Tires...

[Robbert]

I just finalized the purchase of my Kona (to be picked up on Friday! I'll post a pic in the picture thread when I get it ), and was talking to the dealer about the horribly reviewed Nexens that come with the vehicle. Dealer rep claims he drives one too and tried to swap out the tires for Goodyear WeatherReady (one of my swap-out contenders -- the other is the Michelin CrossClimate+). It apparently made the ride extremely "choppy" in his opinion and he subsequently changed them back. So he advised me to just keep them on there (the Nexens), since they weren't "that bad".

Everything I've read so far indicates people hate the Nexens (noise and lack of traction in wet / snow). Has anyone replaced their tires with anything else and had any negative effects?

 

[Kitsilano]

As an experienced autocross driver, my first drive around the block in my new Kona was a shock. The Nexens are crap. I immediately replaced them with Nokian WR G4 All Weather tires. l think good tires are the best safety investment a driver can make. Expensive, but necessary. As the Chinese say, "Expensive not expensive, cheap not cheap." The Nokians are a big jump up on all road surfaces. I especially enjoy them in our Vancouver rain and light snow. Nokians have no downsides. Everything better than Nexens, including stability at high speeds.

 

[Robbert]

As an experienced autocross driver, my first drive around the block in my new Kona was a shock. The Nexens are crap. I immediately replaced them with Nokian WR G4 All Weather tires. l think good tires are the best safety investment a driver can make. Expensive, but necessary. As the Chinese say, "Expensive not expensive, cheap not cheap." The Nokians are a big jump up on all road surfaces. I especially enjoy them in our Vancouver rain and light snow. Nokians have no downsides. Everything better than Nexens, including stability at high speeds.

I agree with you that tires are extremely important. I was a little surprised to get that feedback from the dealer on the Nexens though as I've read so many bad reviews for them. I looked up the Nokians you mentioned, and there is only one tire shop in my area that carries them (and they're not on Tirerack). Reviews do look good though.
How would you say they are with road noise? From my test drive, the Kona is pretty noisy at 70mph or so (120km/h). It seemed that about half the noise was wind noise and the other half road noise. While there isn't much that can be done about the wind noise, I know from experience that tires make a huge difference in road noise (back in the day, I used to swear by Goodyear Tripletreads on my Prius, but they were definitely more noisy than the factory tire, which I think was a Michelin).

 

[KonaTom]

I just finalized the purchase of my Kona (to be picked up on Friday! I'll post a pic in the picture thread when I get it ), and was talking to the dealer about the horribly reviewed Nexens that come with the vehicle. Dealer rep claims he drives one too and tried to swap out the tires for Goodyear WeatherReady (one of my swap-out contenders -- the other is the Michelin CrossClimate+). It apparently made the ride extremely "choppy" in his opinion and he subsequently changed them back. So he advised me to just keep them on there (the Nexens), since they weren't "that bad".

Everything I've read so far indicates people hate the Nexens (noise and lack of traction in wet / snow). Has anyone replaced their tires with anything else and had any negative effects?

I’ve driven 12000 km on my stock nexens on my kona ev, and find them good on rain soaked highways and thro snow. I keep hearing so many complaints about them , but my experience has been good! I’m in Canada and the tire supplied here are rated for mud and snow, so maybe that’s different than other markets.

 

[BlueSal]

I changed mine to Conti contacts (?) all weathers. Reduced noise and torque steer. I have no experience in the rain on these.

 

[Kitsilano]

I agree with you that tires are extremely important. I was a little surprised to get that feedback from the dealer on the Nexens though as I've read so many bad reviews for them. I looked up the Nokians you mentioned, and there is only one tire shop in my area that carries them (and they're not on Tirerack). Reviews do look good though.
How would you say they are with road noise? From my test drive, the Kona is pretty noisy at 70mph or so (120km/h). It seemed that about half the noise was wind noise and the other half road noise. While there isn't much that can be done about the wind noise, I know from experience that tires make a huge difference in road noise (back in the day, I used to swear by Goodyear Tripletreads on my Prius, but they were definitely more noisy than the factory tire, which I think was a Michelin).

Nokians are not noisier than the factory Nexens; they may be a little bit less noisy, if anything. But, let's face it, the Kona is a noisy car; another way to cut back on cost of production is to be parsimonious with sound-damping materials. This becomes obvious at about 120 km/h, as you say.

 

[KonaTom]

Nokians are not noisier than the factory Nexens; they may be a little bit less noisy, if anything. But, let's face it, the Kona is a noisy car; another way to cut back on cost of production is to be parsimonious with sound-damping materials. This becomes obvious at about 120 km/h, as you say.

I've done that in the back trunk area, but can't seem to find any logical places to put sound damping in the front area. Has anyone tried to put sound proofing in wheel wells?

 

[Wildeyed]

What cars did you people drive previously because labelling this car as noisy, to the point of installing do it yourself insulation, seems a bit much to me.

 

[Wildeyed]

Just pick tires rated as quiet.

 

[Robbert]

Interesting responses.

I was hoping for a resounding - yes, the Nexens are bad, and tire XYZ is much better... But it seems that the opinions differ among people.

As for the car being noisy, it's all relative and subjective of course. I currently drive an Avalon hybrid, which is (I think) very quiet. I know I will be gaining noise with the Kona, and I'm more than happy to trade noise for no more ICE. But that said, any improvements that can be made (easily), I'm certainly interested in! Tires seem to be a low hanging fruit. So far it seems like Nokian WRG4s are a good alternative. But perhaps I will try to see how the Nexens do here in the fall and replace them if they seem dangerous to me.

Thanks all!

 

[Robbert]

I've done that in the back trunk area, but can't seem to find any logical places to put sound damping in the front area. Has anyone tried to put sound proofing in wheel wells?

KonaTom, do you have some more details on that back trunk area sound proofing? Curious if it's an easy thing or not. Did it make a big difference in your opinion?

 

[Wildeyed]

Interesting responses.

I was hoping for a resounding - yes, the Nexens are bad, and tire XYZ is much better... But it seems that the opinions differ among people.

As for the car being noisy, it's all relative and subjective of course. I currently drive an Avalon hybrid, which is (I think) very quiet. I know I will be gaining noise with the Kona, and I'm more than happy to trade noise for no more ICE. But that said, any improvements that can be made (easily), I'm certainly interested in! Tires seem to be a low hanging fruit. So far it seems like Nokian WRG4s are a good alternative. But perhaps I will try to see how the Nexens do here in the fall and replace them if they seem dangerous to me.

Thanks all!

They seem fine to me. I drive Xice in the winter. The noise difference between the two was negligible. I have driven through deluges on the Nexens, no problem. I have emergency stopped with them. No problem. Do I think they are going to last? Given the reviews, probably not. But given that they came with a 62k price tag I'm damn well driving them until they lose their tread. After that I will choose a better rated summer tire. But not before.

 

[electriceddy]

Just pick tires rated as quiet.

Without studs (winter of course)

 

[KonaTom]

KonaTom, do you have some more details on that back trunk area sound proofing? Curious if it's an easy thing or not. Did it make a big difference in your opinion?

I bought soundproof foam pads thru eBay. They come in rolls about 1/2 inch thick by two feet by 8 ft. Put it every place I saw bare metal in trunk. It did help somewhat but most noise seems to come from front area and I couldn’t see many places there to place the foam strips.

 

[Robbert]

I bought soundproof foam pads thru eBay. They come in rolls about 1/2 inch thick by two feet by 8 ft. Put it every place I saw bare metal in trunk. It did help somewhat but most noise seems to come from front area and I couldn’t see many places there to place the foam strips.

Something like this off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Guteauto-Deadening-Deadener-Soundproof-Cotton/dp/B075DVQ5DP ?

 

[KonaTom]

Something like this off Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Guteauto-Deadening-Deadener-Soundproof-Cotton/dp/B075DVQ5DP ?

Yup

 

[Kitsilano]

I’ve driven 12000 km on my stock nexens on my kona ev, and find them good on rain soaked highways and thro snow. I keep hearing so many complaints about them , but my experience has been good! I’m in Canada and the tire supplied here are rated for mud and snow, so maybe that’s different than other markets.

While it's true that Nexen Npriz AH8 tires show "M + S" and thus are legal on all roads in BC in winter, they do not show the 3-peaked mountain and snowflake symbol. The BC government website describing winter tire requirements adds: "Mountain snowflake tires offer better traction on snow and ice. We recommend drivers install mountain snowflake tires for cold weather driving and, for extreme conditions, carry chains." All-weather tires with the mountain snowflake symbol can be driven year-around, though they are not nearly so good in the snow as proper winter tires, of course. Some drivers observe that from their experience Nexens are not dangerous. They are gambling that they will not encounter a situation in which a better tire would have saved their bacon. Any mountain snowflake tire is a better tire. The choice is up to you.

 

[Wildeyed]

Interesting responses.

I was hoping for a resounding - yes, the Nexens are bad, and tire XYZ is much better... But it seems that the opinions differ among people.

As for the car being noisy, it's all relative and subjective of course. I currently drive an Avalon hybrid, which is (I think) very quiet. I know I will be gaining noise with the Kona, and I'm more than happy to trade noise for no more ICE. But that said, any improvements that can be made (easily), I'm certainly interested in! Tires seem to be a low hanging fruit. So far it seems like Nokian WRG4s are a good alternative. But perhaps I will try to see how the Nexens do here in the fall and replace them if they seem dangerous to me.

Thanks all!

I think that's the right approach. Give them a try. As to the Avelon: my goodness, that is a near luxury land yacht! I'm sure it seems like the cone of silence compared to the Kona. The Kona is a $25K car that just happens to have a $25K battery dropped into it. It's never going to measure up to your experience. Go drive a Yaris, Corolla or Fit. You'll have a much better basis for comparison. Plus people are just so used to the drone of an engine that they don't even consider it "noise". Remove it and suddenly every piece of gravel and crack in the pavement is right in your face. It just a different experience all together.

 

[Robbert]

I think that's the right approach. Give them a try. As to the Avelon: my goodness, that is a near luxury land yacht! I'm sure it seems like the cone of silence compared to the Kona. The Kona is a $25K car that just happens to have a $25K battery dropped into it. It's never going to measure up to your experience. Go drive a Yaris, Corolla or Fit. You'll have a much better basis for comparison. Plus people are just so used to the drone of an engine that they don't even consider it "noise". Remove it and suddenly every piece of gravel and crack in the pavement is right in your face. It just a different experience all together.

LOL! Yeah, the Avalon is a bit of a luxury yacht. I had a Prius V before that (when they first came out), and was annoyed at how loud the car was. Now, that said, it would have been fine if I got 50 MPG+ in there, but it was tough getting to 40 MPG in the V. And I tried different tires, speeds, etc. Winter MPG was even worse (35 or so). So when it came time to get a new car, I looked at the Avalon Hybrid, which also got 40 MPG, but was, as you say, a luxury yacht. I love the car, and it drives great, but with 110k miles on it and some initial repairs and expensive service, it's time to move to another daily commuter. My daughter is getting her license soon and will have the pleasure of driving the luxury yacht for starters.