Hyundai Elantra N: Good as is, great with minor mo...

Which Elantra to Purchase?

Picture courtesy Hyundai.

No query it’s the N. For a bit of greater than $5000, it’s much more automobile than the subsequent highest trim of Elantra, the N Line.

“While you look underneath the automobile and begin seeing the engineering, you see there was an engineer who did this to go race,” Josh says. “It wasn’t to create an equipment. Boxed management arms, the axle and hub mixed into one unit, boxed entrance subframe, revamped rear suspension meeting–they made this observe succesful.”

Plus, the N has the extra highly effective turbocharged engine (75 further horses). It has a selection between an eight-speed DCT or six-speed handbook moderately than only a seven-speed DCT. The N additionally comes with greater brakes. And, maybe the most-often ignored half, you may solely get the eLSD with the N.

“The differential–it’s what makes this factor actually quick,” Will says. “Usually to have such a grip with a front-wheel drive automobile you might want to spend some huge cash and have some setup data.”

The eLSD requires some completely different driving techniques, although, than you’d sometimes take with a front-wheel-drive automobile.

“To drive these quick, you wish to drive them free,” Will provides. “With plenty of front-wheel-drive individuals who have at all times been in front-wheel drives, typically, if it begins to get sideways, they carry. However, on this factor, you wish to keep in it as a result of the diff is so good it’ll pull you out of it.”

Josh says the one weak spots to the Elantra N is with fueling, particularly the gasoline pump and injectors (extra on that later). Aside from that, the Elantra N is a sturdy platform, with little mechanical modifications since its debut in 2021 and a facelift beginning with the 2024 fashions.

“These vehicles maintain up very well and are usually not that outdated, so there isn’t any draw back to purchasing a used one,” Josh says. “You’ll be able to’t actually lose with these vehicles. Hyundai nailed it with these.”

There’s additionally the guarantee. Bumper to bumper for five years or 60,000 miles. The powertrain is assured for 10 years or 100,000 miles. 5 years of roadside help comes included. So long as you don’t do any main mods to void that guarantee, Hyundai backs up their automobiles.

First-Spherical Mods

Picture by J.A. Ackley.

Michael, Josh and Will all insist that you must simply take your Hyundai Elantra N to the observe and drive it. They are saying you’ll have enjoyable and it’s track-ready as is. After that, then contemplate some mods. In comparison with a lot of right this moment’s vehicles, the Elantra N isn’t grossly heavy, however it might stand to lose some weight. The handbook model weighs 3186 kilos whereas the DCT pushes the scales at 3296.

“What I’d do, particularly to maintain your automobile’s guarantee, is to take a bit of little bit of weight off the automobile the place it is sensible,” Michael advises. “That shall be wheels and tires.”

The Elantra comes with 19×8-inch wheels. Michael initially dropped down 18×8.5-inch wheels throughout. It’s a major weight financial savings, from 27.5 (facelift) to 30 (authentic) kilos apiece to as little as 16 kilos per every aftermarket wheel. Occasions that by 4, and that’s 46 to 56 kilos. The opposite key profit is the 18-inch wheels have extra tire fitments out there, and people tires are inexpensive.

So far as tires, you may up the dimensions to 265s with out resorting to fender rolling or a physique equipment. Michael provides that because it’s a front-wheel drive automobile, he makes use of 255s within the rear to assist with turn-in.

As you get sooner, improve to a performance-oriented brake fluid and entrance brake pads, with Josh recommending Ferodo Racing DS3.12 or Porterfield R4-S pads.

“The braking coefficient on the inventory pads is definitely excellent,” Michael says. “The one subject is when you’re out doing a session for too lengthy, you’ll get some brake fade.”

Discover how they didn’t point out the rear pads.

“You don’t actually use the rear pads as a result of it’s front-wheel drive,” Michael provides. “You wish to maintain the brake bias towards the entrance. So, in different phrases, you need much less stick within the again.”

Moreover, stronger entrance pads assist with avoiding inopportune ABS intervention.

“There’s a phenomenon with these vehicles referred to as Ice Mode,” Josh says. “When you have an excessive amount of pad within the again, the again slows down sooner than the entrance and it triggers ABS and you’ve got a brick for a pedal.”

An improve to stainless-steel braided brake traces is value it, too. “The brake traces will assist with brake fade and a mushy pedal when brake fluid temps enhance,” Josh says. “OEM traces are inclined to swell.”

Second-Spherical Mods

Picture by Kim Bailey/Spark Creative Media.

Let’s now begin enjoying with suspension–and, most significantly, introduce the power to regulate settings. Josh says off-the-shelf coil-over choices from firms akin to Korea-based Neotech get you within the ballpark of the place you might want to be to extract most efficiency. Coil-overs additionally open up the power to regulate camber, the place Josh provides that the entrance likes about 3.3 to three.5 levels of camber, 2 to 4 levels of toe-in. Coil-overs additionally allow modifications to experience top and preload, and they’re wanted to nook stability the automobile.

“You’ll spend most of your time engaged on the suspension,” Josh notes. “It’s essential to not skimp on this. Get good high quality that has nice help in case you are severe about observe life.”

He strongly warns towards low cost, poor-quality coil-overs.

“On these N vehicles, the OEM struts are usually not dangerous,” Josh says. “Actually, they outperform many different producers’ OEM suspensions, such because the Civic Sort R. The N vehicles additionally include magnetic dampening activated with a push of the N Mode button, which immediately stiffens the suspension. Low-cost coil-overs have parts that fail, improper valving, incorrect spring charges and won’t be serviceable, making them worse than the inventory struts.”

Coil-overs do create one other subject, although: area in your wider tires. The group now runs a staggered setup, with 18×9.5 inches up entrance and 18×8.5 inches again within the rear. “The rationale why we’re not squared  is as a result of as quickly as you set coil-overs within the again, there’s not sufficient room to place a wider tire with out us going broad physique,” Michael explains.

On the rear, set up camber arms and toe arms, with elements out there from SPL. Josh says the Elantra likes shut to three levels of rear camber and little to none toe-in.

“The rear camber and toe bolts on these vehicles can fail when you drive to the extent of Will,” Josh says. “Altering these will eradicate fail factors and let you fine-tune rear settings.”

Lastly, swap out all these OEM rubber bushings for one thing extra trackable, akin to polyurethane or spherical bearings. They are going to brighten up a automobile on observe, particularly an Elantra N that has 17 suspension bushings whole.

“OEM bushings are inclined to fail and permit undesirable motion in suspension geometry throughout aggressive driving,” Josh says. “OEMs use rubber so as to add consolation for every day driving, however robs precious lap time. Upgraded bushings additionally give a extra optimistic really feel. Your butt potentiometer will immediately discover the go-kart-like dealing with of this improve.”

One factor you shouldn’t change, in accordance with Josh, are the anti-roll bars, aka sway bars. Depart them inventory. “That is the place most will fail on setup with front-wheel-drive vehicles and is essential on these Ns,” Josh explains. “Upgrading entrance sway bars will enhance understeer, which you don’t want on a front-wheel drive. In most front-wheel drives, you need OEM entrance sway bars or utterly take away them, and enhance the stiffness on a rear sway bar.

“With the N, it’s excellent from the manufacturing unit,” Josh continues. “Including a stiffer rear sway bar will increase oversteer a tad an excessive amount of for the common Joe. There’s plenty of choice on this subject primarily based on driver. The OEM setup is ideal for 80% of drivers.”

Josh does suggest including adjustable finish hyperlinks. “You need zero preload on the sway bars, and you can not obtain this with out finish hyperlinks,” Josh says. “Finish hyperlinks will let you high-quality tune the preload on the bars, which impacts oversteer or understeer.”

Third-Spherical Mods Half I–Engine

Picture by J.A. Ackley.

You bought dealing with nailed, now let’s discover some energy. The same old add-ons apply right here: consumption, exhaust, downpipe and a tune. With all that, you may stand up to 450 horsepower–on the wheels–Josh says.

Many firms provide intakes for the Theta II engines in these vehicles, and Josh recommends going with a trusted model, akin to aFe, Injen or Okay&N. So far as the downpipe, Josh affords some recommendation. “There’s a false impression that you need to have a cat-less,” he says. “As of late, high-flow downpipes with 200-cell, and even 100-cell, cats carry out the identical as cat-less, maintain you street-legal and maintain the CEL mild off your sprint.”

With regard to exhaust, “Usually, I’d say stick to the two.5-inch exhaust,” Josh says. “Nevertheless, these vehicles love a 3-inch. You don’t have to spend prime greenback on a flowery titanium setup. Even a home-brewed muffler store utilizing 3-inch piping and a 14x4x4 muffler will internet comparable outcomes.”

When you’re at it, Josh recommends switching to a front-mount intercooler, to “assist stream up entrance and permit higher cooling,” he says. “This prevents warmth soak and means that you can preserve the ability you could have.”

Actually, different platforms provide extra tuning choices, akin to Hondas, however just a few firms do provide off-the-shelf ECU tunes, akin to Xclusive Tuning out of Canada and Lozic (who’s well-known in Korea) out of California.

With all of the aforementioned engine mods, Michael’s Hyundai Elantra N places out 361 horsepower on the wheels, with out ever touching the turbo. Extra positive aspects will be made with an aftermarket turbo, however Michael says that’s loads of energy for what they’ve proper now.

So far as sturdiness mods, Josh recommends spark plugs, a gasoline pump and injectors; Michael suggests coil parks. Josh says the GDI engine places a beating on the plugs and he solely makes use of HKS M45XL spark plugs. “With all of the added mods, you’ll need colder plugs,” he says. “HKS has been examined exhausting in these vehicles.”

As we alluded to, the one Achilles’ heel for the Elantra N is fueling, particularly its OEM gasoline pump. Josh says there are some new kits on the market utilizing the BMW B58 gasoline pump as a repair for $750, however he has one other OEM answer for simply $450. “The gasoline pump doesn’t fail, however moderately runs out of gasoline,” Josh says. “The best choice, with minimal points, is a high-pressure gasoline pump out of a Hyundai Sonata. The piston diameter within the pump is a tad bigger, serving to it produce extra quantity.”

Josh nonetheless makes use of the OEM injectors, however aftermarket variations exist, which he has began to check. He feels an improve is forthcoming because it helps with fueling the GDI engine.

Michael upgrades his OEM coil packs to these from MSD. OEM coil packs do fail once in a while, however Josh feels they carry out about the identical as aftermarket ones.

Third-Spherical Mods–Weight, Brakes and Extra

Will Drees holds a carbon-fiber trunk lid he created that weighs simply 4 kilos. Picture by J.A. Ackley.

Wheels and tires decreased a very good chunk of weight, however there’s extra you are able to do. That exhaust you simply upgraded might prevent as much as 50 kilos.

Every inventory entrance seat weighs 45 kilos, and aftermarket racing seats are a lot lighter and safer when mixed with racing harnesses.

Going with a lighter weight battery can minimize as much as 25 kilos.

Eradicating the rear seats can internet you 35 kilos.

Then you may go along with carbon-fiber elements, such because the hood and trunk.

You’ll be able to extract audio system, too, when you don’t want them.

“Our Elantra N shed 290 kilos by eradicating rear seats, brackets, seat belts, passenger seat and a carbon-fiber trunk lid,” Josh says.

While you do take away this many kilos, Josh affords a warning: “You have to to regulate suspension for the brand new weight. The spring charges won’t be preferrred for the automobile, particularly as exhausting as we drive the automobile. We additionally needed to dial in the remainder of the suspension settings, akin to camber, toe and experience top.”

Yet another fast physique tweak. Take away the climate stripping between the highest of the engine bay and the windshield for higher cooling. “My engine and oil temps went down 8 levels by doing that,” Michael says, though he provides he by no means seen temps go above 270.

With extra energy and fewer weight, you’ll be going sooner and can want extra brakes. Many good choices exist, however Josh prefers the Neotech Evo six-piston calipers with the corporate’s two-piece rotors, in both a 355mm or 380mm dimension. The Neotech calipers additionally use a GT Mustang brake pad, opening up a big world of choices from numerous pad producers. Moreover, Josh stands by Neotech a lot that his KDM Tuners affords a lifetime guarantee on the calipers. “Massive brake kits are an funding,” Josh admits, “however they are going to be one of many largest enhancements in lap occasions and total driving expertise.”

Last Phrase

Driver Will Drees, KDM Tuners’ Josh Sadler and automobile proprietor Michael Dube. Picture by J.A. Ackley.

Maybe, the largest factor you achieve with a Hyundai Elantra N isn’t essentially an enormous group, however a devoted group of Elantra N followers.

“The automobile will be very polarizing,” Michael says. “Most people both loves it or hates it, and there’s plenty of hate on the market for the automobile. The N group, although, is wonderful.”

Need proof? When Gridlife dominated the group’s rear seat delete as unlawful, they wanted alternative seats–and quick. The group had the announcer ask the group for some rear seats. Somebody provided theirs from their avenue automobile within the parking zone so Will, Michael and Josh might go race. That’s the type of help you get with the Hyundai Elantra N.

“Simply carry your Elantra N and go to the observe,” Josh advocates. “You don’t want a bunch of stuff. Lots of people get caught up in, ‘I received to purchase this half first.’ Simply come to the observe. We wish to see extra Hyundai guys on the market.”