What did you do to your Kia Stinger today?

[Manaz]

Temperature definitely has an impact. Cool damp air is actually better than cool dry air - water has a much higher specific heat than air, so humidity helps to keep combustion temps down by absorbing more energy for a given temperature increase. This is part of how WMI helps.

 

[Christopher A Herman]

Finally got my new wheels mounted and rid myself of the factory boat anchors KIA calls wheels--nice looking, but oh so heavy. TSW Interlagos in matte black--19X8.5" +45mm rear (a little under 21lb), 19X8" +35mm front (right at 21lb). Since I live on about one mile of gravel road I went with a simple spoke design for easy cleaning. I gave the whole car a bath to celebrate.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I got my Stingers bedroom fixed last week. The garage door now closes finally.

One thing I'm finding is my car drives differently week to week. One week it drives like a rocket ship with little pedal imput required. Other weeks it drives like a king size bed. I only drive twice a week, I'm wondering if its temperature and humidity related? I know turbos prefer dry cool air.

She's a moody lady. Sometimes fast, sometimes not quite so much (never slow, though).

 

[cncBilly]

I'm also one of the weirdos that loves the side reflectors, it's totally off the wall and one of the quirks that makes the car look more like a concept car. That's the kind of stuff that they usually strip off of concept cars to make designs look more vanilla for the masses.

With ya.....love the uniqueness of them, you know you've seen a Stinger if you just catch a quick glance at one.

 

[cncBilly]

Not really doing anything with my Stinger today as such, but today is the 1 year Stingerversary. I could have got her a cake but there’s no way I’m getting crumbs in my car can’t even give her a celebratory wash because it’s raining. That first year sure has gone quick.

How many K did you make her run for the year?

 

[AV8R]

I got my Stingers bedroom fixed last week. The garage door now closes finally.

One thing I'm finding is my car drives differently week to week. One week it drives like a rocket ship with little pedal imput required. Other weeks it drives like a king size bed. I only drive twice a week, I'm wondering if its temperature and humidity related? I know turbos prefer dry cool air.

Could be sheet size lol

 

[Coast GT]

How many K did you make her run for the year?

15,718km

 

[Ozstung]

14,872kms @ 18 months.

 

[Schpok]

5 days till 1 year anniversary. Already did ~36,000 km and I do a 1,000km trip this weekend.

 

[Ozstung]

5 days till 1 year anniversary. Already did ~36,000 km and I do a 1,000km trip this weekend.

That was quick, it seemed like only a couple of months ago you picked up your car on that rainy day.

 

[Schpok]

I think you got me and alagos mixed up

It was sunshine and 30C° out when I picked mine up

 

[Ozstung]

I think you got me and alagos mixed up

It was sunshine and 30C° out when I picked mine up

Ha,ha, true. Where has he been lately?

 

[StungBlueGT2]

One thing I'm finding is my car drives differently week to week. One week it drives like a rocket ship with little pedal imput required. Other weeks it drives like a king size bed. I only drive twice a week, I'm wondering if its temperature and humidity related? I know turbos prefer dry cool air.

She's a moody lady. Sometimes fast, sometimes not quite so much (never slow, though).

That’s unusual. Unless you have a bunch of mods that will add more drastic variations to IAT, boost, etc. acceleration should feel basically the same at all times. Yes, it will perform better during cold weather months, but it shouldn’t really change how it drives week to week or day to day.

Mine always felt consistently strong when I was stock and I’ve driven in 40degrees and 90degrees+ without much change.

When I first added intakes I could feel heatsoak build up pretty quickly and that was the first time I felt a difference in performance. It felt sluggish and the engine would have to work extra hard in hot weather. Since adding the heat shielding it’s basically back to stock consistency and don’t feel performance change much no matter the air temperature.

I’ve asked a few of my local Stingers and nobody said their acceleration changes or feels different day to day. If you have the means it might be worth logging your parameters(boost, IAT, AFR, etc) to see what’s changing enough that you can actually feel a difference in performance. Might be bad gas if not using top quality premium 93, or slightly fouled plugs(carbon buildup) if you baby the car too much. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[Ozstung]

That’s unusual. Unless you have a bunch of mods that will add more drastic variations to IAT, boost, etc. acceleration should feel basically the same at all times. Yes, it will perform better during cold weather months, but it shouldn’t really change how it drives week to week or day to day.

Mine always felt consistently strong when I was stock and I’ve driven in 40degrees and 90degrees+ without much change.

When I first added intakes I could feel heatsoak build up pretty quickly and that was the first time I felt a difference in performance. It felt sluggish and the engine would have to work extra hard in hot weather. Since adding the heat shielding it’s basically back to stock consistency and don’t feel performance change much no matter the air temperature.

I’ve asked a few of my local Stingers and nobody said their acceleration changes or feels different day to day. If you have the means it might be worth logging your parameters(boost, IAT, AFR, etc) to see what’s changing enough that you can actually feel a difference in performance. Might be bad gas if not using top quality premium 93, or slightly fouled plugs(carbon buildup) if you baby the car too much. Hope this helps and good luck.

At first I thought it must be just my imagination but theres a noticeable difference. I think it might be fuel as the injectors in my other car were significantly clogged according to the ford service dept, and I could feel that to. That's pretty bad for a 3 year old car. I'm guilty of putting in different octane and going to the local 7/11. Also a good point you make, I do baby the throttle. Maybe some tough love is in order.

 

[MerlintheMad]

I do baby the throttle. Maybe some tough love is in order.

This would be the cause of any (comparative) "sluggishness" in my case: plus, since getting more used to the performance range, "fast" isn't as fast as it was starting out! But I do like to roar a couple of times each drive, to make sure the drivetrain gets "exercised".

 

[StungBlueGT2]

At first I thought it must be just my imagination but theres a noticeable difference. I think it might be fuel as the injectors in my other car were significantly clogged according to the ford service dept, and I could feel that to. That's pretty bad for a 3 year old car. I'm guilty of putting in different octane and going to the local 7/11. Also a good point you make, I do baby the throttle. Maybe some tough love is in order.

7/11 gas?!? What a sin. That’s like feeding an Olympic athlete fried donuts every day instead of healthy protein rich foods...

Yeah not using the best gas possible will likely cause injectors to clog & plugs to foul quickly. Many fuel tests show buildup & gunk in as little as a few thousand miles and Kia recommends a fuel additive every 6k miles.

This would be the cause of any (comparative) "sluggishness" in my case: plus, since getting more used to the performance range, "fast" isn't as fast as it was starting out! But I do like to roar a couple of times each drive, to make sure the drivetrain gets "exercised".

And yes babying the car too much without running WOT/full boost to burn up the excess buildup & fuel deposits is bad for our high performance engines. Luckily, your sluggishness and power loss is likely curable if it hasn’t effected your injectors yet.

Both of you should run a few tanks of Techron concentrate and then go stretch it’s legs(WOT a few times) to clean out the cobwebs. Bet it will run better and feel lively again before you know it. Hope this helps and good luck.

 

[MerlintheMad]

Many fuel tests show buildup & gunk in as little as a few thousand miles and Kia recommends a fuel additive every 6k miles.

Slight correction: Kia recommends every oil change or 7.5K miles that you put in one bottle of additive IF you are not using TOP TIER Detergent gasoline. The telltale signs of issues with non detergent gasoline will be difficulty starting and rough running. There isn't any mention of reduced pep/power.

Both of you should run a few tanks of Techron concentrate and then go stretch it’s legs(WOT a few times) to clean out the cobwebs. Bet it will run better and feel lively again before you know it. Hope this helps and good luck.

Thanks! I'll keep that in mind. Mostly I've noticed that an apparent slackness in acceleration is probably me not using a low enough gear to optimize torque (I shift for myself most of the time). When I plan beforehand that I am going to stomp on it I'm nearly always completely satisfied with the result.

One thing though, about this "need" to stretch her legs: I'm pretty sure we are only a bit paranoid; Kia really underdeveloped this engine if what the mods are showing is true. The assumed major market would be normal drivers who don't make much use of even what the stock car is capable of. So using proper gasoline and driving sedately should all be fine. This isn't going to cause a problem with gunking up the engine.

 

[AV8R]

I drive like I stole it, run it on 98RON and have the additive at service time added. No issues here .

 

[MerlintheMad]

I drive like I stole it, run it on 98RON and have the additive at service time added. No issues here .

You're using good gasoline, so what additive is it that you need?

 

[AV8R]

You're using good gasoline, so what additive is it that you need?

I think it's an injector cleaner. They do it when I need it at services.