I just got these door sill protectors. $18 on eBay...they actually look decent.
I also did this mod. Yeah, it's admittedly a bit juvenile, but it kind of suits the nature of the car. I used furniture leg sliders from Wallyworld to plug the intake hole. It goes wooosh on shifts...and I do love how the exhaust pops and burbles when blipping the throttle.
I did the Eibach 22mm rear bar that matches the oem design and bends. Just look up the one for the 2019-21 Veloster turbo. Feels perfect now. If you get the Eibach don't use the grease they supply, my bar made all sorts of noise until I used some Super Lube multipurpose grease. I decided against Whiteline based on broken sway bars and the links going bad after only a year. I trust Eibach stuff a little better. I used the factory endlinks.
I've been a little disappointed by my fuel economy since I purchased it. Struggling to average 32. Last night we had to leave work early to go pay respects to our friends father that passed away, also the man that married us 21 years ago. To avoid traffic we took the twisty state roads down and back. Left the garage at 33.9 on this tank. Hit 36 by the time we got there. Came home the same way and this was the return trip:
that drove up this tank's average to :
seems the car absolutely loves twisty state roads and 64mph cruising. So effortless and capable.
the other nice thing is it was finally warm enough to use the PS4 tires to their fullest. So. Much. Grip. Falling deeper and deeper into love with this thing.
....and to think, I have to suffer the indignities of a Gen2 Prius to get 42 mpg. 
Kias routinely don't get their best fuel economy until they have a few thousand miles on them. Looks to me like you are doing quite well already!
Loweguy5 said:Kids routinely don't get their best fuel economy...
Lol. Sometimes autocorrect is amazing.
In reply to BlueInGreen - Jon :
It's true...I'm still waiting for my KIDS to get good mileage. All I do is feed them and yet they demand more! Lol.
In reply to Loweguy5 :
In the old days we waited 15k. That was about the time Hyundai engines "loosened up" enough for their best economy.
In reply to John Welsh :
I wonder if my Forte has more ammenities than that prius?
Not sure how I missed this thread, but I did. Finally, the guy who helped convince me to buy mine bought one of his own!
I've got about 33k on my 2020 GT now. It still runs and drives like it did on day one, if not better. There are a few annoyances that have popped up in the past 2.5 years of ownership, but nothing even close to major. I figured by now I'd regret getting this over the Civic Si I coveted, but I don't. This thing has been great, especially for the money. The car is genuinely fun to drive, and I haven't felt the need for the LSD at all, even in spirited driving.
The gas mileage thing: I didn't start getting good mileage until 10-15k were on the car. If I stick to the highway and keep my foot out, it will exceed the EPA estimated 32MPG highway rating easily. In heavy traffic, I average 26-28mpg. My old Mazda 3 with the MZR 2.5 and a 6-speed manual would struggle to get 23 in the same situation.
I've also noticed with mine that even though the manual says 87 octane is fine, it makes more power on 93 and is WAY more fun to drive. It runs smoother to redline and it feels like it builds boost earlier. It will also boost efficiency a bit to boot by a MPG or two.
Good luck with it!
Your getting really good fuel economy, my avg over 8000 miles is 31mpg (have not reset it since new) it is amazing the power and fuel economy these little 1.6 turbo motors get. I still avg 34mpg on my back road drive to work with my Racechip set to 5 everyday. It might be my imagination but it seems to get a couple mpg better in sport mode as long as I am trying to get good fuel mileage.
bobzilla said:Falling deeper and deeper into love with this thing.
I feel the same way at 8000 miles. I have done a few things to improve on the already excellent car that this is. I am actually at the point where I do not plan to do anything more since it as the perfect balance of everything I want for a daily driver. I have tried a few things and removed some parts (midpipe, bov, upper mount inserts). I even tried a tighter plug gap since it has a mild tune but it drives better (mpg and power) with the stock plugs on stock gap. Here is what I did for $1200 that makes the Forte GT the perfect daily driver in my opinion.
AFE closed intake
Racechip GTS on level 5
Lower transmission mount inserts Whiteline standard and Powerflex yellow combo
Eibach 22mm rear sway bar
Veloster N (Add W1 or JBR) short shifter and shifter base bushings
Tony Sestito said:Not sure how I missed this thread, but I did. Finally, the guy who helped convince me to buy mine bought one of his own!
The car is genuinely fun to drive, and I haven't felt the need for the LSD at all, even in spirited driving.
I've also noticed with mine that even though the manual says 87 octane is fine, it makes more power on 93 and is WAY more fun to drive. It runs smoother to redline and it feels like it builds boost earlier. It will also boost efficiency a bit to boot by a MPG or two.
I can second both these observations. 93 octane seems to add just enough extra that you can feel a slight difference, mostly in the available traction with 87 vs 93. The ecm must be doing a great job of making adjustments based on the input from the knock sensor. And for street use the LSD would be nice but for the price of this car I am willing to accept the lack of it. The larger rear sway bar seems to help keep the inside front tire from breaking loose as easily since the car is not leaning as much.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
2023BD and I are old school hyundai freaks. We remember the "new" XD chassis didn't get broken in until 15k. that car I could nail 37 all day every day as long as I kept it below 74(?). Its been so long I don't remember the actual speed but the old tuning was so bad once you got past a certain rpm the ECM just went "berkeley it here's all the fuel" and that 37 would drop to 29 and my white bumper would be black like a tdi VW.
@2023BD I can't drive it in sport mode economically yet. The go pedal is toooooo enticing.
I have 91 no-ethanol somewhat near me (a county away)--I like to use that when I can. Premium in my county is 93 with 10%. That said, I generally run the mid-grade 89 stuff w/ 10% ethanol. It is closer in price to the 87 and I can't tell much difference in regular daily driving in both MPGs and HPs to the 93 with 10%.
I will have to admit that half of this tank is filled with 93, the other half was 87.
Question for you Forte GT owners: Do you guys have any issues with the bass from the speakers basically maxing out on your cars? I have my bass EQ set to 6 out of 10, and even at that level, it feels like the speakers (especially the sub) are turning themselves inside out and rattling things. Wondering if it's just rattling with the door panels and package tray and needs some sound deadener or something. The stereo sounds very good for a factory setup, but this part is annoying.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Nope--you might have a bad speaker or something. I don't like my (mostly classic rock) music "bassy"--so my treble is up and bass in the middle...and even at high volumes, the sounds are separated nicely and very clear. It's the best OE stereo that I have had the pleasure of owning.
In reply to Tony Sestito :
Nope. My bass is at 9, listen to all sorts of things without issue. The apparent perfect song the car was tuned for happens to be Sir Mixalot Baby got Back. Wife was not so impressed. I on the other hand was very impressed.
I have noticed the lower end gets a little muddy when listening to EDM via bluetooth but is clearer using carplay or XM.
No issues with stereo but I also don't turn it up much, I would have to refer this question to the wife who I can hear coming from the next town. I would look for vibration issue first since there have not been many speaker issues.
For the first time since we bought this, its A.) not raining currently and 2.) not supposed to rain for the next week. So I washed it.
automotiveflux said:Very cool! I was considering selling a bunch of stuff and picking up the Canada only wagon version of this car... the Forte5 GT
That shape seems familiar.
In reply to jstein77 :
I mean the Focus looks like my Rio too... there's only so much you can do with a jelly bean shape.
I am just trying to figure out how those front brakes qualify for DS
In reply to 2023BD :
wasn't the RS put there initially? Those came stock with the brembos.
Also hit 1000 miles this morning. Been driving the Rio this week with the track brakes in place. Forte does NOT have those brakes.... I learned quickly this morning.
You'll need to log in to post.
