IT guy with an Accent
 

Just bought a 2002 Hyundai Accent L

1.5L SOHC with 82K on it mated to a 5 Speed Manual.

Coming from a 01 Jeep Wrangler with a 4.0L Inline 6 should be interesting to say the least.

Plans so far:
Go to max sidewall
Make repairs as I find them (this isn't a spring chicken)
Hot air intake (possibly a selectable hot/cold intake)
ScanGauge
Assorted manual gauges (this thing has no TACH... I hate when they do that!)
Possibly something with the gearing (this has to be turning to many RPM's at highway speed)


Image although I cannot post them yet.
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Hmm...the Accent had the 'Alpha' engine compared to my Elantra's 'Beta' series. I know from experience that the Betas do NOT like hot intake. Anything over 110* F and it bogs in comparison to lower temps. Best range for me is 55-100* F.

I don't know if you'll find the same thing or not.

You might (depending on your area) be able to find a gauge cluster from a different trim that has a tach and swap them.

What manufacturer/make are the tires currently on it?

1. Welcome aboard!
2. Driving an MiB car, eh? ;)
3. Until you get the tach situation straightened out, you can monitor RPM with your future ScanGauge.

Cheers,
Rick

Good to know... I will have to do some more research.

A friend of mine noted that when he heard of me calling it a midgit cricket all he could think of was MiB so the name kinda stuck.

Likely the tach will come first... Buying this car killed my savings and I will have to build back up.

Tires are nasty huge luggy snow tires. I was also given another set of All seasons but I haven't had time to think about them yet. Got the car registered today.

I bought the car because I wanted something fun that would still get good gas mileage after my wife realized that she was working just so we could afford the Jeep. Also my Jeep grenaded a piston so now I have to fix it.

Start by pressing up the tires to 40 PSI or so - that's probably the easiest/cheapest/fasted mod. If you can get some sort of upper grille block on it, that'll REALLY help the warmup part. Depending on your commute, that could net you 2-3 MPG.

Be careful when you change oil on it! My 2.0L Elantra (2004) only takes 3.5 qts. I think the little Accent engine is only 3.25 - check the manual for sure.

Shift low, and get to 5th fast. Optimal acceleration *probably* starts around 2000 RPM. I'd shift no later than 2750 max; 2500 may be even better. Cruising RPM in the 1500-2000 range should help you keep the MPG up.

PANTS! You don't have a tach. RRRRRR...

1-2 shift at 8-10 mph
2-3 shift at 14-18
3-4 shift at 22-26
4-5 shift at 28-32

Those are rough guesses, but should be within 1-2 mph. I'm pretty sure you should be able to do 30-35 mph in 5th without lugging. It's near the bottom of the gear, for sure - probably 1200-1400 RPM.

Alignment may be a good idea - the default specs are almost zero on 'em.

Check out Hyundai Service Website - it's practically the full shop manual for the car for free, from the manufacturer. PM me some time and I'll walk you through how to use it (can be a little confusing).

Does that have a serpentine belt or a 3-belt setup? If you don't mind Popeye steering, and it's got a 3-belt setup, you can pop off just the power steering belt and leave the others on. :D

First pic link wasn't working for me. I'll ask on the Elantra forum (we do all HyunKia, though) about a cluster swap for you.

Update! The clusters are direct-swappable. Make sure you keep your odo so the mileage is right.

Cluster swap on an 02 Accent? - ElantraClub - For Hyundai Owners and Enthusiasts

Welcome! Hyundai makes some nice cars, I looked at several as I car hunted.

kage when my buddy bought his 2000 Hyundai Accent I thought it was a piece of junk. But he still has it and I've had 5 cars since then. He's still getting 40mpg in it but he drives like a granny everywhere. Good luck you on your project I'm interested to see your baseline tests vs mods.