Could not get 175/55r15 Kumho KH16 to seat on 15" rim

[AeroPilot]

WHOOPS! Just noticed from the text, the pics are of your 175/55's!. I like the look of the grooves on those Solus' although we only have the 155/60R15 mounted on the wifes 15RT-S. I remember having a little rubbing with one side on the wire going up the fender strut when we had some Michelins on the 2011 RT. You might want to swivel the plastic wiring clips as seen on the 4th pic so that you don't get wear through on those wires, but hard to see for sure. I noticed them rubbing by the whirring noise on my test ride. Thanks for the pics!!!

[dukeBlue48]

Here is some pis of my Kumho Solus 175/55R15 on my ST:





Adhesion is excellent. At first it feel just like to direct of a steering response..... but you get use to it very soon....

Richard

P.S. how do I rotate them? ( the picture, not the tires ��)

Try: Ctrl and Alt and any arrow key to change the direction

[sledmaster]

Wow, that was a good one. Put the tires in the sun for a couple hours, one went right on, but of course the other one was still not willing to seat all the way. Well, we left the 50 psi in there and rolled it back out into the sun and left it there. Couple hours later, POP up she went. All by itself. Well, the combination of 50 psi and hot sun was enough, along with excessive amounts of lube, and a little bit of swearing along the way.

Mounted them with the color dots aligned to the valve, boy did they balance up nicely. Thank you to all who chimed in on this one. I will follow up with a report on how the 175/55r15 Kumho Solus KH16 compares to my 155/60r15 Kumho Solus KH 16s that have about 20,000 on them (bald on the inner edges). It looks like I gained almost an inch in width, so it will be curious to feel what, if any difference, there is. It was such an improvement to go to the Kumhos from the stock kendas it was stupid good, I can only hope it gets even better. Cheers!

[Bob Denman]

Don't you just love it when a plan comes together?

[sledmaster]

Hell ya, and I just love it that we have a group here that we can share info and ideas with to better understand and appreciate the Spyder. It is after all, a shared passion among all of us.

[Michaelscs]

Congrats on the successful mount! please keep us updated on how you like the new set-up.
I can't wait to hear!
What about the Kumho did you like better than the Continental? You said you weren't to excited about the Continental.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Wow, that was a good one. Put the tires in the sun for a couple hours, one went right on, but of course the other one was still not willing to seat all the way. Well, we left the 50 psi in there and rolled it back out into the sun and left it there. Couple hours later, POP up she went. All by itself. Well, the combination of 50 psi and hot sun was enough, along with excessive amounts of lube, and a little bit of swearing along the way.

Mounted them with the color dots aligned to the valve, boy did they balance up nicely. Thank you to all who chimed in on this one. I will follow up with a report on how the 175/55r15 Kumho Solus KH16 compares to my 155/60r15 Kumho Solus KH 16s that have about 20,000 on them (bald on the inner edges). It looks like I gained almost an inch in width, so it will be curious to feel what, if any difference, there is. It was such an improvement to go to the Kumhos from the stock kendas it was stupid good, I can only hope it gets even better. Cheers!

Have you ever had you Spyder " Lazer " aligned ??? .... inner tire wear indicates mis-alignment ............. Also what style fenders do you have now .......Mike

[sledmaster]

Yes Mike. once we noticed the wear on the inner edges we took it to Caswell Cycle and got it laser aligned, but what we found did not explain the wear pattern. That said, the Spyder then handled incredibly well, could not believe the difference, I thought it worked well beforehand, was surprised at the difference. Now that it is aligned I pretty much burned the rest of the rubber off the 155s and am now installing the 175s, onto a new set of wheels.

[sledmaster]

Mostly the tread pattern was what I didn't like as well. I had that tire on a couple of Subaru Outbacks and it wore well but didn't hook up all that good, so I opted for the Kumho KH16. With 20,000 miles on a set of Kumho KH16s but in the 155 width I know they work. We are so very limited in 15" front tire options, there is another Kumho tread pattern and a Bridgestone I would also like to try. That was why I got an extra set of wheels so I could swap them around and see what works better. It's part of my nature.....

Congrats on the successful mount! please keep us updated on how you like the new set-up.
I can't wait to hear!
What about the Kumho did you like better than the Continental? You said you weren't to excited about the Continental.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Mostly the tread pattern was what I didn't like as well. I had that tire on a couple of Subaru Outbacks and it wore well but didn't hook up all that good, so I opted for the Kumho KH16. With 20,000 miles on a set of Kumho KH16s but in the 155 width I know they work. We are so very limited in 15" front tire options, there is another Kumho tread pattern and a Bridgestone I would also like to try. That was why I got an extra set of wheels so I could swap them around and see what works better. It's part of my nature.....

.. This tire has such good performance numbers I'm going to be the TEST MULE and try a 175/65-15 on my 2014 RT soon ..........this is their smallest tire that might fit ....I have the basic fenders that I have already radiused 1/2 inchfrom the inside edge .... I did this for ease of tire removal........Mike

[Deanna777]

.. This tire has such good performance numbers I'm going to be the TEST MULE and try a 175/65-15 on my 2014 RT soon ..........this is their smallest tire that might fit ....I have the basic fenders that I have already radiused 1/2 inchfrom the inside edge .... I did this for ease of tire removal........Mike

Keep us posted!
Deanna

[sledmaster]

OK so I mounted the new wheels and bigger tires into my 2013 ST-S, which has the new style fenders. The larger 175/55r15 tires and wheels went right in, totally effortless, fit perfectly. I did put a shop towel around the brake caliper to prevent any contact with the inner portion of the wheel, but the wheel and tire went right in super easy. I did as Richardv had suggested, started by inserting the wheel from the mud flap towards the top of the fender, but it was super easy.

Same Kumho Solus KH16s, now in the 175/55r15 instead of 155/60r15. The 155s just didn't fill out the fenders, they looked narrow. The 175s look really nice, completely filling out the fenders.

Now for the curious part. It definitely changed the feel of the machine. It is more stable, more planted, tracks very nicely, the front end is more settled, more confident, BUT....

Don't get me wrong, I love the way it feels and handles and acts, but I was somewhat surprised at the difference. It is not as playful, not as agile, maybe not as quick to respond, the front end almost feels heavier, and it actually feels like I am accelerating more mass. To that end, each tire is two pounds heavier than the 155s I took off, and since this is rotating mass that is quite a ways from the center of rotation, it acts like 7 pounds more weight for each pound of rotating mass that is added. Using that formula I just added 28 pounds......effectively. I guess I need more power than what the 991 is giving me! The 990 in my 2008 GS is so much stronger!

So I would highly suggest anyone with the new style fenders looking for a higher quality, higher load rating, longer life 15" front tire to look into a 175/55r15 tire. The Kumho KH 16 does have a "AA" traction rating and a "A" temperature rating, treadwear is 440. Few tires available in this size, the Continental Contiprocontact is also "AA" traction and "A" temperature with a 400 treadwear rating so it should also perform well. There is also a Hankook Ventus V4 that I would like to try, but the Kumhos should last me for a couple years now the way I ride. I might just mount a set of Hankooks to the wheels I have the 155s on.....

[KX5062]

I'm not ready for front tires yet, but I was poking around the web and it appears that the KH16 is no longer available in the 175/55r 15 size. Unless I'm missing it from the Kumho website itself.

http://www.kumhousa.com/tire/categor...7-4270BC9ECBF2

[BajaRon]

Wow, that was a good one. Put the tires in the sun for a couple hours, one went right on, but of course the other one was still not willing to seat all the way. Well, we left the 50 psi in there and rolled it back out into the sun and left it there. Couple hours later, POP up she went. All by itself. Well, the combination of 50 psi and hot sun was enough, along with excessive amounts of lube, and a little bit of swearing along the way.

Mounted them with the color dots aligned to the valve, boy did they balance up nicely. Thank you to all who chimed in on this one. I will follow up with a report on how the 175/55r15 Kumho Solus KH16 compares to my 155/60r15 Kumho Solus KH 16s that have about 20,000 on them (bald on the inner edges). It looks like I gained almost an inch in width, so it will be curious to feel what, if any difference, there is. It was such an improvement to go to the Kumhos from the stock kendas it was stupid good, I can only hope it gets even better. Cheers!

Did you check air pressure after the seating process was done? I would think, sitting in the sun, that the pressure was higher than 50 lbs.

But congratulations on overcoming this problem!

[Richardv]

OK so I mounted the new wheels and bigger tires into my 2013 ST-S, which has the new style fenders. The larger 175/55r15 tires and wheels went right in, totally effortless, fit perfectly. I did put a shop towel around the brake caliper to prevent any contact with the inner portion of the wheel, but the wheel and tire went right in super easy. I did as Richardv had suggested, started by inserting the wheel from the mud flap towards the top of the fender, but it was super easy.

Same Kumho Solus KH16s, now in the 175/55r15 instead of 155/60r15. The 155s just didn't fill out the fenders, they looked narrow. The 175s look really nice, completely filling out the fenders.

Now for the curious part. It definitely changed the feel of the machine. It is more stable, more planted, tracks very nicely, the front end is more settled, more confident, BUT....

Don't get me wrong, I love the way it feels and handles and acts, but I was somewhat surprised at the difference. It is not as playful, not as agile, maybe not as quick to respond, the front end almost feels heavier, and it actually feels like I am accelerating more mass. To that end, each tire is two pounds heavier than the 155s I took off, and since this is rotating mass that is quite a ways from the center of rotation, it acts like 7 pounds more weight for each pound of rotating mass that is added. Using that formula I just added 28 pounds......effectively. I guess I need more power than what the 991 is giving me! The 990 in my 2008 GS is so much stronger!

So I would highly suggest anyone with the new style fenders looking for a higher quality, higher load rating, longer life 15" front tire to look into a 175/55r15 tire. The Kumho KH 16 does have a "AA" traction rating and a "A" temperature rating, treadwear is 440. Few tires available in this size, the Continental Contiprocontact is also "AA" traction and "A" temperature with a 400 treadwear rating so it should also perform well. There is also a Hankook Ventus V4 that I would like to try, but the Kumhos should last me for a couple years now the way I ride. I might just mount a set of Hankooks to the wheels I have the 155s on.....

...that it does feel a little bit "heavier". But, on the other hand, it stick so muck to the road, that I am in desperate need of a Bayaron sway bar. I can feel in every curve that the bike wants to go out of the curve, but the tires keep it on its radius..... funny feeling, kind of like if the sway bar would not be there any more.....

I also experimented up to 25psi in the front tires, but that doesn't help. Just banging harder in the holes and ditches. Went down to 16psi, but finally settled at 19.5psi road side and 20psi curb side. Goes straight as an arrow on back roads.... ;-)

P.S. insisting to get the color dot in line with the valve really helps to balance perfectly.... they balanced with less than an ounce each. Also my 3 rear tires Kumho AST 225/50R15 didn't seemed to need to be balanced, so, just in case, I added 3oz of beads in them.

[sledmaster]

Richardv, sounds like you need the Bajaron sway bar kit, anti-sway bar to be accurate. Best bang for the buck. So far I have the Fox Podium front shocks, the Bajaron sway bar, and now the Kumho 175/55r15 front tires, with the unit having been laser aligned. Crazy good how it performs. No more wallowing or lane wandering, yes it is firm as I have the spring preload cranked, but I don't like scraping the skid plate on the g-bumps. Broke one already.

As for tire pressures, with the stiffer sidewalls of the Kumho in comparison to the stock kendas I see little logic in going higher in pressures. Have tried everything from 13 to 22 psi in the 155/60r15 Kumhos, am back down to 16 psi right now in the 175s. In the rear I have found the same thing, with the stiffer tire and higher load capacity you don't need the high psi, and the tire seems to wear better, am down at 22 psi. That is with my fourth Toyo Proxes 4 225/50r15. I have one of them left, then going to the 205/55r15 Yoko S drive. It is within a 1/4 inch in width, seems kind of heavy though.

Unless a rider is super sensitive to ride comfort and compliance, I would recommend to everyone that needs to replace their front tires to go with the 175/55r15 size as it was a perfect fit in the new style fenders. Better tire, less money, wider profile, just realize it is a stiffer carcass, good for handling attributes but will firm up the ride compliance. Start at 15 psi, try 17 and try 13 and see what you like better. I love my ST-S right now, too bad they quit building it. Too bad the 1330 is only available in small person models. I am too damn tall to ride an RT, or F3 for that matter. Much prefer the riding position of the ST, but that is the snowmobiler in me.

[PW2013STL]

Richardv, sounds like you need the Bajaron sway bar kit, anti-sway bar to be accurate. Best bang for the buck. So far I have the Fox Podium front shocks, the Bajaron sway bar, and now the Kumho 175/55r15 front tires, with the unit having been laser aligned. Crazy good how it performs. No more wallowing or lane wandering, yes it is firm as I have the spring preload cranked, but I don't like scraping the skid plate on the g-bumps. Broke one already.

As for tire pressures, with the stiffer sidewalls of the Kumho in comparison to the stock kendas I see little logic in going higher in pressures. Have tried everything from 13 to 22 psi in the 155/60r15 Kumhos, am back down to 16 psi right now in the 175s. In the rear I have found the same thing, with the stiffer tire and higher load capacity you don't need the high psi, and the tire seems to wear better, am down at 22 psi. That is with my fourth Toyo Proxes 4 225/50r15. I have one of them left, then going to the 205/55r15 Yoko S drive. It is within a 1/4 inch in width, seems kind of heavy though.

Unless a rider is super sensitive to ride comfort and compliance, I would recommend to everyone that needs to replace their front tires to go with the 175/55r15 size as it was a perfect fit in the new style fenders. Better tire, less money, wider profile, just realize it is a stiffer carcass, good for handling attributes but will firm up the ride compliance. Start at 15 psi, try 17 and try 13 and see what you like better. I love my ST-S right now, too bad they quit building it. Too bad the 1330 is only available in small person models. I am too damn tall to ride an RT, or F3 for that matter. Much prefer the riding position of the ST, but that is the snowmobiler in me.

I installed the same front tires last week and then my wife and I rode up to Brainerd with the Caswell group to do some riding with SethO. Trying to stay with him is a challenge! I will not claim that I did it, but we were able to keep him within sight. These are the best handling front tires I have had on and the nanny stayed asleep the whole time. I am running 20# in them, but will try a lower setting to see how that works. I have to say that the gas mileage between 80 and 100 sure drops fast.

[SPECTACUALR SPIDERMAN]

There are a few things i would try but none would be done at home, all at a tire shop.