Hyundai Genesis Coupe impressions

[dmuramoto]

Some might consider it heresy, but I had the opportunity to drive Hyundai's first entry into the RWD performance coupe market recently and wanted to post some of my impressions. First off, the Genesis Coupe was driven at Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch on the 1.5 mile circuit-- the same one Nissan had for testing the new 370Z! Both the 2.0 turbo and 3.8 V-6 GenCoupes (with the track package) were driven on multiple laps and featured strong engine performance (particularly the V-6). At high speed, the macpherson strut front suspension didn't track as well as either the G37 or 370Z's twin wishbone setup. Understeer is the predominant handling characterisitic with a 54/46 F/R static weight distribution. The ZF six-speed gearbox is a good start for Hyundai, but lacks the direct and crisp feel of the Nissan manual.

That same comment could go for some of the interior appointments and ergonomics of the car. It's not as refined or quick as either the G or Z, but I read with interest that other writers felt the opposite. They must have been getting dizzy if they believed that! Among the feedback I talked with Hyundai engineers were:

-Right elbow rubs on the center console lid during gearshifts.-Both drivers door and interior transmission tunnel could use small pads to keep knees from rubbing under hard cornering.-Genesis Coupe sport seats still need work for hardcore track use. Side bolsters won't hold you in place under sustained high-G cornering.-Passenger side seatbelt clatters and bangs in the wind and during cornering.-Upper head restraint on the seats pushed helmeted heads too far forward and couldn't be adjusted.

These are details that should be addressed in the future. Things that don't need any work IMHO, are the dynamic styling of the 2+2 coupe, which looked good from multiple angles. Weight is comparable to the 350Z, but I suspect chassis stiffness in not quite in the same range as the versitile FM platform. NVH was also well controlled and the Gen Coupe should make for a nice touring companion for longer trips. Finally, the price is quite "nice" and reaches the low-to-mid $20K RWD sporty car market that Nissan abandoned with the last 240SX series.

All in all, a good start for Hyundai with this model. Could the Gen Coupe be to Hyundai what the 240Z has been for Nissan? Time will tell...

[audtatious]

We can only hope that Nissan jumps in and finally gets another RWD coupe/hatch in the market at some point in the near future. Genesis is a good step forward for Hyundai and would probably be a stellar seller if the release did not come during a poor economy.

[dmuramoto]

We can only hope that Nissan jumps in and finally gets another RWD coupe/hatch in the market at some point in the near future. Genesis is a good step forward for Hyundai and would probably be a stellar seller if the release did not come during a poor economy.

You might have heard that a SX successor was one of the projects shelved when Nissan prioritized their future lineup choices. That means no hope for the near term (5-10 years) for such a vehicle from Nissan. The Genesis Coupe fills that market void and Hyundai is determined to further refine the model in the future.

[audtatious]

Yep. The concepts that came out around 2005 showed where Nissan was going. The US-Versa release had a lot in common with the styling of the Sport Concept, the Azeal led to the new Sentra styling and the Foria seemed to lead to a more entry-level 2+2 RWD coupe. It's something I discussed with the Nissan and Infiniti marketing gang last year in Nashville.

What is interesting is the Infiniti dealers around my area really feel they are missing out on getting a next-generation I35 or G20-style vehicle as they were able to move a lot of those products while some of the Nissan dealers want what the enthusiast market is requesting, something that is RWD, a coupe and between the Sentra and Z price range.

Hyundai has stepped right into that arena.

[dmuramoto]

Audtatious- you'd be interested to know that the car Hyundai brought for comparison purposes was a white G37S with seven-speed auto.

[audtatious]

Nice. I kinda wish I had held out for a 7AT but this thing does pretty good with the 5AT

[dmuramoto]

Unfortunately, the G37S seven-speed auto overheated that afternoon. I noticed it wouldn't shift on one of my four lap runs. It wanted to stay in third gear no matter what you did with the paddle shifters. Does your G37 have any similar problems with the five speed?

[audtatious]

Torry had overheating problems with his 6MT and installed a cooler which resolved the problem. May be a generic issue with the G37?

I have not road raced mine, just hit the drags at this point.

[dmuramoto]

Torry had overheating problems with his 6MT and installed a cooler which resolved the problem. May be a generic issue with the G37?

Interesting. I use the same 6-speed transmission in the Nissan Sport T2 350Z and never had any overheating problems. I'd be interested in knowing how he put a cooler/radiator on a manual transmission.

[audtatious]

Yeah, sorry. He was having overheating problems on the track which was causing the car to be pretty non-responsive so he added an oil cooler. He didn't have an issue on the track the next time.

[dmuramoto]

Yeah, sorry. He was having overheating problems on the track which was causing the car to be pretty non-responsive so he added an oil cooler. He didn't have an issue on the track the next time.

Sounds like he added some extra cooling to an automatic transmission. Are you sure it was the 6MT and not the 5AT or 7AT?

[audtatious]

2008 G37 6mt. He added a 240sx oil cooler to help resolve the issues:

http://www.nicoclub.com/articl...shtml

[dmuramoto]

Thanks for the link. The oil cooler installed on the G37 was similar to the one I have on the Nissan Sport Project T2 350Z racecar. But the G37 cooler install depicted in the thread was for reducing engine temperatures only. While they mentioned heat-related problems with shifting, I didn't see anything that related to putting on a cooler for the 6MT.

[audtatious]

I was wondering the same thing unless the additional engine temps were effecting the temp of the transmission.

I'll make sure Torry pops in here to discuss.

[EZcheese15]

Thanks for the link. The oil cooler installed on the G37 was similar to the one I have on the Nissan Sport Project T2 350Z racecar. But the G37 cooler install depicted in the thread was for reducing engine temperatures only. While they mentioned heat-related problems with shifting, I didn't see anything that related to putting on a cooler for the 6MT.

There were a few problems I ran into when I ran the G37 on the track in stock form. There was an issue with the computer changing the rev limiter, and there was also a problem with the clutch going out. The two were unrelated to each other.

The bigger concern was the rev limiter changing. After about 2-3 laps on the track, the rev limiter would drop down to 6100 rpms, which was severely hurting the performance. Then you would have to take a guess as to when it was cooled down enough that you wouldn't bump into it again when trying to bring it past 6100 rpms. Because it is a manual transmission, I assumed the transmission was not related to the problem. Some people suggested that it might be transmission oil temp causing the rev limiter to change, but there is not typically an oil temp sensor on a manual transmission, so I ruled that out. The only other causes were either going to be engine coolant temp or oil temp, and because the water temp gauge never moved, I took a wild guess that the oil temp was causing the problem.

The oil cooler I installed was for engine oil, not transmission oil. I installed it with a sandwich adapter plate at the oil filter. Very similar setup to what the 370Z's from the 370Z tour had on them, if you saw them on a lift.

The clutch going out was due to the clutch fluid boiling which made me loose pressure. It was actually so bad at one point at LVMS that it sank completely to the floor and I had to coast into the pits because it wouldn't go into gear. I fixed that problem by bleeding the clutch system with some Motul, because the boiling temp of the Motul is almost 150 degrees higher than the stock fluid. That seems to have solved that problem. The clutch lines must run really close to the exhaust to get it that hot where it is a problem. I don't know for sure that this fixed it, because the last track I did I was in 3rd and 4th gear the whole time so it didn't require much shifting, but I never had any clutch problems even after 20 mins @ 100% on the track.

I haven't written anything addressing bleeding the clutch yet, but that's going into the next segment which I hope to have up in the week or so.