2006 Sonata GLS V6 and 1991 PLymouth Laser RS Turbo

[empy]

that you, Jun? you're a little darker than i imagined

[Jun aka Pekto]

Ahh.. might be some minor revisions, like a difference in spare tires and minor insulation and non-structural parts.

C'mon... DIY... you know you want to do it... you never truly outgrow modder's itch.

I'd be happy with chip mods and some minor replumbing. But, if I can find out how Hyundai upped the hp of the Lambda V6 from 235 to 268, that approach would be better.

I was considering a supercharger later. But now, I think it's a bit much for a family car. If I went the supercharger route, it'll mean much more power which in turn meant I'd have to get wider tires plus beef up the suspension and brakes. All I want is a little more ooomph from the stoplight without having to use Shiftronic mode.

[Jun aka Pekto]

that you, Jun? you're a little darker than i imagined

No. But, I don't live too far from where he's at either (2.5hrs away).

Besides, I'd be grinning like an idiot if I was speeding. 147 mph? Dang.... He's got more balls than me speeding like that within city limits.

[Jun aka Pekto]

What is it about Arizona and crazy Hyundai Sonata owners?

This crazy kid's from Arizona as well and did 152 mph in his V6 Sonata. I'm not that crazy. But, it's good to know the sub-$20k bone stock V6 Sonata can handle those speeds just fine and the 160 mph speedo isn't just for show. I guess the trick is to use the Shiftronic (to manually shift from 4th gear to 5th at redline) and turn off ESC........ never occurred to me to do that.

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t23689...3-152mph33.htm



It also has a full tank of gas. I keep thinking of the song, "Goodness gracious Great Balls Of Fire!"

*Sigh* I used to have the balls to do reckless stunts.......not anymore.

Add: Someone also did the calculations and figured out the transmission of the V6 Sonata is good up to 198 mph. So for a mommy car, it's over-engineered. Another good thing to know should I decide to stuff a supercharger or even a turbo in there.

[niky]

What is it about Arizona and crazy Hyundai Sonata owners?

This crazy kid's from Arizona as well and did 152 mph in his V6 Sonata. I'm not that crazy. But, it's good to know the sub-$20k bone stock V6 Sonata can handle those speeds just fine and the 160 mph speedo isn't just for show. I guess the trick is to use the Shiftronic (to manually shift from 4th gear to 5th at redline) and turn off ESC........ never occurred to me to do that.

http://www.hyundai-forums.com/t23689...3-152mph33.htm



It also has a full tank of gas. I keep thinking of the song, "Goodness gracious Great Balls Of Fire!"

*Sigh* I used to have the balls to do reckless stunts.......not anymore.

Add: Someone also did the calculations and figured out the transmission of the V6 Sonata is good up to 198 mph. So for a mommy car, it's over-engineered. Another good thing to know should I decide to stuff a supercharger or even a turbo in there.

Hmmmm.... has your wife started wondering why you bought a Sonata yet?

Man... 152? That's nuts for a mommy-car!

[Jun aka Pekto]

Hmmmm.... has your wife started wondering why you bought a Sonata yet?

Man... 152? That's nuts for a mommy-car!

She's the one who picked it. I wanted the Altima 3.5SE followed by the Mazda 6 V6, remember?

[niky]

Ah... good point... it's all her fault. Chip! Chip! Chip!

[Jun aka Pekto]

We drove the Sonata in New York state with pretty thick snow and ice plus cold temperatures ranging from freezing to -1 deg F (0 to -17.2C).

I have to say, the ESC system on the Sonata worked beautifully. Even my wife drove it with great confidence which was a surprise to me.

I've driven older AWD Subarus in the thick snow of northern Japan. I had a lot of confidence driving them too. Personally, I think AWD is still best. But if a FWD car comes with ESC, by all means take it. It does make a huge difference.

[niky]

All seasons, or winter tires?

[Jun aka Pekto]

All seasons, or winter tires?

All-seasons of course.

I only used winter tires if I traveled frequently in mountainous areas like I-80 over the Sierra Nevadas or the Lake Tahoe area (both over CA and NV) where winter tires/chains are necessary in winter.

In NY, the snow was plowed away frequently enough. But, the road was still slippery. ESC seemed to do a good job keeping the car balanced on the road. It's either that or I'm just a darn good driver.

But, it's ESC that made the difference for my wife. She was terrified of driving the Contour in snow during that one day we had snow in AZ. But this time, she drove the Sonata quite well even though the snow was a lot worse and the Sonata was a bigger car.

I'm now sold on ESC for FWD cars.

[Jun aka Pekto]

A drive in the snow in my Sonata. Driving in snow with a FWD car isn't as bad as some people make it out to be...... Of course, having ESC helps a lot.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4TQQapouoQ"]YouTube - Snow2[/ame]

[Jun aka Pekto]

Update.....

We got rid of our Honda Odyssey because my wife wanted something lighter and with AWD. We traded it in for a 2013 Nissan Rogue. I still have the 2006 Hyundai Sonata V6. I've grown attached to it. So, I won't be replacing it anytime soon.

The Sonata front end was wrecked after I hit a deer back in 2011. It doesn't look like anything happened after repairs. Thank goodness for insurance.

Mileage is at 155,000 miles/250,000km. The engine/transmission is still giddy and torquey. I'm quite happy with it. Most of my past cars (Nissan Pulsar, Plymouth Laser RS Turbo, Dodge Grand Caravan) were in dire condition by the time I reached 100,000 miles. Not this one. I'd probably buy another Sonata if Hyundai didn't move its engine from the V6 to the 4-cylinder turbo.

As for the Nissan Rogue..... It's the wife's car. No power. So, I can't really get excited about the Rogue. She's delighted with it though. For me, the old 244hp Honda Odyssey felt much more exciting to drive.

Photo taken March 30, 2014 after a big snowstorm.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I found some digital photos of the car I drove in Japan.

Mid-90's Subaru Impreza:

[Jun aka Pekto]

In the six years I've been here in Upstate NY, I washed and waxed the Sonata maybe 1x a year. I vacuum the inside frequently though.

The family likes to eat in the car. I have to clean out the crumbs and stains frequently.

Between work, family, and college, I simply didn't have the time although I have kept to the maintenance schedule.

[Jun aka Pekto]

It occurred to me that I rarely took photos of the minivans I owned, both the old 1997 Dodge Grand Caravan and 2006 Honda Odyssey.

I found out my kid took photos when we moved from Arizona to New York. My wife was driving the van. She was ahead while I followed because she drove so slow. Cars were passing her from both sides.

Somewhere in Ohio (I-90?) October 2008.


We'll be doing the same thing again except we're going the other way plus, she'll be in her Nissan Rogue this time.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Found some old photos when we were living in Arizona (pre-2009). Might as well re-post them here since we're moving back to the same house shortly.









The only existing photo of our old Dodge minivan. I was rather fond of it. I'm surprised I never took photos of it.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I always wondered what an entry-level Bimmer (owned by my friend) looked like inside.

[Jun aka Pekto]

We did a short 1000 mile (back and forth) trip first, to the PH embassy in New York City and then visited friends in New Jersey.

We decided to take the old Hyundai Sonata because my wife didn't want to add too many miles to her Nissan Rogue.

The Sonata had no problems handling the freeways or the mountain freeways. I was able to maintain my 70 mph cruise control speed.

Once we got to NYC, the Sonata was down to 1/4 tank of gas. It handled the morning rush hour traffic just fine. We left for New Jersey right before the evening rush hour traffic commenced (lucky us).

Once we reached the NJ turnpike, I pulled in to a service center (gas station, food, etc) because the gas was down to 1/8 of a tank. We reached our friend's house just as it got dark.

The next day (Saturday), we decided to take the kids to a theme park which was two hours away. My friend drove a BMW 320i. He likes to speed and set his cruise control to 80 mph. I followed along in my Sonata which had no problems keeping up. In fact, I think my Sonata has the edge in raw acceleration. The only problem was at a sustained 80 mph, the 3.3L V6 of my Sonata ate a lot of gas. It was the same on the way back (10pm-midnight) except I had to gas up the Sonata again.

Sunday was a rest day for me (no driving). We started out for home around 1am. The drive was uneventful. I just kept the car on cruise control (70 mph) for most of the drive. We got home in NY state at 7am.

I'm pleased with my 3.3L V6 Sonata yet again. It's nine years old. Yet, it still accelerates like it's brand new, even with my wife and the two kids aboard. In comparison, my friend's 320i takes a weight penalty (also with four people aboard) because of the four-cylinder turbo. I think four-cylinder turbos are best when the vehicle isn't weighed down. In return, his 320i eats less gas compared to my Sonata.

We'll be making another trip there next weekend. So, I'll have another update soon.

[Jun aka Pekto]

I should keep these here.

Driving the Sonata New York State.

[Jun aka Pekto]

Some more driving.....