Choice of tyres

[hieronymous]

Once again, I'll speak for the PS4's.
They are noticeably quieter than the Nexens on any surface except coarse chip, and no worse then.
For an everyday (not track) tyre, the PS4 grip is as good as it gets - even group tyre tests find the best tyres are hard to pick between. The average owner will never be able to tell the difference.
As I have already stated, the PS4's are down on range about 2%. If a Kona can achieve 500km range, then 2% is 10km. Is 10km really worth obsessing over? I have data from a trip I do often, 230km of highway, near-flat running, plus a 200m climb both ways. I have done it with the Nexens and the PS4's - the Nexens used 44% SoC, the PS4's used 45%.
And finally, in local dollars I paid $225 unit price for the PS4's; the best Nexen unit price is currently $170. It is not how much the best rated tyre costs, but how much dearer it is than the cheapest acceptable tyre. Compared to the price of the car, an extra $55 per tyre is a bargain, given how highly rated the PS4 is...

 

[SjonPet]

Once again, I'll speak for the PS4's.
They are noticeably quieter than the Nexens on any surface except coarse chip, and no worse then.
For an everyday (not track) tyre, the PS4 grip is as good as it gets - even group tyre tests find the best tyres are hard to pick between. The average owner will never be able to tell the difference.
As I have already stated, the PS4's are down on range about 2%. If a Kona can achieve 500km range, then 2% is 10km. Is 10km really worth obsessing over? I have data from a trip I do often, 230km of highway, near-flat running, plus a 200m climb both ways. I have done it with the Nexens and the PS4's - the Nexens used 44% SoC, the PS4's used 45%.
And finally, in local dollars I paid $225 unit price for the PS4's; the best Nexen unit price is currently $170. It is not how much the best rated tyre costs, but how much dearer it is than the cheapest acceptable tyre. Compared to the price of the car, an extra $55 per tyre is a bargain, given how highly rated the PS4 is...

Extremely helpful. Thanks. The efficiency is indeed irrelevant at those levels.

 

[gordo62]

I have had my Kona for about 18 months and 39000 Km's now and up until this fall I had been happy with the Nexen's. I'm not sure if the model numbers for the Nexen's are different in other countries but here in Canada the Kona came with the Nexen Priz AH8. They have been through two winters but have only seen maybe 10 days of snow in that time. The nexen's were just barely OK in the snow and that is coming from some one who grew up learning to drive where the winter temperatures were -30 C for most of the winter so I'm familiar with winter driving. A lot of wet driving as I live near Vancouver BC and they seemed to handle the rain Ok as well. I have a 50 Km highway commute to work each day at speeds of 100 to 110 km/hr. (you get run over if you go slower) This year we had a very rainy start to the fall and I found the car hydroplaning to the point were I was uncomfortable doing more that 90 km/hr. Just so happened that I picked up a nail in the tire and went into to get it repaired the shop informed me the tread wear was down to 40%. I don't know if it was the tread wear or not that caused the feeling of hydroplaning but I decided to put a new set of Nokian WR G4's. Haven't tested in the rain yet as it became sunny and summer like again as soon as I put the tires on but what I can say is the feel of the car is subjectively much better. It seems to track better at highway speeds and the noise level is lower. The Nokian's also get rave reviews as to their snow capability.

 

[nigels]

I decided to put a new set of Nokian WR G4's. Haven't tested in the rain yet as it became sunny and summer like again as soon as I put the tires on but what I can say is the feel of the car is subjectively much better. It seems to track better at highway speeds and the noise level is lower. The Nokian's also get rave reviews as to their snow capability.

I replaced the Nexens with Nokians when I bought the car, and have been very happy with their all round performance. Last winter in New England, they did well in the snow. Not as good as a dedicated snow tire, but I never felt a lack of traction or got stuck. I was worried about the motor's high torque and regeneration exacerbating grip issues, but I've found that the Kona EV is easier to drive smoothly than a car with a manual or automatic gearbox. The only caveat is that it's a heavy car, so consider the physics of cornering on slippery surfaces. I had several heart-stopping issues in the snow in my AWD previous SUV, but none in the Kona. I like that the Nokians are a low rolling resistance tire as well, and have been very pleased with the range, caveat the dumb downed HVAC in my U.S. 2019. I agree with the handling and noise improvements with these tires, to the point where I feel like a lot of reviewers are driving a different car when they complain about poor handling and harsh ride!

 

[citrys]

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.

I would suggest taking performance tyres, they will last less, but the grip will be much better. Nexen are +- budget tyres, I would not expect from them any miracle with the best performance, these tyres are not from the high end. I own rehvid store in Estonia. And it's better to choose, what exactly you want, less noise or better performance, there is no ideal tyres

So in 2020 I would suggest checking these performances (UHP and UUHP) tyres:

Continental Sport Contact 6
Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2
Michelin Pilot Sport 4 S
Goodyear Eagle F1 SuperSport
Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 5
Giti GitiSport GTR3

More comfortable tyres, less performant but still UHP:

Continental Premium Contact 6
Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance 2
Falken ZIEX ZE310 EcoRun
Bridgestone Turanza T005
Michelin Primacy 4
Maxxis Premitra HP5 - best price / quality in my opinion.