Lifting the "KiaStein"

 

 

Since long ago, I wanted to lift a little bit the "KiaStein" and also get rid from the saggy butt it had; seems like the engineers that calibrated the suspension on the second gen of the Kia Sephia, thought that these small sedans would carry one person only, and rarely move under full load... they were so wrong, at least for the LADM (Latin American Domestic Market).

The Front Suspension is pretty Sporty, with rapid recuperation from potholes, road bouncing, and feels pretty Strong; However, the Rear suspension is pretty Weak, and the car "sits" when is under full load, I mean five passengers on the cabin, and some luggage on the trunk, but without weighing too exaggerated, always under specs of load, the car seemed to go very Low on the Rear, and had too much Bouncing, even with healthy Shock Absorbers.

In fact, I admire the Simplicity and Strongness from these Kia's Suspension, it has survived sixteen years of use and abuse, and besides some Wear on the Shock Absorbers, everything seems to be alright, and the guys at two different alignment shops, confirmed that to me, everything seems to be under specs.

But I insist that the Rear feels pretty Weak, and never had the same Sporty feeling that the Front has; and I had to do "Something" to fix that situation...

So I spent over a Month (Literally) actively searching online, information regarding the Suspension of these second gen Sephias, learning mainly about the Coil Springs; things like how much lbs per inch they can bear, spring rate, load capabilities, etc... and then searching for a suitable replacement that could bear a little more weight, without being too stiff, nor having too much preload on the coil, in order to keep the Ride as great as it could be.

My conclusion was that the Front suspension is alright as it is, but the Rear suspension really needed a change on its Coil Springs: in order to get better handling loaded, sportier feeling in the Rear like the car already has in the Front, and get rid from the saggy butt, I needed to find Coil Springs that must be a little Taller and little Harder for the Rear Suspension.

The union from the Shock Absorber + Coil Springs is known as "Strut" and since the Shock Absorbers were alright, I started to hunt for better Coil Springs to improve the rear struts.

Remember that you can Not go too Stiff on any suspension, nor too Weak, because the car will be unsafe to drive: Going too Stiff will make the car to Bounce and Rebound on potholes and other road's imperfections, and thus leads to loose control, which is pretty Dangerous; in the other hand, going too weak might also make you loose control of the car under certain circumstances, especially while it is driven with load.

I have much previous experience in Suspension modifications and "Upgrades" as you can read one example, here:

~► Suspension Improvements / Lifting Procedures for...

However, I must always write my Disclaimer:
Use all the information and photos that I share, at your own Risk!

My Research showed that the rear Coil Springs that are closer to the Sephia's ones, in shape and almost everything, but being a little Taller and Harder, are the ones from the 1990's decade Toyota Camry.
 
 

Here I Share a composite Screenshot with the Specs of Both, together:

 
 

Next, I disassembled one of the Rear Struts from the "KiaStein" and I went to hunt for the Camry's rear Coil Springs, among the local Junk Yards...

Despite that the information found online, regarding the Camry's rear coil springs, states that the same ones were used on all the Camry lineup models during all the 1990's decade, I found that the Newer Camry ('95+) used Coil Springs with Wider Base, that does Not seat on the Sephia's rear Shock Absorber; but the older models ('94-) had Narrower base that sits good.

So I obtained a Pair of Rear Coil Springs, from a '94 Camry ... ... here you can see together, one of them, next to the one I took out from our '00 Sephia:

 

 

Left = Camry   /   Right = Sephia

What I did for your easy understanding of the relation, was to paint the ones from the Camry, with a Yellow leftover paint I had, take photos of both Coil Springs' real-life Measurements, and build this Comparison Chart for you: 
 

Installing those Coil Springs on the "KiaStein" will lift the Rear at least 1½" so, I needed to lift equally the Front without modifying the Suspension. Long years ago, I purchased a set of Rubber "Donuts" for my Subaru, and due to an internet connection error, Amazon placed the order twice; so I had this set sitting inside a Box on a shelf, since year 2003:

 

So, This simply solution that I found, for the Suspension of the second gen Kia Sephia:

 

Not only gets Rid from the saggy butt while gives better Handling, Also Lifts the car without loosing maneuverability, improves the Handling while provides the same straight Sporty Feeling to the Rear Suspension, that the Front always had; even more: the car does drive way much better under load, without bottoming out.

Really, it is Amazing how much a car's Handling can improve with better Coil Springs, despite of being installed on the original, old shock absorbers...

I installed the above pictured set on the "KiaStein" since December 21, 2015 and the car has been driven more than five hundred miles with it; I did many tests in order to ensure the safety of the car, such like like Racing on unpaved roads without load (to analyse the Bouncing), Racing up to -almost- 90 MPH on Highway, drive slowly on Potholes, Normal city driving, average usage unloaded and loaded, etc... then I did my Christmas family trip with it, went fully loaded to visit Family members far away... The car Really performs Flawlessly. 

This is the Best modification I've done to the "KiaStein" so far. 

All my cars always carry Five Boxes on the Trunk, plenty of Tools, Fluids, etc...



...so, the improved cargo capabilities are a Plus on this small sedan.

Kind Regards.

This is How the Lifted "KiaStein" looks like, now:

Gotta Love the Ground Clearance!

So, I installed the rubber donuts on the Front Struts, and installed the Bigger Coil Springs on the Rear; and the only worn parts that I found on all the suspension, were these links, for the stabilizer bars:

 

Which were changed as well. Kind Regards.

I hope that my ideas, Research, Documentation, etc, will be Helpful for other second gen Kia Sephia's Owners. In my own humble opinion, this is the Best modification I've done to the "KiaStein" so far.

Kind Regards.

This simple modifications to the Suspension, are really beyond Awesome; the car handles much better, carry weight in a way better way, and being taller is Helpful, especially in my li'l country.

 

This is the Best mod so far! 

Kind Regards.

Sadly, I need to report that the Rubber Donuts for the Front coil springs, already failed and I had to remove 'em; so the front went back down an inch. They didn't lasted a whole month, so dismiss that idea.

I'll need to find a more reliable alternative for the Front only.

Kind Regards.

Edited January 25, 201610 yr by Loyale 2.7 Turbo

Maybe you can find polyeurothane replacements.

Maybe you can find polyeurothane replacements.

 

That's good idea, I found a store that makes anything you might want on the Automotive world, in polyurethane; they "rebuilds" motor mounts, transmission mounts, etc... everything, changing the Rubber, with custom-made polyurethane, they make bushings, etc... but sadly, they can not make such "Donuts" to raise / level the front on the "KiaStein".

 

I'm in "Low Budget Mode" still, so I can not do the same I did with the Rear suspension, because it is expensive...

 

Despite not being on level, the car rides and handles Great, so we're simply using it as is, and hoping that soon I could afford to search & buy coil springs with more turns and thicker beams, to level the "KiaStein" front.

 

Kind Regards.

Sometimes economics dictate we just "live with it".

Yes, you're right.

 

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In another subject, Something that I've learned about the F-4EAT automatic Transmission, is that it really needs to move the Shifter to each position and let it stay there for Five seconds, then back to Neutral, one by one, two rounds, finally leave the shifter in NEUTRAL with the engine idling at normal operating temperatures, Prior to remove the Transmission Dipstick, clean it, and Measure the ATF level.

Otherwise, if you don't let the shifter to stay for five seconds on each position, two times, the ATF level will be falsely Lower than it really is.

Another thing that I've learned from that transmission, is that the entire reading area on the Dipstick, from totally empty to full, covers the last eight ounces of ATF only; so be Careful while pouring fresh ATF; do it with the engine at idle speed, on normal operating temps and with the shifter in Neutral.

Never forget to pull the Park Brake lever.

In case you Overfilled the Transmission, use this pretty Simple and Easy procedure,

 

to remove the excess amount of ATF (it also works with engine oil):

 

 

Kind Regards.

The Dipstick on the Automatic Transmission of these Kias, only mark around the last eight ounces of ATF, so if the dipstick readings are low, do not pour half quart of ATF or you'll easily overfill the transmission; pour slowly some few ounces with the engine at idle speed and then, repeat the measuring procedure described above, on post Nº 695, to see if the ATF level is right.

 

The ATF level Raises rapidly (within two minutes) on the Dipstick if the car sits at idle on normal operating temperatures; so it is important to repeat the procedure for measuring properly the ATF level, each time it will be measured, otherwise you'll have a False reading that shows more than what really is inside.

 

Also, a slight overfill makes the Automatic transmission to have Bubbles on the ATF, which leads it to shift abruptly with a "Bump" mainly, from first to second gear... you can't believe how much of a difference makes to have the Automatic Transmission pefectly filled to the proper level of the adequate ATF.

 

Kind Regards.

The other day my wife shared with me, a couple of photos of the "KiaStein" taken with her cellphone's camera, this is at her job's parking lot, noticing how small does look the Sephia, parked among double cab, 4X4 pick up trucks that are pretty common in Latin America.
 

 

(Left= Ford Ranger 6 speed double cab turbo diesel, Right = VolksWagen Amarok 6 speed Double Cab Turbo Diesel)

This other photo was shot when the Kia was parked next to a Pine tree, 
There was a pretty rare, four-legged spider!

 

 

... ...

I've never seen such a spider before.

Regarding the Lifting of the "KiaStein" ... the rear is perfectly done, as explained on the previous posts above, but the front needs some research, search, test and error to get well done... I've been working on it for some months; in fact I were offline for more than half month, due to this: 

 

~► http://www.ultimatesubaru.org/forum/topic/99783-where-is-jeszek/?do=findComment&comment=1321057

 

Kind Regards.