Tiburons Good "beginner" Tuners?
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 34,642
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From: Los Lunas, New Mexico, USA.
Vehicle: 2001 Hyundai Tiburon, 2004 Kia Sorento, 2010 Kia Soul
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Joined: Jun 2006
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tiburons a pretty good starting car.. i had 5 cars or so before my tiburon.. i had my tiburon longer that any car thus far (4 years)
i would buy the newest one you can possibly get (2000-2001) with ~50k miles or less if you can. if you buy older, with more miles you can expect to maintain more (wheel bearings, rust, cracked manifold, etc) which you can expect with any older car.. just a suggestion to buy the newest one you can find.
if your wanting it to ride a lil lower, and lower the profile of the bumper, for under 550$ you could do a DIY lip kit, and B&G springs/kyb struts.. car will sit about 3.5" lower in the front or more.. the RD2 bumper (00-01) also sits a lil lower than the saggy tits (97-99) bumper.
what type of things are you interested in 'investing in' as far as mods? turbo kit? simple N/A setup? just make the car 'feel' better than stock.. theres plenty of routes to go, and a decent amount of parts.
only thing i would recommend staying away from is most of the body kits unless you wanna sink a bunch of money into one, and possibly crack it eventually. I loved the body kit on my car, but with city roads these days, its almost impossible to ride around in a lowered, FG kitted car daily and not damage it.
doing the simple lip kit (50$) WRX scoop, type R spoiler, and slamming the car on B&Gs will give the car a pretty aggresive look, without having to fork over tons of cash.
if your wanting something powerful from the getgo, spend the 10k$ on a different car, with more aftermarket support, but if your looking for a car thats cheap, and you wanna modify, get a tiburon or something alike.
if ya wanna check out an RD2 with a ton of various work done to it.. check out DTN's tiburon.. I had a chance to see it in person the other day, used to talk alot of shit about how ricey i thought it was, but in person.. VERY badass car as far as all the little custom things done to it.
i would buy the newest one you can possibly get (2000-2001) with ~50k miles or less if you can. if you buy older, with more miles you can expect to maintain more (wheel bearings, rust, cracked manifold, etc) which you can expect with any older car.. just a suggestion to buy the newest one you can find.
if your wanting it to ride a lil lower, and lower the profile of the bumper, for under 550$ you could do a DIY lip kit, and B&G springs/kyb struts.. car will sit about 3.5" lower in the front or more.. the RD2 bumper (00-01) also sits a lil lower than the saggy tits (97-99) bumper.
what type of things are you interested in 'investing in' as far as mods? turbo kit? simple N/A setup? just make the car 'feel' better than stock.. theres plenty of routes to go, and a decent amount of parts.
only thing i would recommend staying away from is most of the body kits unless you wanna sink a bunch of money into one, and possibly crack it eventually. I loved the body kit on my car, but with city roads these days, its almost impossible to ride around in a lowered, FG kitted car daily and not damage it.
doing the simple lip kit (50$) WRX scoop, type R spoiler, and slamming the car on B&Gs will give the car a pretty aggresive look, without having to fork over tons of cash.
if your wanting something powerful from the getgo, spend the 10k$ on a different car, with more aftermarket support, but if your looking for a car thats cheap, and you wanna modify, get a tiburon or something alike.
if ya wanna check out an RD2 with a ton of various work done to it.. check out DTN's tiburon.. I had a chance to see it in person the other day, used to talk alot of shit about how ricey i thought it was, but in person.. VERY badass car as far as all the little custom things done to it.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2002
Posts: 34,642
Likes: 0
From: Los Lunas, New Mexico, USA.
Vehicle: 2001 Hyundai Tiburon, 2004 Kia Sorento, 2010 Kia Soul
^^^
I agree, I've had to back off on a lot since he's toned it down some. His car is looking GOOD. Wish I could have seen it the other day when he came through.
I agree, I've had to back off on a lot since he's toned it down some. His car is looking GOOD. Wish I could have seen it the other day when he came through.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 1,497
Likes: 0
Vehicle: 1998/Hyundai/Tiburon FX
Absolutely an outstanding choice for a beginner tuner car. The members on this forum will help you with any problem or question you may have. And as far as actually working on the car, it's a peice of cake. I personally think the tib is easier to take apart than a honda and that is saying something lol. Best of luck with your choice and finding a decent black tiburon. smile.gif
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Joined: Mar 2009
Posts: 5,280
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From: wamego, kansas
Vehicle: 2001 hyundai tiburon
what i have noticed one thing about tibs is the fact that if you want some of the older mod pieces, patience is a total virtue with this car. I have spent the better part of two years creating a stock pile of goodies for my RD2 and i am finally close to the point of installing all of them.
Senior Member
Joined: Sep 2008
Posts: 1,305
Likes: 0
From: Tampa,Fl
Vehicle: 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
First, I want to say that I love my tib and I'm sure if you get one too you would love it as well. However, a few things to note.
a)We don't have a ton of support..... but we get by.
b)You do want a uniqueness factor right?
c)If you get one please o please let it be a 5 spd.
d)We are a great bunch of people and we have a ton of info, so with that being said you found a great place to start at the very least.
Oh and on the beginners part: It is a great car to begin on, first car I've ever truly worked on and so far I've had a blast and have gained a ton of knowledge along the way.
a)We don't have a ton of support..... but we get by.
b)You do want a uniqueness factor right?
c)If you get one please o please let it be a 5 spd.
d)We are a great bunch of people and we have a ton of info, so with that being said you found a great place to start at the very least.
Oh and on the beginners part: It is a great car to begin on, first car I've ever truly worked on and so far I've had a blast and have gained a ton of knowledge along the way.
Senior Member
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 4,722
Likes: 0
Vehicle: 2001 Hyundai Tiburon
One solid point of the Beta motor and it's engine bay is the ease of workability - when you've worked on more aggravating, annoying cars that have a lot less space and not as easy to work with design in general, you'll learn to appreciate the ease of working on it.
As said, the relatively small aftermarket is the downside. But hey, you learn more not buying bolt-on parts.
As said, the relatively small aftermarket is the downside. But hey, you learn more not buying bolt-on parts.
Senior Member
Joined: Mar 2006
Posts: 1,046
Likes: 0
Vehicle: 2000 Hyundai Elantra
The Tiburon is a awesome piece to work on. Personally, I like the older syling of the RD1, I think the RD2 looks like a retarded catfish humping a Honda. There is plenty of room in the engine bay for upgrades, and you have a vast database of knowledge at your disposal to fix any issue.