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Wagons Kia Rondo KIA Rondo Handling, Tires, Suspension
35 messages, Last post on Oct 10, 2009 at 2:41 AM
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Replying to: caliberchic (Jun 19, 2008 4:39 pm) |
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Hi folks, new here to this or any other forum really. I saw a post by Bgw re. getting steel rims from his dealer. I had read in some reviews or another forum (?) that, steel rims were not available for Rondos as even the base model has alloy rims. My question is, were these rims for another vehicle that also fit a Rondo? I need to know as much info as possible. I'll pass this on to my local dealer. I've only had my white '08 EX since Friday but enjoy it very much. Too early to have any issues so far (knock on wood). I hope all works out for anyone w/ issues. Looking forward to sharing and gaining knowledge about this vehicle. Cheers
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Replying to: exfiles (Aug 11, 2008 3:37 pm) I got my rims and tires from Canadian Tire, not the dealer. When we bought the Rondo on Aug 16 last year, we bargained for a set of steel rims with mounted and studded winter tires. Around here, we get lots of snow and I knew the all-season Michelins would be no good, and the original 17 inch rims are just to pretty to destroy with road salt. I went on TheTireRack.com website, sized 15 inch rims and tires to match the circumference of the original set. So I bought 205/65R/15 Goodyear winter tires, which matched the circumference of the original 225/50R/17 Michelins. The rims are standard rims available at Canadian Tire which matched the lug spacing of the Rondo rims (sorry, don't recall what the spacing is, I just measured it with a ruler). No shims were necesssary, as they were a direct fit. And 15 inch is the smallest you can go, to leave space for the brake discs. If you are not in Canada,I bet that your local auto parts store will have standard rims that will fit the Rondo. Just measure the lug spacing and ensure that the rim will give clearance over the discs. We used our setup from November through April and had not one issue. And with the snow we got last winter, thank goodness the tires were studded. Overall, the Rondo is a wonderful family vehicle, and other than a touchy Check Engine Light early on (just gotta turn the gas cap 3 clicks), the Rondo was never needed any service other than maintenance. Easily the most reliable vehicle we have owned. |
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| Thanks bgw, I'll check it out next mo. (I hope). I'm in Petawawa and have a Can. Tire in both towns on either side of me (Pembroke and Deep River, On). I already passed on to my family about the 3 click trick and to stop pumping gas at the first shut off "bump." I'm only on my first tank of gas but it seems to be emptying a bit faster than I hoped, in mixed driving. I'll post more in a mo. or so in another discussion. Also wish to state that I'm glad I joined 2 Rondo forums. Auto forums are an awesome source of parts, info, etc. Used one for another vehicle I once owned a few yrs back. Cheers! | |
I meant as well to add that my current alloys are the 16" ones. I was hoping to switch to 17" alloy and 17" steel but the manual states that you should only install the size that originally came w/ the veh.  Oh well....
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Replying to: exfiles (Aug 12, 2008 7:54 pm) I informed my KIA dealer about the size of winter tires/rims that I wanted as part of the deal, and he had no issue with swapping the 225/50/17 all-seasons for studded 205/65/15 winter tires. Same circumference, no problem for the electronic nannies (ABS, EBD, traction control, etc). |
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Replying to: bgw (Aug 13, 2008 2:13 pm) But I see something that alarms me far worse. You are cruising along and hit a very slippery stretch, something like black ice or road that is not properly draining and you are hydroplaning. The first rule of safety is to let off the accelerator hoping the spinning wheels without power to them get a chance to bite. And above all else, do not brake or it could through you into a spin (this is assuming you have room and are not about to hit something). Hopefully you will regain enough control to steer clear of problem. To this point, idiot engineers forgot to put over-run clutch in transmission. This allows the free wheeling found in many vehicles and is easily shown if your tachometer drops back to idle quickly when you let off accelerator. In effect this vehicle uses engine braking which will make your slippery situation worse. If you had manual transmission which is direct drive you'd disengage the clutch until back on firm footing. And there are other vehicles that have not used over-run in the final drive, but it is a stupid idea for most vehicles. Times you might not want over-run would be in a vehicle where you are constantly hauling heavy loads and the brakes alone are not sufficient to do the job. This Rhondo hardly classifies as a tractor-trailer. |
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Exfiles, I just checked on my winter tires/rims (I have them stored, so it took me a bit of time to get to them, sorry) - the tires are Goodyear Nordic, size 205/65R15. The rims are Canadian Tire - on the side of the rim that goes towards the car (the deep side), there are these numbers - 15 x 6.0, then 3573 and V3, then 13 and 9 and 5 and 1. The last 4 numbers look something like this: 13 9 5 1 On the side of the rim that faces out, between two of the lug holes, is the number 21 and between that and the next lug hole is the number 5435. I measured the distance from the centre of one lug hole to the centre of the next, and got 65 mm. They have 5 lug holes, of course. Hope that helps! Our set was installed in Nov 07 and taken off in late April 08. With these studded tires, winter was not a problem, whether it was deep snow or ice. Of course, the traction control system cut in occasionally, but I do have to say that the Rondo got through the winter almost as well as our old Legacy wagon, which was AWD. The studded tires are noisy though, and the noise is amplified in the Rondo's spacious interior. But you get used to it. Ride, surprisingly, was a bit better than with the standard all-seasons, but maybe that was due to the higher side profile (65 series vs 50 series). Handling did not seem to be affected, but then again I was not tossing the Rondo around in February like I would in July! My advice? Buy 'em! E_net_rider, Gosh, you do have a tendency to make a mountain out of a molehill, don't you! Yes, the traction control kills power to the wheels with excessive wheelspin. But it does not intervene with minimal wheelspin. The only time when our traction control cut in was when we were pulling away from an intersection and gave the car a bit too much gas for conditions. In other words, OUR fault. When the power is cut to the drive wheel, yes it slows the car (it's supposed to) but I have found that a quick lift off the gas pedal resets the traction control and we continue on our way. If you keep your foot on the gas, then the traction control will slow you to almost a stop - that`s because the wheels are still trying to spin on the slippery surface. And that`s the fault of the driver. If you are starting off on a slippery spot, and the traction control kicks in, then you are using too much gas for the conditions. Without a traction control system, you'd still spin your tires. At least when traction control intervenes, it extends the life of your tires and drivetrain a bit. Of course, traction control would intervene a lot for someone who has foolishly left their no-season (sorry, all-season) tires on. The tire compound gets hard as rocks, so naturally there would be little traction. But for those of us who have the sense to install winter tires (studded or not), the traction control will intervene less and also be less obtrusive when it does kick in. You might say that some people cannot afford winter tires. I didn't pay for mine at all - I bargained the price of them into the deal for the car (once I had a price agreed upon, I demanded the tires/rims and got them). However, if you have a Rondo now and could not or did not do the same as I did, then you must ante up the cash somehow to get proper winter footwear for the car. That goes for any vehicle, Kia or Chev or Honda or whatever. It's a matter of safety. Where my family is concerned, I'll put the cost on VISA if I have to. Money well spent, I say. People who feel that no-seaon (there I go again, sorry it's officially all-season) tires work well in the winter are flirting with disaster every time they pull out of the driveway. Now I know that residents of BC, for example, hardly need to worry about winter traction for most of the winter, but that's an exception to the rule. Anyway, I got off on a bit of a tangent there. Your second paragraph is what I felt I had to respond to. You would have to either try very hard to spin a Rondo, or else the driver is a complete idiot and has been asleep at the wheel. It comes standard with electronic brake force distribution, ABS and stability control, nannies which are fully intended to keep you pointed where you want to go. Having used the Rondo for a full year now ( as of today, actually - Happy Birthday to our Rondo!), I can say that I have never, not once, felt as if the Rondo was out of control, and I can tell you right now that we experienced one heck of a winter here in Central Newfoundland in 2007-2008. And when I was first getting used to the new car in the snows of November and December, I TRIED to get it out of control so that I would know how it reacts. The Rondo simply refused to stray! I had to push it to ridiculous limits (on a big empty parking lot, of course!) before the electronics could not defeat the forces of physics anymore. I had to seriously TRY to beat the electronics in order to do it. In everyday driving, the Rondo is so stable in poor conditions that it was a match for our old Legacy AWD wagon, which also had studded tires. You know, when you try to talk about something from the comfort of your living room armchair (``from what I`ve read...``), you are bound to lead a discourse on something you know nothing about. I believe from past threads that you have said you own a Rondo (maybe I am wrong on that) so why don`t you post about your actual experiences, rather than from conjecture! Sorry to rant, I do value your opinions since in the past you have made some good points. Just not this time.
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Replying to: bgw (Aug 16, 2008 6:00 am) http://www.canadiantire.ca/browse/category_landing.jsp (if that works) sorry bgw but I guess I'm one with the "no-season" tire all year users. I'm located in central eastern Ontario and this last winter (record snow falls) and my first winter with my new Rondo. I have to say in my area and our conditions, the Rondo handled great with the combination of ABS and TC (which takes a bit of getting used to when you've never had those features before) and also making quite a bit of use of the Steptronic feature (have owned many manual trans vehicles before and "gearing" is a big help) I never felt I was in a dangerous position and the vehicle was well controlled, certainly much better than my previous vehicle. I'm not disagreeing that winter tires would certainly be better, but I also wanted to find out how well in performed in its "stock" form and also having read quite a bit of negative comments on the stock Hankook tires. Not sure at this point what to do for next winter. Whether you need them or not, depends obviously on your location, if I was living in Newfoundland I wouldn't hesitate. All the cars I've owned, I've never owned winter tires. Studded winter tires are not allowed here. 2008 Rondo EX, 2.4L Ontario, Canada
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Replying to: conwelpic (Aug 16, 2008 2:48 pm) I guess I am biased, since I have used winter tires on just about all my vehicles over the last 24 years. On one of my recent cars, I left the all-seasons on for the winter and would never do it again - the car was a hockey puck - it went mostly where I wanted, most of the time, but not always. My Rondo has the 17" Michelins, which are way too sporty in tread design to be safe in the winter. I believe the Hankooks are a better all-season design. Studded tires are not allowed in ON? I did not know that. Interesting! Here in NL, they are recommended. Sure are noisy though. (BTW, love all your posts conwelpic) |
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