AOS's '18 Elantra Sport (AD), the cool DD.

[AOS-]

Yay I can finally post in here now. Think I posted only a photo or two of this last year in the Show-Off Purchase thread, so I've laid low about it for all this time.

This is my first brand-new car, and if it weren't for a trip I drove across 3 cities to sell an AUTOart McLaren F1 model car, this guy would have never come under my radar. For the longest time I was eyeing the '18/'19 Subaru WRX, but with the base starting at 30K CAD, and the problems I keep hearing that Subarus have kept me hesitant. I only learned about a year later from an owner those things aren't really an issue with the new engine, but oh well- I'm liking styling aspects of this the WRX doesn't have. This one set me back 27K... a bit pricey for just an inline-4 cylinder doing 201 HP. Definitely not the ideal choice if you want as much power as you can get under 30K! The base '19 Veloster was also a close candidate and was a very attractive offer being a similar product that asked a heck of a lot less money, but the tight cabin space in the back, and some of the weird fender shapes turned me off.

I think it was the side grills and wheels that did it for me. The base Elantras are decent looking, but the black Sport I first laid eyes on at Walmart captivated me like no other economy car. I didn't recognize it at first, thinking it was the latest and greatest thing from a Make I've never heard of. Couldn't believe it was an Elantra... this is practically on par with the Corolla S in name (I was driving a base '09 Corolla at the time).

Anyway, I carried on with my day. Then I hear this thing's name again a year later. I see more review videos come up about it on Youtube, mostly praises. Another GTP member buys one and hasn't had problems with it. Great overall presentation of interior. Although it lacks in power and has a weak in-cabin exhaust note, it does have what I love: old-school analog needles, minimal touch-screen infotainment that doesn't reduce the shifter to a stub to make room for a spinny wheel to navigate the menus. It doesn't have dials to select HVAC vents, and it has a D-shape telescopic steering wheel! Finally I don't have to compromise my sitting position just so that my feet can reach the pedals. I've got no pic of that myself, but have this instead:

photo source

No cloth. All napa and perforated leather (I think), with only red accenting inside and outside the car. Tons of plastic on the dash and doors, but I'm completely okay with this as I've never felt comfortable with the idea of opening doors in the rain with fabric-wrapped door panels.

Outside, the 20-something spoke wheels I fell in love with in seconds. The side grills in the front with the horizontal DRLs stood out from the trending vertical DRLs. This reminded me of 90s cars with their slim bumper lights, and as weird as it sounds, I think the car has a mean expression when the HIDs stay off while the DRLs are running. The rear end is my most favourite part of the exterior appearance:

Unlike the base models, the Sport has "C" shapes for the brake lights. Would've been badass if these were also sequential turn signals, but alas it's not that special of a car. The subtle flick at the tip of the trunk looks great with a lowkey duckbill look, but I later emphasize that with more material. And that diffuser.... In short, it's doesn't have over-the-top boy-toy styling, but it definitely has a cool mature look to it with subtle visual differences from the base model most non-car people will overlook. Love it. Bit the bullet Oct 2018, picked it up practically as a birthday present.

Being that it is my only car, it will have to stay a reliable DD, and any modifications I make should not render downtime during the working week, because I refuse to rent a car.


Here is the list of changes I'm looking to make (in no particular order):

1. Installation of Oil Catch Cans - ADDW1 dual cans installed - Completed Apr 2019
2. Switch out of 5W-30 to 5W-40 synthetic oil - Completed Apr 2019
3. Winter wheels (that aren't steelies, and are coloured white). Want that Rally look . Nov 2018 Installed Blizzak WS80 winter tires that slipped like crazy in thick snow with RSSW Velocity alloys in metallic grey. Painted white in Apr 2019. Replacement wheels Motegi MR141 in white, ordered Dec 2019.
4. Aftermarket summer wheels. Looking at Enkei Raijins, Hyper Silver, 18x8, +45mm.
5. Lip spoiler - Installed & wrapped with Carbon Fiber vinyl - Apr 2019
6. Coloured brake calipers - Painted yellow - Apr 2019
7. Dashboard or rear-view mirror trinket. Added a Tachikoma to the dashboard, but need to hot glue it down. Oct 2018 Rear-view mirror trinket added May 2020, though will probably replace with something more meaningful/has character.
8. Tire Stickers for the printed look. Tried markers, and the tips get blogged with dirt so easily.
9. Lowering with YSR Coilovers. Settled on Eibach Pro-Kit. Haven't installed. Will also need alignment done.
10. Replace stock EBCS. Can't tell if mine has gone to poop yet, but my fuel efficiency has gone down and it feels like the engine is being restrained.
11. Install Halos LEDs, with the possibility of painting parts of the lamp housing. Completed May 2020.
12. Install tow hook plate relocator - Completed Dec 2018. Need to remove the rust on the bolts. Rust removed and sealed May 2020.
13. Fill the holes of where the plate was originally installed, and paint entire front grill to remove the silver. Completed April 2020.
14. Install the Velossatech Big mouth... either in red or yellow. No rush on this. can't see this being of a big help in intake. May discard this in interest of saving money.
15. Muffler delete, replace with bolt-on JUN.BL Stainless Steel, with possible powder-coating for extra protection against road salt.
16. Install mud flaps because where I work there is a lot of pebbles and gravel. The front doors had tons of micro bits of rust observed summer 2019. Completed Sep 2019.
17. Make the car go from blue to yellow. Blue is nice, but I've always wanted yellow.
18. Added dessicant to remove moisture from inner-side windshields overnight. Gutted dog plushie and shoved a stash I've been collecting from dried foods inside. Doesn't seem to be very effective - Completed ... Jan 2019?
19. Integrate some Android apk with an OBD app to show boost gauge and other neat readings on infotainment screen through Android Auto. Bluetooth OBD reader and Torque app purchased, but success rate getting all of it running has been under 50% and it's a lot of prep work when I only have 30-minute commutes. Settling on using an old phone to display readings. - Jan 2019. Discontinued using very shortly. Setup time and inconsistent connection not worth the hassle.
20. Keep that high quality plate cover by the dealership, but delete its name! Completed and installed in the rear. Dec 2019. Plate cover removed entirely, but clear coated plate for added layer or protection.
21. Debadge "ELANTRA" and "SPORT" on the rear bumper. Debadged Mar 2020.
22. Install front lip? $40 eBay FK8 Civic lip? May not bother with this.
    

I'll keep this updated by keeping the stock and what it currently looks like side-by-side for that juicy before and after presentation.

 

[AOS-]

Haven't updated this in a while. I'll give you the brief summary:

Winter wheels + tires. RSSW Velocity, 17x7 +38mm. Blizzak WS80, 215/50/R17

This purchase had to come about quick. Having purchased the car mid-October, there wasn't much time before the snow would come on down. I've heard plenty of stories from other owners that the stock all-seasons are not the greatest in snow, and I'm not interested in the possibility of wrecking a new ride! Although the wheels are 0.5" narrower than the stocks, the offset pokes the wheels out by 17mm, so there is mild poke, and the door panels are not going to like that. Painted these next April.

The only plumbing of any kind I've done on this car so far. Up until this day, the can that handles the breather valve has been bone dry. The one that runs through the positive crankcase valve however, loads up that wholesome smelly coffee juice I need to empty every now and then

The rubber wing with a Carbon Fiber vinyl, topped with many coats of clear coat. Sadly cannot simulate a real CF finish. Because I worked in poor lighting, the bottom side of the edge have flaked and peeled, but this won't be fixed any time soon. Not a big enough issue.

Rally Armor universal mud flaps. They're just plastic sheets. No sense spending extra money for it. Had this installed in time before last winter. The offset on the winter tires sprayed slush and salt all over the doors during the first year, and I wanted to prevent that from happening this time:

...Except I didn't position them far out enough it would seem. Oh dang. but hey at least the wheels are painted:

Just in time for winter. Got my rally aesthetic going, but it wasn't long until I replaced those:

Motegi MR141, 17x7.5 +40mm. Pokes even more now (tempted to get someone to dial the offset back by 5mm). It being fully white was cool, but I'm a fan of coloured stuff on wheels:

Done up with nail polish and a handful of top coat (don't worry if you don't know what that means). Hasn't come off yet.


Next, the biggest tedious project yet, installing Halos Switchback LEDs. Melted a section of my lamp like a fool with the heatgun in the process.

So quickly referencing the stock lamp above, around the HID is a chrome plastic barrel. There is also that silver trim that runs the length of the housing. The original plan here was to stick a set of halos on top of the chrome ring. That's it. In and out. Simple.... Except I ended up having to do a crap ton of other things because of all the mistakes that were made. I wanted to have all the parts ready so I can pull the lights apart and put it all back together ASAP; minimize the amount of downtime on the car's ability to drive in case anything comes up and I need to be able to travel.

So I was getting mixed responses from others about the ideal size for the Halos. This was happening before I took apart the lights, so I couldn't measure for myself. Some said 80mm, other said to get 90mm. I went with the latter. The lights are larger than the chrome barrels. Great; first mistake. The fitment would look terrible. So I took off the chrome, did a quick measure, and it would seem that the 90mm would sit perfectly flush against the black barrel once adjustments were made. It wasn't planned, but this wasn't bad either.

Don't have a picture of it, but that silver trim I mentioned earlier.... I accidentally got some of the sealant butyl glue on the trim. And when I tried to rub it off, the silver went with it. Faaaaantastic; second mistake. I didn't want to paint it because I don't have silver paint, and stores were all closed down at the time. So now I have to spend the time thinking about what other colour I can use. I wanted a colour that would look acceptable with the factory blue paint, along with the prospects of turning the car yellow (I may wrap it in the future). Eventually settled on gold. The housing has a trace of red and the reflector for orange. Black/gold/red is a bomb colour combo I love. Let's do it:

I started off colouring off the chrome on the ring behind the black barrel. Used hobby paint for this. TBH with all the warning signs about these enamels being flammable, I wasn't sure if it would be safe to use in a headlamp housing where the heat inside could be immense during a summer day. I don't have photos of it, but I painted the silver trim pieces as well in the same colour, but later found out the primer I used wasn't suitable for plastic, and it all peeled off.

Decided to go with a gold vinyl wrap instead as I figured that may tolerate heat better. I was a fool to think this. I should've clear-coated the wrap afterwards to prevent any future shape-shifting.

But in any case, part of the plan on the Halos was to get rid of the stock turn signals. It is in one of the ugliest places IMO, and it detracts from all the black space the housing has. So the lights were taken out and the chrome reflective housing was turned black:

Assembled, it looks like this now:

Lights on. The OEM turn signal that's now black lets the trim stand out much more.

The one day I saw someone put on Halos and flip on the DRLs, I thought that was the most attractive lighting setup you can pull off with this car. And even if it was going to be a difficult task or possibly an expensive and labour-intensive job, I really want to make it happen. The wrap job wasn't 100%, it has actually began to peel and bubble in many places. And although the lights would actually fit nicer in the housing looking like an more appropriately-sized eye with 80mm lights, I'm still very happy with the results. I just hope the thing doesn't peel any further because I really do not want to take this apart again.

Edit: Oh also painted the center grill in a shabby matte black. It takes away the contemporary economy car look by deleting the silver/chrome. I'm resisting the easy route of painting the side grill trim in the same colour (since everyone does that). I may leave it as is, or turn it gold. That trim worked beautifully with the silver trim in the headlights, but now that isn't the case anymore, I've got a hint of colour clashing coming on. I may be able to save this with a set of silver wheels:

Not happening yet. I have lowering springs I'd like to install this year, and if I do go ahead with that, I need to replace the winter tires as the sidewalls are way too tall, and them rub-a-dub-dubs will happen for sure. So financially, I've got other priorities to tend to first. Maybe next year or the year after will I get aftermarket summer wheels.