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Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 16 2012, 04:45 PM

Well, Porky, my trusty steed for the last 10 years, 4 months and 25 days finally got replaced. After being the most reliable vehicle I've ever owned, I ditched her BEFORE she left me stranded. Rust was starting to grow rather rapidly, some places a little more critical than others (like the radiator mounts), and she needed a lot of little work that a car it's age and miles (155k) needs.

So we found a really good replacement. 2010 Kia Forte SX Sedan 6MT. Found it in Troy, OH listed for $13,900 with 18k miles on the odo. Ended up with $10k loan for a 2 year old car that's almost new.

On to the pics:
http://indycarscene.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/6833
http://indycarscene.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/6834
http://indycarscene.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/6835
http://indycarscene.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/6836
http://indycarscene.com/photopost/showphoto.php/photo/6837

Posted by: Kate31 Sep 16 2012, 05:51 PM

I like it!!!

Posted by: Jessie Sep 16 2012, 05:59 PM

When I saw the title, I was thinking that somehow Porky found it's way to your driveway and surprised you this morning. Definitely would have been interesting.

Great looking car! Congrats! (:

Posted by: Alex2013GT Sep 16 2012, 06:01 PM

Awesome! Congrats on the car Bob

Posted by: popeye Sep 16 2012, 06:47 PM

My fav Kia color, congrats!

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 16 2012, 06:49 PM

Well, I got my first suprise with it. We reset the mpg computer thingy magiggy when we took it for a test drive. Then drove it home. It showed 33.4mpg average. It wasn't even close. I filled it up earlier and manually calculated the mileage and it was actually 36.1.

Also, and this is directed at Mitch........ is there a hidden sub in this car? I know the Hondar Element SC came with one in thefront of the center console. This thing hits like that. But for the life of me I can't find one.

Posted by: elantragt Sep 16 2012, 08:02 PM

Nope. The SX sound system has excellent bass. You have three levels of bass boost.

Looks great Bob. Titanium is my second favorite Forte color.

Also, here's a good link for ya...

https://www.kiatechinfo.com/Index.asp

Posted by: mlumz Sep 16 2012, 09:12 PM

Looks great.

Posted by: milehighhyundai Sep 16 2012, 09:22 PM

Nice car Bob! If something were to happen to my Elantra in the near future, I would be hunting for an SX like yours.

But the real question: How soon until you install headerS, and a chip to get 300whp and 55 MPG?

Posted by: benman Sep 17 2012, 06:51 AM

That looks sharp! 18K miles on a 2010 -- that's awesome.

Any mod plans yet?

Yeah, when I read the title I thought you were going to say Porky broke down on the way to the dealer. Glad to know everything worked out well.

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 17 2012, 07:05 AM

well, not sure what plans I am going to implement yet. The vette is up for sale. If it sells, then we'll pay off the Forte by christmas and I'll start looking for a replacement for it. Currently thinking either a '13 Gen Coupe or a used C6 'vette. If that doesn't happen, or I dont find what I'm looking for by spring time, the Forte will get some Megan coilovers, rear sway bar and some 225/45/17 Star Specs to go on the stock wheels and I'll run it in STF for the season.

Today I'm test fitting some 18x7.5 Acura RDX Takeoff wheels to triple check my fitment. As long as they do fit like they're supposed to, I'm ordering some 225/40/18 Kumho Platinum LX tires. There's a monster knot on one of the stock Goodyear RS-A's, and the others are chopped like hell and dry rotted so I was going to need new tires as soon as we got home anyway.

Posted by: bhorste Sep 17 2012, 06:42 PM

Nice find, Bob!

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 18 2012, 07:55 AM

So , I test fitted the RDX 18's. not gonna work. Well, let me rephrase, not gonna work FOR ME. I'm not into that stance shit and these definately poke out.




Too bad, I kinda liked the look.

Posted by: sarge Sep 18 2012, 11:30 AM

oh c'mon you could definitely put some 195s on there then make it 'flush' like a Vdub.

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 18 2012, 12:56 PM

ummm.... no.

I just ordered a set of 225/45/17 Kumho 4X's.

Posted by: sarge Sep 18 2012, 02:53 PM

hehe - good call on not. You're smarter than most out there

I'm liking my 4X's. I'm sure you'll enjoy them too.

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 18 2012, 03:31 PM

Yeah, if it gets turned into an STF auto-x car next spring it will get a set of specific wheels and tires for that. likely some RPF1's and some 225/45/17 Star Specs.

Posted by: Red Elantra Sep 18 2012, 04:07 PM

Hey-It's a drag to have tires/wheels that are too big. Better to go with something reasonable, as you did.
Dark gray is a favorite color of mine. Very handsome!

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 20 2012, 07:32 AM

Got the new 225/45/17 4X's on the stock 7" wheels last night. What a m'er f'in beyotch. That was a fight.... but well worth it. Why didn'y Kia use good tires on these cars? They would have sold a shit-ton more cars! It's smooth, quiet, poised and drives fantastic. The stock Goodyear RS-A's had ~5-6/32 of tread left, but the instant I started breaking them down the dry rot showed it's ugly head. Cracks were EVERYWHERE.

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 24 2012, 07:03 AM

So, I learned a few things this weekend. A few of us volunteered to run an auto-x for the huge mopar weekend at (formerly known as) IRP. That in itself was worth paying admission for... watching a bunch of 4k+ lb hemi powered cars trying to turn was absolutely hilarious! But I took the Forte out for some fun laps, took about 10 runs or so. I was suprised. I was still running 32psi all around on my new Kumho Ecsta 4X's in a little larger than stock 225/45/17 on the stock 7" wheels.

The car was very nuetral out of the box. It would step the ass out quite easily. It was fairly responsive, had a ton of power down low (which you would expect out of that 2.4L) and the brakes were OK. Not a great feel on the brake pedal, but it still has the stock pads all around.

Raleigh Boreen was out running different things, including Velma's Mini Cooper S convertible. His best run in the mini was a 45.5 on BFG Summer tires in the stock 205/45/17 size. My best run was a 45.2. I was the fastest FWD car out there this weekend.... in a bone stock Kia.

What it really needs is better pads, about 3* of camber up front and some better tire/wheels. Dropping it about 2" wouldn't hurt either.... but man was it a ton of fun. I think this may be a potential contender in STF.

Posted by: sarge Sep 24 2012, 09:38 AM

That's awesome!! Sometimes it's not just the car, but the driver.
Way to go Porky2!

Posted by: Alex2013GT Sep 24 2012, 09:44 AM

Damn that's awesome Bob!

Posted by: Bobzilla Sep 24 2012, 02:19 PM

If it had been anyone but Raleigh, I'd agree. That man has been autocrossing longer than I've been alive I think. He's probably forgotten more than I will ever know. He's not just good, he's REAL good. He took a few cars out on Sat and beat every car owner. One had been auto-x'ing his 1971 T/A 340 6-pack since 1976.

Posted by: slowgls Nov 14 2012, 07:22 PM

Hey Bob!!! Got a set of wheels for yea. You interested?
http://www.elantraclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=33350

Posted by: elantragt Nov 14 2012, 09:56 PM

Kyle, that offset will make Bob have the stance look. Not sure he's into that.

Posted by: slowgls Nov 14 2012, 10:18 PM

I bet there still lighter than stock though.

Posted by: Bobzilla Nov 15 2012, 08:56 AM

Being that they're a 7" wheel, they'd likely stick out as far as the RDX wheels did (7.5" wheel and a 45 offset). I really need a 7.5" wheel.

Posted by: slowgls Nov 15 2012, 12:06 PM

Oh darn, Well just wanted to ask. lol.

Posted by: Bobzilla Nov 15 2012, 02:21 PM

well, that and for $600 I can get a set of Enkei RPF-1's new.

Posted by: trololololo Nov 15 2012, 07:09 PM

ze porky shall be ridin derty once again

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 5 2013, 01:18 PM

Alrighty.... so after much measuring and checking with Pierce Motorsports, I ordered his custom k-sport coilovers for the SeX. they are 10k frt, 12k rear set up for the similar weight veloster Turbo, with shock valving to control that much spring. THis is much stiffer than what anyone currently offers (megan 8k/4k, Stance 7k/3k). With this, I may not need to add a rear bar at all. Tires/wheels I picked up in Feb for $600. 17x7.5 Kosei K-1's wrapped in half worn Bridgestone RE-11's:



First auto-x is coming up on the 13/14th. Suspension won't be in for a few more weeks, but I'll at least have the wheels/tires on.

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Apr 5 2013, 01:23 PM

niiiice

cant wait to hear how it does!

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 5 2013, 01:37 PM

what worked out really well is the oldheadrest camera mount I made for the Elantra works perfect in the SeX so there will be videos too.

Posted by: slowgls Apr 5 2013, 01:57 PM

Cant wait.

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 5 2013, 02:10 PM

You? How do you think I feel?

Posted by: slowgls Apr 5 2013, 02:29 PM

IF you had a chance to run at Road America would you. It would only be an auto-x on the go kart track but still an awesome place. WE will be hosting two events this year.

Oh and i want my j back now. So yea i know how you feel. lol.

Here is some more info.
http://www.fvscc.com/forum/showthread.php?t=2124

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 5 2013, 02:37 PM

Since I am planning on another week long trip to Nationals this year, another "big weekend" is likely out for me this year..... but that doesn't mean it's 100% out.

Posted by: slowgls Apr 5 2013, 02:39 PM

Well that would be cool. You could crash at my place too. No need to pay for a room.

Posted by: Silentwolf Apr 6 2013, 12:34 AM

They've got some rally cross stuff just north of Little Rock

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 10 2013, 01:01 PM

aLRIGHTY, today was first day on the new wheels/worn out tires. Holy hell.... 225/45/17 Re11's are still sticky!

Posted by: slowgls Apr 11 2013, 11:35 AM

She's lookin good.

Posted by: silet Apr 15 2013, 10:31 AM

That looks like awesome fun!!!

Posted by: Bobzilla Apr 15 2013, 12:08 PM

OK, a little more depth now that I'm not running out to lunch...

On Sat, the temps were extremely cold. I never ran in temp about 40*, and most of the time it was spitting rain/sleet at us with 25mph+ wind gusts. It was about as terrible of weather conditions as you could ask for to auto-x in. Tires are 6yo (date code '08) Bridgestone RE-11's that are pretty well worn. Corners on all 4 are round from a lack of camber by the previous owner, rear tires are about 1-2/32 of tread left, fronts are sitting at 4-ish. Rest of the car is 100% bone stock.

Launches were pointless, wheel spin from hell because of the cold and wet. Car got down the straight quickly, outrunning the 328i set up for STX I was lined up for on my 4 timed runs. First turn, on the first run the ass stepped out fast. Caught it and was more careful from that point forward. Inside tire spin was ridiculous. cold air=more betterer power and super cold tires meant grip was minimal. throttle modulation had to be carefully monitored. Second runs, I forgot to turn off the TCS. Launched, TCS killed power I started to watch the 328 pull away then remembered, reached down and turned it off before the shift to second. Caught the bimmer, made the rest of the run uneventful. Car pushed a little, but that was to be expected. There was ZERO grip.The only cars running fast were the Subies. Anything with torque or RWD was fubar'd. Still had fun, but wasn't much of a learning curve with such extreme conditions.

Sunday: This was our "Records Day" where the fastest car in the class sets the class record to be beat on the last event of the season. This was the important day for me because it will really showcase what differences have helped and how much faster the car (and driver) have gotten over the course of the season. I was the only car in STF, so beating others was not a priority. Temps were in the high 40's, low 50's and the sun was out with minimal wind. Grip was slowly getting to the "Acceptable but far from ideal" level, which was a huge improvement over the previous day's "slab of butter on a hot skillet".

Car was a little pushy out of the gate, got worse on the first run as the front tires got heat and grip. This is a familiar course as it's the permanet Test-n-tune course at that site, so getting adjusted to the course was not hard. After the run, I lowered the front tire pressure to 27 and pumped the rears to 35, and that is where I kept them as it seemed to be happiest there. This same course, I ran the Swift GT on Koni's, coilover's, RE-01R's and all 1790lbs of awesomeness to a mid-52 second time. My first run was a 52.8, second was a 52.1, dropped to a 51.5 on my last run.

Observations: In stock trim, the car is fairly neutral. It will snap the ass out when pushed, or tires are cold. push a little too much and it gets real pushy real fast. Throttle application is not like any of my other FWD auto-x'ers. Smash it and you are greated with wheelspin gallore, and leave it planted long enough you'll get smoke..... tire smoke. Body roll is pretty much kept in check, considerin the lack of a rear sway bar. The one thing it NEEDS more than anything is negative camber up front. This thing spent 80% of it's time on the outer 2" of tread on those tires.

This car reminds me most of the elantra. It can only handle one thing at a time. You can brake, OR turn, OR accelerate. Trying to any combination of those will result in a pushy, tire spinning beast. Be patient, and it is quick.

I can't WAIT for this thing to have a real suspension under it and the new Rival's.

Posted by: Bobzilla May 6 2013, 11:54 AM

Car was co-driven today. I actually got beat by my co-driver by .194. Sum-beech. Car felt good all day. Co-driver is a honda-fanboi hardcore. After his 3rd run he gets out, says "Damn, this car has some SERIOUS potential. I don't hate this at all."

We ran the same course we set up Sat for the OLoA drivers. FTD for the one-lappers was a 54.4. Median time for the OL'ers was around a 61. We both ran 60's. Had a good time.

As I was filling up to head home, I looked the front tires over. The front struts cannot control the springs for shit. Hard core cupping on the outer corner. Rears no noticeable wear. So it looks like the rear shocks are shit for hte street, but great for auto-x. The fronts are fine for the street, and shit for auto-x.

God I can't wait for my suspension to come in.

Pics of co-driver:

Posted by: Silentwolf May 6 2013, 02:09 PM

Wonder how much more fun it would be in the upcoming Koup SX.

Posted by: Bobzilla May 6 2013, 02:17 PM

Couldn't tell you. Since I'm not buying one, I'll just make this one more fun. Besides, if I'm buying a coupe, it's going to be RWD. FWD coupe is aids.

Posted by: Silentwolf May 6 2013, 02:35 PM

Was thinking for myself. I rarely use the back seats in Hunter, so 4 drs isn't a necessity and the Forte/Elantra Coupes have as much cargo room as the Fiesta ST hatch. Plus, I've been wanting to get into some Auto-X

Posted by: Bobzilla May 6 2013, 03:00 PM

stop thinking about it and do it. You've got almost year-round auto-x season there. I'd kill for that.

Posted by: slowgls May 6 2013, 03:19 PM

Me too!!!

Well ice racing is fun but just not the same. If i could run summer tires year round i would!!

Posted by: Silentwolf May 6 2013, 04:32 PM

I'll be in AR soon, which will actually have more readily accessible auto-x and rally-x.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 6 2013, 02:33 PM

So, I found something new today. Elantra (MD), Veloster and first Gen Forte all share the same suspension. EXCEPT the top hats. They will all bolt in, but the Elantra is turned one bolt hole to make the camber/caster adjuster wrong for the other two. Elantra coilover kits are in stock ready to rock. No hats for the others.

Posted by: slowgls Jun 6 2013, 07:15 PM

sweet!!!

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 7 2013, 07:44 AM

No, not sweet. I've been waiting almost 10 weeks now with no release date in sight. Good news from Megan: Tophats are $75 each.... so I am going to source those, and then get the Elantra kit and swap the tophats.

I may have a set of MD adjustable tophats for sale soon.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 18 2014, 01:05 PM

OK, so 2 months ago I bought a lightweight battery (11lb Shuriken). It's been sitting on the bench since. about 3.5 weeks ago I made the hold down bracket for it. And finally Monday night I installed it.




The Forte SX comes with the Group 24-F battery. The original battery in it weighed 41lbs. The replacement, with bracket, weighed under 13. That's 28 lbs off the left frnt corner of the car with this alone. Total weight loss for the season: 64lbs.

Posted by: trololololo Jun 19 2014, 12:08 AM

ive been thinking bout those since u posted bout it months ago... looks good

did u have to buy seperate posts?

Posted by: Bobzilla Jun 19 2014, 07:47 AM

Yeah, I paid the $11 for the pack of 4 posts (2 short, 2 long). Then I had to take them to the grinder and flatten one side so they'd actually fit.

Posted by: trololololo Jun 19 2014, 12:29 PM

cool... now i just gotta find a way to drug my wife.... or at least numb her frontal lobe

Posted by: Vinnie Sep 26 2014, 08:29 PM

Wow that is tiny. Hows it holding up?

Good job on the battery stay, looks great.

Posted by: Bobzilla Dec 1 2015, 06:23 PM

ok, NEW UPDATE. I have stumbled upon the #1 option for shocks/struts. I call it the Bilstoni upgrade. Bilstein front struts, Koni Sport rear shocks. A-May-Zing. I typically hate pulling off the auto-x suspension because the factory struts/springs were not good. Too much spring, not enough strut made for a lousy ride, tons of squat/dive and a pogo-reaction to large bumps. Car turned over 69k the night before the swap and close to 30k of those are on the K-sports. So the stock struts had less than 40k miles on them. All the oil that was supposed to be internal was external. You could move the shaft well over an inch before you encountered ANY resistance and they are both still collapsed.... Not good at all.

Granted, I had to order the second Billy directly from Germany (luckily, the cost wasn't too bad at $107 for that one) and it took almost 4 weeks to get it. But all in all WELL worth the monies. Car handles close to 85% of the auto-x suspension with a better ride, no squat or dive and EXTEREMLY stable on midcorner bumps. I wish Hyundai and Kia had gone this route from the factory. They'd sell twice as many cars!

I also did some quick measurements. THe stock strut shaft was 19mm. The Billy is 24mm. Shock body is 2mm wider as well, and there is a better seal on the shaft than the stock. The sway bar tab is almost a full quarter inch thick on the billy and much thinner on the stock. Overall build is 10x's what the stock Korean made strut was.

So for all you MD'ers out there, this is an AWESOME upgrade that will make the car feel so much better.

Posted by: xdforme22 Dec 1 2015, 07:44 PM

Awesome Bob! I think I will go this route with the koup when I need to replace these. Did this make the ride noticeable firmer/harsher?

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Dec 2 2015, 07:51 AM

very nice!

you can also get MOBIS suspension for these and ours now. 100x better than OE. i will be doing MOBIS shocks/struts when my factory ones go out.

Posted by: Bobzilla Dec 2 2015, 10:05 AM

Firmer, yes. But less harsh than stock.



do you switch back and forth from the ksports to stock like I do for winter? Funny enough, it took longer to get the billy's put together with the mounts and springs than it did to jack the car up, remove the tires and swap the entire suspension!

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Dec 2 2015, 02:55 PM

yes yes i do. i did it early last month. put the snows on over a week ago.


ive got about 20K on my ksports i am going to send the front cartridges back to be rebuilt since the adjusters are frozen inside and i cant spin them. stupid mistake on me... the ksports have been wonderful. halfway through the season i had a few pros clue me in that my front end should be a little softer it will tune out the rest of my understeer. i was running 18F 26R . i want to run 10F 26R lol.

Posted by: Bobzilla Dec 2 2015, 04:54 PM

I sent mine in to FEAL for a rebuild/revalve. ( http://fealsuspensionstore.com/home/ ) Well worth the money. Where before I was running almost full soft up front, I know start in the middle of the 4,356 clicks and have better control. Still thinking about sending in the rear shocks to FEAL with the springs and corner weight of hte car to have them rebuild them, but I run them full stiff anyway so not sure it matters a whole lot.

This winter the car gets new filled engine mounts, poly compliance bushings up front, header, cat and tune. I'll be shooting for 170NA whp and I definitely want that extra 700 rpm. SHould put second gear topping out at just shy of 68mph if I did the math right. PErfect for Nationals length/size courses.

Speaking of... when you coning out to Nats?

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Dec 3 2015, 07:56 AM

170hp should be easy with the 2.4 .

wow for the price i will strongly consider FEAL instead of KSPORT! but i really need the piston assy replaced since its rusted inside. not just the gooey bits.


maybe 2017/18 getting married in the spring then a house after that.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jan 7 2016, 10:19 AM

https://scontent.ford1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/hphotos-xpt1/v/t1.0-9/12417930_10206953010436779_4530594216508786114_n.jpg?oh=78023d0bd5b6d442b0135032e1aa9581&oe=57410C88


First shipment of awesome just arrived. HEader has shipped from Korea and on it's way. Cat and tub of 80A goo for the mounts. STill to order are the control arm bushings from Whiteline and header wrap. Once installed I'll get an appointment with BTR to tune this puppy. That will be all available engine/power mods I am allowed per class rules. Intake, every bit of the exhaust and tune.

Posted by: slowgls Jan 7 2016, 01:35 PM

High flow cat.

So one of these days I want to talk with you about suspension options on the hd.

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Jan 7 2016, 01:35 PM

are you doing the two pair up front or just the fat LCA bushes? i'm going to get the caster correcting fat rear ones and maybe replace the smaller front ones down the road.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jan 7 2016, 01:56 PM

The forte has the compliance bushings up front (vertical bolt) and the swing arm bushing in the rear (horizontal bolt). I'm doing just the compliance bushings. I wouldnt touch them if the right one was 2/3's ripped through and the left about 1/2. couple hundred hard launches will do that I guess

Talked to a co-worker who is from Korea. She says coming post it typically takes a week to get stuff in. So excited!

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Jan 7 2016, 04:47 PM

that is what i mean. the vertical bolt. i'll be doing them this year too, whiteline.

Posted by: Bobzilla Jan 7 2016, 05:03 PM

I considered the caster correcting ones, but I can't say that I need them. With the combo K-sport + MEgan tophats the caster is pretty good.

Posted by: RPW00Mirage Jan 7 2016, 06:02 PM

i'll take all the caster i can get.

Posted by: J2Elantra Jan 7 2016, 07:28 PM

I'm still pissed at them. Bought some LCA bushings that were listed for my application but were nowhere close to fitting, wasted $50. They wanted me to pay return shipping and charge me a 40% restocking fee, shitheads...

Sorry for that outburst...

Posted by: slowgls Jan 7 2016, 07:57 PM

At lest it was only 50 and not more. But sucks at any cost.