[StarHunter]

Hello,
I'm a new owner of the forte and a new user in that wonderful forum, I have some questions "or you can say it's a small review about the car stability"
what can you say about kia forte stability?
for what speed limit do you thing its stability is excellent and the stability decreases after it?
what was the max. speed you've reached in a turn and how was the stability back there?
at last, do you thing that rear suspension of the car "torsion beam" makes the car less stable and it'd be more stable if it was "multi link"? or you just like it the way it is now.

Thanks in advance

========================
Sorry if my English is not as good as it should be.

 

[Silver2010]

Multi-link independant rear suspension would provide more stability at any speed. I find the Forte to be very stable at 100mph though. And mine is an EX. I've really had no reason to go faster than 100...

 

[CorsaKoup]

They've got a lot of negative camber dialed into the rear to help with high speed cornering, but nothing takes the place of an independent setup. A tire upgrade completely changed the personality of my Mazda 3, and I expect the same on the Koup here when I finally find some wheels I like.

Personally, I'd like to see more rebound control on the SX suspension at the rear. It gets a little 'excited' over dips on the interstate.

 

[StarHunter]

They've got a lot of negative camber dialed into the rear to help with high speed cornering,

CorsaKoup, would you please explain more about this point

 

[CorsaKoup]

If you look down the side of your car from front to back, you'll notice that the tops of the rear wheels are tilted inward more than the fronts. This is negative camber. This helps with rear grip when the rear suspension and tires are under cornering loads.

In our case, Kia dialed it in to improve handling and prevent nasty oversteer at the handling limit.

 

[StarHunter]

If you look down the side of your car from front to back, you'll notice that the tops of the rear wheels are tilted inward more than the fronts. This is negative camber. This helps with rear grip when the rear suspension and tires are under cornering loads.

In our case, Kia dialed it in to improve handling and prevent nasty oversteer at the handling limit.

Thanks CorsaKoup for the fast reply, but may I ask...that "negative camber" idea always comes with any car has a torsion beam rear suspension or it's not with all of them.
you know Toyota Corolla, Nissan Tida, Suzuki SX4, Renault Megane... and many many modern cars comes with a torsion beam rear suspension, So do they have a negative camber too.
In other words the negative camber is a part of the torsion beam system or it is not essential.
Thanks a lot CorsaKoup.

 

[CorsaKoup]

I don't have specs for every car, but can only assume that all cars come with some amount of it. My Mazdaspeed 6 had a LOT...it was very obvious especially when you look at the car from the rear. Other cars that aspire more to comfort and tire life (Corolla comes to mind) probably have a small amount of negative camber dialed in, but it's not obvious when you look at the car. If you see an older Corvette or 280Z / 240Z driving around, you'll see them practically driving on the inside 2 inches of the tires due to all the negative camber. Sometimes this is on purpose, other times it's due to worn rear springs.

 

[StarHunter]

CorsaKoup, I can't thank you enough my friend.
It was nice talking to you
thanks again.
and I'm waiting for more reviews from all members regarding the car stability.

 

[CorsaKoup]

No problem. If you're looking for better handling, a tire width upgrade can help. My 2004 Mazda 3 came with 16" wheels with 205/55 series tires. I upgraded to 17" wheels and put on 225/45 series tires. It handled quite well with the original setup, but drove like it was on rails with the new setup. That's another car that had a lot of negative camber from the factory and it made the most of better tires. I'll be upgrading my Koup someday when I find wheels I like. Keep us posted if you make any changes!

 

[StarHunter]

sure thing CorsaKoup, but those tires updates, from 205/55 to 225/45, did not affect your speed gage reading?
I have 16" rims but changing it to 17" will make the car more stable yeah, but it'll make the car suspension so rough that you can feel everything down there under the wheels specially when driving off road for some reason or another. You're with me?

 

[CorsaKoup]

It definitely makes for a rougher ride, but that car handled so well, it was worth it to me. The wheels looked so much better too.

The new setup added about 3mm to my overall diameter, so the speedo barely registered a difference.

 

[StarHunter]

yeah looks great CorsaKoup.
and that's the equation that I can't solve yet,
A rough ride OR a better stability :S
BTW have you thought about a rear strut bar, many say it handles perfectly through corners?

 

[CorsaKoup]

The only mods I'll be doing are cosmetic, wheels and tires. I don't have a need for more handling than better tires will provide.

 

[KiaTech]

Rear strut bar on a Forte is a waste of money, and is simply cosmetic. Quite frankly the Forte doesn't have rear struts... so all you're doing is adding a thin tube of cheap metal that looks cool to people who 'just don't know better'.

You'll get a billion times better handling improvements by tires first, springs/shocks second, and possibly a stiffer anti-roll set up. I will be delving deeper into anti-roll over the next few months, as the torsion bar set up adds challenges to design and installation. I like a car that handles flat, and let's the tires do the talking, so that's where I'll be looking to spend my money. Now that the roads are drying up in my area, "The Call Of The Hard Corner" is stirring in my soul.

Spend money on tires, first. This has got to be the number one thing for everyone to beat into their heads. If you want to go fast, better tires. If you want handling, better tires. If you want better braking, better tires. If you want to rice your ride and look uber pimp... you better be flossin some dope skins. Yo. *Ok, seriously... I am so white, I'm Casper... so that's extra funny*

 

[StarHunter]

The only mods I'll be doing are cosmetic, wheels and tires. I don't have a need for more handling than better tires will provide.

Rear strut bar on a Forte is a waste of money, and is simply cosmetic. Quite frankly the Forte doesn't have rear struts... so all you're doing is adding a thin tube of cheap metal that looks cool to people who 'just don't know better'.

You'll get a billion times better handling improvements by tires first, springs/shocks second, and possibly a stiffer anti-roll set up. I will be delving deeper into anti-roll over the next few months, as the torsion bar set up adds challenges to design and installation. I like a car that handles flat, and let's the tires do the talking, so that's where I'll be looking to spend my money. Now that the roads are drying up in my area, "The Call Of The Hard Corner" is stirring in my soul.

Spend money on tires, first. This has got to be the number one thing for everyone to beat into their heads. If you want to go fast, better tires. If you want handling, better tires. If you want better braking, better tires. If you want to rice your ride and look uber pimp... you better be flossin some dope skins. Yo. *Ok, seriously... I am so white, I'm Casper... so that's extra funny*

Then tires it is.
but what is the best type and size
mine came with hankook (215/45-16)
and "KiaTech" you haven't told us what you think about the car stability?

 

[Silver2010]

Rear strut bar on a Forte is a waste of money, and is simply cosmetic. Quite frankly the Forte doesn't have rear struts... so all you're doing is adding a thin tube of cheap metal that looks cool to people who 'just don't know better'.

You'll get a billion times better handling improvements by tires first, springs/shocks second, and possibly a stiffer anti-roll set up. I will be delving deeper into anti-roll over the next few months, as the torsion bar set up adds challenges to design and installation. I like a car that handles flat, and let's the tires do the talking, so that's where I'll be looking to spend my money. Now that the roads are drying up in my area, "The Call Of The Hard Corner" is stirring in my soul.

Spend money on tires, first. This has got to be the number one thing for everyone to beat into their heads. If you want to go fast, better tires. If you want handling, better tires. If you want better braking, better tires. If you want to rice your ride and look uber pimp... you better be flossin some dope skins. Yo. *Ok, seriously... I am so white, I'm Casper... so that's extra funny*

The Forte does not have a rear sway bar at all. The Torsion beam doubles as a sway bar. What's this talk about making a sway bar that doesn't exist, stiffer? Are you really talking about adding a sway bar to the rear? Something I wouldn't recommend...

 

[gripphard]

Forte has CTBA rear suspension.

Inside the beam is rear anti rollbar/anti swaybar. It is 19mm.
Also, the front has 19mm anti rollbar/anti swaybar.

Agree with Kiatech, tires first.

 

[Silver2010]

Kia's press release for the Forte makes no mention of a rear sway bar, just the torsion beam. The torsion beam acts as a sway bar in part. I see no evidence of a rear sway on the Forte. Can anyone confirm this, either way?

 

[gripphard]

It was mentioned in KIA's press release as well in many reviews etc.

Forte has CTBA rear suspension.

Inside the beam is rear anti rollbar/anti swaybar. It is 19mm.
Also, the front has 19mm anti rollbar/anti swaybar.

 

[gripphard]

Here is a pic of the whole Forte CTBA rear suspension:

Here is a pic showing the antirollbar/antiswaybar in the middle of the beam: