[Nadeliz]

Hello Everyone! Sorry for the long post but I'm pretty chatty lol

So I've had my 2003 tiburon GT (140000 miles) for about 3-4 years and not long after I got it, I realized that I've never enjoyed a car as much as my tiburon. To be honest, I don't know if I've never really "enjoyed" a car at all, I just wanted good gas mileage and reliability and didn't really care about the rest.

I picked it up for 2 grand from the original owner (friend of a friend) and it runs well but it's had lots of little problems. Things like the ac continually messing with me or the windows not working or the hood doesn't stay open. Also, the paint situation is not great, but there aren't any dents or anything.

Now I've never done anything on a car besides changing a tire or jumping a battery so in that vein, I just did the bare minimum to keep it running and to make sure that I didn't bake in it. And up to now, I've been fine with that.

But on my drive home about two weeks ago, I saw a tiburon with a custom paint job and after market stuff on it (I can't be more specific because I didn't know exactly what was different about it) and it blew me away. I had never considered the possibility that you could upgrade a car you already have. I sort of just planned to fix problems as they popped up until the it was too expensive to do so.

But now I have a mission, I'm not sure what I have planned for my Tib but I want to make it all it can be and I want to do as much of the work myself as I can. Being car knowledgeable seems really beneficial and right now when I have car issues I'm at the mercy of mechanics or my lazy cousin who only helps out if he needs extra cash.

All I've done so far is replace the air filter and make sure I'm up to date on regular car maintenance (I was very proud to change my own oil lol) and while researching that stuff, I found this forum.

I guess right now I'm just trying to figure out my next step. A paint job is on the to do list but I want to upgrade performance first cause I'm not looking for a car that's just for show. Although I'm terrified that after I put money into it something horrible will go wrong that can't be fixed, but I'm still just gonna forge ahead and figure it out as I go. Plus I got a pretty solid promotion at work recently so I'm feeling comfortable with budgeting a lot more towards my car

It seems like intro threads aren't usually that long but I'd love feedback from you guys. If course I'll read all the stickies but for right now, maybe you could give me suggestions on things to upgrade, or even just things that tend to break down on Tibs so I can know what to check before dumping money in haha

Hope I hear from some people and that you all have a good day!

P.S. I've named my car Tiberius because I'm a huge star trek fan and that's James T Kirk's middle name

 

[Tybeerius]

Hi Nadeliz!
I'm new around here but thought I'd say a couple things anyway.
Tibs are good looking, sporty little cars just as they are so you could be thinking about improvements that are cosmetic or performance oriented.
Either way, the first place I'd spend money is to have somebody good look it over, underneath and under the hood, drive it, and explain anything that might be getting shaky or will need repairs sometime soon, and get those things fixed first.
An old hotrodder once told me, "You can't put soup in a sieve."
If you're going to go fast, look into upgraded brakes first. Check your brake lines and fuel lines, they tend to rot out of old cars and are a good place to start.
If you're going to upgrade the horsepower, upgrade the clutch and flywheel to make sure they can withstand the higher output.

For solid reliability make sure your timing belt is good, other belts, water pump, alternator, the radiator and hoses all are solid.
Once all this is 100%, go ahead and start pouring in the soup!
Good luck, and Happy Motoring!

 

[Nadeliz]

Hi Nadeliz!
I'm new around here but thought I'd say a couple things anyway.
Tibs are good looking, sporty little cars just as they are so you could be thinking about improvements that are cosmetic or performance oriented.
Either way, the first place I'd spend money is to have somebody good look it over, underneath and under the hood, drive it, and explain anything that might be getting shaky or will need repairs sometime soon, and get those things fixed first.
An old hotrodder once told me, "You can't put soup in a sieve."
If you're going to go fast, look into upgraded brakes first. Check your brake lines and fuel lines, they tend to rot out of old cars and are a good place to start.
If you're going to upgrade the horsepower, upgrade the clutch and flywheel to make sure they can withstand the higher output.

For solid reliability make sure your timing belt is good, other belts, water pump, alternator, the radiator and hoses all are solid.
Once all this is 100%, go ahead and start pouring in the soup!
Good luck, and Happy Motoring!

This is just crazy helpful, thank you so much! Just having any next step is really helpful

 

[chase206]

Don't forget: The timing belt interval is 60k miles or 5-6 years. Which ever comes first. With 140k on the clock on an 18 year old car, you should be well into your 3rd or 4th timing belt by now judging by age alone. Trying to stretch the interval on a $160 timing belt kit isn't worth the thousands in repairs it will cost when it does come loose. A member on the FB groups just learned this the hard way and ended up replacing their whole engine after the belt broke. This is actually a weekly occurrence where members announce their departure because they neglected their timing belt maintenance then can't afford the repair costs of their negligence.

Performance bits are disappearing and the platform isn't well supported in the aftermarket anymore. It's a great car to learn on and it's relatively easy to work on. However, many will argue it's not worth the cost of modifying due to the lack of support and low gains from bolt on parts. Keep an eye out on the marketplace here and on the FB groups for used performance parts. They do pop up occasionally but sell very quickly.

 

[Faulcun]

Theres also members like myself who are custom making parts when we come across the need for something because it simply doesnt exist anymore.

I agree with the above. Lets make sure your car is 100% good mechanically first, then start looking into upgrades. Oh, and the first thing i would do is replace the hood shocks so it doesnt hit you in the head every time you try to work on something lol

Keep in mind, if you do things yourself, it will always be cheaper than paying somebody to do it. If you are just getting into car stuff, my biggest advice while you are learning is to TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES!!!

I cant stress that enough... in this day and age, we have so much technology at our disposal. Its foolish not to take advantage of it. Before you start a repair, take pictures of everything. Every time you remove something, take more pictures. Stay organized with your bolts and components. That way you'll have lots of visual material to reference when you start putting things back together.

And of course you have everybody here as a resource. If you are close enough, a lot of people are willing to meet up and help out too.

OH, and everything mechanical can be fixed. Body damage is the only thing that can cross the line of no return.