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Lightly Modded 2019 Kia Cerato (Forte) GT from Australia

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187K views 444 replies 71 participants last post by  Lincoln's GT  
#1 · (Edited)
First time here and first post as well. I've been slowly building up my sedan. However because it's a daily driver I don't want to go too nuts on it. The good thing is that it's pretty new so stuff available for it is relatively low.

I've updated the mod list as of March 2nd 2021:

Exhaust
  • Xforce catback exhaust
  • RS Style gloss black oval tips
Suspension
  • Eibach lowering springs (Pro Kit E10-42-047-01-22)
  • Whiteline 22mm rear sway bar (BHR98Z)
Lighting
  • All lights replaced with LED's (signal, trunk, interior, license plate, foglights, reverse, dome, map, vanity, glove box)
  • LED strips under footwells
Wheels
  • Rims: V8 V-14 wheels in matt black 20x8.5 (+45mm offset)
  • Tires: Kumho PS71 225/35-20 tires
Engine
  • aFe Power Takeda Intake
  • SaaS Throttle controller
  • GFB Respons Adjustable Blow-Off Valve
  • JB4 ECU module
  • JB4 Fuel Wire Adapter
  • MSD Ignition Coils
  • King 3D Air Intake Scoop
  • Intercooler Resonator Delete
  • Oil Catch Cans x2
Comfort & Convenience
  • Silent Guard noise insulation
  • Tensioned boot spring
  • Umbrella hooks
  • Cargo net
  • Boot liner
  • Piaa Sports Horns
  • Boot pull strap
  • Second cargo net behind the driver's seat
  • Boot hook for backpacks and shopping bags
Cosmetics
  • 15% ceramic window tint
  • R Style gloss black duck tail spoiler
  • Rear diffuser by Aero.Ball Customs
  • Side skirt extensions by Ewing

  • Rear window visor
  • Vinyl wrapped: red accent on rear diffuser, red accents on front grille, rear panel
  • Brenthon badges
  • Vinyl wrapped lower interior doors
  • Vinyl wrapped lower front lip
  • Smoked taillights
  • Smoked front & rear signal lights, reverse lights
  • Carbon fiber plate over shift knob
  • Blackvue DR750X 2 Channel Dashcam
Video Clips

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#5 ·
Your car looks AWESOME. I have a few questions:

Is your car an automatic? I see you installed a throttle controller and have been interested in installing one on mine.

What did you use to black out the red strip on the rear diffuser and the whole front grille? Also, I see you blacked out the area between the two taillights, did you use the same product here, too?

Did you replace the fog lights with LED's, and if so, do you remember the bulb you used?

Lastly, do you have the URL or part number you used for the smoked rear window visor?

Sorry for all the questions! I really like the mods you chose for your car, and would like to do a few of the same on mine! Thanks in advanced.
 
#6 · (Edited by Moderator)
Your car looks AWESOME. I have a few questions:

Is your car an automatic? I see you installed a throttle controller and have been interested in installing one on mine.

What did you use to black out the red strip on the rear diffuser and the whole front grille? Also, I see you blacked out the area between the two taillights, did you use the same product here, too?

Did you replace the fog lights with LED's, and if so, do you remember the bulb you used?

Lastly, do you have the URL or part number you used for the smoked rear window visor?

Sorry for all the questions! I really like the mods you chose for your car, and would like to do a few of the same on mine! Thanks in advanced.
Thanks for the kind words. I'll see if I can answer your questions.

  1. Yes, the car is an automatic. Unfortunately we don't get the manual version (at least not yet) here in Australia.
  2. Yes, I definitely recommend the throttle controller. I like the idea of being able to control the sensitivity in accordance to my driving mood at the time. I'm not sure what brands are available there, but in Australia I've installed the SAAS brand, which is cheap but performs flawlessly. It does it's job, letting you adjust the throttle sensitivity level on the fly.
  3. For the red accents, I purchased a gloss black vinyl strip in 12mm. It covers the red stripe going across the back nicely (there will be some small gaps but it's not noticeable). As for the front, I was too lazy to remove the grilled and paint it, so I cut up small sections of the same vinyl stripe, and sat there and covered each red bit one by one. Took me about 2 hours, which in retrospect would have probably taken less time if I removed the bumper to remove the grille.
  4. For the are between the taillights, I got a professional vinyl wrapper to do that bit as I don't have the skill (well, at least making it look neat). He used 3M gloss black vinyl as well and did it in about 15 minutes.
  5. Yes for the LED on the foglights. The GT's the foglights use HB4/9006.
  6. Here is the link where I bought the rear visor on eBay:

Good luck! Feel free to ask anything else!
 
#7 ·
Hey Arith!

Saw that you said you changed out the turn signal bulbs. Just wondering what were the bulbs that you used on those and also how were they a pain?
I've been thinking of doing them because the stock bulbs look so cheap.

Also with your exhaust, do you have mufflers? (If you don't mind, a cheeky exhaust clip would be sick!)

Thanks!
 
#8 ·
The turn signal bulbs both front and rear use BAU15S or PY21W. I'll put a link for them below (I noticed you'rein Australia so I've put a local seller but anyone can buy them anywhere really). However you must be careful because a lot of sellers claim to be CANBUS compatible and error free but they're not. The link I've given you work without problem. The other issue is if you buy one that is too long, they will have trouble fitting in the back.

The front bulbs are very easy to access. Just 3 fasteners and you can pull back the cover to access them. The only problem would be the rear. These are extremely difficult to access due to the stock muffler tips. If you have an aftermarket muffler it makes it easier, but if you have the stock muffler, you may need to release it from the hanger to let them drop down in order to access the bulbs. Even then, they are in a tight area and it's difficult to twist them off and back on. It's do-able, just expect to swear and curse a lot.

I only did the axleback muffler upgrade. I tried delete the 2nd cat and upgrading the resonator, but found that even though the 2nd cat yields more performance gains, it's also quite noisy inside the cabin during acceleration. A lot of droning when you accelerate. And on the cold starts in the morning, it even scares the dog down the street. Very loud. So in the end I went back to the stock 2nd cat and resonator.

So muffler only = louder, deeper tone. Resonator delete = crackle and pop that a lot of people love. Cat delete = better performance but droning

Exhaust With Axleback Upgrade

Exhaust After 2nd Cat Delete

PY21W LED Bulbs on eBay Australia
 
#9 ·
Lol. Don't follow me because I hardly update on this forum. But here are my latest convenience upgrades.
* Trunk tension springs *
The sedan has an auto open function but when the trunk does open, it only opens half way, and you still have to give it a nudge to open it fully. By installing a spring it now opens fully.
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Video of the trunk now opening in full
 
#14 ·
#58 ·
#445 ·
I LOVE the look of those wheels but I think yes they might be a little bit too big. I'm looking at the same wheels myself as they're the same wheels that were put on the 2020 Hatch show car made as a one off by Kia. I'm thinking I go 19 inch instead of 20 inch though. What are the wheel specs on your previous set of wheels? I've already got the same suspension set-up on the way so it should fit just as well as yours does. Absolutely love the car and it's great to see people modding these cars. Thanks.
 
#18 ·
The Eibach springs are quite good. Yes, it's a bit more bumpy, but it's cushioned and still quite tolerable. Less so now with the 20s, but if you've ever had a lowered car it's still decent, more than most setups. Besides, it's not that low really, only about a 1.25" lowering.
If the offset is good there should be no rubbing. There was no rubbing on the 19s with a +42mm offset, but the 20s only had a +40mm offset the rears rubbed. Had to shave it another +5mm to +45mm in the back. Still rubs occasionally but it's not noticeable.
 
#22 ·
Hi @Arith

I'm also a local from Sydney. I love your mod on your Cerato GT, it looks amazing and inspired me to start. You mentioned that you got a professional vinyl wrapper to black out the part between the tail lights. I also noticed that the part around the front grill (the silver part normally) is also blacked out, just wanted to ask if that was also wrapped? Either way, are you able to provide me some details on where you got it wrapped? Would love to start modding my Cerato GT also. Cheers!
 
#23 ·
I'm also a local from Sydney.
Ahh, cool. Come join us on Facebook: Kia Cerato GT & Modders Australia

I also noticed that the part around the front grill (the silver part normally) is also blacked out, just wanted to ask if that was also wrapped? Either way, are you able to provide me some details on where you got it wrapped?
Yeah, that's wrapped as it's too time consuming to remove the front bumper in order to remove the grill for painting. I can recommend one of two places, depending on where in Sydney you are. Are you in the east or out west?
 
#25 ·
First time here and first post as well. I've been slowly building up my sedan. However because it's a daily driver I don't want to go too nuts on it. The good thing is that it's pretty new so stuff available for it is relatively low.

So far in the 5 weeks I've had it:
  • Custom axle back quad tip exhaust
  • K badge replacement (front & rear)
  • Eibach lowering springs
  • Throttle Controller
  • 19" Hussla dark chrome wheels /w Continental SportContact 5 235/35-19 tires
  • K&N panel filter
  • De-badged rear trunk
  • Aftermarket rear lip spoiler
  • Rear window smoked visor
  • Blacked out red accents from front grille and rear diffuser
  • LED'd pretty much everything (front and rear signal lights were a huge pain)
  • 15% ceramic tint all around
View attachment 79470 View attachment 79471 View attachment 79472 View attachment 79473 View attachment 79474 View attachment 79475 View attachment 79476
View attachment 79477
 
#26 · (Edited by Moderator)
Loving the look of the ride. I stumbled upon this thread while looking for mods for my car. We seem to have a lot in common.

Mods:
  • K badges front and rear
  • Rear deck lid spoiler
  • K&N air filter
  • Plasti dipped over the chrome on the tiger nose grille (Plan to replace it with gloss black vinyl)
  • LED fog lamps to match the headlights and LED daytime running lights
  • Fumoto valve oil drain plug
  • Removed the Forte badge from the rear

Planned upgrades:
  • Axle back exhaust
  • Ceramic window tint
  • Rear window roof spoiler (After seeing it installed on yours)

I also like the idea of wrapping the rear center reflector bar in black.

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Image
 

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#27 ·
Loving the look of the ride. I stumbled upon this thread while looking for mods for my car. We seem to have a lot in common.

Mods:

K badges front and rear
Rear deck lid spoiler
K&N air filter
Plasti dipped over the chrome on the tiger nose grille (Plan to replace it with gloss black vinyl)
LED fog lamps to match the headlights and LED daytime running lights
Fumoto valve oil drain plug
Removed the Forte badge from the rear

Planned upgrades:

Axle back exhaust
Ceramic window tint
Rear window roof spoiler (After seeing it installed on yours)

I also like the idea of wrapping the rear center reflector bar in black.
Looks good! Nice and clean. I'm jealous that I can't fit that duck tail spoiler that extends out a bit.
 
#29 ·
Ahh, it appeared like you have the one that extends out a bit. I couldn't get that to fit on my GT because the holes left behind by the factory lip spoiler.

As for the trunk spring, I found this to be the best fitting
 
#33 ·
The Avant Garde wheels didn't work out due to the low offset (+40mm offset with 8.5" wheels will not fit a lowered Forte). I ended up getting another set of 20x8.5 wheels with +45mm offset. The V8 V-14 wheels in matt black. They are ok. The wheels I still want are not available.
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#35 · (Edited)
Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, being a daily driver I couldn't go too extreme with the lowering. The Eibachs are good. They are a moderate lowering at best. There's still plenty of ground clearance and I have no issues with speed humps nor driveways. If I had gotten coilovers I would have gone overboard and lowered it another 1-2 inches, but as it stands this ride height is perfect. Just enough to get rid of the fender gap yet still enough clearance.
 
#37 ·
Thanks for the kind words. There are quite a few places you can get them from. I just got mine off eBay (unfortunately it's a China based seller so not sure if long delivery times due to COVID-19 are affecting America as well).


Here are more styles you can pick from:


But no matter where you get them from, the important thing is the size. Not quite the perfect fit because there isn't an exact match for the new Forte, but close enough:

Front - 110mm x 56mm
Rear - 129mm x 65mm
 
#40 ·
Hey mate do you know if a cold intake for a 19 veloster, would fit on our car?
Probably not the CAI. I checked and the AEM CAI for the Forte GT will fit the i30 and Elantra. No mention of the Veloster.

However the SRI should fit as the one for the Forte GT also fit the Elantra, i30, and the Veloster.
 
#41 ·
Even though I was pretty happy with my axle back muffler and res delete, I ended up with the XFORCE catback exhaust. A last minute impulse buy really, but worth it.

It was a great decision really, because being able to adjust the volume is extremely valuable as a daily driver. There will be times when I need it quiet, and there will be times when I want to cut loose and enjoy the exhaust in all it's splendor. Even with the valve open, it's still decently quiet during cruising situations on the freeway.


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XFORCE exhaust with the valve open