Need Some Help With Kia Soul Snow Tires?

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whitedust

Well-known member
Cars in ditch all over on 45 & 70E Eagle River to Phelps. Everybody made it home accept #4 daughter & she got within 1.5 miles & her FWD 2013 Kia Soul just would not go any further up hill on our unplowed road. Dug it out, spread kitty litter & she went another 100 feet then the electronic sensing would not allow her to spin & burn up the hills with me pushing & automatically held the RPMs down. Gave up & waiting for plow at this point but everyone home safe & sound.:)

Soul has 18" wheels & thinking we need to put snow tires on her car so has anybody used snow tires on a FWD 2013 Kia Soul? Do I need to put on all 4 snow tires or just 2 up front not sure with the way all this traction control stuff works? Anybody know 2 or 4 tires brand & type of tires we need?
Thanks,
whitedust
 
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wilson

New member
did you turn off the traction control?? i have a little car also and the only way i can make it up my driveway is with it OFF. the owners manual should tell you how to turn it off, if you don't have a switch on the dash somewhere.
 
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ezra

Well-known member
no switch to turn off Tc? look in the book
few yrs back I has snows on just the fr of my wifes camery worked great
 
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900RMtanK

New member
I've always had winter duty tires on my wife's FWD cars. As long as she has a FWD car and not an AWD vehicle I will ALWAYS have winter grippers. There's no comparison in my mind. Many people run them all year round as well. Just sacrifice a little mpg and some wear faster than others.

I used to run Bridgstone Blizzaks which are great but I've switched to the Nitto SN2's and they have been excellent. I'm getting a much longer tread life on them than the Blizzaks and they cost less (at least for my wife's Jetta TDI).

Nothing wrong with just putting 2 on the front but I've always run all 4 as it does help keep the rear planted.
 
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anonomoose

New member
The kia has a switch control on the steering wheel.

I think if you look closely at the ROAD tires that machine has, you would do well to get some mud and snow which will perform almost as well as snows for most driving conditions. I learned this with a Saturn SL2 which I owned. The tires were nice but were not winter friendly and once I figured that out...the car would climb almost as well as my 4x4 UNLESS I left the traction control ON, and then it didn't climb worth beans....apparently that is why they have the on off button on those units.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
wilson said:
did you turn off the traction control?? i have a little car also and the only way i can make it up my driveway is with it OFF. the owners manual should tell you how to turn it off, if you don't have a switch on the dash somewhere.
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Book in car but & car not here stuck in snow ..lol.. but now that you metion it I do recall dealer told her not to touch that button ....now we know when to disengage. I'll look into that thanks.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
anonomoose said:
The kia has a switch control on the steering wheel.

I think if you look closely at the ROAD tires that machine has, you would do well to get some mud and snow which will perform almost as well as snows for most driving conditions. I learned this with a Saturn SL2 which I owned. The tires were nice but were not winter friendly and once I figured that out...the car would climb almost as well as my 4x4 UNLESS I left the traction control ON, and then it didn't climb worth beans....apparently that is why they have the on off button on those units.
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That is my thinking too just no idea brand & model of these tires just know 18". Some Korean or Chinese name on these tires never heard of them & want buy good ole USA snow & mud tires.
 
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polarismike

Member
Try tirerack.com They have some pretty good info on many different brands of tires for all different makes. You can do a search by vehicle make and it will list all different tires for you. If you want USA I think Cooper is one of the only ones left.
 
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chevytaHOE5674

New member
My other half drives a little chevy cobalt all winter long from Ontonagon to Hancock daily. People always say she should be driving a big 4x4, but that little cobalt with blizzak tires on all 4 corners goes like a snowmobile in the snow and I actually prefer it to driving my 4x4's most of the time.

IME true snow tires are worth every penny.
 
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Mark@TimberlineSports

New member
I would look into getting all 4 tires AND wheels. We have a summer set and a winter set so its really easy to change fall / spring, and you dont have to go to the tire shop every change.

-Mark
 
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just_ride

Active member
don't have a Kia, but do have a Mazda3. We put 4 snows on every winter. No problems. Winterforce tires and steel rims. bought on tirerack.com. It was a snow tire package with rims.
Hope that helps

Just_Ride
 
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wirev

New member
Blizzaks come higlhy recommended by Chevy dealer here in town. Suggested I put them on the van.
The Rev
NorDakota
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
chevytaHOE5674 said:
My other half drives a little chevy cobalt all winter long from Ontonagon to Hancock daily. People always say she should be driving a big 4x4, but that little cobalt with blizzak tires on all 4 corners goes like a snowmobile in the snow and I actually prefer it to driving my 4x4's most of the time.

IME true snow tires are worth every penny.
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Blizzaks seem to be most recomended & had 4 of them on an Escort years ago but thought they wore fast but were great in the snow. That was in 90s has wear improved?
 
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chevytaHOE5674

New member
She puts about 600 miles on them a week all winter long and this is winter number 2 and looks like she can get another out of them as they are holding up well.

That said I put them on late in the fall and take them off come spring. I can imagine summer time they would wear quickly as they are soft, also they are noisy and there is a slight decrease in fuel economy.
 
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whitedust

Well-known member
chevytaHOE5674 said:
She puts about 600 miles on them a week all winter long and this is winter number 2 and looks like she can get another out of them as they are holding up well.

That said I put them on late in the fall and take them off come spring. I can imagine summer time they would wear quickly as they are soft, also they are noisy and there is a slight decrease in fuel economy.
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Not worried about gas mpg or noise like you we have snow covered roads for 6 miles from now till April that we have to drive no way out of that. Are Blizzaks Goodyear?
 
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EXCESSIVE FORCE

New member
just_ride said:
don't have a Kia, but do have a Mazda3. We put 4 snows on every winter. No problems. Winterforce tires and steel rims. bought on tirerack.com. It was a snow tire package with rims.
Hope that helps

Just_Ride
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X2 on the Firestone winterforce tires !! They have a siped tread pattern,and made a HUGE difference on my parent's conversion van......
 
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scott_b

Member
If you able to find 18" snow tires, which is unlikely, they will be very pricy. I am with Mark, get wheels and tires for an easy swap. Tire rack will have suggested combos that keep the overall tripe size the same on a smaller wheel.
 
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vmax1994

New member
I drive an Infiniti g35 RWD in most winter conditions. This vehicle has 18" wheels. I swap the whole set of wheels. I purchased the whole set for about $900 from tirerack. My personal preferance is the dunlop winter sport m3 for the price and winter grip. I get 3-4 seasons out of these @ 7-8k miles a season. I zip right past most FWD and even AWD vehicles with these....must be my honed snowmobiling skills;-)
 
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3_old_jags

New member
Whitedust I can relate to your Kia tire problem. I have a 2008 Kia Optima and the first snow I drove it in in 2008 I couldn't believe how bad the traction was. I just purchased my second set of Cooper CS4 Touring M+S for it and they are great. I caution only upgrading the front tire as I did this initially and the rears not being all seasons or whatever they are would not clean themselves of the snow and caused a few interesting corners.
 
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