Worth it?

I have a 97 tiburon, not an fx, i was wondering if it's worth modding at all or I should wait until a newer car, which won't be for awhile. If I do mod it, would that be "ricing" it?

if you add mods to your car... like a big aluminum spoiler (does nothing for your car)
it will be rice...
any un-needed/ or any mod that does not serve a purpose is considered to be rice by some.... but its your car.. do what you like.. if its tasetful youll be fine.. if its flambouyantly stupid looking... people will give you crap abvout it

good points

Yeah, I was thinking about leaving the retail wing on there anyway since it looks pretty good as it is. But like adding small stuff, like interior and exterior like headlights, ect, is what I want too.

I want to start getting into racing at local tracks and such so should I add any performance parts for it or should I wait since it isn't a manual or fx?

Also I was looking to add some new wheels, which I can find easy but as for head lights and tail lights I can't seem to find anything for the 97 tiburon.

ebay my friend.....

and performance is always good, even with an auto... just because it's an auto does not mean it's slow.

the manual tranny swap has been done by many. i would give it a try.

What kind of performance parts should I start with, with an automatic?

if you want some more power.. intake exhaust headers..
if you want boost.. look into turbo kits...

what are your goals for your tib? how much hp.. whp?

Well I'm just getting into cars so I don't know much about them. I just want my car to go faster and have more power.

But for those intake exhaust headers and the turbo kits, do they require anything else put into the car?

A basic rule of thumb is that if you put more than half the current value into the car in the way of mods, upgrades, etc. you're a fool. i.e, if your car is worth $4,000, to put more than $2,000 in upgrades into it is dumb. You'll never get the money out of it, and if something happens to the car you're out a buttload of money.

Just my humble opinion after 9 years in the aftermarket auto industry.

well... i paid 500 bux for my car.... so putting tires on it is foolish?
:)

my girl on the other hand's tib has euro lights on it (thanks ebay!!) and she's happy with it...

personally start with a CAI and exaust. Go with some new headers and if you want, run a dual exaust. If you do that you may need a different bumper or cut out a opening on the current one.
it's a start, a good one at that.

i feel if you want to be competitive, you should wait and buy a diffrent car.

OK, let me rephrase my statement. It's foolish to put more than half the market value into the car as far as upgrades go.

Anyhooo...save your coin, plop it into something of a tad more value than what you're currently rollin'.

Its a hyundai its not worth anything as soon as you buy it. Put as much into it as you want, your not going to get it back out of it. Enjoy it while you have it. Start of with the easy stuff. intake (and not that little tube with and air filter stuck on the end of it- a real intake manifold that will out flow your stock one), headers, free-flowing exhaust. Then get more serious, get you heads ported and polished, change cams, raise compression, get the rotating assembly balanced. And then spray the shit out of it. You will well above the value of the car. But it will be a lot of fun. Who cares if nobody will buy it, ITS NOT FOR SALE, its yours have fun with it and be safe. That is all.

That's all well and good until you get in an accident, either your fault or not, and the insurance company pays you the standard comparible value. Modifications are never taken into account, so the 5-6 grand you dumped into your ride is flushed. Not a fun experience, then you gotta file a punitive damages suit against the other person (if you weren't at fault) to stand a chance of seeing that money again.

The only thing worse is if you're upside down on the car, that just bites. Gap insurance saved my life on my M3, tho the puni suit is still ongoing.

modifications are never taken into account unless you have a plan that covers your mods....

I know (first hand, the hard way) that my State Farm policy didn't cover the mods on my M3, nor do they offer that.

A $12,000 loss is a beeotch, but the whole matter isn't over yet, I'm still kickin!

if you add mods to your car... like a big aluminum spoiler (does nothing for your car)
it will be rice...
any un-needed/ or any mod that does not serve a purpose is considered to be rice by some.... but its your car.. do what you like.. if its tasetful youll be fine.. if its flambouyantly stupid looking... people will give you crap abvout itAhhh, rice to some, but art to others. :lol:

Okay assuming the sentence I outlined in bold above, some would say the stuff I have on my Santa Fe is considered rice. Like the hood mirrors and rear hatch mirror. That is, until I have them sit in the car and see the difference. They eliminate the blind spots and they end up wishing they had one. The spoiler does make the vehicle look nicer even though it doesn't do anything speed wise to the vehicle. Now on some vehicle some after market stuff is a bit overkill but hey its their car. What ever makes you feel good.

Its a hyundai its not worth anything as soon as you buy it.ummm I tend to disagree with that statement. Side by side comparisons of the majority of the hyundai makes against their competition shows that the hyundais have more value for the dollar. Plus looking over the trade in values of these vehicle is actually a bit better than one would think. Just look at Edmunds or any other auto site and you will see they are getting a better trade in value.

modifications are never taken into account unless you have a plan that covers your mods....That depends on the modifiaction and if its safety index is high. Plus, Unless one is anal about stuff like that like me. For example, on my vehicle the Santa Fe, it does not come with daylight running lights nor rear side markers or a backup alert unit. I added all of these items using aftermarket items. I presented the vehicle to my insurance company for a visual inspection to document these items and their safety value. At first the district office said no. Being that I already had search the net for documentation regarding the safety value of such items, I took pictures and sent the documentation to the head office. about a month later my premiums were lowered. Remember the "no" is always there, you are just looking for the "yes".

Now that method might not work on items such as headers, CAI etc, but hey, one never knows.

TS out