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MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
9/15/22 1:00 p.m.

 

A 2013 Kia Soul. With the 2.0 motor and a 6 speed manual.

I did have to modify the seat track to set the driver's seat back an inch. But Korean cars have come a long way from the first one I drove, a 1989 Mitsubishi Precis (rebadged Hyundai Excel). This one is a lot roomier, and while clearly built to a price, it doesn't feel like it's about to fall apart or have weird place holders for deleted features. Not the most exciting car, but not the most boring commuter appliance, either.

mr2s2000elise
mr2s2000elise UberDork
9/15/22 1:06 p.m.

Congrats! 

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
9/15/22 7:06 p.m.

Another disciple of the gospel according to Bob.  Can I get an amen? 

pinchvalve (Forum Supporter)
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/15/22 8:13 p.m.

My wife had one with the manual, and it steadfastly refused to downshift into 2nd in anything resembling a spirited manner. Good solid car, but the interior upgrade really made them better to live with, ours was pre-upgrade. 

Stampie
Stampie GRM+ Memberand MegaDork
9/15/22 8:27 p.m.

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

Who wants to tell Bob that you put a Kia in off topic because you didn't consider it a real car worthy of the main forum?

David S. Wallens
David S. Wallens Editorial Director
9/15/22 8:34 p.m.

My brother had one just like that in black. It gave him 10 years of faithful service. 

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/15/22 8:47 p.m.
John Welsh said:

Another disciple of the gospel according to Bob.  Can I get an amen? 

Amen!

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/15/22 8:48 p.m.
pinchvalve (Forum Supporter) said:

My wife had one with the manual, and it steadfastly refused to downshift into 2nd in anything resembling a spirited manner. Good solid car, but the interior upgrade really made them better to live with, ours was pre-upgrade. 

5-spd? If so they were the left overs of a previous generation of cars. Reliable but not meant for fun. 

John Welsh
John Welsh Mod Squad
9/15/22 9:04 p.m.

I notice this one is manual with alloys so not the stripper, steel wheel equipped, model. 

Kreb (Forum Supporter)
Kreb (Forum Supporter) GRM+ Memberand PowerDork
9/16/22 2:03 a.m.

Cars surprise us sometimes. My sons Sonata is a pretty great car other than being a little low on power. The N variant wasn't available when he bought. My wife recently bought a new Subaru Crosstrek and I really like it. Whoda thunk?

SKJSS (formerly Klayfish)
SKJSS (formerly Klayfish) PowerDork
9/16/22 6:00 a.m.

I really like the Soul.  It's just a solid all around car.  Kinda a spiritual successor to cars like the HHR, though the Soul is a bit smaller.  Buying a used one can still be a great value.

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
9/16/22 6:02 a.m.
Stampie said:

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

Who wants to tell Bob that you put a Kia in off topic because you didn't consider it a real car worthy of the main forum?

Not sure if I can autocross it due to track to height rules. laugh

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 8:01 a.m.

In reply to MadScientistMatt :

Coilovers and Sundae Cup. 

Flush 2013 Kia Soul with 17x10 ESM Esm-009r & Accelera Phi 255/40 on Coilovers - Fitment Industries Gallery image 1 of 7

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 8:03 a.m.
Kreb (Forum Supporter) said:

Cars surprise us sometimes. My sons Sonata is a pretty great car other than being a little low on power. The N variant wasn't available when he bought. My wife recently bought a new Subaru Crosstrek and I really like it. Whoda thunk?

I will convert this board one member at a time..... 

untchabl
untchabl HalfDork
9/16/22 8:10 a.m.

Congrats, SWMBO just got a 23 Soul for her DD/mom mobile and we both really like it. Plenty of leg/head room front and rear which is important since since I'm 6'3".

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 8:28 a.m.

Dude....2 in one thread! Kia now needs to sponsor me in my Sundae Cup adventures and One Lap.

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
9/16/22 8:29 a.m.

I have this exact car.  

I go between hating it and being totally ok with it.

The worst part of it is the engine mounts/throttle programming.  I have replaced all of them and its so difficult to get the 1-2 shift not to be herky jerky.  Also if you load up the clutch taking off you get some of that as well.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 8:34 a.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

So... I learned with the Rio something fun. They use a switch off the clutch to "soften" the shifts and shock loading the clutch and trans. Limits actual throttle inputfor the first few seconds of a shift to ease into it. Makes it hard as hell for us long time manual owners to get used to. It's an electronic version of the clutch line restrictor plate.Turning off TCS takes 90% of that away and gives it a more natural feel. 

Also, a poly rear mount to limit engine flex makes the engagement point feel more natural. The down side is at idle with the AC on it shakes like hell.

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
9/16/22 10:36 a.m.
bobzilla said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

So... I learned with the Rio something fun. They use a switch off the clutch to "soften" the shifts and shock loading the clutch and trans. Limits actual throttle inputfor the first few seconds of a shift to ease into it. Makes it hard as hell for us long time manual owners to get used to. It's an electronic version of the clutch line restrictor plate.Turning off TCS takes 90% of that away and gives it a more natural feel. 

Also, a poly rear mount to limit engine flex makes the engagement point feel more natural. The down side is at idle with the AC on it shakes like hell.

Interesting, so just try driving without TCS?  That sounds exactly like the hell I am experiencing.  I was experimenting with it and it feels like another way around it is to never fully lift off the throttle, only go down to about ~5% when you shift - perhaps that also prevents the cut?  Not that I want to drive that way - its difficult to keep it precise enough as you are rowing through the gears.

Yeah, I have a poly mount, I took it out because it shakes so bad.  Then I 3d printed some inserts for the stock mount.  They work kinda but make a horrible death rattle when pulling away from a stop.  I think the proper combo for a street car is actually poly in the fwd part of the mount, rubber in the aft part - its what I'm going to experiment with this weekend.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 11:00 a.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Yeah, back out of garage onto gravel road, go forward, TCS engages on slippery gravel reminding me to turn it off. Drive 90% of the time withou TCS on. 

So a little history.... Hy/Kia used to put little plates with a hole and spring at the slave cylinder. When you pushed the clutch pedal, you had full pressure/flow to engage the TOB, but when you released the pedal, the plate pushed back and the return flow was cut in half, slowing the engagement. Good for teaching new people to drive manual and make the feel smooth. Bad for fast shifts. Combined with their pull type pressure plates they slipped like a mofo when pushed hard and a 30k mile clutch replacement was not out of the range of normal. 

Im guessing Hy/Kia learned from that mistake and now use the TBW to limit the engine power to make that same "smoothness" without the clutch wear. 

EDIT: on the Accent/Rio/Veloster NA without turning TCS off, you can only get 70% throttle max until a certain point after clutch release. berkeleying nannies. 

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
9/16/22 11:35 a.m.
bobzilla said:

In reply to ProDarwin :

Yeah, back out of garage onto gravel road, go forward, TCS engages on slippery gravel reminding me to turn it off. Drive 90% of the time withou TCS on. 

So a little history.... Hy/Kia used to put little plates with a hole and spring at the slave cylinder. When you pushed the clutch pedal, you had full pressure/flow to engage the TOB, but when you released the pedal, the plate pushed back and the return flow was cut in half, slowing the engagement. Good for teaching new people to drive manual and make the feel smooth. Bad for fast shifts. Combined with their pull type pressure plates they slipped like a mofo when pushed hard and a 30k mile clutch replacement was not out of the range of normal. 

Im guessing Hy/Kia learned from that mistake and now use the TBW to limit the engine power to make that same "smoothness" without the clutch wear. 

EDIT: on the Accent/Rio/Veloster NA without turning TCS off, you can only get 70% throttle max until a certain point after clutch release. berkeleying nannies. 

Your middle paragraph is describing a clutch delay valve, super common on new cars, and rarely a contributor to additional clutch wear.

Good to know regarding TCS though, I will give that a shot.  I thought it was relatively non-invasive judging by the flashing light periodically, but I guess its doing stuff behind the scenes as well.  I guess that makes sense given how you can't even defeat it on the non-N cars.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 11:40 a.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Hy/Kia started using those in 1999. Their clutch design was soft and not strong to start with, make the clutch engage slower by dragging it out under throttle and they could wear quickly. You had to shift,pause, throttle or you'd get slippage. First thing we did was to remove those. 

MadScientistMatt
MadScientistMatt UltimaDork
9/16/22 12:33 p.m.

Don't temp me with coil-overs. Given the car's age, I think it may need new shocks anyway...

ProDarwin
ProDarwin MegaDork
9/16/22 1:09 p.m.
MadScientistMatt said:

Don't temp me with coil-overs. Given the car's age, I think it may need new shocks anyway...

Well, the good news is it can't possibly have any less travel than stock!  The rear shocks (which have effectively a 1:1 motion ratio), have 4" of travel.

In all honestly I have thought about stiffer springs and some wider wheels/tires for stance.  Then I go drive the BRZ and I'm like oh yeah I'm dumb, the stupid Kia utility box needs to be left alone.

bobzilla
bobzilla MegaDork
9/16/22 1:33 p.m.

In reply to ProDarwin :

Yeah, this platform (accent, rio,Veloster, soul, elantra, forte) all have idiotically short rear suspension travel. 

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