[Koup SXR]

June 23, 2010

Europa R Wheels by FAST Wheels

I know that I’m a bit behind here so I’ll catch up by posting the addition of the wheel/tire package that I installed at the end of June.
I’m a fan of mesh style wheels. FAST Wheels took their Europa aftermarket wheel, removed the additional universal 5 lug holes and revised the center hub diameter to fit the Kia Forte’s.
I fell in love with these the moment Kia and I were reviewing wheels for the red SX-R auto show car.
Why you ask?
The wheel design is very sexy and still looks classy. It also allowed me to further customize them. I decided to add some oldschool flair to this new Koup by painting the centers BBS gold yet keeping the polished lips untouched. He also recommended that I paint the inside barrel as well for that complete factory appearance. The inside and out where then clearcoated.

Even though the wheel is 18” in diameter, the wheel design doesn’t make the rotors appear too small for its large diameter wheel size. That was a very beneficial from my point of view.


So here are the pictures...

Just in...

Here they are in the paint booth getting it’s last coat of clear.

mounted and balanced.

...and now on the Koup.

Part details:
18'' R Wheels & Yokohama Tires - 99997581M4WTR

Contact information:
These parts are available for order at your local Canadian Kia Dealerships.
Please refer to the Bulletin No. AY10 007


Contact information for wheel refinishing:
Wheel Tek
3790 Hwy 7 (at Weston Rd.)
Vaughan, Ontario L4L 1A6
Canada

Contact person: Steve Rotenberg (owner)

Tel: (416) 576-1326

Email: [email protected]

website: www.wheeltek.ca

 

[Dvipercop]

Wow! That looks really good! Nice job man.

 

[UnDeR_FLiP]

Damn those meshies look niiiiiiiccceeeeeee. Something I'll be looking in to in the future.

Also, good job on the short shifter. That's also something I'll most likely be installing in the future. How much of a throw difference is there?

 

[miashottangel]

that's super sexy!!

 

[Gringo]

Hey Eddie! She looks absolutely fabulous... I'm jealous now; the wheels are dead ringers for a set of BBS LMs straight off a race-prepped 911 GT2RS. Imitation being the highest form of flattery, I'm forthwith searching for a wheel refinisher to give my AR1s the same treatment when winter tire time comes around.

Hat's off my friend!

******

 

[displacement4me]

My dealership (Sherwood Kia) has a black SX in mid R transformation. The car looks gorgeous in person with the lowering spring and wheels. They had a price tag of $6495 for the works. I was willing to buy the exhaust at $500 but they wouldn't go lowered then their price of $574 - a bit much for axle back.

Thanks for the build up, insight, and documentation Koup SXR. Your car looks great.

 

[Ratdaddy]

 

[Ryan]

Bought my white SX a while ago and had to wait for it to come in from across the country. Just waiting on the R parts to be painted and installed. Soooo pumped. Such a great job on the design. It looks super aggressive but still classy. And the exhaust sounds awesome. Very slick package, definitely worth buying!!!

 

[Black forte kouppp]

i have a black ex koup, did you buy the exhaust online? how much was it? cause i went on the website you had captioned and i couldnt find it on there, also im assuming you put it on yourself, was it difficult? im not that familiar with installing car parts and wanted to know because after i get my gt style spoiler im going to get an exhaust system. thanks

 

[FEARtheFOX]

i have a black ex koup, did you buy the exhaust online? how much was it? cause i went on the website you had captioned and i couldnt find it on there, also im assuming you put it on yourself, was it difficult? im not that familiar with installing car parts and wanted to know because after i get my gt style spoiler im going to get an exhaust system. thanks

If you are referring to the R package exhaust. I can answer this for you. It is available through CANADIAN dealerships for the price of $574. There is no online purchase for R package parts. Hope this helps.

 

[Thunderbuck]

I am extremely impressed. Your mods very much fit the notion of an edgy luxury GT style; understated, but effective. If I had the means and easier access to the suppliers, I'd do a LOT of what you've done.

Love the black roof. Sadly, where I live the body kit is impractical, but it looks awesome.

Probably will do some of the superficial stuff. Those scuff plates look awesome--WAY better than the stock ones...

 

[Ryan]

looks awesome , any more finished pics ?

Woah, woah, woah!!! Revolutionkoup, where did you find this pic of the green koup and what body kit is that? I love the R-Package and have already ordered it but this one is flippin' sweet too.

 

[Black forte kouppp]

i know this is a noob questions and dont be jerks but what is the "R style" or "R package"? thank you, and thanks FEARtheFOX, wish i could get it online:/ is there any exhaust system made for the koup online?

 

[FEARtheFOX]

Turbokits.com has an exhaust kit on their website. Others are over seas and may not work on our koups.

 

[Zoso471]

so you're the guy to thank for such an awesome package. This car is now definitely a head turner with this package, I've gotten a lot of compliments on it.

Interested in the strut bar. How much difference did you find it made? I don't know a lot about them, but I know the car already is pretty stiff on turns. Also, the price would be helpful

Thanks again!

 

[Koup SXR]

so you're the guy to thank for such an awesome package. This car is now definitely a head turner with this package, I've gotten a lot of compliments on it.

Interested in the strut bar. How much difference did you find it made? I don't know a lot about them, but I know the car already is pretty stiff on turns. Also, the price would be helpful

Thanks again!

Thanks for the compliments. What matters is that you're happy with it!

As for the strut bar, I find the car reacts better especially around corners with a stock suspension. I'll PM you details on the bar.

BTW...the Kia part number for the official R strut bar is 99997 921M02
These are available through any Kia Canada Dealership.
This strut bar fits Koup AND Sedan models.

 

[Koup SXR]

October 27, 2010

New badges for the front grille and rear trunk lid.


New ‘KOUP’ and ‘SX’ badges

Adding tape along the feature line on the trunk lid. I also added tape above the 'Forte' badge as a guide to place the 'KOUP' badge in the same position.

Removed the old badge, cleaned all adhesive residue and prepped the surface.

Final pictures of new badges.

Now for the front, I made a plinth using some PUR plastic scrap part from another vehicle I had laying around to hold the new ‘R’ badge on the grille. The boss behind the plastic was the perfect diameter to hold a large stainless steel bolt. The SS washers are large enough to rest against the back of the grille pattern.

Here’s the hardware used. This depends on the size of the plastic boss you find.

Now with ‘R’ badge on plinth

Final picture

Part details:
Koup SX Badge – 86311 1M310
SX Badge – 86315 1M000
R badge - 99997 761MR

Contact information:
The ‘KOUP’ and ‘SX’ badges are available through all Kia dealerships.
The ‘R’ badge is available through Kia Canada and Australia dealerships.

 

[FEARtheFOX]

Looks Sick.....Great Job.

 

[Koup SXR]

July 7, 2010

Ultra Racing Chassis bars and Rear Anti-Roll Bar

I was always found the Koup’s handling great right out of the box UNTIL I stepped into ******’s Koup. It’s his fault… he’s the one to blame for my handling madness.
When ****** drove from Montreal to Toronto for the first meet, that was impressive on it’s own, but to offer me his keys to ‘feel’ his go-kart handling Koup...now that was super awesome! I was totally hooked. I kid you not, if you’re looking for an upgrade that transforms your Koup’s handling, the Ultra Racing chassis bars are it!


Here are the two threads I’ll reference. Thanks gentlemen for allowing me to use your write-up in this thread

******’s fantastic suspension upgrade thread.
http://www.forteforums.com/forums/koup-wheels-tires/788-suspension-upgrades.html


Coch’s write-up on his installation is excellent.
http://www.forteforums.com/forums/d...96-ultra-racing-strut-bars-roll-bars-etc.html


Here are the bars;

Here are a few helpful tips in case others decide to do it themselves.

- For the lower front bars you need to jack up the front of the car, and for the lower rear bars jack the rear. I also recommend using a torque ratchet/wrench to make sure bolts are tightened enough. I did not even need to take the wheels off.

Front Lower Bar (2-point): URC-LA2-757

Front Lower Bar - 2 Point. This one is relatively easy, only two 19mm bolts to unbolt and re-bolt. There is a 17mm bolt on the other side though (above), that may or may not turn at the same time. For me it did on one side and not on the other. If it does use a 17mm wrench to block it on the top of the bolt.

for the front lower two-point bar, you remove this bolt.

Front Lower Bar (4-point): URC-LA4-758

Front Lower Bar - 4 Point. Relatively easy as well. You need 19mm and 14mm sockets. The 14mm bolts come off easily. The 19mm are tougher, but no other bolt will turn at the same time on top so no other key is needed. The only tricky part is when installing the 4-point bar, install all 4 attach points and do not tighten the bolts. If one is tightened the last one won't be perfectly centered and it will be very difficult or impossible to bolt on. Tighten all bolts gradually so they all come up level together.

for the front 4-pt cross brace, you remove these bolts...

Front 2-point and 4-point installed.

Rear Anti-Roll Bar (19mm): URC-AR19-206

Rear Anti-Roll Bar. This one is tricky. With no instructions it took me a while to figure out how it fit. A hex key is needed. The three rear bars have bolts, washers and other parts provided with the bar (as opposed to the front bars for which you only re-use bolts already part of the car) and you need to figure out what to do with them. This rear roll bar also had circular plates. These go under the coil spring, so you need to take the rear springs out. (If I had known I would not have installed my Eibach kit yesterday because I needed to take the rear springs off again today). There is another guide on this forum on how to install the Eibach kit so I won't repeat these instructions, but read the posts carefully if you find that thread, one of the posters said it was easier to take the lower shock bolt off this way you don't even need to take off the wheels and that's what I did. So the while plates go on the bottom of the coil springs where they are usually seated. Look at both sides of the plates they are different, the side with the small hollows for the bolts goes up. Put the bolts in the holes, then install the bar underneath the coil spring assembly and bolt on the nut and washer under. Then reinstall the springs and re-bolt the shock.

for the rear anti-roll bar, lift the back end up and unbolt the bottom of the shock.
Let the rear subframe drop and remove the springs.

place the plate into the spring perch area as shown (note the countersink side faces up)

using a 6mm allen key and 17mm socket, begin to fasten all your hardware.

Rear Lower Bar (4-point): URC-RL2-759

Rear Lower Bar. Fairly easy as well. Only two bolts (12mm if I remember correctly) to remove on each side and re-bolt the bar with the provided bolts and washers (the original bolts are not used afterward). The only thing I wasn't sure about is when you remove the two bolts a bracket comes off. Not sure if the bracket was meant to be put back on (sandwiched between the frame and the bar), but I ended up not putting the bracket back on. The other thing I am not sure about is the washers, should I have put one on each side of the bar, and if so, the small or the large one on top? I ended up stacking the two washers on top of each other, the smaller one closer to the bolt head.

for the rear lower bar, you remove these bolts and bracket. I also didn't install the original bracket back onto the body.

Thanks to ******, he found the fix for the exhaust rattle when the exhaust pipe would touch the rear 4-point bar.

****** wrote:

This is a short update for all those who have installed (or are planning to) the UltraRacing lower rear frame brace part # UR-LR2-759:

There is a minor fit issue concerning clearance between the bar and the exhaust pipe where the exhaust pipe elbows up to clear the torsion beam axle. When hitting sharp bumps under anything more than relatively light cornering loads, the exhaust pipe 'flexes' thru its normal, designed range of motion and hits the aforementioned bar, causing metallic 'clanging' sound (most annoying but without causing damage).

Fortunately, the fix is 'très simple': replace both OEM exhaust support rubber bracket that are upstream of the cat. conv. with Speedy Muffler's BR-867 exhaust rubber bracket. They are very slightly shorter than OEM but more importantly, much, much more rigid; it wasn't necessary to replace the rubber bracket that's just above the torsion beam axle. This greatly reduces the magnitude of the exhaust's movement when hitting bumps. Problem solved . Cost: $CDN 56.02, labor + tax incl.

The two new rubber hangers.

Add some liquid soap to help the installation.

New and improved installed. I’m holding the factory version.

Rear 4-point and anti-roll bar installed.

Part details (installed):
Front Lower Bar (2-point): URC-LA2-757
Front Lower Bar (4-point): URC-LA4-758
Rear Lower Bar (4-point): URC-RL2-759
Rear Anti-Roll Bar (19mm): URC-AR19-206

Additional bars also available through Ultra Racing Canada;
Rear Strut Bar (2-point): URC-RE2-755
Front Strut Bar (2-point): URC-TW2-754
Room Bar (2-point): URC-RO2-756


Contact information:
Ultra Racing Canada
3361 Otter Point Road
Sooke, British Columbia
Canada, V9Z 0J9

Contact person: Phil Wakefield
Mention that you’re a member of ForteForums

Email: [email protected]

Website:www.ultraracing.ca

 

[noodile]

How does it handle now with all these upgrades?