Hyundai Santa Fe Tires Wheels and Sensors

somedai1

I have the '07 Limited Santa Fe with the 18" tires - the wearing on the inside will be the norm - if you look at how these SUV's (or CUV's) sit - the tires are angled - hopefully for better handling and performance but the trade off is the tires will always wear unvenly. I NEVER replace tires with the same tires the car came with - you can find alternate brands and sizes that WILL work... as far as noise concern - you would have to search for public opinion on what would be the quietest tire... I swapped out at around 40k miles which I thought the tires should have lasted longer - but I got noise when I made my switch - (the originals on mine were quiet to me)- I can live with noise if the tire has the other qualities I REALLY need and want - longevity and traction (especially rain and snow) - best website to date for me has been tirerack.com for researching and buying tires. I don't work for them - but I'm a car guy and worked in the industry including selling tires and when it comes to getting the best bang for your buck - I think they're the best for the consumer - if you don't even want to buy online you can research the tires and then buy the ones you want somewhere else - but the tire info and the customer feedback is priceless on that site...

somedai1

replying to my own post! When I switched tires - I put on Sumitomo HTR Sport 255/55/18 Light Truck tires... way loud but great in every other requirement - came with 14/32 tread depth so I expect them to last longer than the OEM and they already are going to because I'm only down to 8/32 after 40k miles... BUT! the inside tread is at 4/32! but if my math is right - I can get another 40k miles before I'm down to 2/32 on the outside tread (legally bald) and literally bald on the inside - which would make this an 80k mile tire for me... NICE! but I probably won't tolerate going down to 2/32 - after all it is not a car therefore the traction demands are greater... makes you wonder why the OEM tire is for a passenger car! (Ok - in reality - it is not a truck - it's classified as a CUV or wagon so they can get away with it) - the noise of this particular Sumitomo tire would make most people shy away and I will search next time around for something else - but I rather have longevity and rain/snow traction for peace of mind than care about noise...

bokonon3

Our Hyundai occasionally did the same thing last winter, when we had some cold snaps. It was always the same wheel.

I found that the sensors were sometimes hyper-sensitive to pressure differences ... but were generally accurate. For whatever reason, we also haven't had as many issues since switching out the OEM tires for a set of Kumhos.

somedai1

generally you will lose 3 lbs pressure in the cold - just add a few and light goes away...

tidester

As a rule of thumb, you will lose about 1 psi for every 10° F drop in temperature.

tidester, host
SUVs and Smart Shopper

sf_halifax

Hello. I have a 2007 Hyundai Santa Fe that has 235/60/18 all season tires. I'm looking to get some snow tires, as I live in Canada. I went to Costco and they don't sell 18" rims. But they did have 16" rims, and they have 235/70/16 tires, which the employee said would be fine. The 16" rims and tires combined are about the same price as the 18", so the price is right. But my question is - is this an appropriate size? I.e. Are there any drawbacks to putting on 16" tires and rims on this vehicle? Looking for input around performance, whether the spedometer/odomoter would still be accurate? Would the 16" or the 18" be better in snow? Any other advantages/ disadvantages. Your input is appreciated.

clstrom36

Hello, I have a 2007 Santa Fe with 235/70/16 and have been pleased with the ride. I imagine the 18" rims gave you a choppy ride so you will have more air inbetween you and the road with the 16's...good luck!

bambew

What a coincidence... I will be upgrading from an '07 SF GL with 16" wheels to a 2011 Limited w/Nav that comes standard with 18" wheels in the next month or two and wanted to do the same thing... put 16" wheels on the 2011 Limited...

Is there a big difference in the ride between the 16 and 18 inch wheels?

The main reason why I like the massive side wall on the 16" tires is that both my wife and I occasionally curb hit/hop... At times, I'm sure that the wheel has been wiped out... When I go have a look, the wheel is untouched...

I'm going to dig into a wheel swap a bit deeper... I asked my salesperson if it was possible to swap the 18's for 16's but he didn't give me a definite answer...

John

somedai1

the difference will be the way that the vehicle handles will be less tight/stable with the 16" and the load capacity (towing and cargo) will be reduced - they may not want to give you 16" because then the characteristics of what the limited should be will be changed and even if you assure them that you will not drive a certain way to test these characteristics - they cannot be sure of this and would not want to be liable. You can put on some 16" wheels on your own but this may void some warranty coverage - you will be giving the dealer an out anytime you make a change that did not have the dealer/manufacturerer blessing... I would say do it on your own anyway - getting the tires on your own would allow you to get some better quality tires than what comes stock with their GLS and so on...

santafe08

After doing another test drive, on the 2008 car when I bought it, I decided against changing out the tires and kept the standard ones. I think I made the right choice. Yes, the ride is a bit bumpier, but after a while I got used to it, and part of the issue was simply getting used to the ride of an SUV after switching form a sedan. The benefit to the better handling, however, made keeping the 18" rims worth it. I figure it's better to have surperior control of the car during turns than to have the slightly more compfortable ride.

As for the change-out issues, the dealer said they could do that without a problem with the warrranty, although that may have changed. And since the wheels are the same radius, then there is no issue with the speedometer.

Anyway, I've been driving the 2008 for 2.5 years now and really like it.

mikea11414

I know as much about cars as I do brain surgery so please bear with me if this is a dumb question. I just got my 2011 limited AWD 6 cyl last week after trading in my 09 murano. I love the car so far but I have to get use to the stiffer, noisier ride of the SF. While researching cars, I notice that Kia buyers were complaining of the noise and hard ride of the Sorrentio. Somebody said that Kia now puts shock damperners on their cars which reduce road noise. Since both cars are made in the same plant now, has anybody heard of these shock dampeners being put on Santa Fe's too?

chucko6

My 2010 Sante is 18 months old and just turned 20K. The KUMHO SOLUS KL21 is the OEM Tire
The ware bars are almost flush and I doubt will pass State Inspection in NOV. Tires have been rotated twice and the 2 fronts are the worst.

Is anybody else experiencing such poor performance ? I know we have pretty bad/rough roads in Pennsylvania and only half my driving is on open roadways. This is costly driving.

jonathann

sohocanada