matt@qc

Fanboy'ism is often a parent disease to cluelessness. You seem to suffer from both.

It is a known fact the 2.0T - Theta II does not have forged internals and will hold up to 350whp. However this did not stop companies such as Buschur Racing, Beyond Redline, GReddy, HKS, ATP, LoveFab, CP-E, PowerAxel, SeoulFulRacing and more all currently offering or working on a turbo kit. Companies are currently working on manifold kits to use the EVO X OE turbo on the Coupe for an easy and cheap power upgrade. Heck, the car wasn't even in the US yet PowerAxel had a tuning module for it similar to Cobb's.

I own a 3.8, so I could care less about the 2.0T's abilities to hold boost, however to claim it has no aftermarket support is truly foolish. The 3.8, the unfavoured powerplant, already has 3 ECU flashes available. The 2.0T has 4, soon to be 5 with CP-E's stand alone.

Does the fact the Genesis Coupe 3.8 was compared by car mags to pretty much anything out there RWD and with 2 doors prove it is not a worthy competitor? That it won versus your G37 brother according to Edmunds? That it beat all V6 pony cars according to MotorTrend? That it came a close second to the Z according to AutoBlog? That is has steering feel an M3 should be jealous off?

Knock Hyundai all you want, they'll just bite back.






Below is my personal review comparing the GC 3.8 versus the 370Z. I'm awfully harsh on Hyundai. I believe the GC is a blank canvas whereas the Z is a tuned car out of the box. There is a lot left on the table by Hyundai whether it is in both engines, the suspension and the tire selection. A tune with a cold air dyno'ed over 40whp, amazing, no? Add better wheel/tire combo and you have a solid competitor

Disclaimer: I'm in Canada, pricing is different than in the US.

I'd like to first start off by saying that I'm a happy owner of a Genesis Coupe 3.8. It's a great car for the price, but I feel people are getting ahead of themselves when comparing to the likes of the 370Z. Here are my reasons why.

One of my friend's family member recently acquired a 370Z Sport Package in Silverstone gray. Fantastic looking car, they pictures simply do not render the extreme lines and massive bulging rear fenders of the Z. I will try to keep this as objective as possible without comparing the exterior of the cars.

Interior: The fit and finish is simply leagues above the GC.
Leathered dash components and cup holders. Soft plastic main dash, what seems to be alcantara on the doors. Readable screen for display of on-board information. Telescopic wheel with the whole dash cluster moving.

Suspension components This is where I feel the biggest edge of the Z is. Our cars are simply "cheap" when compared to the Z's suspension components.

Double wishbone, multi link suspension on all 4 corners, all aluminum. Our GCs are equipped with steel suspension arms and a cost cutting MacPherson strut up front.

We all pride ourselves in the great 19s Track wheels and our beautiful they are, but it ends there. The Z comes with 19x10.5 (or is it 10" ?) 275 tire 19x9 245 tire wrapped around Ray's Forged wheels, a rarity amongst GC owners.

The Z comes with a massive strut tower bar (much more impressive than our wimpy bar) and a trunk bar as well. The whole chassis just feels in sync.

Did I mention how low it was? The front splitter is literally 2 - 3 " off the ground.

Brakes

Brakes are comparable to the GC in terms of pistons, the Zs seem to be slightly bigger in overall diameter. The feel however is miles ahead of the track package, mainly attributable to the cut pads.

Powertrain and drivetrain

The VQ37HR is noisy, but it's also extremely rev happy. Now we come to the ultimate GC weakness, the drivetrain. The 6MT on the GC is crap all around. Soft bushings which results in unprecise gear selection, grinding in 5th gear, etc.

The Z's 6MT is superb, althought slighly notchy as you would expect in a sports car, the 2nd to 3rd gear engagement is blistering quick. Engaging neutral to 3rd is literally half an inch of travel. What I thought was a relatively short shift in the GC now feels like rowing a boat.

In terms of performance, the 370Z is similar to my modified GC 3.8, however the rev happy nature of the engine and the great drivetrain makes for an overall better driving experience IMHO.

Bottom line:

Hyundai gave us an unrefined and blank canvas. If you want to take your GC anywhere close to a Z, you will need to invest in the following:

* new suspension package will be required, new sway and strut bars, new coilovers and bushings.
* new wheel and tire package will be needed,
* power package will be needed: reflash, CAI, true dual exhaust.



My GC 3.8 was 34,000 + taxes in Canada, this 370Z was around 50,000 + taxes.

The Z is track-ready, buy an oilcooler and head for the track. The GC isn't, getting close to the Z will require a lot of improvements and in the end, you will loose what most of you bought the Hyundai for, it's warranty. For people in the US where pricing is even closer, I feel this is a no contest. Unless you need the 2 seats, it is 370Z all the way.

For those of you in Canada, I just wished we stopped comparing our cars to the Z. It's 15,000 more expensive and it shows everywhere you look.

Overall I would say the Genesis Coupe is still the best bang for your buck outside of the pony cars, however it is severely unrefined when compared to the competition and needs a serious refresh to compete. Hyundai needs to truly figure out where they want their product to be placed in the market, because at the moment, the only thing going for it is it's price!

P.S., for those asking, here's my car: