Whenever I think of buying a new accessory for a vehicle, my biggest fear is that it will not look good, fit right, or be too difficult to install. I want to start a thread that has pictures of the finished product and a brief summary of what's involved with the installation. The accessory could be everything and anything that is aftermarket (not from factory).
The following are pics of my first accessory. These are Romik side step running boards in black. They were about $325 (including discount) from Autoanything.com. The installation was about 2 hours. There was no drilling involved and the use of T-bolts was how the brackets were attached to the frame. The hardest part of the install was trying to hold the bracket while attaching the washers/nuts. I did it alone but may be easier with a 3rd hand.
Did not use extenders. They beat a price of another site in which a had a promo code for. After thinking about it, I think it was more like $340.....$325 I think were for plastic ones on ebay...
I took my first long trip this weekend to NJ. According to the display, I averaged 29.8 mpg. Not sure what my mpg was before because most of my driving was city. I think they did add about 60-70 lbs to the car though.
Thanks for the photos, I am looking for the same boards (mainly for side paint chip protection) but I was wondering how it would look like. Nice, very nice!
Did you have to lift the car to install the boards ?
Also, I see that you don't have mud flaps in the front, is it because you had to remove them ?
Another concern I have is that the clearance to the ground is probably much reduced.
Camera phone pics are coming out too dark to see the brackets. What I can say is the front bracket is attached with one Tbolt that fits into a predrilled hole and then there is another hole that the bracket needs to be attached to. This hole is actually covered by the rubber spray that is done by the Kia Factory. You actually need to scrape some of the rubber sealant off to find the hole. Once found, you then place a bolt from behind and "fish" it through.
The back bracket uses two Tbolts that fit into Two predrilled holes.
The actual boards are then attached with four bolts....two on each bracket.
I ordered in channel vent shades for my sportage from Amazon, and the auto configuator said they would fit my 2011....but they do not. Their for 05-09.
I must say the return policy and customer service has been great concerning this mistake.
You can get it from ebay.. i think it cost around US199... it have all the other matching colors. Just only took less that 3 mins to install. No drilling required.
I ordered the exact same running boards from CarID.com - and after charging my credit card almost $400, they sent me an email telling me that they were backordered 8-12 weeks. I cancelled the order.
I ordered the exact same running boards from CarID.com - and after charging my credit card almost $400, they sent me an email telling me that they were backordered 8-12 weeks. I cancelled the order.
Nice front and rear skid plate. I want to order one but afraid the rear wont fit since I have an SX and the rear bumper is shaped a little different and because of the dual exhaust.
So far I have added new badges, replaced the horns, replaced the antenna with 1.75in carbon fiber antenna.In a week or two, my Euro running boards will be coming in after a six weeks of waiting. And near future is to replace the headlights with 2 way leds parking/turning signals and HIDs. Ill post pics when I Im finished.
Nice front and rear skid plate. I want to order one but afraid the rear wont fit since I have an SX and the rear bumper is shaped a little different and because of the dual exhaust.
Thanks for this bit of information, I have an SX as well and completely forgot about the dual exhaust and never realized that the rear bumper is slightly different...saved me a few $$$.
I have to admit I like the idea of low level lighting in the foot wells. My wife's VW golf has it but I think a low white/yellow glow would look excellent. it should only be there when exiting or entering the cabin, not when driving about.
Just curious, isnt mud flaps, spoiler, folding side mirrors standard in the package? As for visors, my dealer throw in free for me, together with floor mats, look like 3m type.
Here in the US. As far as standard package does not include mud flaps, spoiler, folding side mirrors.
I had to get the dealer to include the mudflaps
Spoiler come in standard for the Turbo and maybe the next one down
Folding Mirror not available in any trim
Floor mats and Cargo mat was already in the package.
hey ocean. nice scuff plate and side step. where did you get your side step? and scuff plate?
here in australia the only side step the dealers offer is the tube type side step. btw i like your interior, here in Australia we are only given the option of BLACK leather (not really much of an option i know).
I emailed JayongMall.net about their front skid plate asking what kind of material it was made from and how easy was it to install. Their answer was that they didn't know [what material it was made from] and suggested that I had it professionally installed.
@radiowc, I'm curious to know how involved was the installation of your skid plate and is it plastic or aluminum?
Those are like the same material like the other spoiler.(plastic)
WARNING.
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if you are US region... THE FRONT IS NOT THE SAME/MATCH if you look closely the European/ASIA region their lower front bumper don't have the same curve, which i found out when i got it, so i have to custom cut it myself to fit. But the back one match 100%
And i glad it was plastic, else i have to return it Just like US region have the different fogs light
Mine? I honestly don't know as it is not mentioned in the (downloaded) version of the Canadian manual (and I haven't looked in the hardcopy lately) although my dealer did mention it during vehicle walk-through at pick-up. Of course he also didn't know that the panoramic sunroof also tilts.
Only one to know if your not sure if you have TPMS..... Lets some air out of one of the tires probably 24PSI or below should trigger the TPMS when you start the car.
I was thinking of doing just that, but I also read in another version of the owner's manual that I downloaded that if the TPMS light does not light up for 3 seconds after starting the car that there may be a fault (and to check with the dealer). Being a brand new car (two weeks old), I wouldn't expect any faults, so I am quite certain that mine doesn't have TPMS. This also held true with the Canadian version of my previous car (Mazda 3, the late model Canadian versions never offered TPMS, but the American versions did).
Whenever I think of buying a new accessory for a vehicle, my biggest fear is that it will not look good, fit right, or be too difficult to install. I want to start a thread that has pictures of the finished product and a brief summary of what's involved with the installation. The accessory could be everything and anything that is aftermarket (not from factory).
The following are pics of my first accessory. These are Romik side step running boards in black. They were about $325 (including discount) from Autoanything.com. The installation was about 2 hours. There was no drilling involved and the use of T-bolts was how the brackets were attached to the frame. The hardest part of the install was trying to hold the bracket while attaching the washers/nuts. I did it alone but may be easier with a 3rd hand.