Kia Sportage: Snow tires

If you equip your vehicle with snow tires, they should be the same size and have the same load capacity as the original tires.

Snow tires should be installed on all four wheels; otherwise, poor handling may result.

Snow tires should carry 4 psi (28 kPa) more air pressure than the pressure recommended for the standard tires on the tire label on the driver's side of the center pillar, or up to the maximum pressure shown on the tire sidewall, whichever is less.

Do not drive faster than 75 mph (120 km/h) when your vehicle is equipped with snow tires.

WARNING

Do not use summer tires at temperatures below 45 ºF (7 ºC) or when driving on snow or ice. At temperatures below 45 ºF (7 ºC), summer tires can lose elasticity, and therefore traction and braking power as well. Change the tires on your vehicle to winter or all-weather tires of the same size as the standard tires of the vehicle. Both types of tires are identified by the M+S (Mud and Snow) marking. Using summer tires at very cold temperatures could cause cracks to form, thereby damaging the tires permanently.

Tire chains

Tire chains, if necessary, should be installed on the front wheels.

Be sure that the chains are installed in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions.

To minimize tire and chain wear, do not continue to use tire chains when they are no longer needed.

• When driving on roads covered with snow or ice, drive at speeds less than 20 mph (30 km/h).
• Use the SAE "S" class or wire chains.
• If you hear noise caused by chains contacting the body, retighten the chain to avoid contact with the vehicle body.
• To prevent body damage, retighten the chains after driving 0.3 ~ 0.6 miles (0.5 ~ 1.0 km).
• Do not use tire chains on vehicles equipped with aluminum wheels.

  In unavoidable circumstance, use a wire type chain.

• Use wire chains less than 0.47 inches (12 mm) to prevent damage to the chain's connection.

Radial-ply tires

Radial-ply tires provide improved tread life, road hazard resistance and smoother high speed ride.

The radial-ply tires used on this vehicle are of belted construction, and are selected to complement the ride and handling characteristics of your vehicle. Radial-ply tires have the same load carrying capacity, as bias-ply or bias belted tires of the same size, and use the same recommended inflation pressure.

Mixing of radial-ply tires with biasply or bias belted tires is not recommended.

Any combinations of radial-ply and bias-ply or bias belted tires when used on the same vehicle will seriously deteriorate vehicle handling. The best rule to follow is: Identical radial-ply tires should always be used as a set of four.

Longer wearing tires can be more susceptible to irregular tread wear. It is very important to follow the tire rotation interval shown in this section to achieve the tread life potential of these tires. Cuts and punctures in radial-ply tires are repairable only in the tread area, because of sidewall flexing. Consult your tire dealer for radial-ply tire repairs.

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