04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

My wife bought a newer Kia Optima over a year and a half ago. I must say, I'm always impressed on how compliments she gets on this car. People are always assuming it's a Lexus, even drive behind her to snap a photo. Her Optima has Heated/Cooled seats up front, heated rear seats, heated steering wheel w/pano roof. A lot of nice features for a Kia. Enjoy the pictures!

The day after we got it from the dealership.






Shortly there after time for some upgrades. 5K HID installed in the headlights, 3K HID (Yellows) Installed in the foglights. 15% tint and ARK lowering Sport springs.







After that, we did the OEM Korean LED Tail lights and two way LED lower bumper reflectors and K-Logo emblems. Installed an Injen CAI and did the TB coolant lines bypass.






K5 Sport pedals from Korea with the OEM SX-L LED.DRL setup. SX Turbo Grill installed





Time for some wheels. MRR HR2 20 x 8.5 with 35 offset sitting on 245/35-20 tires. Stance is right on point, Drop is with ARK springs.






That was it for a while. The following summer, we went to put the HHR's back on and noticed they were peeling. We took them to NeedPowderCoating along with my Works to get refinished. She got a custom Dark Chrome finish. The Ark Springs finally settled. The car dropped another inch over time.





Some guy wrecked his Genesis Coupe so someone got a new winter setup. Genesis R 19 inch staggered wheels with K-logo center caps. Also installed Real Carbon Fiber side skirts extenders





Installed the SX cluster (Supervision). High quality cluser screen with service required built into the cluster. Pretty awesome cluster. It has sound/voice and a high definition display





Installed the OEM SX Lighted Kia Door sills. They light up red.




Went to our 1st ever KDM meet.



Behold! The wife is the 1st to have a rear carbon fiber diffuser made in USA for the EX/LX optimas!




Some Day time photos after a Detail with wax sealer.








Next super rare only, she's probably the only one to have this steering wheel, It's the Korean Heated/Wood grain steering wheel. Only found in Korea. This was a super lucky find from someone who bought it and didn't want to install it because he was nervous about the airbag going off. Steal of a price!





Last modifications made. OEM style integrated UNAVI X5 system with OEM rear view camera. Blow out, over stock sale on this item. 40% off list price. While installing this, she wanted to upgrade the speakers. Viper Smart Start and Helix Esprit Components installed. Custom rings were made to fit the speakers as well as it still retains the stock harness/connectors. The rear speakers have a center tweeter on them. The Viper Alarm system allows GPS tracking via cell phone and also comes in handy if the vehicle is stolen.








That's all for now.

And my TL 2004 6-speed A-spec

2012wagon

Nice car.

As an owner of Lexus, your Kia looks better than the Lexus.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Thank you buddy! I'm sure your Lexus is a wonderful car.

I must say, Kia did a huge turn around. Everyone that sits in her car is always impressed. I wish it had a little more power, but I'll take that incredible fuel economy any day.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

OMG suite fucking upgrades dude!!!!!!!!!!
sweet car!!!!!

p.s. I love my mom's '12 Sportage.

2012wagon

My CT200h was such a disappointment, I dumped it after a year for the TSX wagon. My LS600h is fantastic, but getting long in the tooth.

I was in the ATL airport over the holidays, and they had your wife's car in white color, all roped off in the airport, saying "GEORGIA MADE" or something like that. Car looked excellent. Great design. Not surprising, given the history of the gentleman that is designing for Kia these days.

Mr. Maker

iTrader: (4)

Well fuck.

TacoBello

Beautiful Lexus

Honestly, I'd consider one of the turbo versions of this car over the new TLX. What a steal, but Kias/Hyundais are starting to creep up in price (and why shouldn't they?)

My wife drives a 2012 Hyundai Sonata 2.0T Limited. We've put 60000mi on that sucker already and not a single problem. I just hate the suspension on that car though, but realistically, it wouldn't be hard to improve.

2012wagon

Going through the pics again, your wife's car makes yours look very dated

cob3683

Looks great! Kia / Hyundai are really on their game the last few years but I just wish their 3 row SUVs were a tad bigger. Only negative in their lineups in my opinion.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Thank you Justin! There's an amazing aftermarket support for this vehicle. The cost of parts are also much cheaper. The sportage is an awesome SUV.

LS600H Is indeed a ballin' vehicle There's a documentary on the Optima on Youtube. An ex Audi designer now does the Kia designs. I wish Acura would take some notes. Here's the youtube video, great video if you have time to see it.


I LOVE Your avatar! hahahaha

The Sonatas are really nice cars! The newest ones are a huge improvement. These are solid cars. We had one issue so far but was fixed under warranty. The ARK springs made a huge difference in the suspension setup. Rides and handles better.

I like to think of my 11 year old TL as a classic that gets driven on weekends in nothing but clear conditions.

Love the Kia Sorento SX-L version. For what it features and for the price, it's a strong choice when trying to get the most for your money vs other manufactures.

TacoBello

I had another gripe about the materials used on the interior of our Sonata, as they seem to damage very easily, but I think this is something Hyundai/Kia are addressing, especially with their prices increasing. I can deal with the random scuffs here and there on the interior, as the Sonata really is our work horse vehicle.

I recently went to Lowes and bought:
2- 1x4x8s
3- 2x6x10s
7- 2x4x10s
And yes, they ALL fit inside the vehicle, with the trunk closed!!

That being said, for what we paid, and the fact that we got navigation, panoramic sunroof, heated rear seats, a 275hp/270lbft turbo engine, a cavernous sized trunk with actual folding rear seats, a sound system comparable, if not better than my 3G TLs, etc, etc, it's well worth it.

TacoBello

What surprised me with the new gen of the sonatas is that they actually dropped the power output from the turbo engines. It went from 275 to 245... No idea why.

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

They have a ton of trunk space. Trust me.. I know this 1st hand. Went to myrtle beach for vacation. Had two road bikes, luggage and a small cooler all in the trunk without the rear seats folded down. That's with the road bikes front and rear tires removed but still placed in the truck. I really wish we got the SX but would have lost a lot of features. We had a budget for 21K, and yes she got this car for 21K out the door. Compaired to her 2010 Mustang V6 she had before with ZERO options (No leather, no power seats, no sun roof) she paid 27K for that Mustang and it was terrible. 4.0L V6 that produced a joke of 200 hp and burned gas like a V8.

2012wagon

How are the real world MPG on the Kia Turbos?

Yeah I saw the documentary about the Audi Designer, which is why I mentioned it initially

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

I don't know what the Turbo's get. They are 2.0L engines.

Her optima has the 2.4L and averages 21 MPG in NJ traffic and on the highway she gets anywhere between 29-33 MPG at about 65-70 MPH

TacoBello

I've never actually calculated it (mostly because I don't care), but the sonata seems to get (according to the in-car display, anyway) 25.5-29.5mpg in the city and 35-40mpg on the highway.

Those numbers seem high, and it was using a website to translate from L/100km to MPG.

City driving seems to net 9.5-11.0L/100km, and 7.0-8.4L/100km on the highway.

I should add that the car spends 98% of its time in ECO mode as well.

350

iTrader: (4)

Looks pretty sweet when my wife's 07 Impala blows up finally we may go that route or a Sonata. Still don't want one myself but they look a million times better than they used to.

Flipster23

iTrader: (15)

That clean! I like it!

2012wagon

One of my neighbor's son has a Sonata Hybrid. When I had my Lexus CT200h me and him compared, and drove each other.

His Sonata Hybrid was 5x the car my Lexus hybrid was, in smoothness, power, fun to drive.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

I'll be honest, when I saw the pics with the HRR HR2's I actually said "whoa". Looked really good on that car. Perfect wheel with the perfect ride height. The Genny wheels look nice too, but the HRR's were money.

Overall, car looks great!

oonowindoo

welcome and nice accord.

knight rider

iTrader: (1)

I always do a double take when I see an Optima going down the road. I really like it in white.

CLtotheTL32

iTrader: (3)

Meh, nothing new. I've seen everything on Instagram already.



Excellent work man! The Kia looks absolutely fantastic!

TacoBello

Funny enough, I can't stand the exterior looks of the hybrid sonata... They really uglied up the exterior, from the nasty wheels, excessive badges, to the weird front and back ends. We considered one but I couldn't handle having to look at that thing in the garage every day lol.

I'm surprised you say it was 5x the car. I didn't think there would be such a difference. Crazy to hear.

TacoBello

Dude, it's a Lexus, not a Kia!

Shoofin

I think ttribe needs to consider trading his BMW in for this bad boy...

usdmJON

People take pictures of her Kia? Must be a sheltered neighborhood.

crazyasiantl

iTrader: (7)

looks fantastic. Nicely done!

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

She still has the HRR's they are the summer set wheels. The genesis wheels are for winter.

Let me put it in a clear perspective so you understand the mentality. Remove yourself from someone who is a car enthusiast, to the average joe that drives a vehicle because it takes them from point A to point B. You see this vehicle from behind and confused a bit because the emblems look like it's a lexus but not quite. There's no badges on the trunk either, so some will take a picture and most likely post it on the interwebs or social media asking "What kind of car is this?" Many kia owners that change their emblems to the K badges get asked that question. If it makes you feel better, nobody takes pictures of my TL anymore, She gets most of it and more so with the HHR's on the vehicle.

JS + XES

iTrader: (1)

People take pictures of your Overpriced Civic, right? Must be a sheltered neighborhood.

OP, don't mind this idiot. He only loves his Civic. Just ignore him.

Nice Optima and 3G TL!

SuperTrooper169

iTrader: (2)

Wow love the tasteful upgrades! The Optima is hands down one if the best new(ish) designs out there. I had a base as a rental and I was really impressed with it. Just as much with the interior design as the exterior. The ride was nice and smooth and power delivery was better than expected. It was much better than my typical rental.

M.I.N.O.

iTrader: (1)

Wow nice upgrades! I especially like the K-logo emblems and the Genesis coupe wheels really sett off the overall look of the car.

nj2pa2nc

nice pictures-have owned my '14 kia soul one year-very impressed with it.

justnspace

iTrader: (1)

since our family has the '12 kia sportage, we were thinking of getting a new Soul!!

04WDPSeDaN

iTrader: (1)

Thank you, No worries man. I've seen his posts in the ILX forums, I don't take things to heart from someone that owns a ILX. He's
I showed my Fiance your Build thread, she loves what you have done so far. She wanted one when they 1st came out. Keep up the amazing work!

Thank you buddy! It indeed a huge upgrade from the previous model. I wanted to drive the hybrid version of this car just to see how it's like. Not for nothing but the Hybrid even has the aggressive bumpers and side skirts. Not a fan of the wheels on this hybrid but overall, it truly stands out from other hybrids.





Thank you buddy! She got the Carbon Fiber K-Logos.


The genesis wheels are hard to come by for the 19 inch R versions. Huge upgrade from the stock 17 inch. Broke even on these from selling the stock set

Congrats!! You still have the TSX?
When i saw the 2014 at the auto show in NYC, I was impressed. The revised look is great!




I love the new LED lighting on them.

gatrhumpy

iTrader: (1)

Nice cars man!

MarbleGT

I cant even believe that is a Kia. Looks fantastic.

doogle

Wow that is a great looking Kia. What are some good forums for that car?

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Gotcha. Both sets look good. Great looking rides!

ggesq

iTrader: (1)

Great work....on both cars.