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Tires 2011 sorento

36K views 35 replies 22 participants last post by  tpwpny 
#1 ·
The factory tires suck.. 20,000 miles and they are shot, any suggestions on 17 inch all season.. these things were bad from the get go, hoping to get a smoother ride out of new ones.. will cost me too. cannot even turn a corner going 5 mph without sliding in the snow.. thinking about going to the dealer and see what they have to say.. diffinately do not want this brand. KUMHO

cannot even read the lettering on the side.. thanks
 
#5 ·
you are right crazy they are 18... made in Korea of course.. the tires have good ratings, a friend had the same ones on his van lasted 21k any suggestions? these things now, in the snow and ice are bad.. almost had a pile up on the expressway a week ago.. lost control.. people behind must have been clapping when I did not hit cars or got burried in a snowbank,,, I was shaking for a freakin hour.. scared the crap out of me.. good thing the wife was not riding shotgun...
 
#7 · (Edited)
Kumho Solus KL21,
These tires are the Worst tires ever!
I had these as O.E. on my 2010 Tucson GLS (225/60/17") They are very decieving as well, traction wet, or dry, is okay, but heaven forbid with any other weather :eek:
The treads fill up with snow, and it sticks there, they're like slicks, no traction whatsoever! Plus, they wore out at 17k miles, thank god!

Here, check out the survey ratings at the tirerack: Kumho*Solus KL21 V6

I went with Cooper CS-4 Touring A/S tires, reasonably priced with an 80k mile warrantee. The smoothest, quietest, tire I ever had, plus the all weather grip is the best I ever had. I haven't tried them in the snow yet, but with their aggressive tread, I'd guess they do pretty good. Other reviewers rated them good for an A/S tire in the snow.

http://us.coopertire.com/
 
#8 ·
Kumho Solus KL21,
These tires are the Worst tires ever!
I had these as O.E. on my 2010 Tucson GLS (225/60/17") They are very decieving as well, traction wet, or dry, is okay, but heaven forbid with any other weather :eek:
The treads fill up with snow, and it sticks there, they're like slicks, no traction whatsoever! Plus, they wore out at 17k miles, thank god!

Here, check out the survey ratings at the tirerack: Kumho*Solus KL21 V6

I went with Cooper CS-4 Touring A/S tires, reasonably priced with an 80k mile warrantee. The smoothest, quietest, tire I ever had, plus the all weather grip is the best I ever had. I haven't tried them in the snow yet, but with their aggressive tread, I'd guess they do pretty good. Other reviewers rated them good for an A/S tire in the snow.

Cooper Tire US - Home
Agreed 100%. They are good in rain or dry conditions, but in the snow....my goodness. I couldn't keep the ass end straight. If it werent for Stability control, I would of side swiped some curbs forsure. They are worn out already too with 60k kms.

I got a good set of winters and it made a world of difference.
 
#9 · (Edited)
More info from tirerack.com
Tire Search Results

(Sorted by winter results) Consumer Survey Results By Category

(more sorted by winter results) Consumer Survey Results By Category

I had Goodyear Assurance TripleTred tires on another car. It took seven to find four round ones, and they rode like bricks. Never again.

A tire engineer that posts on another forum says that "H" speed rated tires or higher are better tires than T-rated. It is only about additional material in the body of the tire that makes them more reliable. I bought a set of Cooper CS-4 tires to replace the TripleTreds on that other car and liked them a lot, but didn't use them in snow, and don't know how they'd be on a car as tall & top heavy as our Sorentos. Tirerack doesn't sell Cooper tires, so they don't show in the customer surveys.

Kappy, your profile doesn't show your location. If you have Discount Tire stores in your area, they'll match anyone else's prices. You can find the lowest on line price for the tires you choose (look at onlinetires.com and simpletire.com or others), add freight, and tell Discount to match it. Only buy their added insurance for the tires if you think you'll need it (I never do, and have had only two tires fail in 50 years of driving). Other stores may match the on line price---ask. Or buy on line and have Walmart or Sam's Club mount them for about $10 each.
 
#10 ·
I went with the Firestone Destination LE2. So far very impressed very deep tread for long life which also helps with snow and rain. Dont start getting any noise till over 80mph and you can barely hear them. Very quiet and smooth otherwise. So far great grip in everything but very deep snow which havent tried yet, but expect them to do very well because of the aggresive deep tread pattern. My dealer gave me a great price on them but there very reasonable price to begin wiith. Usually less then per $200 tire. All the ratings and reviews ive seen for this tire are good as well.
 
#11 ·
Kia should be ashamed putting those Kumho Solus KL21's on Sorento's... I noticed it last winter, (a very light one) poor traction, traction control always engaging, etc... but this year, have almost crashed multiple times from the front end not gripping in turns, not being able to start from stop etc... and only have 24K on these crappy tires, still plenty of tread, but these things slide on the slightest bit of snow. Went and replaced them with BFGoodrich Long Tour T/A's, like night and day, stability/traction control hasn't kicked in once since, no spinning and sliding either, but who would think i'd be replacing tires at 24K!
 
#12 ·
The stock tires are not particularly good in the snow. That's not really news and I think you'll find that all the car makers cheese out on quality tires for their SUVs. If you need to drive in the snow, buy snow tires. If only occasional snow, then there is a long list of all season tires that will do MUCH better than your stockers.

Best,
 
#13 ·
Our 2011 LX has these poor excuses for tires (Kumho Solus KL21) as well. It's my wife's car primarily but I've been driving it lately and these tires are awful. Dry and wet they're fine but snow they act like they're bald. The car has just a tick over 16K on it. I rotate them every other oil change and they are wearing well. I can see me replacing these before next winter regardless of mileage....
 
#14 ·
Tire rotation doesn't make the tires necessarily last longer. It just evens out the wear. Front wheel drive cars (including our hardly-ever AWD) make the front tires pull the car, steer the car, brake the car, and carry the weight of most of the machinery, so the fronts normally wear faster.

In some cases the OEM tires are different from aftermarket tires of the same make & model. The OEM tires are made to sell the car, not for all the tough things we want tires to do. When I feel let down by the KH21 tires, I'll probably look at what's newest in this type tire. Right now, the Continental CrossContact LX20 looks very interesting.
http://www.conti-online.com/generat...reet/cclx20/crosscontact_lx20_en,tabNr=1.html
 
#15 ·
Another dissatisfied OEM tire customer

Well boys - I got about 40K on these Kumho POS tires. I guess I was more lucky than most. All they are good for is keeping my 2011 Sorento AWD EX off the rims. Horrible in the snow and tread is down to 6/32 so it is time to shop around and get rid of these future "third world roadblock fires." Buy 3 and get one free is what the guy at the dealer told me - ha ha ha - no thanks I responded. Anybody have opinions or experience with Continental Cross Contact LX20 Ecoplus technology -- or -- Firestone Destination LE2? Hope it does not snow again before I get to replace these crap tires so I don't go spinning down the hill like a fricking out of control top. OMG almost pissed myself - absolutely zero control! I drive like an old man too! Thanks for any comments ladies and gents
 
#17 ·
Well boys - I got about 40K on these Kumho POS tires. I guess I was more lucky than most. All they are good for is keeping my 2011 Sorento AWD EX off the rims. Horrible in the snow and tread is down to 6/32 so it is time to shop around and get rid of these future "third world roadblock fires." Buy 3 and get one free is what the guy at the dealer told me - ha ha ha - no thanks I responded. Anybody have opinions or experience with Continental Cross Contact LX20 Ecoplus technology -- or -- Firestone Destination LE2? Hope it does not snow again before I get to replace these crap tires so I don't go spinning down the hill like a fricking out of control top. OMG almost pissed myself - absolutely zero control! I drive like an old man too! Thanks for any comments ladies and gents
I clicked on this link by accident, fortunate coincidence for you my friend.

If you would have read back a bit almost a year ago I purchased the Firestone Destination LE2. 4 tires 235/65/17, I have AWD V6. I suppose I can update you on there performance over the past year. Snow and very cold here in West Michigan now, they do very good in all conditions I have encountered so far very good in snow and slush(winter):( They are at least as good on fuel as oem tires to. For the price they are great, I would recommend them.
 
#18 ·
I recently had to replace the fronts as there was extensive wear on the insides. + 85,000k isn't bad for any tires. Backs still have plenty of tread... dealer says another 12,000 to 15,000 life left.
As I winter in Arizona I don't have anything to say about driving in snow but the handle very well in all other conditions... a little noisy but a lot better than my previous Ram 3500 dually.
 
#20 ·
I recently had to replace the fronts as there was extensive wear on the insides. + 85,000k isn't bad for any tires. Backs still have plenty of tread... dealer says another 12,000 to 15,000 life left.
Excessive tire wear on the insides indicates misalignment.

Pretty sketchy to put tires with a lot more tread on the front. If you're in a place with limited traction, such as the infrequent rains in Arizona, the rears would be more likely to break loose and cause the car to pinwheel around. Many tire shops will not put tires on the front that have much more than 2/32" more tread depth than the rears. Also, when running in 4wd, the difference in tire diameter due to the wear may lead to mechanical problems.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52
 
#22 ·
I just replaced my Kumho tires at 50k. Yes, I thought they were horrible in the snow. I purchased Michelin Latitude Tour TR 235/65R17 after doing some research. Consumer Reports was very helpful. Only have them a couple of thousand miles, but through 3 snowstorms in the northeast here, very happy with them so far !
 
#24 · (Edited)
For a tire later this year---

Michelin has a new Premier line of tires that have both new rubber compounds and a new method of shaping the grooves to provide less diminution of wet traction as the tire wears. The Premier All Season passenger car tires will be on the market in a couple of months, and the Premier LTX SUV & crossover tires will be out later this year.

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-sel...ring/premier-a-s/tire-details#tire_highlights

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/01/19/a...evolves-as-it-wears.html?hpw&rref=automobiles

"Tires play a crucial role in translating braking force to deceleration, particularly in wet conditions. “Consumers think brakes are the motivating force that stops your car, when in reality tires stop your car,” Ron Margadonna, a senior technical marketing manager at Michelin, said in an interview before the show." How true. Brakes top the wheels. Tires stop the car.

"The Premier’s expanding grooves are found in four channels that run around the circumference and act as the primary means of removing water between the contact patch and the pavement. Existing tires use V-shape channels that become shallower and narrower with wear. But the Premier’s grooves are molded so that they are wider at the base of the tread than at the tire’s surface. As the tire wears, the surface area of the void increases to partly compensate for its reduced depth." Underline mine. A worn tire always has less wet traction than the same tire with deeper tread. The loss of traction seems to be about proportional to the tread depth; there is no sudden point of lost traction that we can avoid with a specified tread depth for a replacement decision. In my state tires remain legal down to 2/32" of tread depth (4/32" for snow tires). That's not enough in my judgement. I use 4/32".

"The Premier’s increased wet grip is as much a function of its distinctive rubber compound as of its tread pattern. The mixture contains high amounts of silica, a bonding agent that improves wet-weather traction, and sunflower oil, to improve the tire’s pliability in colder temperatures."
 
#27 ·
Good to hear i wasn't the only one that thinks the Kumho stinks in snow. Was wiping out on every corner when there was snow. Also was on a incline that had snow... the car started sliding backwards as the tire was not gripping. Good thing no one was behind me. Hoping I can get thru this winter at least (use the wife's care when it snows...).

Also considering either the Firestone LEs or the Conti LX20.
Just waiting to see when the tire deals come out (buy 3 get 1 free, rebates, etc) to see if I can get it for around $550 installed. Currently Firestone installs for $650-700 while Conti LX20 run around $850-900. (Alignment is extra). Did not see any good deals on them. Michelin Latitudes and MX2's are good tires, but pricey (maybe if they go on sale....I may think about that as well.
 
#28 ·
Also considering either the Firestone LEs or the Conti LX20.
Just waiting to see when the tire deals come out (buy 3 get 1 free, rebates, etc) to see if I can get it for around $550 installed. Currently Firestone installs for $650-700 while Conti LX20 run around $850-900. (Alignment is extra). Did not see any good deals on them. Michelin Latitudes and MX2's are good tires, but pricey (maybe if they go on sale....I may think about that as well.
I suspect your collision deductible is a lot more than the cost of that 4th tire. My pregnant wife drives around in our Sorento so if I had even an inkling that it was unsafe, I'd replace the tires today....but that's just me.

I use dedicated snows on an extra set of cheap rims during the winter. Significantly safer than even the best all seasons.

Good luck!
 
#30 · (Edited)
The '11 Sorento EX AWD I just got last week came with Mastercraft. Like the Kumho Solus, not good at all in snow. The folks on Tirerack reviews have spoken favorably about General Altimax, Contis and of course the Michelins.

I had Altimax on my previous Volvo XC with good results, and ironically Kumho Solus 18s performed well on it. But that's another car altogether.
 
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