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firehawk119 · 12-12-2011, 03:20 AM

Hello. First off i want to say that I am not a Kia Forte owner but i joined this forum to get some input and ideas on what Forte owners would want to see for their cars. I'm doing research at the moment to see if there would be a demand for Fiberglass hoods for the Forte models(both 2 and 4 door models).

I can tell you that i have worked in manufacturing for 9 years building cooling towers and air strippers made from polyethylene and fiberglass. I have made molds, plugs and other components from raw materials to meet the needs of the engineers and the customers. I was laid off from this job and I'm currently working part-time in a Body shop along with doing small jobs on the side.

I have been working on cars for the last 20 years, worked with an ARCA series truck team, and did some drag racing in the late 90's. So I know my way around cars.

I have seen alot of Kia's come through the shop and I was wondering if there is a demand from customers for fiberglass hoods for these cars. I have seen the Carbonrevo carbon fiber hoods and i am aware of the price and the shipping.

Would there be any interest in a fiberglass hood built here in the states for less then half the price of the CF hoods?

What designs would you like to see in these hoods? (talon bulge, ram air, heat extractor, wrx style, etc)

Would you prefer a functional hood(drawing in air to an air box) or non-functional for just looks alone.

Any ideas, questions or insight to this would be greatly appreciated. I am throwing around the idea of possibly making fiberglass hoods on the side to see if this is something that can work out for me. If so, then the idea of starting a business wouldnt be out of reach. With this uncertain economic climate I'm simply testing the waters to see if this is all a possiblity.

thanks, Eric

firehawk119 · 12-12-2011, 08:55 PM

Any questions? comments? ideas?

Smudgey · (This post was last modified: 12-13-2011 01:03 PM by Smudgey.)

Hi Eric,

While this sounds like a great idea, I have noticed that in my 6-or-so month stay on the forum that very few people want to make drastic changes to their car like that. Most of us add a couple of factory accessories and call it a day.

However, that does not mean there isn't a demand. If you search on the Koup forum just below the General Discussion for the user audioextremez, you can try e-mailing him. He recently decided to migrate to an unnamed other Kia Forte forum that is apparently populated by people far more eager to customize their cars (and their performance).

As for products for Fortes in general, I would love to see some handsome, well-made OEM-style spoilers or a nice replacement for that ugly black plastic in the center of the sedan's bumper that hides the exhaust in non-SX models. I'm not the most clued-in or knowledgeable on the subject but I don't want you to give up hope in the market - I am sure there are some passionate Forte owners here and there who would love to try something different, but couldn't because the products simply don't exist at this time.

If you have any questions about the sedan I can answer them quickly.

Smudgey