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Oem Kuhmo Solus Kh16 And Winter Performance

4.6K views 10 replies 8 participants last post by  Kayakman  
#1 ·
I own a new Elantra GLS that I bought in June. When winter came and dropped snow I found my self floundering and getting stuck, even in my own driveway. The KH16 are rated M+S and I am aware that they are not snow tires in any sense of the word, but with 1 inch of snow on the ground I feel like I have 4 baloney skins for tires. I wrote a courteous letter to my dealer and to National hyundai. The dealer said they would sell me 4 WS-60 Blizzak for cost including installation ($369). National Hyundai told me to drop dead basically. I was able to finagle free seasonal installs to swap over the snows for the KH16 which would have been $40 a season so that saves me $80 a year. I am not terribly happy to have to buy new tires for my new car and have never needed snow tires even here in Maine, though in the long run, with the free installs, it will be a wash.

Tire rack website has a bunch of testimonials concerning the KH16 and winter performance and they are not good and some feel they are dangerous. Anyone with an Elantra and these tires have winter weather issues with these tires? I did some searching and I haven't come up with anyone having issues, but that doesn't seem to figure with my experiences and what I know about these tires.

Would like to hear your opinions. Please only if you drive in wintry conditions. Thanks
 
#2 ·
QUOTE (Freerojo @ Feb 5 2009, 04:48 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=213461
I own a new Elantra GLS that I bought in June. When winter came and dropped snow I found my self floundering and getting stuck, even in my own driveway. The KH16 are rated M+S and I am aware that they are not snow tires in any sense of the word, but with 1 inch of snow on the ground I feel like I have 4 baloney skins for tires. I wrote a courteous letter to my dealer and to National hyundai. The dealer said they would sell me 4 WS-60 Blizzak for cost including installation ($369). National Hyundai told me to drop dead basically. I was able to finagle free seasonal installs to swap over the snows for the KH16 which would have been $40 a season so that saves me $80 a year. I am not terribly happy to have to buy new tires for my new car and have never needed snow tires even here in Maine, though in the long run, with the free installs, it will be a wash.

Tire rack website has a bunch of testimonials concerning the KH16 and winter performance and they are not good and some feel they are dangerous. Anyone with an Elantra and these tires have winter weather issues with these tires? I did some searching and I haven't come up with anyone having issues, but that doesn't seem to figure with my experiences and what I know about these tires.

Would like to hear your opinions. Please only if you drive in wintry conditions. Thanks
My son has the same car/tires but a 2007. He was also complaining about the car sliding in snow. I took it for a drive and it was HORRIBLE...the OEM Kuhmos were like ice skates. We then went back to the house and I had him try our 1999 Camry (about the same size/weight as the 2007 Elantra) with Goodyear Comfortreds and he said the difference was just remarkable...the Goodyears did much better in the snow. I took him to Sams Club the next day and we picked up a set of Goodyear Tripletreds for the Hyundai and he just loves them. Makes a good car even better!

Seems to be a trend these days for the OEM tires to be basic crap. I have a set of Toyo A20s on my Toyota and they are bad in the snow as well. Next year new tires for me.
 
#3 ·
I have an 08 Elantra that I bought in March. The OEM tires are OK as long as there is little (a "dusting") to no snow. Our first snow experience with thicker snow was going up a hill. It didn't take much to lose traction. I had to back down and take a different route. After the second such experience (neither caused me to slide off the road), I decided to buy a set of four snow tires on rims (no sensors). I got Winterforces from TireRack last Wednesday. We haven't had any snow since then (see, they are working :)). I drive Winterforces on my 03 Dodge Caravan and am VERY happy with them.
I plan to keep and use the OEM tires for late Spring through early Fall driving and wear them out. I will replace them with better tires when that time comes.
I live in the Finger Lakes region of New York state (the pretty part).
 
#4 ·
All season tires are the equivalent to wearing sneakers year round. You can pull this off in the Carolinas but not in Maine. The rubber freezes making the tires harder to grip, which is why a winter tire handles better (snow or no snow). The rubber is softer so it handles the drop in temperatures. That being said, as soon as it warms up to 40F on a regular basis, get the winters off, they are too soft and will wear quickly in warmer conditions.
 
#5 ·
I just had to register to respond to this post specifically because it really gets me frustrated.

I don't get how someone who lives in Maine of all places (which has essentially the same weather patterns as Nova Scotia) could even look at the Kuhmo tires and think they would be good in the snow. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The average annual snowfall in Maine is 60-90". That is a lot of snow.

Those tires, whether they say M+S on them, are visibly not snow tires. Regardless, you have no business driving in the winter in Maine without snowtires and if you do, you're all kinds of irresponsible.

And then to write Hyundai and complain about it? That just adds a whole new level of douche-baggery to the mix.

Start taking responsibility instead of trying to blame everything and everyone else so you can make a buck off of it.
 
#6 ·
QUOTE (jacob_ns @ Feb 16 2009, 09:43 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=216022
I just had to register to respond to this post specifically because it really gets me frustrated.

I don't get how someone who lives in Maine of all places (which has essentially the same weather patterns as Nova Scotia) could even look at the Kuhmo tires and think they would be good in the snow. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The average annual snowfall in Maine is 60-90". That is a lot of snow.

Those tires, whether they say M+S on them, are visibly not snow tires. Regardless, you have no business driving in the winter in Maine without snowtires and if you do, you're all kinds of irresponsible.

And then to write Hyundai and complain about it? That just adds a whole new level of douche-baggery to the mix.

Start taking responsibility instead of trying to blame everything and everyone else so you can make a buck off of it.


Time for your medicine or what? I have lived in Maine for almost 25 years. Never needed snow tires, ever, EVER. Thats with smaller cars as well. Unlike perhaps where you live, they plow the roads here, so you never have 60-90 inches of standing snow. When they are done plowing, there may be around half an inch on the ground. A mud and snow tire, so advertized, should be able to handle these conditions, otherwise, why rate the tire as mud and snow?
 
#7 ·
QUOTE (Freerojo @ Feb 16 2009, 10:50 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=216023
Time for your medicine or what? I have lived in Maine for almost 25 years. Never needed snow tires, ever, EVER. Thats with smaller cars as well. Unlike perhaps where you live, they plow the roads here, so you never have 60-90 inches of standing snow. When they are done plowing, there may be around half an inch on the ground. A mud and snow tire, so advertized, should be able to handle these conditions, otherwise, why rate the tire as mud and snow?
I said 60-90" of average annual snowfall, not at one time. No matter how good your plows are, when it's snowing you will have a buildup of accumulation on the roads in excess of the 1/2" you quote. If you don't think having the best possible traction with the road when driving a 2700lb piece of steel is responsible, I can't convince you otherwise. The fact remains that snowtires are infinitely better than an all-season or summer tire in the snow and not having a set specific for that purpose is irresponsible by definition. So much so that Canadian provinces that receive nearly the same annual snowfall as Maine are now mandating, or considering mandating, snowtires as a requirement by law for the winter months.

Money cannot be an excuse as to why someone wouldn't put snowtires on a car for a variety of reasons. First, if you do not replace your OEM tires for the winter, you are undoubtedly wearing them out much sooner which will require they be replaced more often. You would end up spending roughly the same sum over a period of years replacing all-seasons more frequently than if you had a set for spring/summer/fall and a set for winter. Secondly, there is the matter of collisions and accidents. Winter tires won't make your car invincible in the snow, but will lower the chance of an accident by 25-50% over all-seasons as traction and handling is greatly improved. And then when you factor in the safety of others, it's a no brainer.

Not withstanding all of that this begs the question, "Why blame Hyundai for the rating of a tire they didn't make?" Do you actually expect them to give a free set of snowtires to every person who complains? Think about it? Does that even make sense?
 
#8 ·
QUOTE (jacob_ns @ Feb 16 2009, 11:24 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=216032
I said 60-90" of average annual snowfall, not at one time. No matter how good your plows are, when it's snowing you will have a buildup of accumulation on the roads in excess of the 1/2" you quote. If you don't think having the best possible traction with the road when driving a 2700lb piece of steel is responsible, I can't convince you otherwise. The fact remains that snowtires are infinitely better than an all-season or summer tire in the snow and not having a set specific for that purpose is irresponsible by definition. So much so that Canadian provinces that receive nearly the same annual snowfall as Maine are now mandating, or considering mandating, snowtires as a requirement by law for the winter months.

Money cannot be an excuse as to why someone wouldn't put snowtires on a car for a variety of reasons. First, if you do not replace your OEM tires for the winter, you are undoubtedly wearing them out much sooner which will require they be replaced more often. You would end up spending roughly the same sum over a period of years replacing all-seasons more frequently than if you had a set for spring/summer/fall and a set for winter. Secondly, there is the matter of collisions and accidents. Winter tires won't make your car invincible in the snow, but will lower the chance of an accident by 25-50% over all-seasons as traction and handling is greatly improved. And then when you factor in the safety of others, it's a no brainer.

Not withstanding all of that this begs the question, "Why blame Hyundai for the rating of a tire they didn't make?" Do you actually expect them to give a free set of snowtires to every person who complains? Think about it? Does that even make sense?
 
#9 ·
QUOTE (jeff3820 @ Feb 5 2009, 07:44 PM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=213493
My son has the same car/tires but a 2007. He was also complaining about the car sliding in snow. I took it for a drive and it was HORRIBLE...the OEM Kuhmos were like ice skates. We then went back to the house and I had him try our 1999 Camry (about the same size/weight as the 2007 Elantra) with Goodyear Comfortreds and he said the difference was just remarkable...the Goodyears did much better in the snow. I took him to Sams Club the next day and we picked up a set of Goodyear Tripletreds for the Hyundai and he just loves them. Makes a good car even better!

Seems to be a trend these days for the OEM tires to be basic crap. I have a set of Toyo A20s on my Toyota and they are bad in the snow as well. Next year new tires for me.

I live in MA and have exactly the same problem as described above. Coincidentally, I traded in a '99 Camry with Goodyears and they were like night and day compared to the Kuhmos. My wife's 2005 Elantra had OEM Michelins on it, and they perform admirably. I guess Hyundai with all it's safety hype neglected to consider that tires are part of a car's safety profile. It's now clear why they put so many air bags in the cabin.
 
#10 ·
QUOTE (jacob_ns @ Feb 16 2009, 09:43 AM) index.php?act=findpost&pid=216022
I just had to register to respond to this post specifically because it really gets me frustrated.

I don't get how someone who lives in Maine of all places (which has essentially the same weather patterns as Nova Scotia) could even look at the Kuhmo tires and think they would be good in the snow. It just doesn't make any sense whatsoever. The average annual snowfall in Maine is 60-90". That is a lot of snow.

Those tires, whether they say M+S on them, are visibly not snow tires. Regardless, you have no business driving in the winter in Maine without snowtires and if you do, you're all kinds of irresponsible.

And then to write Hyundai and complain about it? That just adds a whole new level of douche-baggery to the mix.

Start taking responsibility instead of trying to blame everything and everyone else so you can make a buck off of it.


Word. If it snows and/or gets close to or below freezing on a fairly regular basis during winter where you live, GET FVCKING WINTER TIRES PEOPLE. Unfortunately, many of the sheeple don't get this and never will.