens, which are proving to be great touring tires...

 

Hey, if you don't like your Nexens, give them to me... haha. I already bought a low mileage set for $80 from someone that didn't like theirs. Will be a couple more years before I need to change mine, but glad to have them for when that time comes.

Sure, I can spin my front wheels, but have no trouble controlling that. I use ECO mode which gives me a lot more throttle control. If it is wet out, I just have to be even more gentle, no problem with that either. What I do like though, is they give me a firm ride for cornering and general handling. I run 39 PSI now, and that also helps with good range. They are fairly quiet, too, despite the Kona not having the best sound proofing.

So overall, am more than happy with my Nexens. There are worse things I could complain about my Kona.

 

You said "I dropped tires to 33 lbs. soon after I got it "
Do you know how stupid it is to run on under inflated tyre and how much you increase the risk of blow out by under inflation.
Ev tyre are rate HL heavy load they are above XL extra load. They have to be stiffer and strong due to the weight and the huge extra loads they are under. Unlike petrol or diesel the no build up in power delivery so ev tyre have to be much stronger and robust.as it is the side wall of the kona tyrevare much taller than most modern cars.
Never under inflate road tyre it deadly

 

Yes, but it is also dependent how you drive. Drive in Normal mode, leave your lead boots at home! Remember EVs have lot's of torque so accelerate. I changed me factory Nexens to Nokian WRG4 s and there is a huge difference. Much less slip. Still, if you are "heavy on the gas" you will slip. I wonder why folks complain about how often they have to change tires on their Tesla. The answer is: don't take your Tesla to the racing strip!

 

I'm also not having any issues with the factory tires. They're certainly not the best in terms of grip, but so far only two very minor incidents involving wet leaves on the road which I think most tires would have problems with. What helps is I drive responsibly. (Not always conservatively but at least responsibly!) That means no jackrabbit starts or whizzing around corners, fun as it may be, and taking it easy on downhills letting the regen do its thing.

TL/DR; The Nexon tires are perfectly adequate for my driving style.

 

I thought I'd chime in here since we just put on our winter tires and KalTire recommended replacing and ended up keeping two of the three 2019 tires that came with the car. (we had to replace one tire already due to a puncture last year). So the stock tires lasted less than 50,000km, we drove on winter tires in 2019, but not 2020. We were finding with the often wet weather we have had in BC this fall that they did not feel safe at normal speeds in the corners on wet roads. So we're happy to have the winters on now for both the wet and the ice/snow to come. I've been commuting 80km a day over a mountain pass for the past 15 years so tires are important to me.

That's not to say I think the stock tires were bad, or that I don't admit to taking some advantage of them as a newbie EV driver )) but they definitely deteriorated quickly and lost their performance in the wet, which is important around here.

The brand/model of our winters escape me at the moment, but I want to say Michelin X-Ice I believe. I'll double check this afternoon?

Since we do generally change over to winters when the weather demands, I appreciate the suggestions on replacements for the stock tires. I don't need the range in the winter, but I'd like something that focuses on range when we have the fair-weather tires on but still has some grip when we do get the wet weather.

Thanks!