The Modifications are beginning to pile up. I thought I would start a garage to time-line them all out for myself and others to enjoy.
My lease was up and I did the "family thing" and told my wife to pick out a new car for her. That got us a Minivan and I inherited our 03 Sorento EX 4x4. This was our family vehicle for 4 years and was the primary mode of transport for my wife and son while he was 1 year old to 5 years old. The interior took the blunt trauma of many fast food runs, spilled beverages and some stuff I still don't know what it was.
The first order of duty was putting leather interior in to cover the mess and upgrade the cloth seats we had. ViP in St. Louis put leather in our 2000 Sportage so I called on them again for this KIA too. They matched the factory leather color and had it installed in a day. Good Work!
Next up was to clean this thing up and take care of the maintenance since it just hit 40k miles.
We put new Michelin tires on that have a bit more aggressive tread than the Cross Terrains that came stock. I did the transmission fluid, coolant flush, synthetic oil, and rear differential gear oil. I cleaned up the outside with a clay bar and a coat of wax and did what I could to spruce up the interior since the leather made it so much more enjoyable.
Once I started in on cleaning up the Sorento and finding Sorentosite.com, the modification bug started to really kick in. Leather interior was just the beginning. I quickly turned my attention to the engine. I had to go on the cheap so I put together a home grown CAI for $40 that has given the Sorie a nice kick in the pants performance boost.
I removed the top portion of the stock air box and got rid of the OEM filter. I put in a Power Adder High Velocity cone filter. This is a $25 purchase from Autozone and is the same material as a K&N. It came pre-oiled and literally bolted on in front of the MAF. It also fit perfectly in the stock air box base. This allows the original intake hose from the fender the still be used to draw outside air into the filter.
The filter alone made a difference but I wanted to tweak some other areas after reading posts from SS gurus. I removed the screens in front of the MAF sensor to allow even more air into the intake. This made a big difference in accelerator response. I also cleaned the intake butterfly and sprayed the intake with cleaner. I finished it all off by removing the plastic wind deflector next to the radiator and added a 3" hose facing forward behind the grill a draws air directly to the air filter. This is as close to a CAI as I could get for under $50 and shopping locally.
Back to the interior I went. I installed an audio amp and used more great ideas from SS members and placed it in the tray above the spare tire in the cargo area. It took some modification because the amp was so big, but it fits nicely now with plenty of room to breath.
I ran the line level and remote switch from the factory supplied amp under the driver's seat. I got the wiring diagram from KIAtechinfo.com. The sub is a down firing 10" I've had in my Sportage, Sonata, Mazda 6 and now the Sorento. All the other vehicles had gray interior and the Sorento is all beige. I have to re-carpet the box this spring and hope to upgrade the head unit too. Pictures to follow.
Other exterior cosmetic upgrades include:
Removing the roof rack rails
Removing the emblems from the lift gate
Before
After
Upgraded to Silverstar Hyperwhite headlights and foglights and white parking lights (rather than the stock yellow bulbs). Night Shots still to come.
I was returning some bulbs to O'Reily Auto today and noticed they had the part I needed to route my CAI intake tube directly to the cone of my Air Filter. I grabbed it for like $3.00 and installed it at lunch. What a huge difference in response and power delivery. Much better than the setup I had where the air was being directed to the outside of the filter. See pics above.YEAH!
While I was cruising the aisles I saw a nice set of pedal covers that match the interior better than anything else I've seen locally. They were a 10 minute install and I really like them. They are aluminum mesh so they aren't slippery and have some grip to them. Water goes behind the mesh so they aren't slick either.
I got to those headlights today. It is a meticulous process, but not bad. I removed the orange reflector from the assembly. Took about an hour total per headlight. I left the backing piece in that the reflector attaches to. After looking at it closely and doing some tests, I think it has role in how the headlight shines. Without it the light seemed to spread out too far to the side and not direct forward enough. I really like the look. Nice and clean.
Before
After
Close Up
Lights on at dusk
Still to do this spring, summer and fall:
Stubby Antenna - only if I can still get reception?
Sorento Site Decal - The ultimate mod
Install Powder coated black OEM Step Bars - Put on Stainless Steel bars - DONE
Remove the orange reflectors from the headlight assemblies - DONE
Paint Calipers (black) - Not sure yet
Re-Paint the grill - A must when the weather warms up.
Add FlowMaster Muffler - May have to wait
New HD Radio Head Unit - Put in a touchscreen DVD unit - DONE
I labored over whether or not to replace the OEM head unit and what to put in its place. I wanted a few feature I couldn't get with the stock unit so i started looking. Double DIN, iPod, and Bluetooth were my big three on the wish list. I settled on a Jensen VM9022 6.5" touch screen Head Unit.
I looked at the unit in a store and was very impressed with the build quality. The screen and features blow away other units, and the price range is right on. Less than $500 shipped with all the adapters and install parts needed to make it fit.
Here are some highlights of the features:
6.5" Touchscreen, DVD, Full iPod interface and control, RDS radio, Bluetooth interaction and functionality with A2dp audio tranfer, SD card reader, USB input, Backup camera input, SAT radio ready, Navigation Ready and two Aux audio and video inputs. This unit is unreal. It has full Dolby Digital 4.0, 4.1, and 5.1 output capability.
One of the added bonuses was the ability to bypass the parking brake activation via the setup menu. It installed in no time and looks really nice in the Sorento. I added a backup camera just because it's really cool to have and it was cheap on eBay.
I think the unit fits nicely
Open Face
Main Menu
DVD Paused
Bluetooth touchscreen dialing
Backup Camera on the Plate
Backup Camera Image with water on the lens
It sounds very good with the stock amp and my sub woofer. I LIKE IT!
I have a little guy who was having problems getting up into the Sorento. He'd put his knee on the door sill and work his way up. Not good for the pants...
I found a set of Stainless Steel Side Steps (nerf bars) on eBay for $165 shipped. They came with Sorento specific mounting hardware and bolted on without any drilling or cutting. It took about 45 minute from unpacking to clean up. I think they are really nice quality and make the Sorento look a lot beefier.
These were a great buy. Cheap and easy to install. Highly recommended.
Once I drove the Sorento at night with the new Head Unit I realized I need (want)blue dash bulbs so that everything matched. The Jensen only glows blue and it was driving me crazy having the dash lights green and the HU blue. I grabbed some bright blue replacement bulbs and went to town on the dash and gauge cluster. The thing is, the back of the stock speedo and gauges have a green tint to them. I didn't try to remove the green and I think it is glowing blue enough. The blue is true on the digital odometer, but a little blueish green on the rest of the gauges. I still think they are a big step up in color from the original setup. The bulbs I replaced were white bulbs with a green rubber boot on the tips. Go figure.
OEM bulbs
Blue Replacements - .99 ea at Autozone
New Gauge Look
