This is my Kia Spectra5. So far I have done a couple of things that made my ride more fun to drive. I installed the Eibach Pro Kit springs that lowered the car about 1.2 inches front and back.
I dropped in a K&N filter. I took out about 10 pounds of plastic tubing from the stock intake system. So now the air that comes in through the front air dams go around the radiator and into the space in the bumper in front of the front tire wells. On the driver's side there are slots to vent the air to the brakes. I left the stock air intake plumbing in up until it drops down into that space. Now the cold air goes right into the intake, through the high flow filter and into the engine. I get a chirp now going into second gear and I don't bog down as much in 1st and 2nd gears. The throttle response is much better as well. I recommend that all 06 Spec 5 owners do this mod. Be warned that there's a tricky bolt to get the HUGE box out of the fender well.
I rerouted the coolant lines that goes from the head to the throttle body back to itself so that my throttle body won't get pre-heated. One of the hoses was used to plug the throttle body tubes up and one was used to plug the head up. I get more cold air all year instead of just in the winter.
I shaved all the emblems off the rear of the hatch. I still have to fill the oval where the Kia emblem was and color match it. I used some Goo Gone and a piece of fishing line to cut the glue off the emblems on the hatch. When you are finished make sure you clean the area really well and use some wax to buff it out.
I painted the chrome stip that was on the front of the hood to match the color of my car. I think Kia should have left it off. Looks much cleaner now.
My headlight mod is complete. That was pretty fun. I opted to keep the sides chromed after I took the yellow corners out. I painted the rest gloss black. I also painted the little cup that the headlight bulbs sit in red. Now my car looks angry. Turned out pretty nice though. I get a lot of people who ask me where I bought my headlights.
I installed some thump for the rear hatch area. Single MTX 8500 "Super Woofer" 10" sub, Pioneer Premier 880PRS HU, new MTX coaxials in back, MTX amp and a custom box covered in black suede.
I did a Grounding kit for my engine recently and it turned out pretty good I think. I used some 4/0 guage wire I had laying around and some gold plated connectors. The whole process took about an hour since I had to cut the wires to lengh and then attach all the ends.
Future mods are coilovers with pillowball mounts. TSW Track Stars in 16"x7". Rear strut tower bar. Covering some interior sections with black and red suede. TWM short throw shifter. Stage 2 NGM Enforcer Supercharger kit (makes 10-12lbs of boost and gets me 235whp), ARK headers, ARK cat back exhaust, 19mm Tiburon rear sway bar swap (powdercoated gloss red), adjustable billet endlinks. Upgraded brake kit (drilled/slotted rotors, greenstuff pads). Upgrade headlights to 8000K HID and fog lamp bulbs to yellow Luminac's bulbs. Finally I will upgrade the stereo with all Pioneer Premier stuff.
Hope you enjoy my page and maybe get some ideas to use on your car. PLEASE rate my ride and I will rate yours. Thanks.
Page one - info
Page two - original pics
Page three - first mods
Page four - Eibach Pro Kit springs installed
Page five - Headlight mod/front painted
Page six - Road Trip page
Page seven - Car Audio
