IT guy with an Accent

[kage]

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.
"im1.shutterfly.com/media/47a1ce30b3127ccefe022511fc7500000010O02AcM2bhizatA e3nwE/cC/f%3D0/ps%3D50/r%3D0/rx%3D550/ry%3D400/"

[Nevyn]

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?

[Rick Rae]

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

[kage]

Originally Posted by Nevyn

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?

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

[kage]

Originally Posted by Rick Rae

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

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.

[kage]

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.

[Nevyn]

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.

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.

[Nevyn]

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

[Geo4k]

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

[TXwaterdog]

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.