My Vehicle Information:

Year: 2004

Make: Hyundai

Model: Accent Base 3 Door

Engine: 1.6





Thanks in advance for taking the time to read my post,



I just bought a 2004 Hyundai Accent with 80,000 miles on it. I did a new paint job on it and fixed the couple of dents on the car. So the body looks new.



Now Im ready to start working on some modifications and would like some tips and help and proper guidance.



1) LOWERING- I have been looking into lowering the car with some B&G Lowering Springs that drop the car 1.7in.(There are also Eibach Springs that lower 1.2in) The problem I'm having is finding some aftermarket struts that can handle the lowering. I can only find stock struts? What do you recommend? What tips can you give me me for lowering the car?



2) CATBACK SYSTEM- What can I do? What are the benefits? I found this website with the following product? What is your opinion?



http://www.evofusionusa.com/TeamSR/H...t-exhaust.html



3) HEADER SYSTEM- What are the benefits? And what are your opinions?



http://www.evofusionusa.com/TeamSR/H...nt-header.html



4) INTAKES- What do you recommend for this mod? I was thinking a short ram intake?



5) Strut Bars- Benefits?



6) I was looking to also change the rear bumper? Anyone have a clue where a could purchase one?







What other Modifications do you recommend?

I appreciate your help and guidance.

 

Nice purchase, welcome to the best Hyundai site on the net, hope ya stick around.



1) about the only aftermarket strut you will be able to use that will handle the drop without blowing is the KYB GR2 gas struts. They are a factory replacement but will hold up better then the stock ones to the drop. I have the B&G 2" drop springs with said struts and they lasted a few years, im pretty sure they are blown now but my stock stuts didnt make it through the first week after I dropped my car.



2)Benefits = noise and a we bit of performance your but dyno may or may not feel.



3)Headers, your but dyno should feel some gains here, I noticed a loss of power when a fix it ticket forced me to remove my headers and go with the stock exhaust manifold. It should be noted that I have a 2.0L engine swapped in place of the original 1.5L. I have no experience with 1.6L mod gains.



4) Short ram intake will make your throttle response quicker but at the same time you will be pulling in warm air.



5) I noticed a difference with the front strut bar before i even close my hood after install, looked great and conering felt better for sure.



6) Someone else will know, but i do not.

 

I will definitely be sticking around. It took me a while to actually find a useful website to trust and interact with. Thank you of your response.



1) So what you recommend is purchasing the KYB GR2 Struts to go along with the B&G lowering springs correct?



Are these the struts you recommend I found them on eBay? Is this a fair price for them?



http://www.ebay.com/itm/KYB-GR-2-EXC...ht_2471wt_1156



2) Ok, Ill keep that in mind. Does your car have any work on its cutback system?



3) Do you recommend the new headers? Im looking for a bit of extra performance and sound? Like I said I only found the ones in the link I posted. Will those work fine?



4) So a better response in throttle but bringing in cold air? How could this be fixed? What about a cold air intake?



5) Strut bars it is!! Where did you purchase yours.



6) Its very difficult to purchase part for this vehicle.



Thanks a lot for the time you take to respond. I should mention Im a newbie and trying to learn as much as possible, with people that have more knowledge and experience.



By dyno you mean?



What other mods do you recommend or common?

 

2.0L SWAP, NUFF SAID!



I would suggest staying away from headers unless you want to make your exhaust loud. I have them on my 2.0 Tiburon, and it is very loud, but gave minimal performance gains.



I am also running KYB AGX's I don't know if they're available for the accent, but they handled my 1.75" drop very well and offer 4 stiffness settings.

 

1- Lowering

I second the recommendation of GR-2 struts. The only other viable option is to use Koni Yellow strut inserts, they're kind of not easy to work with (you cut open your stock strut and bolt these inside of the body), and last I heard, discontinued. Another option is to jump past all of that and get a set of Ksport coilovers. If you're SERIOUS about handling, or want to go with more than a 2" drop, coilovers are a better option.



2- Catback exhaust

At the price for the EF exhaust in your link, I would go ahead and buy it. You can also get this done custom at a local muffler shop.



3- Header

I have that header and have been happy with it. It should bolt right to their catback exhaust. You may get a check engine light running with no catalytic converter. If that bothers you, you can have one welded in place.



4- Intake

A short ram is okay. I run one. I would recommend a CAI. You can get a CAI from a 1999 Eclipse non-turbo and it will fit as long as you have a manual transmission. If you're auto, don't bother with mods at all on an Accent. You'll see no benefit really as you're down about 20whp vs. a manual Accent.



5- Strut bars

They will help stiffen everything up a bit. I have them front and rear. They're inexpensive and easy to install so not a lot of down side, but benefit is minimal.



6- Rear bumper

You're looking for a stock replacement? I would look in the junk yard. It shouldn't be too hard to find one that's intact. I've also seen them on ebay for good prices new, but haven't looked in a while.



Other mods:

This is tough, and depends on your intended purpose. I highly suggest a rear sway bar. Ultra Racing makes one.



I also offer this advice: N/A bolt ons don't net you a lot of gain on the Accent. I have a short ram intake, DIY port, polished, and bored IM, BBTB, phenolic IM spacer, header, high flow cat, and 2.25" exhaust. That was good for 100whp/109lb/ft on a Mustang dyno. It's a bump of around 15-20hp vs. stock which is a decent gain, I can definitely feel it, but for a similar price I could have done a cheap DIY turbo setup and had much more power, or for quite a bit less I could have done the 2.0l Beta swap.



If you won't be happy forever with 100whp or less, don't do N/A mods to your car. Either do the Beta swap or go turbo. I'm in the process of going turbo myself right now even though I've gone through all of these N/A mods already. I also have a Beta swapped Accent, it's a much quicker car.



If you explain your goals for the car, I will gladly tailor my advice to help you achieve your goals as easily and inexpensively as possible.

 

Here is a link to my beta swap guide, it can be found in the hyundai hybrid section of the forums as a sticky post. Having a 04 will make the swap a wee bit easier then my 02 Accent but for the most part the swap is relevent to your car.

My link

 

I see you're in California. Most of the engine mods recommended won't be emissions legal. I think your only legal option to gain much power is to swap in a 2.0l Beta engine newer than your own. The only California Legal 2.0l Accent that I know of is owned by HotBlue02.



California sucks for modifying cars.

 

Bg lowerings are not good for tracks.... Eibach ftw...

 

An engine swap? Haven't really thought of that idea, but it does make sense. Im running a pretty tight budget though. Im working towards some performance gain, exterior look, and sound. Something nice, Its not for the tracks or anything. Yea I looked into your recommendation for KYB but they do make them for this car. How loud are we talking with the headers? And thanks for taking time to reply bro, Im new to this and have some knowledge, but wanna learn more.

 

1) KYB GR2 Struts it is. Sounds like they will handle the job well. Thanks



2) Catback- I will go forward with this, Ill visit a local muffler shop and see what say, but if anything Ill go on ahead and do this purchase from the website.



3) Headers- I was looking for something simple and it sounds like this bolt on is something maybe even I can do in my garage. Do they interfere with any oxygen sensors? With your experience, did it give you a better sounds and some performance? can you please explain with a bit more detail the catalytic converter? Would the headers replace the catalytic converter? Would that hurt the car in any way? What do you mean weld it?



4) I do have a manual 5 speed transmission. So what you recommend instead of a short ram intake is a Cold Air Intake? Is the 1999 Eclipse your suggestion instead of a K&N or other brand? Could you send me a link to your recommendation?



5) Minimal benefit in the drive? But since they are inexpensive Ill probably proceed with them, but I won't make them my major priority. I found these, what do you think?



http://www.evofusionusa.com/TeamSR/H...strutbars.html



6) I love the body on the car, but if i had to change anything I would change the rear bumper. I was looking for an after market rear bumper, If theres even anything available out there.





The rear sway bar you recommended on the link is for a 2003 Accent? Could it also fit and be installed in an 2004 Accent?



Well in order to do a Swap I would have to save some more money, I'm running on a tight budget. But I have never even considered turbo? What is necessary for turbo, parts, and anything that needs to be included? Would all these mods mention above still be a plus or just focus on turbo? Where could you make the purchase? How expensive is it?



My goals: I wanted to focus on the cars exterior and sound, with some performance gain of course, I mean not for track or anything but maybe if possible i would consider it. Something I would be proud of. (Exterior, sounds, Performance)



Thank you in advance for all your guidance, Honestly Im new to this, mostly I have been reading and trying to gather some knowledge, but Im really glad I found some very helpful people like yourself on this forum.