[Tristan21]

Hey guys I'm in Bakersfield, CA and I bought a new 07 GT Limited it's about a year here in March. I love my car but as far as modding goes there's not a whole lot that I've seen aside from custom fabrication. I'm new to this site and the Tibs all together my roomate told me to check this place out. He's mostly going to help me fix up and mod my car. Now what I'm thinking of doing and it's already sort of in motion is trading in my 07 for an 05 SE. There's more modifications out there for the 05's and I like the body style a lot more. I'm not that car smart and I'm trying to pick up and learn as much as I can. I love the car but feel it lacks a sence of power that the body displays. Oh my 07 is an automatic tranmition...so would this be a good trade and what should I know as far as being a first time modder with limited car knowledge?

 

[Tristan21]

I have an idea of all the body mods I want to do but I don't want to do any body mods first, I want to give my car some more power before I make it look sexiesr...cause it's already pretty sexier...I just want to put it over the top! I've seen a lot of cool stuff off of importshark.com and that's where I've mostly picked my modifications from. I've done some trolling around this site and have seen a few good threads and mods for sale. I must say this site is getting me excited to start modding my car.

 

[Tristan21]

Welcome to NT!!!

Aside from portions of the body (front fender/hood/headlights/taillights), the 07 is mechanically identical to an 05. So, springs, side-skirts, strut bars, headers, intakes, exhausts, shifters, superchargers, turbo kits.... everything from other years will fit your 07.

There are already some 07 body kits out, and I'm sure more will follow. Also some carbon fiber hoods have already been released for the 07 too.

Well one of the biggest differences about the two is that I'm going from an automatic 4 speed transmission to a manual 6 speed transmission. That's another thing that I'm looking at as well. Cause I did originally want a manual but the dealer didn't have one. I'm also looking at having lower payments which in turn mean that I'll be able to pay it off faster thus more money to put into the mods. I am wanting to do a super turbo as far as forced induction. I know that will cost a pretty penny...but oh man it will be sweet. I've got a lot of the body thought of...mostly stuff for the 03-06 bodies...I know in time more will come out for the 07's, there are some now but in my opinion I just think they are hideous. I love me some aggressive wide body kits, and I just don't see anything like that really for the 07's. I do see some points of why not too...but there are also some heavy reasons why to do it. One of the main ones is my transmission!

 

[Tristan21]

Welcome to NT, search and you'll find a lot of info even for your 07.
I would not trade the 07 for 05, unless the 05 is really bright in shape and heart.
Just start with basic mods and things will unfold to you, you can give it a great lift N/A, some guys are pushing 200+whp with N/A V6. Or a F/I vroom vroom if you want more.

The 05 only has 11K miles on it and is in perfect condition. It's silver...I'm wanting to change the color later to a black with custom details in dark red.

 

[Tristan21]

Well, first you need to figure out what you want to accomplish hp wise. If you want like 200-250hp than IMO there is nothing wrong with your auto tranny. The auto trannys are fairly strong. I love the way that the 07's look with body kits! If you don't wanna do a body kit, than the 05 body style is your best bet. You will have to compromise between your budget, body style and power that you want to achieve. Here is the best looking kit for the 07's IMO. Sweet!

I would like to achieve as much hp as possible. I did think about it...and I'm thinking I'm just going to stay with my 07. There wouldn't be too much of a difference in price with the trade. One mod that was brought to my attention, it's a lot of work but the trans in the Santa Fe's are the same as in the Tibs and you could actually swap them and run some lines to get a 4wd Tib...I don't know if anyone knows too much about this...like I had stated previously I'm not that car smart but picking up a lot around these threads. So hears my question...can you turn an 4 speed automatic into a 5 speed automatic with the whole swap of trans out of a Santa Fe? The Santa Fe has a 5 speed automatic trans...again 4wd...I know it's a lot of work but in the end the pay off could be much greater! The one thing that drags me down is once I hit 4th gear...that's it it's just slow pace from there...granted it's all still stock...but I don't think there would really be that big of a difference stock or modified in 4th other than a slight increase...right?

 

[Tristan21]

I just want to say thank you for everyone being to kind with everything and all the advice. I really appreciate all the information given to me! It gives me much to think about and consider as far as modifying my car. I wasn't fulling aware that the 07 was still identical to the 06 engine style, size, bay. So basically all of the performance mods I want to do I'll will be able to with the 07. Previously I had asked a question about the Transmission being swapped if someone could shine some light on that for me I'd be very grateful.