15 inch or 16 inch winter tires?

Kia Soul EV Forum

Help Support Kia Soul EV Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

ottsoul

Member
Joined
May 18, 2016
Messages
7
Hi,

I need to get winter tires for my Soul EV, the dealer says to buy 16 inch tires and steel wheels (the same as the gasoline model):

205/60R16
or,
205/55R16

But I did some research and found Tire Rack recommends the following 15 inch tires and wheels:

205/70R15

I would prefer to go with the 15 inch set because its cheaper and taller (better in snow). But every local tire place I called is pushing the 16 inch tires on me.

Has anyone installed 205/70R15 winter tires? Any issues?

thanks!
 
I'm in Kanata, Ottawa and running 205/60R16 Michelin X-Ice 3 on steel rims for the winter. I'm planning on switching next weekend looking at the forecast. I ran them last winter and even on that day with the big snow dump where OC Transpo were abandoning the busses all over the roads, I still didn't have any trouble.
 
Hi there,

I faced this dilemma last year. Had a set of 15" snows on steel rims from my old Elantra that were the exact bolt pattern, offset, and diameter... and they didn't fit.

Not sure if all steel rims will have this issue, but the rims were too small to fit over the brake caliper (I tried it myself... very disappointing). Had to buy completely new 16" rims and snows.

Anyway, aside from the cost-pain, I'm glad I did it. Due to the heavy for size, well distributed weight, and even torque, the Kia handled better than any other FWD car I've driven in snow. Dare I say it, with traction control turned off, even a little "fun" ;)

Another thing to consider though is the slight loss in range due to increased friction at the wheel. While this will depend on the particular tire you choose, I did notice at least 5%-10% loss. That said, it's better than losing control or not being able to stop in time on ice and snow, and it was hard to tell because of the overall loss in range due to the cold battery and heating loads.

Hope that helps!
 
notfred said:
I'm in Kanata, Ottawa and running 205/60R16 Michelin X-Ice 3 on steel rims for the winter. I'm planning on switching next weekend looking at the forecast. I ran them last winter and even on that day with the big snow dump where OC Transpo were abandoning the busses all over the roads, I still didn't have any trouble.

Hey Notfred,

How's the Kia holding up?

I'm in a suburb north of Toronto and knock on wood, no issues so far... love this car.
Now I just wish the province would stop sitting on their hands and get those L3 stations rolled out ASAP! :x
 
Car is holding up well. Just recently had the annual service done, took 1/2 an hour and cost just under $100. I can live with that maintenance cost :)
 
I ordered the 15" XIce tires and steelies from TireRack ... plan to try to fit them in the next 2 weeks or so ... fingers crossed. Its just been a little too warm to put the snows on quite yet.

On a similar but different note, I'm wondering what you guys are doing for rubber mats ? I just saw on the Facebook Soul EV page this guy from Norway showed rubber mats that their dealers provide standard - they aren't deep - but they also aren't just carpet ! I'm seeing if I can get a part number.
 
Just put my winter wheels on this morning. I don't think the 15" would fit over the caliper.

For mats I use Lloyd mats, see the discussion http://www.mykiasoulev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=295

I ordered them from http://www.musclecarsandclassics.ca/lloyd-rubbertite-custom-fit-floor-cargo-mats
 
notfred said:
Just put my winter wheels on this morning. I don't think the 15" would fit over the caliper.

Sigh - you got that right.

The 15" steel wheel from TireRack is 13" ID at the mounting plane to the brake disk - eg. max clearance would be 6.5" from the center of the axle. I measure the outside of the caliper is 6-3/4" from the center of the axle (+/-) - anyway its bigger than the ID of the wheel ... :cry:

And its a little worse than that since the caliper body extends about 1" proud of the mounting plane and the wheel has a bit of a slope to the ID so at 1" out from the mounting plane, there is even less clearance.

What are you using for wheels (OE or some sort of aftermarket wheel) ? Size ?
 
I got my winter tyre setup from the Frisby Tire at Eagleson & Hazledean. It's just using the standard black steel wheels that everyone runs their winter tyres on, not sure if they are OEM or generics. I had them put TPMS sensors in and those are OEM.
 
I'm running cheap 16" steel rims, and did NOT have TPMS sensors installed. Used them all last winter without issue. Just a little more rolling resistance from the aggressive tread and softer rubber.

Not having TPMS sensors just means your warning light will be on till spring and you put your alloys back on again. Not really a big deal.. this is the first car I've owned that has a sensor anyway... just check your pressures regularly and you will be fine ;) (or spend the money on sensors if the dash light bugs you)
 
notfred said:
I got my winter tyre setup from the Frisby Tire at Eagleson & Hazledean. It's just using the standard black steel wheels that everyone runs their winter tyres on, not sure if they are OEM or generics. I had them put TPMS sensors in and those are OEM.

LOL I should have gone to Frisby in the first place.

Their wheel and tire package price for 16" steelies (no TPMS) was essentially same as T-R dot com for 15's ... Interestingly, their wheel fitment guide did not have an explicit entry for Soul EV and, for the regular Soul, 15" apparently fits ... but I also checked Costco.ca's steel wheel fitment guide which DOES have an explicit entry for Soul EV and sure enough it says 16" minimum vs. 15" for the ICE version.

Should have done my research before ordering ... :roll:
 
Back
Top