Never been on this sight before but I need some honest opinions on 2001 Kia Sportages. Are they junk? I am going to look at one for my mother who is 61 years old on Saturday and we never owned a foreign vehicle before but they look pretty good. I need some input.

ABS pipe is black...used more for plumping such as your drains...
PVC pipe is white...used more for plumbing such as water lines in walls, under homes, and sprinkler systems...


PVC degrades faster then ABS
ABS also uses a different type of glue then PVC

also important is that both pipes have different ratings for the different thicknesses of the pipe wall.

of course for what you are doing you're going to want a thicker walled pipe to hold up better...

but either way there is no support for the pipe and with it suspened in the air it will gradually droop.

also...as pvc deteriorates it gets powdery on its surface
in plumbing applications this isn't important
but you want it for air intake which means this power is going to go into your air filter...but is it enough to cause your filter to clog up more often or enough to matter?

<img src="/forums/images/graemlins/pfft.gif" alt="" />

Yea ..... What she said!! <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/cheers.gif" alt="" />

Some years ago at work I installed some schedule 80 (thick wall) PVC piping as a conduit for thermocouple wire in a wood drying kiln. Temps get up to about 160 to 180 F. over the next few weeks the PVC piping lengthen and sagged and looked like crap. But its still there and it stopped softening in the heat after a month or so. And yes it did get brittle. I figured that I baked out the plyability (sp?).
And I know that there are two types of ABS piping. One type come on a roll and has very thin walls. Other type is a cast that you see more for the couplings. much thinker walls. I haven't tried to bake these yet. hehe

i have an intake that i bought of of ebay through divizion one auto works. they resale an intake that's pretty much a universal intake through Otto racing. the intake i have is actually for a BMW kiafreekrob has the same one. you can order it through www.divizionone.com or through ebay with a search "kia sportage intake" it's like $78 nto expensive at all. the filter is a knock off of a K&N, but it's clean. easy as hell to install, and you can feel the difference in the throttle respoce, and the fuel effency. check it out. [img]http://photos.groups.yahoo.com/group/kiasportageoffroaders/vwp?.dir=/Aaron%27s+%2702+LBB&.dnm=Otto+Intake.jpg&.src=gr&.view=t&.hires=t[/img]

OK let me explain some more the mod.

Dave - That was the original idea. two things made me change my mind. 1st 90* corner is tooooo tight corner, didnt have the room. 2nd ny idea was that the air ( after fine tuning the installation) will by going in with some speed instead of waiting from the engine to suck it. something like "ram air"

clmslick - Dont know yet havent measyre it. PVC dont know.

Morgan Estil- in prinsiple with a little bit of fidling it would be possible to re-fit the intace.

ABS plastic = any of a class of plastics based on acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copolymers

The main difference with PVC is that it is more stable chemicaly. It will last longer and is more resistant to heat. I tried to find some here in Greece but without any luck. In the states I think it is widely used (although somewhat more expensive). The drain pipes in a bathroom are usually made of ABS. Also, most car-bumpers are made of ABS as well.
I built for my Samurai some days ago a Snorkel using PVC. If treated with some epoxic primer you can paint it and it will do fine.
Here's a picture of it:


and the parts used :



The price....about 20US$ (The actual Snorkel today, is a bit shorter and painted black).

Ok what about just disconnecting the air filter box from the piece that goes over the radiator?? Would this not have the same effect as removing it and replacing it with a piece of pipe? Sorry for my lack of knowledge if this is a bad idea.

Also has anyone ever tried to cur holes in the hood where the air intake is at to get more air. I would imagine it should have a screen over it to keep the bugs and big pieces out. But that should have a semi ram-air effect right??

In all honesty I would not recommend a Sportage for your mother. They are an excellent vehicle for their intended purpose. That is, as a small and economical SUV with full off road capability and they are also excellent in snow if you live in that type of climate. However, Sportages require a high degree of maintenance, both routine and not so routine. If you are looking for a "drive and forget" vehicle then look elsewhere. They are certainly not "junk" but if you are expecting something like a Honda or a Toyota which can be driven forever and abused you will be disappointed.

Hope this helps.

That is what I also have done in the begining ( there are some photos on my web page at Cardomain) but the thing is that:
a. in this mode in sucks VERY hot air since it sits right above the exaust manifold + VERY hot air from the radiator fan.
b. the hole is rather small, aprox. 1 & 1/2 inch ( now its 3+ )

with the alu pipe it (will) suck cooler air.

Holes in the hood? Yes I have seen a ( racing ) sportage having them....... I didnt like what I saw. But if SB makes a nice looking (KP??? <img src="/forums/images/graemlins/coolg.gif" alt="" />) intake.
Now that you mentioned it the diesel powered sportage has a hood with an cooling opening above the engine, I belive for the turbo intercooler.