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Updated Info- June 2005. Wow, what a month this has been. Started off by testing a pair of unknown origin cams sent to me by a friend. Lost 3 whp and 7 TQ througout the powerband. Not good. Playing around with cam timing and overlap only lost power, although retarding the exhaust cam by 1 tooth was only a small loss, but drew the high end power out longer. Now making 122 whp, 109 TQ. Redid the exhaust system, which up to this point was factory after the header. Now it's 2 1/4" press bent pipe with a resonator and straight through style muffler catback system. The exhaust made 8 whp and 7 TQ everywhere. Final numbers are 130 whp, 116 TQ. I put my previous (better) intake cam, which should replace some of the initial loss, so I am now over 130 whp and should be over 120 TQ. Next month will be new bigger cams, possibly testing one of those "turbonator" mufflers, more dyno results and another trip to the track.

Updated Info- May 2005. Just added an aggressively ported intake manifold. Dyno run should follow soon. Also have a new aggressively ported head to go on after dyno testing the intake manifold. The head was bench flow tested and shown an increase of 55 cfm exhaust side, 68 cfm increase on the intake side. The flow increase should be good for at least a 20 HP increase barring any other restrictions on flow. Well, we obviously have other restrictions in flow, the head made 8 WHP, the ported intake manifold made another 4 HP, and we cut off the factory muffler to shave 15 lbs and make another 2 HP. This head was obviously built for bigger cams and more free flowing intake and exhaust like I wanted. Making 125 whp now.

Updated Info- April 2005. This month a tri-y header from Megan Racing was added in. Gains started at 2k RPM, power peaked at 5k RPM at 111 WHP, and held it at 111 until 7k RPM. Also went to California to have my car used as the test vehicle for a body kit and to get seat brackets made for aftermarket racing seats. Making 108 whp and 100 TQ currently.

Updated Info- March 2005. This month added the lightweight crank pulley. The entire rest of the car is the same as February. The car baseline dynoed at 103 WHP peak. An intake cam was put in, peak WHP moved to 105, losing 5 HP on the low end, but gaining an average 9 HP on the high end, with a peak gain of 15 WHP@7k RPM.

Updated Info- February 2005. Well the car has been down for a year and I just now got it back. The drivetrain is currently stock except for a valve job on the head and the pistons being .5 mm overbore, but the car feels stronger than it should for just those two minor modifications. I plan to do a much more thorough and documented build up this time. I already have a cam set and a Korean customed tuned ECU that should provide some extra go unlike the failed Superchips attempt. As far as wheels/tires, I decided to go with a new brand of wheel, "Flik", as they have a design which is almost identical to the Enkei, weighs in at 12 lbs in a 15x6.5, but a full set runs under $400 shipped versus over $800 for the Enkei rims. Tires will be Yoko ES100 in 195/50/15, which should help with what seems to be somewhat tall gearing. Plans are in the works for obtaining and ITB setup along with a conversion to a map sensor. Pics of the wheels will be up within the next week or so. There will also be some new vinyl going on the car within the next month or so- keep checking back for new updates.

Updated Info- In February of 2004 the car spun a couple of rod bearings. It is currently getting rebuilt leaner, meaner, and faster. The stereo system will lose the amps and sub, just a head unit and stock doors will remain. The head will be ported more aggressively, the valve train beefed up with shims to handle the bigger lobes of the cams and help prevent float. The MSD box made little change so it is being pulled out and stock ignition will be used. The Rota's and heavy Pirellis will be swapped out for 15" Enkei's weighing in at 9 lbs each with lighter tires, should end up shaving about 10 lbs at each corner. These changes should put it at very low 15's and the Superchips unit will be no longer as it was not tuneable enough for my current needs, I will be using a piggy back chip that can be adjusted on the fly or at least an APEXI SAFC-II and should gain close to 10 HP at the wheels with proper mixture. I plan to be the first with a full interior, stock bottom end 14 sec Kia. Wish me luck.

Exterior and Info

pics of my car as it is

Better pics from World of Wheels show.
I took second place in my class, in which i was the only Kia.

Current list of mods:
Head w/ 3 angle valve job
Kia-FX Lightweight crank pulley
swapped fuel rail and intake manifold
short throw shifter
B&G lowering springs
Kia-FX front strut bar
Kia-FX rear sway bar upgrade
hope to have more and better pics up very soon.
more coming in '04.

pics of my car as it was in Sept. '02.

pics with the white ADRs

close up shot of a Rota