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Well, most other forums I am on have an intro section where a new member introduces their self to the current members. As this one does not, I will post here instead.
Hi. My name is Doug Kemp as if you couldn't gather that from my SN. I am not a newbie to forums in general, but I am one here and one to these 60 degree V6s. It all started about 3 months ago, when my wife and I were discussing what to do with our '02 Kia Rio once it was paid off. She suggested I use it as a back and forth to work car, but I already have a 4cyl Mustang to do that. So she suggested we use it for a trade-in. I told her about how we would never get as much for it as we would if we sold it outright, especially with it having as many dents as it has. I also told her we probably wouldn't get very much for it if we sold it ourselves, because the Kias do not yet have the reputation of the bigger brands like Toyota and Honda. I therefore suggested I use it for a project vehicle, which she agreed to once it is paid off, and once we get her a newer car. So the old gears up in my noggin started churning. I wanted to give it better performance, that was a given, but if you're going to walk the edge, why not dangle your feet off of it? I thought about turbos, which yes they do have available. I am even a member of a Kia performance forum. I finally came up with the idea of doing a complete motor swap. My first choice was the Mazda KLZE, which is the JDM version of the 2.5L V6 that was available in the MX6 and Probe GT. Then I got a job at a local oil change place, and part of my job was going to one of the rental car companies to pick up and deliver the cars that were due for maintenance. I drove many cars, including the SC Pontiac Grand Prix, and a couple of G6s, including a GTP with a 3900vvt V6. I was very impressed with the performance of these cars. So I got to thinking about the SC motor. Turns out it is a 90 degree (read wide as heck) so would not work without serious firewall mods. So I started researching the 3900. This lead me to you. So here I am, many months and maybe years from ever doing this swap, but convinced that this is the way I am going to go. I grew up working on RWD cars, so the FWD thing will take some getting used to. I have no idea how I am going to be able to keep the front suspension of the Kia intact and mate it to the GM drivetrain. I have no idea how I am going to get the Kia gauges to interface correctly with the GM ECU. I have no idea if it'll even physically FIT! I do know, however, that once I get a dream in my head, I will study and research and bite and claw until I achieve my desired results. I will make it work, if I have to graft the front subframe of a G6 onto the Rio. Stay tuned, but don't bug your eyes out at me, because it's gonna be a while.
--Doug
Hi. My name is Doug Kemp as if you couldn't gather that from my SN. I am not a newbie to forums in general, but I am one here and one to these 60 degree V6s. It all started about 3 months ago, when my wife and I were discussing what to do with our '02 Kia Rio once it was paid off. She suggested I use it as a back and forth to work car, but I already have a 4cyl Mustang to do that. So she suggested we use it for a trade-in. I told her about how we would never get as much for it as we would if we sold it outright, especially with it having as many dents as it has. I also told her we probably wouldn't get very much for it if we sold it ourselves, because the Kias do not yet have the reputation of the bigger brands like Toyota and Honda. I therefore suggested I use it for a project vehicle, which she agreed to once it is paid off, and once we get her a newer car. So the old gears up in my noggin started churning. I wanted to give it better performance, that was a given, but if you're going to walk the edge, why not dangle your feet off of it? I thought about turbos, which yes they do have available. I am even a member of a Kia performance forum. I finally came up with the idea of doing a complete motor swap. My first choice was the Mazda KLZE, which is the JDM version of the 2.5L V6 that was available in the MX6 and Probe GT. Then I got a job at a local oil change place, and part of my job was going to one of the rental car companies to pick up and deliver the cars that were due for maintenance. I drove many cars, including the SC Pontiac Grand Prix, and a couple of G6s, including a GTP with a 3900vvt V6. I was very impressed with the performance of these cars. So I got to thinking about the SC motor. Turns out it is a 90 degree (read wide as heck) so would not work without serious firewall mods. So I started researching the 3900. This lead me to you. So here I am, many months and maybe years from ever doing this swap, but convinced that this is the way I am going to go. I grew up working on RWD cars, so the FWD thing will take some getting used to. I have no idea how I am going to be able to keep the front suspension of the Kia intact and mate it to the GM drivetrain. I have no idea how I am going to get the Kia gauges to interface correctly with the GM ECU. I have no idea if it'll even physically FIT! I do know, however, that once I get a dream in my head, I will study and research and bite and claw until I achieve my desired results. I will make it work, if I have to graft the front subframe of a G6 onto the Rio. Stay tuned, but don't bug your eyes out at me, because it's gonna be a while.
--Doug