Choice of tyres

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SjonPet

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I am new on the forum. Bear with me if this has been answered before but I cannot find a good answer.

I am getting my new Kona delivered end of this week.

I have one concern. The tires that the car is delivered with. I expect the car to be delivered with Nexen n’fera SU1 tires.

In reviews as well as my own test drive it comes across that the car has a tendency to spin it’s wheels. Especially in wet weather.

Delivering almost 300 lbs ft of torque from standstill onwards will be challenging for any fwd car. Trying to do it with sub-par tires like the factory fitted Nexen tires is clearly proving impossible in some situations (not just from standstill).

So consequently my question is:
- what are the experiences mounting other tires that forum members have?
- are there any particular experiences?
- what is the effect in range that members have seen by mounting different types of tires?

I am considering changing the tires straight away to one of the following:
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4 - I would expect grip issues to be solved. These should be nearly as good as it gets. Ride comfort should be ok. Key concerns are efficiency/range implications and noise levels. Any experience?
- Michelin Primacy 4 - I would expect efficiency to be better. Noice to be almost unchanged. Comfort should see limited impact. There should be some grip improvement but not sure whether it is enough to rectify the grip issue. Any experience? (I believe the car will be delivered with these from q2 2020 onwards, but unlikely for my car).
- Continental Premium Contact 6 - probably somewhere between the above two.

Any thoughts? Any alternatives? I am not too concerned about a potential price difference. I want to achieve a ride that can use the torque without spinning the wheels at odd times and I would like to minimise additional noise and energy consumption.
 
No matter which tire you install, you're going to experience some wheelspin with the Kona Electric. Nothing, however will be as bad as the Nexens. If you care about range, you'll want to aim for tires with low rolling resistance. I installed Nokian WR G4 all weather tires because I live in the Northeast (U.S.) and I wanted a tire that I could use all year round. I like them. They have better traction (but you can still spin them), they're quieter (though up to 60mph tire noise dominates, above that it's wind noise), they have more traction and handle better, they're decent in the snow, and they are low rolling resistance. They're a good compromise tire. You'll find lots of opinions about tires on this forum, including some who are perfectly happy with the Nexens. If you enjoy spirited driving you owe yourself a tire upgrade. The Kona is quick, has a low center of gravity and amazing torque that you'll want to enjoy. The good news about wheelspin is that you'll win the traffic light grand prix even with partial throttle. I had some fun with a hopped up Nissan 370Z - turbo lag is a bear ;)
 
I'd be surprised if most Kona EV drivers don't learn to ease up a bit on the initial launch. I used Eco mode for a few months which reduces the accelerator aggressiveness and now don't have a problem in any mode. I think it was due to coming from a 1.2 turbo ICE which needed a kick in the guts to get the turbo on boost.
 
SjonPet said:
I have one concern. The tires that the car is delivered with. I expect the car to be delivered with Nexen n’fera SU1 tires.

In reviews as well as my own test drive it comes across that the car has a tendency to spin it’s wheels. Especially in wet weather.

Delivering almost 300 lbs ft of torque from standstill onwards will be challenging for any fwd car. Trying to do it with sub-par tires like the factory fitted Nexen tires is clearly proving impossible in some situations (not just from standstill).

So consequently my question is:
- what are the experiences mounting other tires that forum members have?
- are there any particular experiences?
- what is the effect in range that members have seen by mounting different types of tires?

I am considering changing the tires straight away to one of the following:
- Michelin Pilot Sport 4 - I would expect grip issues to be solved. These should be nearly as good as it gets. Ride comfort should be ok. Key concerns are efficiency/range implications and noise levels. Any experience?
- Michelin Primacy 4 - I would expect efficiency to be better. Noice to be almost unchanged. Comfort should see limited impact. There should be some grip improvement but not sure whether it is enough to rectify the grip issue. Any experience? (I believe the car will be delivered with these from q2 2020 onwards, but unlikely for my car).
- Continental Premium Contact 6 - probably somewhere between the above two.

Any thoughts? Any alternatives? I am not too concerned about a potential price difference. I want to achieve a ride that can use the torque without spinning the wheels at odd times and I would like to minimise additional noise and energy consumption.
Click to expand...

The Nexens are NOT sub-par tires, but the forums always throw up a few leadfoot moaners who can’t drive to the conditions, then blame the car/tires etc. I used my Nexens for 10 months / 5000 miles, and they briefly slipped once, in heavy rain starting off from the lights. They are marketed as a premium, high-performance tire, and are the best for range. Like the vast majority of Kona owners, I couldn’t fault them dry or wet, for cornering or handling, and wouldn’t hesitate to replace with more of the same. Your choice.
Having said that, when my Plugin Prius needed better tires, I found I could move the near-new Nexens to the Prius (with outstanding economy results), leaving me free to put my favourite brand, Michelins, on the Kona, which now has PS4’s.
Comments? Primacy 4’s and PS4’s are minor variations of a main-stream, quality choice for everyday use. The PS4 is slightly stickier, doesn’t last quite as long. They are on a par for range and noise, with the PS4 being 3dB quieter on smooth asphalt than the Nexen, the same dB on coarse chip.
I run my PS4’s at 40psi for a best economy /comfort compromise. Ride comfort is unchanged. Economy is down fractionally - about 2%. You WILL need a higher than standard tire pressure to achieve this, unlike the LRR Nexens for which higher pressure made no difference. I would expect the Primacy 4 to be highly similar, not as good as the Nexens for range.
Handling is outstanding, better feel, grip feels endless. Only track tires would be better.
The PS4’s are the best there is in an everyday tire, with no downside...
 
I've never spun the fronts unless I *wanted* to, such as a quick grip
test in a snow patch to get an idea of what's under me. ECO gives a
delightfully "slow bottom" curve which is ideal for fine control, and
takes nothing away from top-end power if/when you want it.

Perhaps perusing this could help.

_H*
 
The only time I have spun the tires is when a traffic light turns green, I am crossing the white crosswalk markings, and it is wet out. I just pay attention a little bit, and let up until I am through the intersection, and I am fine.
 
I replaced my factory Nexen NPriz AH8 tires with Michelin CrossClimate. So far I am very impressed with the CrossClimates - smooth, quiet and very grippy.
I live in Canada so the "all weather" tire makes sense up here.
 
It's very rare that I spin my tires and I have not noticed any appreciable issues with the tires on wet roads. I do not expect the OEM tires to be particularly long-lived. I will buy some higher quality tires eventually but I will continue to drive these tires confidently until the tread wear dictates otherwise. You're going to find a lot of scuttlebutt about the subpar quality of the Nexens but I'm not convinced personally that it's much more than tire-snobbery.
 
I changed my stock tyres to Primacy 4 ST a few days after I took delivery of my car. The stock tyre is Nfera SU1 just like yours. One of the reason for changing is because my regular tyre shop gave me a decent trade in value for the Nexen. Secondly, I have very good experience with Primacy 3 (predecessor of Primacy 4) in my previous cars.

Due to the softer side walls in the Pri 4, I do feel it is a "softer" ride compared to the Nexen. It is also marginally quieter in general but still gets noisy at highway speed which I believe is due to insufficient soundproofing on the car itself.

I keep my pressure at 34 psi cold. I have not spun the wheel even when accelerating harder than usual on both the Pri 4 and stock tyre. I am consistently getting about 7-8 km/kWh on city roads but unfortunately don't have any meaningful numbers to compare for my Nexen.

Driven 600 km so far. I will have to wait and see how it performs a few months later.

The stock tyre is NA is not Nfera judging from the thread pattern, so the reviews we often see on YouTube may not necessary reflect our own experience on Nfera. Nfera SU1 is categorised as a high performance summer tyre in my location.
 
Th
nigels said:
No matter which tire you install, you're going to experience some wheelspin with the Kona Electric. Nothing, however will be as bad as the Nexens. If you care about range, you'll want to aim for tires with low rolling resistance. I installed Nokian WR G4 all weather tires because I live in the Northeast (U.S.) and I wanted a tire that I could use all year round. I like them. They have better traction (but you can still spin them), they're quieter (though up to 60mph tire noise dominates, above that it's wind noise), they have more traction and handle better, they're decent in the snow, and they are low rolling resistance. They're a good compromise tire. You'll find lots of opinions about tires on this forum, including some who are perfectly happy with the Nexens. If you enjoy spirited driving you owe yourself a tire upgrade. The Kona is quick, has a low center of gravity and amazing torque that you'll want to enjoy. The good news about wheelspin is that you'll win the traffic light grand prix even with partial throttle. I had some fun with a hopped up Nissan 370Z - turbo lag is a bear ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks.
I will opt for separate winter tires given occasional driving to Sweden where it is a requirement (I guess some all year tires might be legal but it won’t be my choice). I don’t mind the change twice per year.

Agree that the upgrade is a choice rather than a necessity. But I have tried the Nexens and I will want something with better grip.
 
KiwiME said:
I'd be surprised if most Kona EV drivers don't learn to ease up a bit on the initial launch. I used Eco mode for a few months which reduces the accelerator aggressiveness and now don't have a problem in any mode. I think it was due to coming from a 1.2 turbo ICE which needed a kick in the guts to get the turbo on boost.
Click to expand...
Sure. Of course the Nexen tires can work. I just want something which manages the torque potential better.

The dealer actually flagged that the wheels had been chosen due to efficiency (and I am sure cost). I am just trying to get the optimal ride when it is not cold season.
 
hieronymous said:
The Nexens are NOT sub-par tires, but the forums always throw up a few leadfoot moaners who can’t drive to the conditions, then blame the car/tires etc.

Primacy 4’s and PS4’s are minor variations of a main-stream, quality choice for everyday use. The PS4 is slightly stickier, doesn’t last quite as long. They are on a par for range and noise, with the PS4 being 3dB quieter on smooth asphalt than the Nexen, the same dB on coarse chip.

I run my PS4’s at 40psi for a best economy /comfort compromise. Ride comfort is unchanged. Economy is down fractionally - about 2%. You WILL need a higher than standard tire pressure to achieve this, unlike the LRR Nexens for which higher pressure made no difference. I would expect the Primacy 4 to be highly similar, not as good as the Nexens for range.
Handling is outstanding, better feel, grip feels endless. Only track tires would be better.
The PS4’s are the best there is in an everyday tire, with no downside...
Click to expand...
Thanks. I am not a lead foot driver, let alone moaner. I have tried the Nexen tires and I agree they can be driven safely. It is also clear to me that they are quite far from being able to use the full torque potential in many situations. Tires which can use that potential better and stop with a shorter distance is ultimately a safer choice. Needless to say it is a matter of compromise in any event.

I am surprised to read you expect shorter range for the primacy 4. At least in some markets they are going to use those as standard and quote an increased range.

Your noise observation on the PS4 is also interesting. I thought they were noisier.
 
Wildeyed said:
It's very rare that I spin my tires and I have not noticed any appreciable issues with the tires on wet roads. I do not expect the OEM tires to be particularly long-lived. I will buy some higher quality tires eventually but I will continue to drive these tires confidently until the tread wear dictates otherwise. You're going to find a lot of scuttlebutt about the subpar quality of the Nexens but I'm not convinced personally that it's much more than tire-snobbery.
Click to expand...

They do work. On testing it (clearly with some deliberate action) it is also clear that you need to manage torque (which is doable) quite a bit relative to what the drivetrain can deliver.

That is ok. But if a better set of tires can reduce that need, then I will want that.

Therefore this is not a question about whether the NexanS tires are acceptable. They are.

I am really just interested in whether one has to take the c 5% efficiency reduction by putting on excellent PS4 tires or whether Primacy 4 gets almost the same without the efficiency reduction.

It is also interesting if there is another choice that gets me there which I have not though about or for that matter if there is an owner who has put on Primacy 4 but see no improvement.
 
SjonPet said:
I am surprised to read you expect shorter range for the primacy 4. At least in some markets they are going to use those as standard and quote an increased range.

Your noise observation on the PS4 is also interesting. I thought they were noisier.
Click to expand...
My noise observation was from repeated tests taking care to keep conditions the same, same car, app, phone mount, same roadway. First the Nexen data was 56dB for smooth seal, 63dB for coarse chip. Then the PS4 data was 53dB smooth, 63dB for coarse chip. I wasn't looking for absolute accuracy, but comparative accuracy.

As for the Primacy 4 reports, what I read on that also said that the final drive ratio was going to be changed to the same as the e-Niro is now i.e. higher, and acceleration would be a second slower. This would make the car more economical, give more range. The devil is in the detail...
There is no forum post anywhere that suggests there is an alternate tyre to the Nexen that gives better range. If there was, Hyundai would have used it from the beginning, such is the EV community obsession with range.

This is from a 50km run city run a few days ago, round trip, 50kph limit
upload_2020-2-19_21-57-2.webp
 
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If you drive in ECO mode and don't drive aggressive, the Nexens are just fine.. I will probably go with Nexens again when my tires are worn as range is very important to me. There is a reason why Hyundai picked the Nexens.. Best of all, the Nexens are also available at Walmart for a very reasonable price.
 
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I am also fine with my Nexens. So much so, that I bought a 2nd used set (almost new for $80) for when my current ones wear out. I drive almost exclusively in ECO, only slip slightly (if I punch it too much) when taking off in wet conditions. But they handle just fine, and I keep the PSI at 39. So far, at 16K kms, very little wear and very even. Will be rotating at 20K kms.
 
If getting good range is a priority, then forget about "making use of the available torque". I enjoy how peppy the car is, and during the first week of ownership I had fun with the fast acceleration, but that novelty wore off, and now efficiency is more often on my mind. Unless you're hammering the accelerator, the stock tires will be great. If you're hammering the accelerator, I suspect that your range will suffer so much from the aggressive driving that any difference in tire rolling resistance will be unnoticeable.
 
BlueKonaEV said:
If you drive in ECO mode and don't drive aggressive, the Nexens are just fine.. I will probably go with Nexens again when my tires are worn as range is very important to me. There is a reason why Hyundai picked the Nexens.. Best of all, the Nexens are also available at Walmart for a very reasonable price.
Click to expand...

You are right. If you drive in eco mode with limited torque delivery and do nothing aggressive, obviously the Nexen tires have an easier time coping than if you drive the car in normal or sport mode and if you drive the car aggressively.

I was not looking for a debate about whether the Nexen tires are good or bad. They are probably fine.

I am just looking for actual experience with using different/upgraded tires.
 
NRH said:
If getting good range is a priority, then forget about "making use of the available torque". I enjoy how peppy the car is, and during the first week of ownership I had fun with the fast acceleration, but that novelty wore off, and now efficiency is more often on my mind. Unless you're hammering the accelerator, the stock tires will be great. If you're hammering the accelerator, I suspect that your range will suffer so much from the aggressive driving that any difference in tire rolling resistance will be unnoticeable.
Click to expand...

Obviously if you drive aggressively with fast accelerations then the range suffers.

What I am trying to achieve is a setup where the range does not suffer significantly in everyday driving and where noise is not significantly increased, while the car is able to make the best use of its torque if I want to use it. That acceleration may be for overtaking another car once in a while, driving on curvy roads, or even fast acceleration at the traffic light If I fancy that once in a while.

This is quite clearly a compromise. The tires with most grip will be uneconomical and loud as well as quite expensive to buy. The Nexen tires are cheap to buy, relatively quiet, quite efficient and have ok grip (but not great by any measure).

I am looking to understand if there is an option where range does not suffer (much), where grip is improved, and where the noise does not become a lot louder than it already is. He cost of the tires is something I am slightly less concerned about (within reason).

This is quite clearly a topic where there is not just one right answer. When choosing a tire you accept a compromise. There are certainly good reasons to stick with the Nexen tires. I think (based on third party test performance and my own test drive) they deliver acceptable grip, high efficiency, relatively low noise, and do so at a low cost.

In choosing my tires I want a solution where grip is prioritised higher while there is a limit to how much efficiency loss and noise I am willing to accept. I am ok to pay a bit more for such tires if that is what it takes.
 
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