Working on a used tiburon? - Hyundai Performance Forums

jfaz10 · 07-21-2004, 12:47 AM

I'm a 16 year old living in the Philadelphia area and I dont have a lot of money but I do have a steady cash flow. I'm about to buy a 1997 Tib FX for about $3500 with 100,000 miles on it, Great quality though. I know a lot about engines, turbos etc. but I'm no expert and I dont have much experience working on engines. I would like to put some more into my car like a turbo/intercooler/cold air intake/exhaust etc. I have a lot of mechanic friends who would help me do this but I just wanted some opinions on working on a car with such high mileage. How will this affect the life of the car, how much more can I expect from the car, will the upgrades have the same performance effects that it would on a car with lesser mileage? All opinions welcome. Thanks for anything.

Mad-Machine · 07-21-2004, 01:05 AM

my 99 tib is 97,000 miles and I do not live that far from you... just an hour east. Generally, if the car was taken care of.. oil changed regularly and the car was not beaten... that engine should still be in good shape. I am getting ready to go supercharged in the spring.. I have NO qualms about adding the S/C to my engine as it sits.

jfaz10 · 07-21-2004, 01:21 AM

Nice, thanks for the comments... where do you live? If you don't mind me asking, I'm in the northeast philly area.

[Edited by jfaz10 on Jul 20, 2004 9:21 PM]

MIKELANTRA2323 · 07-21-2004, 03:36 AM

hey, congrats on the tib. i wouldnt reccomend forced induction on an engine with that many miles regardless of how it was taken care of. if you want to boost it..i'd say get ahold of a Beta with far less miles or rebuild the one you have. but its your $$$.
:rambo: goodluck~!

**MechaniX_034** · 07-21-2004, 04:35 AM

It's great that you want to work on your own car. Do a search for Hyundai's Webtech; this is the best tool you can get your hands on. Also, for a high mileage vehicle, have a can of liquid wrench or at the very least WD40 handy, make sure your sockets arent the cheap type; they should be clean with good thickness at the walls. The cheap type tend to snap and grind your hands against exposed threads for some unknown reason. You'll also need 2 jackstands, a floor jack and 2 blocks of wood for tyre chalks. You will be able to do most jobs with these.

Mad-Machine · 07-21-2004, 09:53 AM

I am in Absecon... And I due tend to agree with the above.. I would not go wild in boosting my car... but I think a mild would not hurt it. The problem you have... the engine is an unknown. You do not know how it was maintained, if it was repeatedly abused, or even if the timing belt has been changed or not..(I certainly hope it has)

jfaz10 · 07-21-2004, 10:57 AM

What exactly is a "beta"?

jfaz10 · 07-21-2004, 11:22 AM

Well, I just did some quick research on google for beta... it seems that the beta is the newer engine that they put in the 98 tibs.... If this is correct, what are the differences in the beta and the 97fx engines? I was about 3 hours away from buying a 98fx but me and some guy were competing on prices untill he decided to up his bid $500 to 6,500 and i couldnt do it so, I'm still looking.

majikTib · 07-21-2004, 02:01 PM

you can get a much newer Tib for $6,500.

Beta engines are 2.0L vs. the 1.8 in the 97 tibs.
They started sometime in 98/99 I think and continued through 01.

This is what they were talking about when they mentioned Webtech. It's very useful
http://www.hmaservice.com/webtech/

This guy is selling his. Maybe he'll drive it to NY and you can pick it up there.
http://hyundaiperformance.com/forums/topic.php?t=53784
Or spend $100 on a one-way ticket, and another $150 on gas to get back home. I know 'Nyne' just drove from NY to Vegas

[Edited by majikTib on Jul 21, 2004 10:05 AM]

Mad-Machine · 07-21-2004, 02:06 PM

as it works.. the Alpha engine is in the Accent. The Beta is in the Tib, Elantra, low end Santa Fe, and maybe the low end Sonata (I am unsure about the last) the Delta is the 2.7 Six in the Santa Fe, Tib GT, and Sonata. I am unsure what the 3.5 is called in the XG and high end Santa Fe.

The beta is availible as three engines.. a 1.6 we never saw here in the states, the 1.8 and 2.0 After 99, they only imported the 2.0 into the states. Before that, the FX had the 2.0 and the standard Tib had the 1.8.

Before this alphabetic engine soup, hyundai used Mitsu engines.

Never versions of the Beta are called Beta II and today feature a version of varible valve timing.. no where near as good as Vtech, it does a good job of lowering emissions.

Good luck in your search.. the first and second Gen Tibs are pretty sturdy little cars. Unique styling, good handling and power... unless you need to tote around a family.. you cannot go wrong