[geezer101]

Test fitment of the amp -

All cabling is pulled through the underside of the zip seat cover and then pulled through all of the corresponding holes

 

[geezer101]

Shaping the board allowed clearance for the rear wheel arch/strut tower and conceal the sub connection -

Seat fully folds up to it's locking position without the amp board fouling anywhere

 

[geezer101]

Seat folds up and down without cables fouling anywhere -

 

[geezer101]

All of the RCA, power and amp remote trigger wires are running along the passenger (left) side of the floor under the scuff trim panels. Front speaker wires are running up the centre of the floor along the transmission tunnel. Rear speaker wires run along the back edge of the rear seat under the cargo panel. Everything is taped down with cloth tape.

 

[geezer101]

Current head unit installed (JVC KD G-646) CD player with USB and AUX inputs -

used head unit from UPI wrecking yard. front display disassebled and cleaned, screen bezel polished

...and installed. good all round head unit with plenty of output power and features. I built a custom plug'n'play harness to install it using an aftermarket Hyundai compatible adapter.

 

[geezer101]

I've also had a go at doing some fun/daft mods to the wagon as well. One was attempting to build a gear selector display using one of these -

the option I chose was 5 speed w/neutral and reverse display

a quick bench test to check the display function worked...

 

[geezer101]

I repurposed a switch blank panel in the centre console to install the LED display -

not the prettiest of installs but it did fit in there fairly well once I'd modified the switch blanking panel

 

[geezer101]

a little more file finishing and sanding and a hit of epoxy satin black...

 

[geezer101]

I've messed around with microswitches and I can get them to 'sort of' trigger when the gear shift is moved from gear to gear but the main issue I have with actually getting this to work is the switches when connected from open circuit to closed to trigger the next shift sequence, the bridge between switches alters resistance and causes incorrect gear position displays. I'm doing this all in analog but I have seen guys build displays using magnetic proximity switches and an arduino type display controller. It's not in my skill set to build and program something like that.

*addendum: I'm adding a link for my short throw gearshift mod here. Another member asked about a short throw kit/mod for their 2000 Tiburon and I managed to find some archived images on my pc, so I posted them in their thread... my post above the link has the breakdown of how I did it (this isn't a unique mod as there are a few threads on how to DIY a shifter)

 

[geezer101]

...and now a sprinkle of nuts on this fruit cake -

I have some bad news. We are already in the middle of a zombie apocalypse - and the zombies are winning 😐

 

[geezer101]

I attempted applying the ceramic window tint today. To save your eyes from the disastrous end result, I won't be posting any pics of it. The film is extremely elastic which makes it hard to squeegee down without distorting it, used too much soap spray in some places and not enough in others, I folded the film back onto itself causing the adhesive to bunch up and create fault lines in it and, as I was doing it inside (drivers door glass was out to repair the anchor tabs) it attracted every molecule of airborne dust it could. The colour isn't that crazy (it's sort of neo-chrome blue) and it's not a mirror reflective film but it really repels heat. Like an insane amount of heat was being refracted off it. If I can get my technique right and I don't run out of film, this stuff will make a big improvement during summer.

 

[geezer101]

...and so the saga continues. Had clients booked this morning and the wagon was running like a top. Weather was nice, air temps were cool and the wagon was doing it's thing. This afternoon had some running around to do and on an uphill run in an 80 k zone, the temperature gauge went catastrophic. I could see steam venting from the edge of the bonnet and I knew that was not a good sign. I pulled off the road and popped the bonnet. Radiator - intact. No signs of blown hoses, thermofans both operational. Radiator cap was sealed and pressure relief lever was locked down. Water pump appeared to be fine and belt was solid. Coolant reservoir was not good though. One side of the tank had failed, allowing steam and coolant to erupt from it. Still not enough to cause an overheat event. I have noticed the engine temp on the gauge has been slightly elevated recently but not enough to be a major concern. My money is on a bad thermostat. Managed to get a new thermostat on the return trip home, poured 2 x 2 litre bottles of demineralised water into it while overheating twice. Tomorrow is a national public holiday in Oz so I'm pulling the thermofans, radiator and thermostat housing and hopefully my synopsis of a bad thermostat is correct. If I can get it maintain coolant temps I'll have to do a JY run and find a decent replacement coolant overflow bottle. I may paint the radiator core with black epoxy paint to improve heat transference after giving it a clean inside and out. Grrr, it's only been back on the road 3 weeks since the drivetrain was patched up 🤬

*addendum - listing for the thermostat on the store parts listing was incorrect. I didn't find out until I pulled the thermostat housing off and was able to compare it with the replacement I'd picked up. Go figure...

 

[geezer101]

Chased a replacement thermostat from parts stores and nobody has one for the G4GF engine on the shelf. Well, not entirely true. I found one @ REPCO but when the guy came to the counter from looking in his inventory with one in his hand and said $70 for a cheap looking thermostat, I straight up said no and walked out. The equivalent Tridon thermostat was $37 through Supercheap auto. In dire need of having the wagon back on the road and unable to wait til next week for one to be shipped in, I used my spare thermostat housing gasket and slapped it back together without a thermostat. I've painted the radiator core in satin black epoxy paint to aid heat transference and to give it a little extra protection from corrosion. I'm currently only using demineralised water as well until I can order in a replacement thermostat. Engine temps aren't going above 1/3 on the gauge and the cooling system is holding pressure which means it was only the thermostat that failed. Today will be dicey. I've noticed the ambient air temps really affect engine temperature and it's going to be hot today. I also need to get onto the CAI and reinstall it as the intake is pulling a lot of hot air from the engine bay without it + pick up a replacement coolant reservoir from UPI. But it's good news that there appears to be no damage from overheating, and the radiator and hoses are all serviceable.

*footnote - why do auto stores gouge for demineralised water? $14 for 4 litres when hardware stores charge $4.99. Where do these guy get off...

 

[geezer101]

Ran the wagon today. I pressed my luck and drove it up one of the more technical roads into the hills this morning - no problemo. In fact, it ran cooler than I expected even when I was beating on it (maximum daytime temp forecast was 37 C). It didn't struggle in traffic but temps went up through the city and suburbs. I might simply decide not to run a thermostat at all. The cooling system is up to the task in summer, but the test may be cold weather. I think coolant flow has improved without the thermostat acting like a restrictor + the satin black paint may also be helping with heat transfer. When the day cools off I'll mess with the CAI and see if I can improve it. My dude recommended adding a bracket to the battery tray to help support the CAI duct.

 

[geezer101]

I thought this might be worth mentioning if you own a J2/J3 series and/or a RC/RD Tiburon coupe. The factory air intake ducting is a disaster on these engines primarily due to the route and location they are mounted to. The ducting and resonator boxes are resting right against the radiator and are constantly exposed to the radiant heat generated by the radiator. How hot does it get? I was impatient with my plan to remove and measure up a custom CAI and the radiant heat was enough to blister my fore arm by the time I'd undone the mounting bolts and pulled the assembly out. Having the intake air constantly heated up robs torque and affects performance. If you can pull a cool air charge from outside of the engine bay, do it. I've kept the factory air box as it isn't restrictive in it's nature or construction but the ducting and resonators don't do it any favours. Hyundai fixed the issue with the XD Elantra by directing the duct through the area hidden under the chassis rail behind the bumper.

 

[geezer101]

Ok so I had a crack at remodelling my CAI this afternoon. All I've done is made a cut through the middle of the main duct and shortened it 10-15mm, then made a joiner from an offcut of 75mm stormwater pipe that I've reduced in diameter by making a slot lengthways. This allowed me to rotate the pipe halves until I found the best way to get everything to align. Second addition is a clamp that I've screwed to the edge of the battery tray. I've also removed the spacer shims inside of the airbox mounting grommets so I can tighten the bolts and reduce movement so the ducting and airbox have minimal movement. As far as functionality is concerned, it's a success. But it looks a little ghetto rigged. Now that I have angles and duct lengths I can use as a direct reference, I can build a completely new CAI and install it. I'll improve the finish by rubbing off all of the details on the stormwater elbows and joiners, giving the join seams a light wipe of acrylic filler and hitting it with satin black epoxy paint the same way I did with Ver1.0 (it had a stealth/factory look to it...)

 

[geezer101]

I'm going to add a guesstimated HP/torque numbers just out of curiosities' sake. Stock G4GF Beta I 2.0 is 140 hp/102kW with 133 lb-ft/180 nM torque. Headers can add 5-10% hp, thermal wrapping them might add 2-5hp as a conservative guess, CAI will improve the output figure by maybe 2-5%. The biggest question is how much did the Beta I G4GM 1.8 intake cam make? A thread on the site claims 17hp with both intake and exhaust cams installed but I am only using the intake cam (I had read that this is the only cam that needed to be replaced to improve performance) So, starting with the cam lets say... 148 hp/110 kW as a base number. I'll be conservative and add 8% for headers (they aren't great quality as I've pointed out but have been reworked as much as I physically can to improve them) and go 5% for the CAI (it's as unrestricted as I could make it and has no immediate heat sources near it) I'll add 3 hp for header wrap again as a conservative estimation. I get a total of 170 hp/127 kW (peak torque is harder to calculate...) I'm not factoring in the rear muffler delete but it should have eliminated some exhaust gas restriction. I run it on 95 RON which has some impact on performance but I can't guarantee how much it actually affects output (it idles smoother, has a more responsive acceleration curve and when driven conservatively is more economical) I was hoping that the RD Tiburon Beta I 2.0 was tuned for more power but the wiki states the same output figures (140 hp/102kW). If there was a difference in output I would try an ECU swap as my guess would be a more aggressive ignition and fuel map is the explanation...

 

[geezer101]

Idea - install front coils from an XD Elantra to my rear struts. My rear springs are excruciatingly soft. The coupe rear stabiliser bar has worked wonders in improving turn in response but it bottoming out when I'm beating on it is not my happy place. Have to check spring rates and coil diameters - maybe it'll be overkill and turn driving it into a log ride...

 

[geezer101]

...so I have no clue on spring diameters. Front coils have a bigger diameter compared to rears so that idea is out the window. There will be a compatible diameter spring on a production car somewhere that has a higher spring rate. Did however find a decent coolant reservoir today with hoses @ my UPI yard for $14. Needs a good clean inside and out before installing it. Spotted 3 wagons that have recently been added to the line up (kind of sad to see them there as they were all straight and intact - one had an engine swap in 2021 going by the paperwork left in the glovebox) I am going to run demineralised water as well in the radiator for the interim. Interesting fact - coolant is banned from use on track raced cars. It can cause safety issues if it leaks or there's an incident/collision during an event. Wagon is running well and peak temps haven't exceeded 1/3 on the gauge - Yay!