I was behind a Spectra in traffic monday - He had the requisit BAW (big *** wing) and DTM-style exhaust tips...what struck me was the 'SpecRacing' stickers (as in Specra)....and the url of his kia SPORT/PERFORMANCE website on another sticker.

Just got me thinking...WTF? So I went to the website - not very popular, but holy lord above. Seeing dynos showing <90whp...and people talking about 'racing and beating other cars'. Unreal.

Yeah - people have pride in their cars..and wanna make stuff better or faster or whatever..but at what point does modifying or racing a car become crazy?

About the only car I can think of as worse for making sporty is a Metro/Swift, etc...I mean, I know 1.6L miatas have about 90 whp, stock. But Miatas stop and turn with the best of 'em.

 

lol...

 

I havce driven many bone stock super crappy economy cars that would be lucky to have 90bhp on race tracks. I've come to the conclusion that every car is entertaining to drive in it's own way. Driving around on the door handles of a 99 hyundai accent is suprisingly fun. You don't have to go fast to have fun.

 

Speaking as a former 1.6L Miata owner, I know what you mean. But...a Spectra? I'm sure it could be fun...but to post killz and such? To think one's Spectra is a bonafide racer?

 

Any of yous guys remember the really annoying coomercial that played OVER AND ******* OVER about those damn Scions.

"I love my scion xA....I got the boost controller with the turbo timer....Man I just love the way it screams oooWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHhhhhhh."

I read an article in Import Tuner about slappin on mods on these things. Just like Mr. Kia, a whopping 90 hp, and after adding intake, exhuast, and downpipe a fabulous increase of +3 ft/lbs of peak torque.

 

I read recently in one of my motor trend mags. They had a bunch of articles on upcoming econo boxes. They had one on the Kia spectra 5 saying that it handled very well for an econo box and actually posted faster times on the slolam course then the new mitsu eclipse GT. Better braking also. So, either that says alot for the kia or the mitsu is far worse then anyone imagined.

I can see it now on some kia forum:

"Yea, I had this eclipse riding my *** from the lights but when we hit the twisties...."

 

Hahaha! I can't imagine someone ever saying something like that here............... (the extra dots are for added sarcasm).

 

Kia Performance........that's an oxymoron is it not?

 

I think part of the fun that people have with racing a car that's gasping for horsepower is the perfection required when you race it. You have to drive the car absolutely perfectly or it's going to drop out of its limited powerband and you going to have to build that head of steam back up. I can see it being a neat challenge once in a blue moon, but it's not something I'd want to struggle with every time I go to the race track.

Also, spending money to make a slow car slightly less slow seems like a total waste to me. I might throw it into handling or something, but even then I'd feel like my money could be better spent. Provided, I'm not much of a modder, so that could skew my opinion a bit.

 

Funny thing about Kia performance. After Lotus stopped making the e100 Elan in the early 90's Kia bought all of the leftover parts and tooling equipment. At one time in Korea you could buy a Kia Elan.

 

Yeah, didn't think i would ever hear the terms "Kia" and "Performance" used in the same sentence...

 

Plenty of car guys feel the same way about the rx8.




Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We love our Rx8s they love their Spectras.

 

I dunno, I think it a real stretch that there are people who view the 8 and the Spectra the same.


Can you tell us where to find that Spectra website?

 

I mean they scoff at the 180whp(on a good day) dyno numbers. They say the 8 is underpowered yada yada yada. I'm not saying its a direct comparison, but in the eyes of supra and even many rx7 owners..the 8 is a dissapointment.

 

Actually in the eyes of the uneducated people the 8 is a disappointment, Mazda NEVER EVER claimed this car as the successor to the 7, that little idea was sparked by dumb *** car media guys who figured out the car was in a class all its own, and had nothing else to compare it too. Every time I'd see a comparison they'd mention the FD and how it ceased production and now the rotary is back and blah blah blah, the stupidity grew from there. When Mazda comes out with a 2 door purpose built rotary powered sports car, then they can have their little talks and comparisons and whatever, until then comparing the 8 to previous 7 is pretty silly considering the design philosophy for both cars is totally different.