I have been reading about this mod for a while now and I'm very interested. Is this mod for only the SX with the 2.4 litre engime ?, I haven't noticed any dead spot with my car 2.0 litre Koup . If I press on the accelerator pedal with my fingers you don't have to press it far before you have contact.

 

We don't know about the Forte/Cerato outside the USA. On the USA models we found the deadspot -- I did at a Kia Dealer on 2 Koups. Easily 3/8" (about the thickness of an ink pen) before the engine responded to the pedal input. We also watched it on the computer hookup -- engine response at 1.0 volts, just as the specs show.

Too much pedal advance simply tells the ECU the throttle is open when it is not. With the adjustment full forward my engine surged at idle (auto) and the timing was advancing -- IMO will create extra heat with little advantage.

 

Thanks for that, I will test mine again today, but I haven't found any dead spot or lag it's pretty touchy on the gas pedal when pushed in.

 

SX Man Coupe throttle mod update.......

Since the 2 days I adjusted the setting in my son's koup the idle has returned to 600 rpm...I assume the computer compensated and relearned the values. The car takes off as smooth as butter.....I mean smooth....no jerking, reving, etc. I really believe that these cars , especially the manual transmissions, are at a default setting as far as the APS setting goes. Each car isn't calibrated for it's best accelerator/clutch response......and that's the reason for this room built into the plastic cover for movement in either direction. Because they are so new the complaints are just starting to surface, it will be interesting how the dealer would adjust the car's response to remedy the jerky take off problem....we'll see......!!!

 

I just finish this mod. NO MORE DEAD SPOT

Thx Enviros

 

dealer

The Kia Dealer told me that it's normal for the dead spot. They said it was a delay and it was fine. Such BS!

 

The Kia Dealer told me that it's normal for the dead spot. They said it was a delay and it was fine. Such BS!

figures,

I just love how the dealers are so carring about there product! lol

 

Is this mod valid for both automatic and manual transmissions?

I've test driven the car many times. The clutch/gas glitch bugs me enough that I'm considering getting an automatic. But with this mod, you all seem so happy. So I'm considering sticking with the manual in the hopes that Kia will do this mod for me. I don't feel too comfy doing it myself.

 

Is this mod valid for both automatic and manual transmissions?

I've test driven the car many times. The clutch/gas glitch bugs me enough that I'm considering getting an automatic. But with this mod, you all seem so happy. So I'm considering sticking with the manual in the hopes that Kia will do this mod for me. I don't feel too comfy doing it myself.

Nothing wrong with being wary of doing something you are not comfortable with!

This mod works on both manual and auto trannys.
I brought this up to my dealer's service department. They were interested in it and helped me check mine and another Koup SX on their lot. (The GM stalled a 6 spd sedan several times when he test drove one so that might have helped..LOL!). I personally have only looked into the SX versions, not the 2.0L.

Whether or not your dealer will look into this -- can't tell...you could ask. Also, ask them to look at this thread (they can get on-line to this site from their computers at their desks). If the technician hooks up their computer to the car they will see the "dead spot" themselves -- and if they adjust the APS they will see the difference...and feel the difference.

Wouldn't hurt to ask them to look at your car, adjust the APS to see and feel the difference, and then see if they will leave it adjusted for you so you could enjoy your car a bit more.

Good Luck!

 

I don't know if this will help anybody here that's been worried about doing this change or not but, I have found that blipping the throttle once like on a motorcycle helps me. I want to do this mod but haven't had the time yet with 9 month old twins and ten hour days. Just thought I would throw it out there.

 

I spoke to a dealership where I might buy the car. They said they are interested in seeing this thread.

As for the mod itself, there is one thing that really confuses me. Are we fixing only part of the problem with this mod? The reason I ask is because the clutch also has a glitch in that it tends to engage/disengage suddenly and you need to have the pedal almost all the way up before it engages. See this review:

2010 Kia Forte Koup Review by David Thomas - Cars.com

The paragraph of interest is quoted here: "There was one big problem with this setup, however: I kept stalling the darn engine. First gear didn't engage until high in the release of the clutch, and during my entire week with the car I never got used to it. It was very hard to start in 2nd gear, too, or even to slowly ease a roll into 2nd in bumper-to-bumper traffic without stalling.

At least two of our other editors also admitted to stalling the Koup, and one who didn't thanked me for the warning."

There is also a thread on here about a user modifying the clutch by removing some spring in order to try to alleviate this issue.

So is this relevant at all or does the gas pedal fix pretty much just make things right?

 

Been reading about this mod for a while, I have never experienced any dead spot on the 2.0 Litre version. But on page 2 of this review the reviewer said that the clutch is changed on the Koup compaired to sedan version 2010 Kia Cerato Koup Road Test Review Page 1 of 2 | Reviews | Prices | Australian specifications

 

I always just thought it was just me not being used to the clutch in a car because I had been driving my jeep for so long. I'm gonna try this tonight on my 2.0L EX model. It really does suck when you have a friend in the car and you stall it 3 times in one trip and they're just looking at you like "wow, new to driving a stick?" and you've been driving a stick for over 4 years haha.

 

You couldn't have said it any better... friends tell me now "you got better at* driving at stick" and I'm like "NO!, I took my pedal apart and fixed the problem".... That's what happens when they rush a car into production..

 

Great find on this mod bro. Now I don't feel like an idiot when I either stall it in base traffic o over rev the shit out of it. I still run under 1k rpm at idle w maybe a few mm of deadspace in my pedal. I told the dealership about it too, we had a good conversation on how the 5 speed manual isn't as bad as the 6 speed, but its still noticeable haha.

Again, congrats on the find

 

Great find on this mod bro. Now I don't feel like an idiot when I either stall it in base traffic o over rev the shit out of it. I still run under 1k rpm at idle w maybe a few mm of deadspace in my pedal. I told the dealership about it too, we had a good conversation on how the 5 speed manual isn't as bad as the 6 speed, but its still noticeable haha.

Again, congrats on the find

you get stroked yet for "breaking traction"?

lol- that offense was one of my first tickets in okinawa as i was entering camp foster.......(not saying it was my first- not my last ticket ever lol)

 

I'm hoping Kia will make this a TSB...at least for the customers who complain about the off-the-line dead spot that appears to cause manual owners to stall or "Jack-Rabbit" off the line.

Kia now has a TSB for the front suspension noise caused by a loose dust boot that was originally found and discussed on a Forte forum (KiaTech was that yours?).

 

nah, not yet... i got weird looks from pmo when i stalled it 3 times in front of them trying to take off from the main gate without overreving the shit out of it at 3 in the morning last weekend though.... then a cruiser just happened to follow me all the way to the barracks... i would have been fucked if they pulled me over and ran a sobriety test, i have shit for balance and speech now ever since my tour in afghan lmao. I would have gotten out of the car and said "i'm gonna need a breathalyzer" haha

 

I just did this on my Koup SX with the six speed. I moved it forward a tiny bit then tried it. Then moved it forward a tiny bit more. Just kept doing that until the dead area was gone and left it. I am really just about centered in the slot now. It did not change my idle speed at all. Never went above 600 rmp at idle.

So far I have only been able to drive it around the block, but it feels a lot better. I am looking forward to my drive to work in the morning so I can really see how it is.

Thanks Enviros for a free and easy improvement to the car and thanks to everyone else that had input on this.

 

There is also a thread on here about a user modifying the clutch by removing some spring in order to try to alleviate the stall issue with the manual transmission. Is this still relevant or does the gas pedal mod discussed in this thread pretty much just make things right?

 

There is also a thread on here about a user modifying the clutch by removing some spring in order to try to alleviate the stall issue with the manual transmission. Is this still relevant or does the gas pedal mod discussed in this thread pretty much just make things right?

I believe those with the manual tranny have just done this mod and been happy with it...I haven't heard about a spring removal though.

 

The clutch mod thread is here: http://www.forteforums.com/forums/performance-modifications/189-clutch-mods.html

 

The clutch mod thread is here: http://www.forteforums.com/forums/performance-modifications/189-clutch-mods.html

Why in the world is there a delay valve in the first place? Looks like it just slows down the clutch application. Makes no sense! there must be a reason for it. Instead of removing it completely why not enlarge the hole?

 

did this mod this afternoon in just a few minutes and difference is HUGE! I have had my Koup SX 6 speed for five months now and while the clutch has loosened, or I have adjusted to it, there was still the matter of throttle lag. This takes care of that matter.

Thanks for the post!

 

well im about to go to the dealer and pick it up for my TC issue... im glad someone wrote about the front "RATTLE" sound... ALSO cant wait to do this mod! hope it helps i have a CAI and CATBACK from TK... and thanks for the post,ill post my results shortly

 

Did this on my 2.0 auto today... I like! Thanks for the post!

 

As all of you, I hate the gas pedal/clutch problem in my kia as well. I want to do this mod however, I fear that I will make a mistake such as adjust too high or too low thus causing problems with the revs or what not. I really want to correct that issue. But I don't know I'm not too experience with that. It seems rather confusing on my part.

 

You could try to take your Forte to the dealer and ask the service manager to take a look at this thread/topic (he/she can go to this site with the computer on their desk). One of the service managers at my dealership was interested in this and helped me out. He even pulled a new Koup SX off the lot and checked it out to make sure it was real.

 

Just did the mod. Dead easy and takes care of 95% of the difficulty of launching off in 1st, not to mention making heel'n toe throttle blips so much easier.

Enviros, thanks a bunch for the great how-to. Hat's off to you.

******

 

Just did it and it works great! The RPMs idle around 800 and doesnt rev up at all. Thanks for the mod!

 

just did it on my koup sx 6sp and the rpm at iddle is ok, maybe 1000 rpm but the check engine is now on...?? any one had this problem to?

 

It's ok now, i just back it a little bit and now the check engine is off...

 

So I did this mod about 1.5 weeks ago. Worked great....... or so I thought. Last Friday I was merging onto the interstate on my way home from work. Before merging was probably doing upwards of 60 mph, when merging I popped the car into neutral and let the RPM's drom while breaking. At this point, when my RPM's reached normal idle, well they didn't, and just kept dropping and my car stalled almost immeidiately, merging onto the interstate, at roughly 40mph...... yeah, not so great, but ok, restarted and everything was fine after that, cept I was monitoring my RPM's coming down to idle. The entire afternoon the RPM's would drop to around 3-400 before slowly going back up to normal idle, this was in city driving conditions so stop and go. I thought this was odd so the next day, when taking the car to my Kia dealership for an oil change, I had them take a look. They returned and said that I had a faulty throttle position sensor that needed to be replaced. I asked them to explain the throttle position sensor to me and this is what the tech told me.

The TPS, the block we adjusted to reduce our throttle response time, is actually a set of 4 sensors. These sensors talk to the computer to tell the computer the position of the throttle. The factory pre programmed position of these sensors is in the computer and when those sensors are not where they are supposed to be, i.e. our adjustment, the computer has trouble, thus my stall when merging on the interstate. (Yes I'm aware, that that explanation was a bit weak, but I'm going to give more details here shortly as I know the guy at the dealership). Anyway, I was asking him a few questions concerning the TPS, such as the little bit of play that everyone complains about, is there a way to get rid of it and such. He said that the TPS was locked down at the factory due to the fact that the Forte's are ULE, or Ultra Low Emission vehicles. These sensors are actually part of the Emission Control System and if they, at the dealership, were to mess with it, it would change the Emission profile of the vehicle, and each instance of this could actually result in a $100,000 fine from the gov. This fine did not affect automotive shops as they didn't build the car, but Kia could not make the adjustment. He also said that since this all was with programing in the computer, the only true way to fix the throttle play was to actually reprogram the computer to begin accelerating as soon as the thottle was pushed instead of allowing play. Basically adjusting the position the sensors would trigger a throttle response. Adjusting the default position of the sensors, as we have done with this mod, is actually only a band aid and while it doesn't necesarilly damage anything, or at least, nothing that we know of yet, it has seemed to cause a few issues which I'm not entirely comfortable with. Also, since you are tinkering, it will void the warranty on that part, luckily I didn't mention that I had done this so no issues yet, but I am going back in to see if I can correct the issue on my own. This is basically a "be forwarned" to anyone out there that has not done this mod yet. I'm not saying don't do it, I just want everyone aware as to what exactly they are doing. I'll keep you all updated as to what happense.

 

I still believe this mod adjusts only the mechanical to sensor positioning.