High performance all-season tire vs. dedicated summer & winter tire

[Euljiro1ga]

I am a little disappointed about the stock tire on the 18" wheels.

I am not sure how things are elsewhere in the world, but in Korea, all 18" wheels are all fitted with Bridgestone Potenza RE97AS.

The 19" on the other hand comes with Michelin Pilot Sport 4, high-performance summer tires as standards with winter tire package of just about ~650 USD extra.

The Bridgestone is kinda average all-season tires where the Michelin PS4 is one of the better performance tires. I'm usually a non-believer on all-season tires and don't mind paying a bit more for the Michelin without needing to get the 19" wheels. This wouldn't be a problem for the other Kia models, but since the Stinger is somewhat of a sporty car, I wish we had choices of the tires.

What do you guys feel about the stock tire choices by Kia?
"ultra high-performance all-season tire" or "just decent dedicated summer and winter tire" ??

 

[voon]

I usually don't even include tires into my car buying decisions ... I change them to whatever I like once they're used up, so I really don't care. Living in Switzerland, though, you can forget all-season tires .. I consider them useless around here, but also in general. Sure, you have the one time added costs of winter tires and their rims, but after that, they use up slower than an all season tire ... so I don't really see the money issue. I prefer to have good summer tires in summer and in winter it's not even a discussion ... there I bus the best you can for normal money (normal meaning the average over the good tires before the insanity/hype curve takes a steep slope upwards to ridiculous price levels). It's so much safer on slippery roads.

In general: Never skimp on tires. Doesn't have to be the most expensive, but always go for really good ones. Their quality is what keeps you on the road.

 

[Euljiro1ga]

I usually don't even include tires into my car buying decisions ... I change them to whatever I like once they're used up, so I really don't care. Living in Switzerland, though, you can forget all-season tires .. I consider them useless around here, but also in general. Sure, you have the one time added costs of winter tires and their rims, but after that, they use up slower than an all season tire ... so I don't really see the money issue. I prefer to have good summer tires in summer and in winter it's not even a discussion ... there I bus the best you can for normal money (normal meaning the average over the good tires before the insanity/hype curve takes a steep slope upwards to ridiculous price levels). It's so much safer on slippery roads.

In general: Never skimp on tires. Doesn't have to be the most expensive, but always go for really good ones. Their quality is what keeps you on the road.

Yep, i'm with you on this. Can't cheap out on tires. That's why I feel Kia should give options for the tire. Don't mind paying extra for them. All-season tires would be fine (at least in Seoul) for a city car, not a performance orientated car like a Stinger. I guess I could just sell out the stock tire and get a set of winter tires, it's a bit annoying.

What are the stock tire options for the Stinger over there in Switzerland? Having lived and driven around quite a fair bit around Switzerland, I agree, all season tires are useless.

 

[voon]

We only have one Stinger variant here, a fully decked out awd 3.3 with all options like aircooled leather, hud etc.. Everything. And asfaik they come with Michelin. No idea what is on the winter wheel they sold me.

 

[German Stinger]

We only have one Stinger variant here, a fully decked out awd 3.3 with all options like aircooled leather, hud etc.. Everything. And asfaik they come with Michelin. No idea what is on the winter wheel they sold me.

My dealer told me the only winter tires approved for the 19" wheels are from Hankook. Not sure whether this is Germany only or more general.

 

[westcoastGT]

My dealer told me the only winter tires approved for the 19" wheels are from Hankook. Not sure whether this is Germany only or more general.

Continental ( German ) make awesome winter tires ????? they will work on your 19" wheels

 

[corradoMR2]

I got the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. I don't need the full capabilities of a winter tire and I get to avoid the hassle of storing and swapping an extra set of tires that I've done for many years with past cars. I'll sell the Pilot Sport 4s in spring.

 

[voon]

My dealer told me the only winter tires approved for the 19" wheels are from Hankook. Not sure whether this is Germany only or more general.

That is a weird thing to say IMHO. You can mount any properly sized winter tire ... I never heard of a car maker limiting the allowed tires.

Not that Hankook is a bad choice probably. I have had Hancook summer tires on my M135xi and they are great performers and come with an okay pricetag. But maybe their winter choices aren't great .. no idea

I know that Continental WinterContacts are good usually, but there's also great, cheaper options ... like Fulda Kristall Control HP2 etc.

For summer I'm interested in trying soemthing new like a Uniroyal RainSport 3 .. they're especially great in rain.

 

[Neanderthal]

My dealer told me the only winter tires approved for the 19" wheels are from Hankook. Not sure whether this is Germany only or more general.

I'll take a wild guess here and say your dealer sells Hankook tires. Or his brother in law does.

 

[voon]

That's maybe just the suggestion Kia makes. After all, Hankook is Korean You can surely put something else on without any issues.

 

[Kazz]

In any real depth of snow, these all-seasons seem to let their weakness show. Understeer is the first clue while oversteer is there when over-correcting. Using AWD to just point and add some acceleration is the answer. Looking forward to full-on snow tires.

 

[Hogtowner]

I got the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+. I don't need the full capabilities of a winter tire and I get to avoid the hassle of storing and swapping an extra set of tires that I've done for many years with past cars. I'll sell the Pilot Sport 4s in spring.


View attachment 1339

Have you driven in the snow and how do they handle?

 

[Rufus]

Have you driven in the snow and how do they handle?

Can't speak for @corradoMR2 but tirerack.com did an interesting test of dedicated winter tires. They used Michelin PS A/S 3's as a baseline to compare against dedicated snow rubber. Wasn't even close. All Seasons have gotten very good the last 5 years for summer performance, but unless it's a light dusting you experience infrequently, winter tires make a big difference. My 2 pennies

 

[corradoMR2]

Have you driven in the snow and how do they handle?

For city driving with 3-4 inches of snow, no issues. So long as the car can clear the snow (<5 in), I don't see any issues with these tires on an AWD Stinger. When the roads have been dry below freezing this winter, the dry grip has been excellent.

 

[kevin simard]

I don’t like my all seasons and will definelty be getting snow tires in the fall. I have been stuck twice on our crappy winter roads .. I find the low clearance and an over burden of traction control with very little grip, they are definitely not a winter tire.
I would have gladly taken summer tires and the 30 extra miles per hour over the these.. the only thing us Canadians got screwed on lol IMHO

 

[corradoMR2]

I don’t like my all seasons and will definelty be getting snow tires in the fall. I have been stuck twice on our crappy winter roads .. I find the low clearance and an over burden of traction control with very little grip, they are definitely not a winter tire.
I would have gladly taken summer tires and the 30 extra miles per hour over the these.. the only thing us Canadians got screwed on lol IMHO

Which do you have?

 

[derek0609]

I swapped my Michelin Pilot Sport 4s for the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06. I had the older versions of the DWS and they were a great tire!

 

[Marc Collins]

I swapped my Michelin Pilot Sport 4s for the Continental ExtremeContact DWS 06. I had the older versions of the DWS and they were a great tire!

I have used the DWS 06 and the prior version on multiple cars for years now (always AWD and I am an experienced winter driver). I don't daily drive, but the tires have never let me down in extreme cold and snow and handle a zillion times better than true snow tires. If you are lazy, you can leave them on all year and have zero issues in the dry and hot. Same as the Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+ mentioned above.

However, if I lived in a snow belt or an area where the roads were usually covered in snow (as opposed to about half a dozen days of the year in Toronto), I would go for dedicated snows. The other reality is that traffic is so incompetent in most large cities that if there is even rain let alone snow, the traffic is reduced to a crawl. If I lived in a rural area where you can get moving on unploughed back roads, again, use snows. Make the decision based on your own skill and conditions.

 

[Marc Collins]

There is another thread on here noting that the cars are coming equipped with the Pilot Sport 4, not 4S as was originally advertised. There is a decent (noticeable) gap between the 4S (top-rated summer tire) and a DWS 06 or Pilot Sport A/S 3+ that would make an enthusiast want to keep the 4S's on during the warmer weather. I doubt most people would notice the difference between the much tamer Pilot Sport 4 and one of the two mentioned UHP all-seasons anywhere but on a race track. Another reason to consider using them for the convenience in my opinion.

 

[Neanderthal]

My dealer told me the only winter tires approved for the 19" wheels are from Hankook. Not sure whether this is Germany only or more general.

Dealer is probably lying, or doesn't know his arse from his elbow.

Which do you have?

I like those BFG G-Force Comp2. As someone noted, the longest name in all of tiredom.