I'm Going to Buy a Second Generation Tiburon

Went and test drove one of these over the weekend, talked to the guys I race with and, unless I'm murdered by a swarm of enraged mantis shrimp between then and now, my beloved Daewoo of Death will be replaced by a Tiburon of Terror.

Stuff I like about the second gen Tib: a) The transmission is buttery. b) The engine is way, way smoother, revvier and generally more pleasant than the 2.0L e-Tech in my Woo. c) The build quality is on a different planet. d) Aftermarket parts are super, super plentiful. e) It's only about 50 lbs heavier than a first generation Tiburon. f) The factory brakes are big and strong.

Stuff I don't like about the Second Generation Tib: a) It's not that fast. I'd put it dead even with my Woo in a drag race and my Woo ran 0-60 in about 8 seconds. b) It's soft and understeery. The factory did not send these out of the door thinking about track days. Comparing a factory Tiburon's handling with my Daewoo's handling is like comparing a prepped STX autocrosser with a sport package Nissan Versa. c) A lot of them have been owned by 19 year old males and are thus bent/mutilated/bedazzled.

Is there anything I should keep my eye out for? Mine will definitely be a 4 cylinder (both because it's a better engine and for classing) and a stick, although I might end up getting the only in Korea 4 cylinder six speed combo.

the Tib is a great car. more boulevard cruiser than sportscar.. I called mine a commuter with pretensions of being a sports car. It is just a shame that they came out when Hyundai still had a really bad reputation.

I'm not sure which was 1-2-3rd gen, but the (ex)wife had a 2000 then traded in on a 2007, if I remember. Before I had a chance to get into "car stuff", being broke & robbed of my soul via the she-devil.

Both were fun cars in their own right, the 2007 seemed really fun but I didn't get to drive it much (see soul-stealing she-devil). Near the end she gave me a ride to the dealer while I had a recall done on the xB, and let me drive the Tiburon because she wasn't feeling well. Whatever she did to it, it sounded terrible. I blame that on the she-devil however.

Are you still in Korea? Tiburon or Tuscan (which is the Korean name for the Tib). When I was there earlier this year I did see a car that was badged Tiburon Turbulence. Looked like a decent car but some of the wings I saw on them were overkill. Sorry I didn't get pictures, I'm going back later this year. Maybe I'll get pics then, if I remember.

My daughter had a 2nd gen Tiburon GT. V6, 5-speed. Fun car to drive. Hyundai left some goodies off to keep cost down. Like limited slip. That car could be competitive with limited slip and some performance oriented springs & shocks.

wlkelley3 wrote: When I was there earlier this year I did see a car that was badged Tiburon Turbulence.

googled that out of curiosity and apparently that's just the facelifted first generations names.

wlkelley3 wrote: Are you still in Korea? Tiburon or Tuscan (which is the Korean name for the Tib). When I was there earlier this year I did see a car that was badged Tiburon Turbulence. Looked like a decent car but some of the wings I saw on them were overkill. Sorry I didn't get pictures, I'm going back later this year. Maybe I'll get pics then, if I remember. My daughter had a 2nd gen Tiburon GT. V6, 5-speed. Fun car to drive. Hyundai left some goodies off to keep cost down. Like limited slip. That car could be competitive with limited slip and some performance oriented springs & shocks.

Yep, still in Korea. Will be for a while.

The first generation, pre-facelift cars are called Tiburons, the facelifted (ugly) first gens are Turbulences and the second generation cars are Tuscanis in this part of the world.

The plan right now is to go through the suspension and get it handling like my old car. After that, it's supposed to be cake to get 170 hp out of a beta 2.0L.

I had a first gen. It gave it's life to save mine in an accident. I walked away without a scratch after putting it into a ditch to avoid centre punching a minivan that pulled out in front of me. Damage to the car was a ripped off front bumper, badly tweaked radiator support. Radiator and evaporator holed, oil pan holed, and a ripped front engine mount.

Managed to extract the car from said ditch on it's own power and drove it home 20 miles by accelerating to 60mph and shutting it off to coast down to 40.. repeating ad nausem, Car never missed a beat

I know this:

Sounds like nothing a little suspension work can't make terribly fun.

Tottally random and unrelated, but Daewoo, do you know if anyone in korea uses the 4 pot brakes from the genesis sedan as a cheap upgrade?

http://www.gencoupe.com/wheels-tires-brakes-2008-2012/104635-sedan-calipers-go.html

Im wondering if they would fit on a veloster , but as i dont actually own anything korean, its kinda moot for me to think about :/

mad_machine wrote: I had a first gen. It gave it's life to save mine in an accident. I walked away without a scratch after putting it into a ditch to avoid centre punching a minivan that pulled out in front of me. Damage to the car was a ripped off front bumper, badly tweaked radiator support. Radiator and evaporator holed, oil pan holed, and a ripped front engine mount. Managed to extract the car from said ditch on it's own power and drove it home 20 miles by accelerating to 60mph and shutting it off to coast down to 40.. repeating ad nausem, Car never missed a beat

Sounds like a tough little car. I'm guessing it was screwed together pretty well?

Is there anything you wish you'd done to it or would recommend I do?

N Sperlo wrote: Sounds like nothing a little suspension work can't make terribly fun.

Gotta find some roll center adjusters. As soon as I do, it's getting the Daewoo's high roll center, moderate spring, no sway bars treatment. I'm pretty excited to see how this works out on a car with lower COG, bigger tires and actual chassis rigidity.

That was one of the issues I was running into with the Daewoo towards the end. Big sticky tires and 9 kg springs were getting to the point where I was dealing with a lot of chassis flex. Just driving one of those Tiburons, it's pretty obvious they're much, much stiffer.

revhard wrote: Tottally random and unrelated, but Daewoo, do you know if anyone in korea uses the 4 pot brakes from the genesis sedan as a cheap upgrade? http://www.gencoupe.com/wheels-tires-brakes-2008-2012/104635-sedan-calipers-go.html Im wondering if they would fit on a veloster , but as i dont actually own anything korean, its kinda moot for me to think about :/

I'm not sure. I've mostly seen Brembo kits. Though, if it were me, I'd look for the brakes off a first gen Equus. They're cheap, they brakes are really nice four pot pieces and there are tons of those Equus in the junkyards.

XG front calipers bolt on IIRC and you can still use your rotors. The XG is a 2-piston caliper. Since it's 4-wheel macstrut, suspension swaps take about an hour, hour and a half on the garage floor without air tools. The BetaII in that is a beast. They will make good power with the right components, and you being in Korea have access to all the right components. IIRC, the standards rear swy bar is 18mm, with the option of the 19 (now discontinued here in the states) on some models with the V6 and 6-spd. Whiteline makes a 22mm rear bar that is just about right for that car.

Hawk offers a nice pad selection for those brakes stock. Tons of aftermarket support for the GK chassis. Best power adders for minimal bucks? Catback and intake. verything else is a waste until you swap cams and tune it.

revhard wrote: Tottally random and unrelated, but Daewoo, do you know if anyone in korea uses the 4 pot brakes from the genesis sedan as a cheap upgrade? http://www.gencoupe.com/wheels-tires-brakes-2008-2012/104635-sedan-calipers-go.html Im wondering if they would fit on a veloster , but as i dont actually own anything korean, its kinda moot for me to think about :/

Send 'em to me and I'll see if they bolt onto the Forte (same as the new Elantra/Veloster).

the Hyundai Beta engine is a tough customer. It takes abuse and boost well.

The only things I wish I had done to mine was a lower and stiffer suspension with sway bars to help cure the understeer, and a rear seat delete. Other than those two, I loved the hell out of that car

DO THIS!

Seriously, do this.

mad_machine wrote: the Hyundai Beta engine is a tough customer. It takes abuse and boost well. The only things I wish I had done to mine was a lower and stiffer suspension with sway bars to help cure the understeer, and a rear seat delete. Other than those two, I loved the hell out of that car

Glad to hear that. Those friggin E-Techs were a PIA on track. Sustained revs over 5,000 rpm caused all sorts of oil control problems and I popped not one but two oil pumps.

I'm really hoping my Tiburon can give me a relatively worry free 180 hp or so.

Appleseed wrote: DO THIS! Seriously, do this.

That is awesome!

Appleseed wrote: DO THIS! Seriously, do this.

A little imagination and a lot of hard work, we can make some crazy and cool stuff!

Top Gear UK said that the car is good. We just need to tell regular drivers that this particular car is worth buying.

All I remember about the 2nd gen Tiburons is that very early production models were equipped with extremely leaky sunroofs. I worked at a Chevy/Hyundai dealer back when they came out, and remember the first ones off the truck going right into the shop to get everything inside the interior replaced. Seats, carpet, dash, wiring... EVERYTHING. You guys over there in Korea probably got the good ones.

I remember seeing a website where they basically ripped out all the Hyundai out of a 1st gen and an Evo8 implant from engine to drive wheels