Breadfan

This morning I'm logging my knock retard on the way to work after doing some timing changes last night. My work is outside of town, so there is a good spot near there to open it up a little for testing under load. I'm at the light and some racer-boy in a Kia with a blacked out rear emblem pulls around to the inside lane. I know about the emblem because he creeped his car way out into the intersection ahead of the green. (I had to look up that it was a Forte Koup; dunno if 2.0 or 2.4) So I'm thinking, great, I'll get to my testing spot and have a Kia in my way. So the light turns green and I lean on the throttle a little to keep me ahead of him before my turnoff on the right. I can hear his engine screaming somewhere on my left. Not liking that, he gets behind me and proceeds to just about drive up my a__. So I make my turn-off and then make my turn onto the hidden straight-away. I look at my scanner, it shows no mid range knock thus far. I put the hammer down. I don't have traction control turned off so I leave a short streak of rubber before the car dials me back to 15psi. Then I hit 2nd, the wheels bite the road and the boost zooms up to 20ish. I feel the bump of 3rd; still just above 20psi and pulling. I look in my mirror. You could have fit at least 10 Kia across it at that distance. I shut it down and start coasting. I don't want to exhibit too much dumb-a__ery on a public street. (There's no law against accelerating fast, it is how fast you get going that gets you) After a while I reach a light to turn off for my work. He pulls up next to me. I see a couple of guys in the car. They are even wearing hoods like the hamsters in the Kia commercial. They don't look back at me. I make the turn at a sedate pace allowing them space to take off if they want to. They don't. Looking at the Kia site shows me that the Optima 2.0 T/C might have been a different story. That seems like a Korean Cobalt SS. So, it turns out that the hardest part of smokin' a Kia Forte certainly isn't lightin' 'em up.

badassbowtie

the only thing i like about kia is the awesome commercials....the cars suck. and the cops around my neck of the woods can get you with an "unsafe start" which you can get by accelerating too fast. but nice kill, i took down a monte carlo SS yesterday and posted my story...

Breadfan

Thank you. I really enjoyed your story, badassbowtie. It is no end of surprising finding out how my new SS rates. No "unsafe start" here. The cops here seem to judge by the sound of an engine. My HHR is fairly quiet. I have a 1978 Suzuki GS550 motorcycle that I have geared down low (so the clutch won't slip when it heats up) as a surface street commute warrior. It had trouble getting to highway speeds. (as do many regular geared ones what with all the ethanol in CA gas) I got a ticket for 55mph (he said he'd mark it down to 55 so I'd only be 10 over, LOL) between two street lights. I sent them my deposit and an explanation that, given the actual distance between the lights in question and the fact that the cop stopped me at the next light, a 'busa sportbike would have been hard pressed to make 55mph and stop in that distance. They promptly lost my paperwork and tendered a guilty judgement. I sent them another certified copy along with a copy of the certified mail reciept for the first packet. I received my deposit back along with an notice that the ticket had been dismissed due to insufficient evidence. If I can get a ticket on a bike that I have purposely neutered to use as a glorified moped, I guess it doesn't really matter what I do. I just need to fight it if I get a ticket since it will probably be like all my other experiences with LEOs; getting stopped and searched for something I don't have or didn't do. (this is not a smack at LEOs, I understand that they don't stop me to tell me what a good job I'm doing, although I've found Alaska cops to be quite friendly when I lived there) It is a fine line between a free man and an outlaw in a state that passes something like 1000 laws per year.

DoomBuggy

I don't know man, I have a 2006 Kia Sportage with just shy of 100k on it and other than two O2 sensors, tires, brakes, oil, and basic tune ups, I haven't had to fix a thing. The car runs like a clock. The gas mileage sucks and is WAY below what the sticker on the window said, but then again so is the MPG on my SS.

Glad you smeared the Forté koup though, It's like a Korean Honda Civic. A lot of ricers out my way drive them with stupid wheels and those noisy coffee can sized exhausts.

badassbowtie

i probably should have used more accurate words because it is my opinion. my grandparents had a kia rio(small car)? it spent more time in the shop then any car ive ever seen. i know any car can be a lemon, but they took a loss on it and traded it in with 3 years still left to pay on it, because they didnt want the car after the warranty.... i just out by looking around that they are owned by hyundai now. not much better, but at least its a better company.