I own a 2006 Kia Sportage EX that I LOVE- except when it comes to winter driving. It handles horribly on even the slightest bit of ice. And it’s downright dangerous on the highway!
It has brand new Cooper All Weather Tires and I have tried adding weight to the back end to give it more stability but nothing works. My next step is to buy new snow/stud tires - ugh.
My question is this - Can I get away with buying only 2 tires for the extra traction or do I have to buy 4?"
Driving on only 2 might be worse than driving on the Coopers. If you want it to make a difference go with all 4. Look on the bright side - having both sets just prolongs the life of each set.
And don’t buy Coopers if you want good tires. (Ok - that’s just my opinion. I’ve owned them a couple of times. Never happy. Maybe they have some decent models).
" It has brand new Cooper All Weather Tires "
You want real winter tyres, not all weather. All weather really means marginally good for summer and poor for winter. And yes you really need four tyres, not just two. If you have to have only two put the best ones on the back.
Yea, on the back. Winter driving is about driving safe. Gutting stuck is a real bother, but loosing control is a serious danger. You need four good tyres to maintain good control.
Driving on only 2 might be worse than driving on the Coopers
Cooper car tires are decent…Cooper truck tires are EXCELLENT…Been driving on them for about 10 years now…I get excellent wear…and the ride and traction is as good as they get.
All season tires are fine for a fwd vehicle in 95% of the US…So unless you live in the Mountains or around the Great Lakes and their 150"+ /year of lake effect snow - all season tires should be fine.
Well, I said it was my opinion. I twice bought Cooper tires for cars. And I twice had tires that wore quickly and couldn’t hold the road when dry, let alone wet. I qualified my comment about it.
Aside from that, the part you pulled was also partly a reference to driving on ice/snow with “all weather” tires - not only about Coopers.
Aside from that, the part you pulled was also partly a reference to driving on ice/snow with “all weather” tires - not only about Coopers.
I agree…what’s your point.
Did I miss whether it was awd or fwd. If it’s fwd, adding weight to the back makes it worse. The tires as every one has said are the first thing I would change. Cooper makes a variety of models. You need to scope out reviews of your and others tires and look for those with better winter traction then you have. You really can’t make general statements of how good in snow all season tires are unless you know both the brand and model. They differ. Some are really poor, some are acceptable in moderate conditions and none are as good in severe conditions as dedicated winter tires with the snow flake emblem.
The Sportage was available with 4wd or FWD. So, if it’s fwd, then I’ll echo dagosa’s statement about added wight to the back being a horrible idea; just try removing the weight from the back and see how it goes. If it’s 4wd, are you adding the weight directly over the rear axle or at the edge of the hatch?