Today we are going to look at a problem that may prove to be dangerous. If you notice any handling or grip problems on your Kia Optima , it is important that you drive attentively and manage it quickly. Our team has written this content page to help you resolve them. First, we’ll quickly check out the principal elements that ensure effective road handling, then we’ll check out why your Kia Optima doesn’t hold the road any more, and at last we’ll check out how to resolve your grip complications.

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What are the main elements that ensure great road holding and handling on a Kia Optima?

We begin this content by quickly explaining the main elements that will guarantee good road holding for your Kia Optima. It’s important to know that a vehicle’s grip is a science in itself. It will consequently rely upon many factors, we will describe down below the main ones that can be influenced:

  • Shock absorbers: The main elements of your road handling, they perpetually guarantee the contact between the wheels and the road. They absorb all shocks and holes on the road.
  • Tyres: They are the ones that will guarantee the grip of your Kia Optima on the road, the softer they are, the more grip you have, but the faster they get damaged, the harder they are, the less grip you have, but the more resistant they are. Temperature affects their wear. Their size will also play on grip, the wider they are the more contact with the ground will be significant.
  • The center of gravity: The higher your car is going to be, the more it will lean in the corners and consequently lose handling, that’s why low profile sports vehicles grip better than very high 4×4’s
  • Wheel Alignment: This adjustment enables you to control the vertical angle of your car’s wheels, it is consequently fundamental for the grip of your car and the wear of your tires. This adjustment is very particular and must be done by specialists.

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There are many other elements to consider such as wheelbase, ground clearance, chassis rigidity, weight and aerodynamics…

Why is my Kia Optima having complications with my car’s handling or grip?

We will now proceed to the component that interests you the most, why my Kia Optima has handling complications? As we explained earlier, there are quite a lot of elements to consider for your car to have a good grip, however there are few that can evolve with time, most of them are intrinsic to the construction of the vehicle, we will discover right away those that can affect your handling and road, and, why:

  • As we revealed earlier, the rubber of the tyres has a primordial function in the good road holding of your car, if your tyres are dead, you may possibly have complications of road holding on wet road at first and when you reach the “cord” even on dry road.
  • Dead shock absorbers: If your shock absorbers are dead, your car will no longer have the ability to absorb the irregularities of the road effectively and it will tend to “float”, which will end result in a bad distribution of the masses on the car and shift the centre of gravity of the car. You risk slipping in the bends.
  • The risk with a misalignment is that your ground contact area is reduced because of a too open or too closed wheel angle, you will have grip complications.
  • A steering problem: Last but not least, the last fundamental component for good road handling is that all the elements of your steering must be in good state. The most classic case is that your stabilizer bar or the silent blocks of your steering triangles are dead. The outcome will be a delay in your changes of direction.

How do you resolve the handling complications?

We now proceed to the different solutions to resolve your road holding complications on your Kia Optima .

  • Tyres: Nothing could be simpler, just replace your tyres, make sure to verify them attentively and replace them when you get to the visual indicator in the grooves of your tyres. It is generally required to count between 100 and 200 euros for a pair of tires.
  • Shock absorbers: Ditto, dead shock absorbers have to be changed, if you want to know when to change the shock absorbers of a Kia Optima, please have a check out our content on this theme. The price can vary quite a lot, but you will have to count at least 400€
  • Wheel alignment: You will have to go to your mechanic to have it corrected, it will cost you less than 100€?
  • Steering: If you have complications with the handling on Kia Optima because of your steering, there may be several elements involved, in such a case you will have to produce a complete check-up of these elements, the best is to call a professional.

To find more tips on the Kia Optima, take a look at the Kia Optima category.