I'd go with some lightweight 16's. My 17" Tantrums weigh almost 20lbs EACH! It's not just the wheels that give you better cornering performance though -- it's the tire. Generally speaking, the lower the aspect ratio of a tire(i.e. 205/40R17) or how tall the tire is compared with how wide it is, the better a tires cornering performance.

 

um.. potential cornering ability. In the real world, a 45 series tire will probably outperform a 40 or lower ratio. If you look at the total suspension, the springs are probably a couple hundred pounds pressure per inch at most... but a tire can be close to a thousand.

If you go too low a ratio, the sidewall loses the ability to flex and absorb the smaller bumps in the road.. thus transmitting ALL the movement directly into the suspension itself. This leads to a rough ride and the potential to get the wheels and tyres hopping over small imperfections.. which means little to no tread on the road as you try and either get power down or go around a corner

 

I'd do rims ONLY IF I could find a nice set of lightweight 16" wheels; the only other rims I like that are not 16" are those Weds sports rims on Tirerack.com on gray they would look hot on a black Tib, good thing is they weigh only 15lb on 17", bad news is they are overpriced at $00+ EACH! OUCH!
Well, depends on what you want, light rims will look better AND you will enjoy driving with them, if they are heavy you will like the looks but not the driving.
I think I'd list the mods you could enjoy the most on each department as follows:
-CAI
-1.8 Intake Cam (It makes a noticeable difference for a few bucks more than 100)
-Spring-Shock combo (I like the H&R-KYB GR2 combo; sportier than Eibachs, but rougher also)
-Catback
-Good set of tires (Kuhmo Ecsta MX or similar)
-Short Shifter

With that you will have a completely different car than stock, at the cost of a bodykit + fitting and painting; but it's totally up to you; in my opinion it's better to turn heads because your car can do things nobody expects, than turning heads because of things people think your car can do when it actually can't.. wink1.gif

 

I will prefer Performance than Looks..... but as soon as you finish the performance, go to the "looks" part... The Tiburon has beautifull design... and very sporty looks....

 

Hey everybody thanks for the post and everything it helps me out a lot on what im gonna do to the tib oh and by the way my tibs not black lol its a dark metallic purple haha but anyways thanks again everybody

 

Dark metallic purple? Dark enough, IMO..tongue.gif

I'd add pulleys to Zmans list. My friends Tibs got the OBX underdrive crank pulley, and those revs propel to redline noticeable quicker, even though he's got an auto; 4 gears.

Like Zman said, your car shouldn't be of second hand nature and by that I mean being a 'peppy' car, not just being seen as a 'peppy' car.

 

its all up to you. i had the same delima and had to figure what i wanted to do first. So i sat down and made a list of all the pros and cons. Then i made my decision. Right now i drive 100+ miles per day and love my MPG right now since gas is so high $2.39/gallon for 89 octane i went for styling since im more of a show person anyhow. So after i get all the styling done then ill move to engine. So each of us here can tell you what we would do but in the end its all up to.

 

I am in the same boat.. not only do I enjoy my MPG.. but right now the tib is my daily driver. However, with almost 112,000 miles on the clock, that will be changing soon. Once that happens, I will probably buy a new engine for her and turbo that for around 200 to 225 hp. I know that does not sound like a lot to most people, but I want drivability, not internet chest thumping rights.

I mean..if you look at the Garage here on RDTiburon... my car currently has the most "mods" listed.. but it does not stand out in any one way... but I enjoy it all the more. Most of those mods were done for my taste and my comfort... and those are what count to me.

 

If I could do it again .. get wheels and a CAI first.
Then get your basic bolt-ons like headers, exhaust, pulleys. After you have something under the hood to make your tibby not slow as hell, save up for the exterior work.
Otherwise, you'll be like me (but then again I have an auto, so it's even worse ... that might be changing soon though!!) and driving around this car that looks fast and ricey, but it won't have any power.

 

Like I offered before.. why not both... there are several mods that are both performance AND looks.

The biggest change you can make to you car? Lower it. This not only increases your handling, acceleration (less squat) and braking (the nose does not try and hit the ground) but changes the whole appearance of your car. It goes from sporty looking grocery getter to something much more motorsports intended.

After that is rims. You just cannot run a lowered car without some nice lightweight rims and serious meats to connect you to the ground. Do those two and the car will take on a whole new look.

If you like CarbonFibre (I don't) get a hood for it. This lightens the car also, making it a slightly better performing vehicle.

A cat back also adds, if you get a nice tip out the back to exhaust those gases.

And something that is not performance oriented, but cheap.. tinting. Dark tib, lowered with nice rims, Carbon Fibre hood, and tinting.. You have a mean looking beast that while may not keep up in a straight line, you will be able to take them in the corners.

CAI, headers, and the 1.8 exhaust cam will not set you back much at all.