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[Intelliburn]

I'll eventually get around to most of the badges, but I have to measure my continuing cash expenditure after how much I just dropped on the car (Wife and all, you know).

The car came with the cargo floor tray and carpet floor mats. I want to swap the interior floor mats out for the Kia factory all weather mats.

I mainly want to get the nose badge done so I can get a clear vinyl front end wrap done soon. The road conditions around here are atrocious. I spent a lot of money to have my last car professionally repainted, only to have it full of rock chips and whatnot after just 4 years.

I haven't been through the exterior forum yet, so my big question: Has anybody spent the effort to make the hood vents functional? As in actually opening them up?

It was a lot of fun watching all the dads going through the drive thru at Chick-fil-A and checking out the Stinger. I saw a lot of mouthed "what is that?"
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Yeah. I have the whole front end, rockers, front fenders, a pillars, film wrapped. In retrospect I probably would have done the entire car. However, at the time it seemed over the top price wise. I just got the GT2 and i was trying to limit the expenses. However, the areas I did complete has been great. No chip marks or micro scratches. I have the all weather mats for the car and trunk. That’s a great investment!

 

[Intelliburn]

I've always been more into luxury performance sedans than sports cars. I've owned a bazillion Camaros and Firebirds, Trans Ams, all that - even a Fiero (which I did like) - and some of them were quite fast for their time! But I've always leaned toward the comforts of luxury cars - and the power that came with them (or could be added). One that I always wanted was the Mark VIII LSC. It had so much potential...

Out of curiosity, why did you opt for the Stinger over the G70? I debated between the two, but for me I liked the lines of the Stinger better. What’s your thoughts?

 

[Disco]

Out of curiosity, why did you opt for the Stinger over the G70? I debated between the two, but for me I liked the lines of the Stinger better. What’s your thoughts?

Same. I genuinely like the look of almost all current Hyundais (the Sonata is better looking than the Optima), except for the G70. It's ok, but it's a little too anonymous, like it's trying to be an Infiniti crossed with either a Lexus or Audi (maybe both). The Stinger doesn't look like anything else. It is sportier, has better lines, and doesn't look like a business executive's ride to the office. I also like the hatch rear end.

If you want to get philosophical (I'm sure you do), I'm a blue-collar kind of person. I've never been able to see myself owning a luxury-brand car, when I can spend the same or less money on the top-of-the-line working-class version of the same car. I'll buy (have bought) top trim level Fords and Toyotas over the same car as a Lincoln or Lexus. I guess I'd feel like I was pretending to be someone I'm not if I drove up in a BMW or Mercedes, or Lexus or Infiniti. When the Genesis was just a nice Hyundai, I liked it, but when they spun it off into the luxury brand above Hyundai, I sortof lost my taste for them. When it comes down to it, it doesn't get any more working-class than a Kia, and I really appreciate what Kia is trying to do with the Stinger, even though I think they misjudged the American market a little bit.

 

[CKeeler]

The SVT Contour was such a great car. As I learned through the years, most of what made it "SVT" were factory options on the "sport" version of the European Mondeo. As a Top Gear/Grand Tour fan, I was very pleased to find out at the end of GT season 3 that the Guys' favorite car of all time is the sport Mondeo from the same era as the SVT Contour.

I love practical, grown-up, sleeper sport sedans. If I were to build a classic car, it wouldn't be a Mustang or Camaro, it'd be a '60s Continental or Galaxie 500 with a modern suspension and massive crate motor. I loved when the old Buick and Pontiac wagons had the "trailer-towing" option package that included heavy-duty suspension, radiator, and alternator, and the 400+ cubic inch big block. The '90s-era Caprice wagon done up like an Impala SS is one of my favorite customs ever. Sorry to nerd out on you, but I assume most of you like the Stinger for similar reasons.

Cheers,

I have a dream of building a crown Vic with a coyote V8 and performance suspension. Show Ford what they should have done

 

[MerlintheMad]

I'll eventually get around to most of the badges, but I have to measure my continuing cash expenditure after how much I just dropped on the car (Wife and all, you know).

The car came with the cargo floor tray and carpet floor mats. I want to swap the interior floor mats out for the Kia factory all weather mats.

I mainly want to get the nose badge done so I can get a clear vinyl front end wrap done soon. The road conditions around here are atrocious. I spent a lot of money to have my last car professionally repainted, only to have it full of rock chips and whatnot after just 4 years.

I haven't been through the exterior forum yet, so my big question: Has anybody spent the effort to make the hood vents functional? As in actually opening them up?

It was a lot of fun watching all the dads going through the drive thru at Chick-fil-A and checking out the Stinger. I saw a lot of mouthed "what is that?"
Pics:View attachment 34135 View attachment 34136 View attachment 34137

Did you say where you live? If you put that in your profile it will be useful in the future when you say things like "around here".

I have the hatch liner and all weather floor mats. They're entirely satisfying.

The hood "vents" will let water in if they are made "functional". For what advantage? In order to port air to some part of the engine room, and keep water out, it will require some extensive engineering, as far as anyone has been able to tell: judging by the limited conversations over the past year on this topic. I'd go for a custom hood that eliminates the vents entirely. We saw ONE example of this over a year ago posted on here. Looked pretty sleek.

 

[Disco]

I have a dream of building a crown Vic with a coyote V8 and performance suspension. Show Ford what they should have done

I loved the Mercury Marauder and the Lincoln Blackwood. Both could have been so much better if the enthusiast engineers could have won out over the bean counters. Both cars had potential to be serious performers, but they under-powered and under-optioned both, and over-priced them. The Marauder had the Mach 1's DOHC V8, but its concept had a blown version like the Cobra. The Blackwood could have served executives better than the Escalade EXT, but they only offered it in 2WD, and it couldn't tow hardly anything. What could have been...

 

[Disco]

Did you say where you live? If you put that in your profile it will be useful in the future when you say things like "around here".

I have the hatch liner and all weather floor mats. They entirely satisfying.

The hood "vents" will let water in if they are made "functional". For what advantage? In order to port air to some part of the engine room, and keep water out, it will require some extensive engineering, as far as anyone has been able to tell: judging by the limited conversations over the past year on this topic. I'd go for a custom hood that eliminates the vents entirely. We saw ONE example of this over a year ago posted on here. Looked pretty sleek.

I'm in eastern North Carolina.

In my imagination, I guess I assumed they could be made to work like other cars with functional hood vents. A louvered vent with mesh underlay would keep most direct water and other debris out, and would function more to let (hot) air out of the engine bay rather than in.

I just don't like fake vents. I never liked the fake hood scoops and side vents on the older Mustang GTs. The best thing about the Mach 1 was the functional shaker hood scoop. Kia went to the trouble to make the front curtain and wheel well vents functional, but not the hood or rear wheel well vents. I agree with you that I would seriously consider shaving the vents if they couldn't be made functional.

 

[Ozstung]

I'm in eastern North Carolina.

In my imagination, I guess I assumed they could be made to work like other cars with functional hood vents. A louvered vent with mesh underlay would keep most direct water and other debris out, and would function more to let (hot) air out of the engine bay rather than in.

I just don't like fake vents. I never liked the fake hood scoops and side vents on the older Mustang GTs. The best thing about the Mach 1 was the functional shaker hood scoop. Kia went to the trouble to make the front curtain and wheel well vents functional, but not the hood or rear wheel well vents. I agree with you that I would seriously consider shaving the vents if they couldn't be made functional.

This has always been my number 1 bug bear with the Stingers non functioning bonnet vents. When the weather is really hot and you get out of the car you feel a massive rush of super heated air swirl a round your feet as it tries to escape. Functional vents would help. Plus the turbos must surely work better with less heat soak.