Questions about turbo "Upgrade"

[Qualin]

OK, before you even think about responding to this post,
please do the following things:

1. Please don't laugh at me. I'm relatively new to
automotives. I know enough just to be dangerous. I've
been working in the computer industry for over 8 years
now, so I know computer hardware, but mechanics does
fascinate me and I'm learning all I can!

2. Please don't tell me that I need to buy another car. Yes,
If I had roughly $25k to spare, I'd go out and buy a
used 1989 Nissan Skyline GT, but I don't. I'm still paying
off the car that I already own!

3. Don't laugh at me for the choice I made when I
purchased my vehicle. I wanted something that wasn't
too pricey, something that was practical and somewhat
reliable.

OK, Now that you've slogged through all of that, I must
shamefully admit that I currently drive a 2003 Hyundai
Elantra GT. I think GT in Korean stands for "Lots of Leather".

Anyway, in the past, I've always driven vehicles with large
engines. (First car had a 440 cu.in V8, Second car had a
460 cu.in V8, both were 21 ft long boats.) So, I'm used to
having high amounts of torque available to me, especially
when I'm out on the highway.

However, with this Hyundai, the torque just isn't THERE
when I slam my foot to the floor. I shouldn't complain, it
gets 33 MPG. Economy over power right? Anyway...

I'd like to obtain more performance out of the dinky little
2.0 Litre Inline 4 that came with this thing. I'm not looking
for some kind of 9-second 1/4 Mile frame-twisting monster
here, just something to give me a little boot in the butt
when I need it and something that can pass other cars
on the highway without staying above 4k RPM for too long.

The first thing that has been indicated to me is that
getting a cold air intake and a performance exhaust system
is the first step. OK, that's good and it sounds relatively
inexpensive.

What I'm interested in is finding out if it's worth it to
have a turbo/intercooler setup installed. If so, who should
I consider?

It seems that if I drove a Nissan, Toyota, Honda, I can go
anywhere and they'll put in a bolt-on kit, but from what I
can tell, it looks like I'd have to have something custom
built for my Hyundai.

After speaking with one local mechanic, he said that the
2.0 Litre "Beta" engine uses a lot of spark advance to get
a lot of low end torque, so it's not ideal for boost. As well,
if I did decide to boost, I really could only look at something
around 8-9 PSI of boost without having extensive engine
modifications done. Is he correct? Is he !@#$%'ing me?

I'm not looking to spend $10,000 on my Hyundai. If I was
going to spend $10k in mods, I'd buy a Supra or a Skyline
and take it from there. Is $5,000 a reasonable estimate?

Anyway, before I embarras myself any further, is there a
good shop I can take my car to that understands my
plight and can suggest some good alternatives?

Thanks.

[toyboy88]

well for the cold air intake and the performance exhaust - you'll be lucky to get 2/3hp (CAI) and 4-6hp (exhaust).

so ya if your looking for torque, then you definetly want to go turbo as far as bolt-on mods go.

[Fuji]

You should go tot the Hyundai forums and see what other ppl have done. Whats tried and proven and what doens't work. Take a few weeks and gatehr information tehn you will have an idea of what you want. If you go to a shop at this stage you may end up with more than you bargained for or want. Also you may want to do this project yourself since I dont know many ppl who have turbo'd an elantra in Calgary. A lot pf ppl on the forum here are "Do it yourself" tehn you know what is wrong if somethign does happen ( cuz all you have to rely on after you turbo is yourself... warranty is GONE)

Good luck

[Iceman_19]

im not doing this to be a jerk, im just going to get my point across here as straight as i can.

heres the facts from what you have told us:

- You dont have much to spend on performance mods, as you are still paying your car off.

- you bought your car because you wanted something practical and reliable.

- you have looked into it a bit and found out it will be expensive to put a turbo on your car.

it all comes down to, if you are willing to spend the money to get a custom turbo kit made for your car, which wont have the greatest resale value anyways, and a turbo kit isnt really going to help it much, unless you come across the average FNTF reject, your best be here, really, is to sell your car, and find something that suits your needs a bit better. save that 5-10 grand for your turbo, sell the car, and get something with a v6 in it, so you will have some torque, and decent power, without having v8 fuel bills. then, if that isnt enough for you, you are on a better performance platform (if you do your homework) to start off for mods anyways, and will see much better gains, for less money. there is no replacement for displacement.

[Qualin]

Originally posted by Iceman_19

-...You dont have much to spend on performance mods,

...and a turbo kit isnt really going to help it much, unless you come across the average FNTF reject,

...sell your car, and find something that suits your needs a bit better.

...get something with a v6 in it,


OK.. I need some clarification here then.

First of all, When I do plan on spending $$$$
on performance mods, I expect to spend between
$5-10k on mods.
These mods consist of Turbo, Intercooler, BO valve,
Cold Air Intake, Performance Exhaust and maybe even
a programmable ECU. Suspension and Brake mods may
come down the line, but not now.

Can you define for me what a "FNTF reject" is? Second of
all, how much will a turbo (Plus mods) help? I've heard that
with "Street Level" mods, it's quite possible to approach
200 HP (Not sure about torque) .. with a car like this. My
old 1996 Chevy Blazer had that much power, probably
more torque, but it was heavier too... so my old Blazer and
my Hyundai both have very comparable 1/4 mile times.

Researching a bit more, with EXTENSIVE modifications
(Probably at least $10k in engine mods alone) Mattech
racing has managed to get around 310 HP out that little
2.0 Litre engine. I don't plan on taking it that far for a very
long time, but it's just something to think about. :) I know
that a Supra or Skyline with the same amount of mods
could probably deliver something around 1000 HP (God
knows how many RPM's you need to achieve that)
but at that point in time, it's rather impractical. Who needs
1000 HP to go get groceries? :)

Selling my car isn't an option right now because I LOVE IT.
I might consider getting a second car, but that could get
somewhat expensive. Again, if I had money to burn, I'd
get a 1989 Skyline GT or an early 90's model Supra. :)

Lastly, One vehicle I did consider when I was looking for a
four door hatchback was the Chevy Malibu Maxx. Ugly but
also very expensive.. Almost $30k for a base model. I like
the performance, but it wasn't an option at the time.

Again, I've already made the inital investment, now I
want to "Nickle and Dime" my way, one mod at a time,
to something that'll give me a bit of a thrill. :)

I hope you understand.

Can you suggest any other alternatives for vehicles I
should be looking at? Know of any four door hatchbacks
that can deliver a considerable amount of performance?

[Iceman_19]

well, more power to you if you want to get the most power out of your car, but starting with something that had say, 200hpp to begin with, and THEN turboing it, well, much better gains to be had. if you want a weekend toy, buy a foxbody mustang. your in the states, so finding one cheap will be easy. the stock bottom end can handle 600hp at the crank (give or take 50hp), before the block (the weak part of the engine) will give out. also. parts are cheap and plentyful. spending 10 grand usd on a foxbody, if spent smart, would get you a 10 second mustang. it would even still be streetable. i am going tobe saving up for a turbo kit for my mustang this year, on a completely stock motor it will make 450rwhp, and will make around 600rwhp when i build a better engine for it. it is going to be my street warrior. the turbo kit is the most expensive, as im buying a kit, instead of doing a junkyard setup, which i could do for around $1500cdn if i wanted to, so around $1000usd. that would be my recommendation, if you want something that you can make you shit yourself onthe weekends, but still have a sporty, good on gas commuter. im looking at picking up an intergra type r as my daily driver so i can park my stang.

[ex1z7]

Search around google for Hyundai Turbo kits, I'm sure there are a few out there. You might be looking at importing one from a korean market, as I'm also sure theres plenty of aftermarket support where the car originally came from.

You can get a turbo set-up for less then 5k...Easily... Talk to LegendBoy on here, he builds custom kits for people and I'm sure he could help you out as far as advice goes. Tell him what your goals are and your price range and ask him what he can do, and what he thinks is right - he's done many turbo applications and I'm sure if you ask anybody who has dealt with him, he's awesome.

8-9psi is fine for your hyundai, I don't know much about your engine so I don't know about it's internals, over boost it too much and bam, engine toast...Alot of honda's on here are running 7 or 8 psi, that range, and it's working for them - so it's not a bad number as far as power goes.

Tuning is the key to long life in turbo applications, as well. Anybody will tell you that. Get it tuned properly or you'll end up damaging something.

Also, you have a new car, with Hyundai's crazy long warranty (10 years right?) Talk to a hyundai dealership, or someone who knows - and find out if turboing your car voids that warranty (my guess is yes.) If so, it may be best to not screw with your car, if you're looking for little problems in the future.

When talking to whoever knows about the warranty information, find out how far you can go in modifications without voiding it. CAI, exhaust etc. I'm sure don't void the warranty, but something else might. Check and make sure before hand.

Thats my little input, hope it helps any..

[Qualin]

Thanks for your help guys. :) I appreciate it.

Oh yeah, I'm also from Canada... Calgary, Alberta to be
exact.

Old Mustangs are cheap around here. I once considered
having the 460 cu.in V8 from my old '78 Merc put into one.
I know it can be done because a fellow mechanic put a
400 cu.in V8 into his Son's. (Mid 80's Fox body)

Definately something I will consider. Thanks!

[Rockski]

Originally posted by Qualin
Thanks for your help guys. :) I appreciate it.

Oh yeah, I'm also from Canada... Calgary, Alberta to be
exact.



you know man.... most people on here are

[Iceman_19]

Originally posted by Qualin
Thanks for your help guys. :) I appreciate it.

Oh yeah, I'm also from Canada... Calgary, Alberta to be
exact.

Old Mustangs are cheap around here. I once considered
having the 460 cu.in V8 from my old '78 Merc put into one.
I know it can be done because a fellow mechanic put a
400 cu.in V8 into his Son's. (Mid 80's Fox body)

Definately something I will consider. Thanks!

460s are put in stangs all the time. toma (runs a dyno in calgary) has a 460'ed stang, i believe it went 9s? and sorry, i thought you were from the states, my bad. but yeah, but a 4 banger, rip out the drive train, and go with whatever motor you feel like. if you want a track car, get a purpose built c4, or aod, both will handle whatever power you want to throw at them.