Hyundai Elantra GT

My search is for a dd & occasional track car, five speed hatchback with four wheel disc brakes and dual airbags for under $5K. The MK3 GTI is high on my list but what about at 2002+ Elantra GT? Can you do any decent upgrades with the thin aftermarket support? Does anyone know if you can disable the traction control? ABS is fine, but I want a minimal nanny factory. Anyone ever do a track day with this car?

Ask Bobzilla. He has an elantra that he autoxed quite a bit.

The elantra is about as good as a paper bag in a crash.

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=318

I was looking at them a while ago, found the IIHS page and stopped. Too bad, I kinda liked the car.

When I was looking at them, the GT package was specific wheels, a spoiler and nicer seats. I'm pretty sure that was it. Not sure if it was specific to that hatch looking body too, but no bigger sways/spring/brake upgrades. Think pretty elantra.

Ready for it?

Kia Sephia.

I'm not joking. Can be had with the Mazda BP motor, and hilariously enough, a stronger transmission than what came with the BG chassis cars of old.

It's light, it's surprisingly quick, it's hilarious. Oh yeah, and they're stupidly cheap. Get one.

I plan on getting one and boosting it to kingdom come someday.

ZX2.

Acura Integra

Impreza wagon

Can't think of anything else right now.

I was looking at the GTs a while ago, in addition to the leather, wheels and such they also came with the european spec suspension that is tighter than the US one.

I have had thoughts of putting a SAAB 2 or 2.3 turbo motor in one since they look a lot like a 9-3 anyway. Lighter car and 200 + hp and tq = good stuff.

99-'02 Saab 9-3.

I liked mine. Some others here will agree.

ignorant wrote: The elantra is about as good as a paper bag in a crash. http://www.iihs.org/ratings/ratingsbyseries.aspx?id=318 I was looking at them a while ago, found the IIHS page and stopped. Too bad, I kinda liked the car.

Being around Elantras, elantra forums and people who have crashed them and walked away, the IIHS is full of E36 M3. I know of about 22 different cars in the last 5 years involved in some form of head-on/offset crashes that crumpled like a tin can, and the occupants walked away unscathed. So I really have no faith in their BS tests.

Now, to the OP. 02-03 is your best years for over all reliability, but the 04-06 had the better transmissions. I have 116k hard miles on my 02. My "other wife" has 106k on her 2001 auto. Both will be with us into the 200k's. Change the oil, use anOEM filter, (if auto) use ONLY Hyundai trans fluid, drive it.

Upgrades: If you want more than the 140hp they made stock, you're boned. Intake and exhaust nets you 5hp max. Good news is the car makes great midrange torque and pulls like a freight train to the 6200 cutoff. Expect 28-32 consistently, 34-36mpg on the highway if you keep the RPM's below 3200. Above that the terrible tuning dumps fuel and the bumper will be black in a few hundred miles.... keep that in mind when cruising.

Suspension upgrades make this car shine. They come undersprung and underdamped from Korea. Buta set of H&R springs, GR-s struts for a 2003 Tiburon and the tib 19mm rear sway bar off the 2003 GT wake the car up. There's enough room under the fenders to stuff 225-width tires in either 15 or 16 (225/50-15 or 225/45-16). Fropnt brakes are small, but can be swapped to 2005 Sonata rotors (11.1" compared to fact 10") and 2003-06 Tib calpers. Hawk and EBC both make pads to fit those calipers so braking will be great.

Things to watch: T-belt needs a change at 60k. If it's not been done, DDO IT! Valves will snap off trashing the head. Rust in the front subframe and lower arms, though there is a recall covering that as well now. And check for cracks in the exhaust manifold. It's covered 10/100 now IIRC because of the issue.

Otherwise, it's a great car that loves to be pushed and will reward you with low cost of maintenance and the ability to blend into traffic at high speeds.

Datsun1500 wrote: You can get the Elantra Hatchback as a GLS. The GT just includes alloy wheels, spoiler, and leather.

That was available 2005-6 only unfortunately. Not many GLS hatches out there.

Kia Sephia - no hatchback as far as I can tell. Saab - sludge, slightly bigger than I want. Safety - the extra airbags is something that attracted me to this car. I did some checking and the 2004-2006 Elantras get a good rating due to airbag changes

http://www.iihs.org/ratings/rating.aspx?id=224 NHTSA give is fine ratings here for 2002

http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2002-hyundai-elantra-3.htm

I would focus on suspension upgrades, I can live with the HP. Every Elantra I have rented surprised me so I do like the car. I am torn, versatility and safety still beat a MK3 GTI 2.0l, but the cool factor leans towards the VW. Bobzilla - do you have traction control? Can it be turned off completely?

Just as an aside, the 9-3s with the 2.0 do not have the sludging issues that the 2.3s have.

The GT is a nice car but for me after having lived with my turbo swede the lack of power would be hard to live with.

GTwannaB wrote: http://consumerguideauto.howstuffworks.com/2002-hyundai-elantra-3.htm I would focus on suspension upgrades, I can live with the HP. Every Elantra I have rented surprised me so I do like the car. I am torn, versatility and safety still beat a MK3 GTI 2.0l, but the cool factor leans towards the VW. Bobzilla - do you have traction control? Can it be turned off completely?

No I do not, in fact mine is a Sedan, GLS. I didn't want the TCS and ABS. TCS can be completely disabled. Turning it off literally turns it off. I remmber roasting the tires in the bosses demo many years back with a GLS euqipped with TCS. You just have to disable it every start cycle.

There's a couple places to get some other views/opinions (although they will be biased!) on the Elantra. www.elantraclub.com is where w efocus more on suspension and "normal" mods. www.elantraxd.com where they are a little more "bling" focused and everyone wants to turbo.

There is also a guy on www.crookedh.com that has plug and play MS for the Elantra's to tune them correctly.

Forgot to mention.... suspension wise anything that fits the fairly poplar 2003-2008 GK Tiburon fits the 2001-2006 XD Elantra. Coilovers, springs, Koni's, lower arms, strut braces. The rear brakes are the same pads so they can use Hawks as well.

Bobzilla wrote: Being around Elantras, elantra forums and people who have crashed them and walked away, the IIHS is full of E36 M3. I know of about 22 different cars in the last 5 years involved in some form of head-on/offset crashes that crumpled like a tin can, and the occupants walked away unscathed. So I really have no faith in their BS tests.

Once again, I'll have to disagree with you. The IIHS tests are more aggressive than the government tests. Basically everything earns a 4 or 5 star rating for the government, not so with the IIHS. The test method is well documented. Before you throw the BS flag based upon notional or anecdotal evidence; understand what is going on and how the cars are rated.

That's great, but go peruse the Elantra boards. The same ones I've been a part of since 2002. Look at all the "dead" cars, and all the people that walked away. You can disagree with your test data, I'll disagree with the real world data. They're both "right", just one carries more weight with me. Besides, I loved when they tested the 05 Spectra and gave it worse ratings than the 05 Elantra, and they're the same car.

This data isn't even getting intop the 3 years I ran body orders on these cars when I worked for the dealership back then. Car after car smacked, typical repair parts, people unhurt and it was repaired and sent back out to do it again. If they were really as "safe as a paper bag" as you say, that would have never happened. Sorry.

Bobzilla wrote: That's great, but go peruse the Elantra boards. The same ones I've been a part of since 2002. Look at all the "dead" cars, and all the people that walked away. You can disagree with your test data, I'll disagree with the real world data. They're both "right", just one carries more weight with me. Besides, I loved when they tested the 05 Spectra and gave it worse ratings than the 05 Elantra, and they're the same car. This data isn't even getting intop the 3 years I ran body orders on these cars when I worked for the dealership back then. Car after car smacked, typical repair parts, people unhurt and it was repaired and sent back out to do it again. If they were really as "safe as a paper bag" as you say, that would have never happened. Sorry.

horrid argument. Same as... "I know people who smoke and don't have cancer, so I should be ok"...

Have fun.

Well, hang on, guys: you've both got meaningful data. Bob is reporting multiple crashes in the real world that happened to real people under uncontrolled conditions so variable as to be unrepeatable, but with similar results. He has built up an opinion from that data. Ig. is reporting the results of carefully controlled, non-real-world, fully repeatable investigations by an impartial testing authority. He has built up an opinion from THAT data. Both opinions are valid. Neither opinion can predict the future, just hint at it.

But it's a bit unfair to suggest that Elantras are as toxic as cigarettes.

here is one factor to keep in mind, how does one cost? then there is the stupid look factor...the looks on drivers faces when they have thier cameros and stangs get smoked by some small encno box from korea......

Stealthtercel wrote: Well, hang on, guys: you've both got meaningful data. Bob is reporting multiple crashes in the real world that happened to real people under uncontrolled conditions so variable as to be unrepeatable, but with similar results. He has built up an opinion from that data. Ig. is reporting the results of carefully controlled, non-real-world, fully repeatable investigations by an impartial testing authority. He has built up an opinion from THAT data. Both opinions are valid. Neither opinion can predict the future, just hint at it. But it's a bit unfair to suggest that Elantras are as toxic as cigarettes.

Agreed. Controlled tests are finr to "rank cars". But to compare it to real world crashes is not the same.

Some hyundai haters will stop at nothing, even reality, to bash them.

Bobzilla wrote:

Stealthtercel wrote: Well, hang on, guys: you've both got meaningful data. Bob is reporting multiple crashes in the real world that happened to real people under uncontrolled conditions so variable as to be unrepeatable, but with similar results. He has built up an opinion from that data. Ig. is reporting the results of carefully controlled, non-real-world, fully repeatable investigations by an impartial testing authority. He has built up an opinion from THAT data. Both opinions are valid. Neither opinion can predict the future, just hint at it. But it's a bit unfair to suggest that Elantras are as toxic as cigarettes.

Agreed. Controlled tests are finr to "rank cars". But to compare it to real world crashes is not the same. Some hyundai haters will stop at nothing, even reality, to bash them.

I don't hate hyundais, I don't have much if an opinion, though I did drive my buddies 06 or 07 tiburon, (pretty car, nice six speed, floppy suspension). But pics on a forum of car accidents don't tell the story. The owners of cars that crashed and kill the occupents of the car don't post pictures. Becase they are dead. So you only hear the good stories, and not many of the bad.

Joey

I agree. But when many of these accidents mirror the controlled test and the occupants walk away, what does that tellyou about the results from controlled test?

Honsetly, any "small" car compared to a large SUV/truck/semi will leave someone hurting. That's the nature of the beast. Having 4 airbags and knowing the car will crumple in the right places to keep you safer helps. IIRC, Honda didn;t even offer seat airbags in the civics of that vintage.

Bobzilla wrote: I agree. But when many of these accidents mirror the controlled test and the occupants walk away, what does that tellyou about the results from controlled test? Honsetly, any "small" car compared to a large SUV/truck/semi will leave someone hurting. That's the nature of the beast. Having 4 airbags and knowing the car will crumple in the right places to keep you safer helps. IIRC, Honda didn;t even offer seat airbags in the civics of that vintage.

Agreed. Good thing my miata with a blinking airbag light is so safe.

Joey

There's a reason my Swift doesn't get daily driven. When a Toyota matrix goes past and I think "cute SUV" before I realize what it is..... there's a problem. Well, that and the stiff suspension, the ear bleeding exhaust and the lack of ANY comfort.