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Has anyone else drag raced their Forte Turbo?

12664 Views 32 Replies 11 Participants Last post by  staax
Took my Forte5 Turbo automatic to San Antonio Raceway today. Best run was 14.98 @ 95 mph. Considering that's about the best magazine time I saw before buying the car (not sure which mag I saw that on) and I only got 9-10 runs in, I'm extremely happy with the results. This was with:

Completely bone stock, including tires
10k miles
ECO Off - ran a 15.2 fresh off the highway when I forgot to turn it off...still not bad! lol
TC On - I actually forgot to test turning it off, but I don't think the car was burning out enough to matter, really, as I never got a low traction light...but I will try with it off next time
Bumped over in to manual shift mode, but not shifting, letting the car do it which seemed to be very close to red line
Powerbraking up to around 1500 RPM then just flooring it at launch. There was a tiny bit of bog from time to time upon launch, not sure if the TC had something to do with that or if it's just a characteristic of the car
35 PSI in the fronts and 40 PSI in the rears. I only went that high because I wasn't losing traction.
Around 40 degrees outside, but with a 10 mph crosswind, so there's some give and some take there

Interestingly enough, it never ran slower than a 15.2. That's pretty freaking consistent for me trying so many different things.

We plan on going again this next weekend if anyone else wants to go. This will be the last weekend for San Antonio Raceway before they close until February, and they definitely need the business, I know they're having money issues. But the track is great, the crew is all nice, and the commentator is fun though, oddly, he didn't say anything goofy about there being a Kia on the track.

Anyone else taken their stock turbo Forte to the track, yet? Also, if anyone has any questions about drag racing, I'd be glad to answer. I wouldn't say I'm an expert, but it's not exactly a hard subject and I've been doing it for years.

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Nice. I wont be able to until the spring . But I know the car runs a lot quicker with the new BOV . constant 6.3 o-60 runs and a flat 6 once .
If you keep your TC on it limits how much power it will put down regardless of the light being on or not. The bog you feel on launch is probably the ecu cutting power from you trying to brake boost it

Wish there was a track near me that let street cars mess around on once in a while.
If you keep your TC on it limits how much power it will put down regardless of the light being on or not. The bog you feel on launch is probably the ecu cutting power from you trying to brake boost it.
I will see next weekend whether it helps, or just causes excessive burnout and wheel hop. Getting a FWD car which is that heavy to do a sub 15 on stock suspension and tires with zero wheel hop is pretty impressive, in my experience, and might be worth just keeping the TC on if that's the cause.
I will see next weekend whether it helps, or just causes excessive burnout and wheel hop. Getting a FWD car which is that heavy to do a sub 15 on stock suspension and tires with zero wheel hop is pretty impressive, in my experience, and might be worth just keeping the TC on if that's the cause.
It is impressive no doubt. There is a VT that is into the 14's with stock tires and a A/T also and he is trying to see what he can get a stock 1.6t to do with just basic bolt ons and each bolt on he goes to the track lol. I want to hit a track for my first time but the one that used to let street cars closed down.
Forgot to ask are you running 1/8 or 1/4 runs?
1/4.

Is my signature showing up okay? Should show there.
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1/4.

Is my signature showing up okay? Should show there.
Yea it's showing fine.

I'll be going to the 1/4 strip very soon to see what I can do with the car soon. I'll let everyone know.
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I will see next weekend whether it helps, or just causes excessive burnout and wheel hop. Getting a FWD car which is that heavy to do a sub 15 on stock suspension and tires with zero wheel hop is pretty impressive, in my experience, and might be worth just keeping the TC on if that's the cause.
That wheel hop can be settled down with a lower dog bone mount . 6thelement has one . The auto gets it I know . Lol but that mount should be more than enough .
Wheel hop and shifting at 5500-6000 rpm right before boost falls off will help. My boost starts fading right at 6k but I am tuned and I think stock is 5500
While the mount is a must, I think stickier tires would be a better investment. The mount however is also theorized to help prevent the fuel line failure though. So do both if you can
I ran a 14.8 the other month. My videos and my time slip is on the street racing thread. That was before the new BOV and the wastegate hack, giving me an extra 2-4 lbs of boost.
Our mount definitely settles the hopping down a bit. can't completely get rid of it, but it does help. I can't wait to get to the track!
I had zero hop running that 14.9, but I also had very little traction loss at all and had the TC on the whole time. Assuming it does hop with TC off (and it feels like the potential is there for a better time), what PSI were you running in the front tires, CrypTech? Or at least what felt like it gave you the least hop?

Edit: Also, had anyone dyno'd these things, and do they really only put out an est max of 201 HP at the crank? Sounds low for these kinds of numbers on the drag strip, especially with the drivetrain loss of an automatic. Only 0.4 seconds off a Focus ST, which should be in a completely different ball park.
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I had zero hop running that 14.9, but I also had very little traction loss at all and had the TC on the whole time. Assuming it does hop with TC off (and it feels like the potential is there for a better time), what PSI were you running in the front tires, CrypTech? Or at least what felt like it gave you the least hop?

Edit: Also, had anyone dyno'd these things, and do they really only put out an est max of 201 HP at the crank? Sounds low for these kinds of numbers on the drag strip, especially with the drivetrain loss of an automatic. Only 0.4 seconds off a Focus ST, which should be in a completely different ball park.
Our car dyno'd 176 whp (manual trans) on a fairly warm/humid day stock.
Last dyno with Cold Air intake and Front mount Intercooler got us to 199 whp on an even warmer day.

We have dyno plots on the intake pages of our website if you want to see comparisons.
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To be honest I think that our cars are a bit under rated. When mine was stock and once I got the intake and exhaust done it felt like there was way more then the 201hp they claim this car has.
Our car dyno'd 176 whp (manual trans) on a fairly warm/humid day stock.
Last dyno with Cold Air intake and Front mount Intercooler got us to 199 whp on an even warmer day.

We have dyno plots on the intake pages of our website if you want to see comparisons.
Those numbers make sense with a manual. They are impressive, but they do make sense. It's the fact that it's an auto that manages the quarter so quick that surprised the hell out of me. Hyundais aren't typically known for building autos without a lot of drivetrain loss.
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Glad to see some solid numbers, looking forward to seeing what you end up pulling with more power and better tires
Tyson
Those numbers make sense with a manual. They are impressive, but they do make sense. It's the fact that it's an auto that manages the quarter so quick that surprised the hell out of me. Hyundais aren't typically known for building autos without a lot of drivetrain loss.
My thoughts exactly. When I raced a Koup turbo that I see in town once in a while he had no chance. Granted I am tuned but dang I thought because it was a M/T he would be closer to me but I yanked so hard on him I was shocked. Plus he was the base turbo and I am fully loaded leather and all!
My thoughts exactly. When I raced a Koup turbo that I see in town once in a while he had no chance. Granted I am tuned but dang I thought because it was a M/T he would be closer to me but I yanked so hard on him I was shocked. Plus he was the base turbo and I am fully loaded leather and all!
Well, according to C&D, the auto they tested was a full second faster 0-60 than the manual. Although that's contrary to conventional thinking, considering my own now proven time, I'm inclined to believe it.

http://www.caranddriver.com/reviews/2014-kia-forte5-sx-turbo-automatic-test-review
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