A while back, I wrote a review on
the new Kia Optima Turbo.
It was a fairly in-depth analysis of a pretty neat car, which you can find here. The general synopsis was this: it's a
car that offers an upscale feel and features at a totally reasonable
price. Also, it has a kick-ass engine.
Shortly after that, members of the
Kia forums started cross-posting my review, which is always great for the
ego. A little while later, I got an email from a man named Michael, who
showed me some pictures of his modified Hyundai Sonata Limited Turbo - the
sister model to the Optima. I was impressed- here was a car that had
barely been out for a year, with minimal aftermarket support, with an
impressive list of modifications done already - and a pretty solid stance, too.
I was interested in doing a feature
on the car, but the problem is that Michael's located on the West Coast -
normally all my features are local, so this would be the first feature I've
done entirely over the internet. I arranged to talk with Michael over
Skype and gather a collection of pictures of his car, documenting it's
transformation from mild family sedan to... well, take a look!
Storage Seven: So, tell us what you drive.
Michael: It's a 2011 Hyundai Sonata Limited Turbo.
S7: And why did you pick that car in particular?
M: Well, it fit a lot of needs for a daily driver. The price for
this loaded model was great - I bought mine for around $28,500 before tax, and
it kind of does everything. Fuel economy, space, comfort and features,
style, that kind of thing. I looked at some other cars - CPO BMW's and
Audis, but decided I didn't need RWD or AWD for my daily driver. Since
I've got a 1994 RX7 that's undergoing an engine swap, and a 2004 RX8 that needs
a new engine.
The
RX8 and the Sonata.
S7: Whoa, I guess you like rotaries?
M: Ahh, yeah. I have an RX-8 that I bought with a GReddy turbo kit
already installed. That motor blew up... so we put a stock Renesis in
it. That one also sort of blew up... so it's waiting for another one
now. I also have a '94 RX-7 which had a big single turbo, nearly 400whp
13b in it... and it blew up. I had another FD3S before than, and an FC3
Turbo II before that. I love the sound of a rotary. They're awesome
when they're running. But the RX7 is ditching the 13b for something
else...
S7: Not to go too off-topic here, but what's going into the
RX-7?
M: A single-turbo Toyota 2JZ-GE out of a 1990 Lexus SC300. After I
blew up the single-turbo rotary, then I got scammed out of a street-ported
built 13b, my brother convinced me to go with the Toyota engine. I'd been
wanting to do it for a while. It's an ongoing project - should be 400-500
reliable wheel horsepower, it'll have a widebody kit too. I got the set
of 19" i-Forged alloys I had on the Sonata re-barreled for the rear of the
RX7 so I can put 305's on the back of it. It's been under construction
for around 2 years now.
He's
not kidding, that is a single-turbo 2JZ in an RX7.
S7: A 2JZ-powered RX7 - that's not something you see every day.
M: Yes, that was the point! Hopefully it will be up and running by the
end of the year, I miss it.
S7: So back to your Sonata. What's special about it?
Or interesting, or rare?
M: There just aren't many modified Sonatas out there at all. Or
modified Hyundais, either. My car was actually a guinea pig for two
different products: Injen developed their short-ram intake for the Theta-II
Turbo off of my car, and Borla mocked up their first dual cat-back for the
Sonata on my car. It's cool to have your car used for R&D! I've
also done a number of "firsts" in the Sonata community - blackhouse
the headlights, do the Mobis rear diffuser, etc.
S7: With Kia now fully absorbed by Hyundai, there's an
equivalent Kia model for basically every Hyundai. Why the Sonata over the
Optima? Since they're identical in mechanical highlights and features,
etc.
M: It's a matter of opinion, but I like the Sonata's styling a lot
better than the Optima. To me, the Optima is too square, I like the
curvier Sonata body.
S7: What are some of your favorite
features or characteristics of the car?
M: Well, I really like the styling. The car looks fantastic with
just the wheels, suspension drop, and the other little stuff I've done.
But besides that, this engine is killer. The Hyundai Theta-II has a lot
in common with the 4B11T that's in the current Lancer Evo X, and it
shows. It's more refined, more economical, but it makes a ton of
power. Plus, with the test pipe and cat-back I've got on it, plus the
Synapse blowoff valve, it kinda sounds like an Evo. It's confusing
to people: they hear the bark and growl and pssshttt of the blowoff
valve, and then they see a Hyundai.
S7: I notice you've done a few mechanical bolt-on upgrades to
the car. What all has it got?
M: Well, I have a great shop out here that I get all my work and
fabrication done at - Speed Force Racing. They did the front-mount
intercooler and hard charge piping, as well as the intake which replaced the
shorter Injen. It has a test pipe and the Borla cat-back. And it
had a tune...
S7: These Hyundai Turbo motors seem like they have a lot of
potential, what was the deal with the tune?
M: Well, there was a dyno day a while back, and I had a custom PowerAxle
dyno tune done. It pushed peak boost up from 18psi to around 23, and
there were big gains - 62 horsepower and 25 lb-ft torque, with the Borla and
Injen intake, up to 293 wheel horsepower and 256 wheel torque. It was
quite strong. The problem is the Hyundai ECU - after a few days of
driving, I noticed it was starting to feel a little soft. I plugged in a
wireless OBD scanner to a program that reads data, and I was back down to 18
psi. So the ECU has certain parameters it monitors, and when it detects they're
being exceeded it "dials it back down." So the tune didn't last
long. I'm hoping someone comes out with one that will stick. It'll
still make 230whp and torque with the bolt-ons, so it's not exactly slow.
S7: So what kind of room for improvement is there?
M: I wish Hyundai sold the Sonata Turbo with a manual! You can get
the base model 2.4 GDI with a six-speed stick, but not the Turbo. It
makes no sense, the car would be way more fun with a stick.
S7: So what's next for the Sonata? Any future mods or
upgrades?
M: Well, it is my daily driver, so not a lot more. I want to get a
set of coilovers for the car, but no real brand-names make coilovers. I
don't want some Chinese poor quality coils. I might go to a set of
20" wheels (I think the 19's look perfect!) too. I want an
ECU tune that actually works. I want to get a free-flowing downpipe, I
could use a strut tower brace with the lowered suspension too. Oh, and
the LED tail-lights from the top-line KDM YF model. They're kinda like
what the US gets on the Hybrid, but red.
S7: So what would you get to replace the Sonata?
M Probably another Sonata! I love the car. I was really
interested in the new Mazda6, since I'm still a Mazda fan. But it doesn't
look like they're planning any high-performance model (that remains to be
seen!) so I dunno. I might sell the RX-8 and get a BRZ/FR-S. Or
a Hyundai Veloster Turbo...
S7: What's the most challenging thing about modifying this car?
M: Finding parts! There are almost no off-the shelf parts. A
lot of my modifications are either guinea-pig development parts, or they were custom
fabricated - test pipe, charge piping, intake, etc. Hyundai doesn't have
much of an aftermarket built up, and the car's only been out around 2 years
now.
S7: And finally, anyone you'd like to give a shout-out to for
this build?
M: Yes, Speed Force Racing in Santee, California.
They did a lot of the custom-fabrication on this car, and they're the ones
handling the details on my 2JZ-swapped RX7. They do great work.
Also, Injen and Borla for letting me be their guinea pig. Very cool.
Michael Ciporkin's 2011 Hyundai
Sonata Limited 2.0T
Engine: “Theta II" 2.0L Inline-4, Aluminum block & cylinder
head
Valvetrain: DOHC,16v, Dual Continuous Variable Valve Timing, Direct
Injection
Aspiration: Twin-scroll single turbocharger, intercooled
Drivetrain: Transverse front-engine, front wheel drive. 6 speed
automatic transmission
Engine Modifications (internal): none
Engine Modifications (external)
- Speed Force front-mount intercooler
- Speed Force solid charge piping
- Speed Force custom intake
- Synapse Synergy blow-off valve
- Speed Force custom mid-pipe
- Borla Catback exhaust (prototype)
- Poweraxle custom dyno tune (see text)
Transmission/Drivetrain
Modifications: none
Bragging rights:
- 293whp/256wtq (with Poweraxle tune, see text)
Brakes/wheels/tires
- BBS LM Replica, 19x8.5 ET35
- 225/35/19 tires
Suspension:
Body
- Blacked out headlight housings
- 8000k low-beam and foglight HID conversion
- KDM Hyundai "YF" and "F20 Turbo"
badging
- Mobis rear diffuser
- Autoclave Rainguards
- EZ-Lip front & side lips
Stereo: Stock
