Carefully bend the striker plate on the door very slightly away from the tongue that keeps the door closed. Also one person reported that the dealer changed the spring on the door and it fixed their problem.

Another solution is to pull up normally on the lever and hold it up for about a second. The door will pop open.

The Elantra GT has an offset of 42-45mm depending on who you talk to ... 17 inch rims are maxxed out to 205 for the front wheel so they dont rub in turns. Any more and rubbing agains the wheelwell is more probable.

Many times you can go to manufacturer's website to find out if the rims they have are "hub centric" for the Elantra GT. The bolt pattern is 4x114.5mm or 4x4.5in. The GT and any post-98 Elantra can have dual bolt pattern wheels fit to it. I went on a few websites to find out what would fit :

Tire/Wheel Combination Calculator

This is a site that contains information that can help in deciding which size you should get for a 17 inch wheel to maintain speedometer accuracy

The Tire Rack

Have a few rims that would fit the Elantra GT

Whalen Tire

More selection although they gave Tom false information on the type of rotors on the Elantra GT

Discount Tire Co.

A few more rims to fit the Elantra GT. As you may see the offsets vary but they are all supposed to be "hub centric" to the Elantra GT

See what I got -- Photos [1], [2], [3]

Another thing is to ask if the wheels will fit without having to use spacers, which can deteriorate and cause vibrations. Those that do not require them are the best choices.

For more pictures of Tom's cool GT, click here.

The Elantra GT's trunk , like many other cars, has a pressboard floor which can be weak in bending, especially if one carries heavy loads in back. Mark Bartlett had this solution whcih he shares with us...

The original plan was to use a single piece of ½ inch plywood, but then I got to looking closer at the well. I realized that there is a lip going all the way around the well that is just the perfect depth for a piece of ¼ inch plywood. It sits perfectly inside, level with the rest of the hatch floor.

What I did was cut a piece of ¼" oak veneer plywood about a half inch smaller than the well, so it fits flat in the lip. [Marc Paradis used a cardboard template to get the shape of the cutout just right.] Then, for reinforcement, I cut a piece of ½" ply a couple of inches smaller, stopping short of the area where the jack is stored. The ¼" ply sits quite nicely on top of the jack, but the ½" is too thick and would make the floor stick up. I used woodworkers glue and short wood screws to hold the two together. I added pieces of a 2x2 with screws and glue to support the floor against sidewalls of the spare. There’s no lip along the back of the tire well for the plywood to sit on, but with the 2x2’s, it’s plenty well supported.

I gave the whole thing a good coat of black paint and added felt pads around the perimeter to keep the plywood from scratching the paint of the well.

The hatch floor on my GT feels very solid now and supports 80 lbs of greyhound much more securely. I just throw Murphy’s dog bed in the back, and he’s ready for road trips!

The calipers on my car were a curious mottled mix of dark-greenish grey and grey, and I didn't particularly like this colour showing through the spokes on the alloy wheels. This means I had to paint it ... either that or change my brakes! I went for the cheaper alternative. The questions then became what colour and what paint should I use.

The more common colours are red, yellow, black and silver. I thought that the red would show nicely on my Pewter GT, so started looking for the paint. One could use a two-part epoxy paint costing $40-$50 or buy brake cleaner and a can of heat-resistant engine spray paint for about $8.00 total. I chose the cheaper alternative, after going to AutoZone and getting the red paint of choice by Dupli-Color. I chose the 500°F paint mainly because of the colour available.

The paint application involved cleaning the calipers with the brake cleaner, then applying several coats of paint using a paint brush, and finally letting it dry for 24 hours.

To clean my already pretty clean calipers, I used a toothbrush soaked in brake cleaner and gave the parts to be painted a good scrub. After it dried (fairly fast) I verified that it was clean and there was no brake dust residue. Then I masked off the areas I didn't want the paintbrush to touch.

The Dupli-Color came in a spray can, so this meant spraying the contents into a plastic cup, and then using a 1" brush and a 3/8" wide artist's brush to apply the paint from the cup. Word to the wise -- when spraying into the cup, there will be some paint clouds so, do this in the open and away from anything you don't want dots on. Never do it adjacent to your car!

Then it is just a matter of painting the calipers carefully, and watch for runs and drips as this paint is very thin and runny. If you do a pair of calipers at the same time, you can alternate between painting one or the other. That way you save time applying multiple coats. You need to apply 3 coats before the underlying colour stops showing through.

After the last coat is applied, you can remove the masking and re-mount the wheel, being careful not to bump the still-wet caliper. Right away you can see the results of your efforts. Updated left profile of my GT.

Update : Brake caliper decals

Brake caliper decals are a nice way to add a cool touch to your painted calipers. These decals are vinyl, belie it or not, and they have not suffered from any effects of heat. Bought them off eBay for a decent price and have not regretted it at all. In case you are wondering, those are the rotors and calipers for my Tiburon, not the Elantra GT. Click the photo at right for a larger view. Check out these others : Photo 2, Photo 3.

Websites on painting brake calipers ... click here.

While my GT's quality and workmanship continue to impress me, I had heard stories of the GT's oil pan threads being susceptible to being stripped out. In order to reduce the risk of running into this problem, I ordered a Fumoto Oil Drain Valve. This handy little device (model F106, available at www.fumotovalve.com) is a ball-type rotary valve that replaces the stock oil plug. Once installed, a quick lift and turn of the lever opens the valve and drains the oil, saving the wear and tear on the oil pan threads.

I was very impressed with the workmanship of the valve. It has a very heavy, solid feel to it and looks like it's really made to last.

Installation would normally be straightforward, but I was impatient to see the valve in action. I unscrewed the old plug and slapped the valve into the hole before much of the oil had drained out. A bit messy, but hey, that's what paper towels and gojo were made for. There isn't any good way to use a torque wrench on the valve, so I just tightened it by feel. The factory spec on the oil plug is 25-33 ft lbs.

I found just a few items of interest during installation.

The Fumoto valve sticks out about a half inch further than the stock plug, but since the GT's oil plug is on the back of the oil pan, not the bottom, it's well protected from road debris and steep driveways. Be careful though, the oil coming out of the valve squirts out horizontally at high velocity and can easily clear the catch pan. (Don't ask me how I know!)

As I was screwing in the valve, I was concerned that the handle might end up pointing straight down. When installed on the GT, the handle is rotated rearward to open and I had visions of scraping a rock or a driveway and knocking the handle into the open position. But as I torqued the valve to its final position, the handle rotated up out of the way. It's easy to reach, but in no danger of getting hit.

Lastly, since the valve is in a well protected spot, I would strongly recommend spending the extra $3.00 on the F106N (with nipple) model. Being able to attach a hose to the valve would be the ultimate in clean and easy oil draining and would avoid overshooting the drain pan!

Please refer to your manual for details not mentioned here.

In order to remove the bulb retaining socket, you would likely need to remove the battery and the air intake vent on the driver's side. The air intake vent is easily removed by twisting it a half turn to the left and pulling out. The battery is a little more tricky.

The positive battery lead connector is different from the negative one in that it has a screw and nut at the top whereas the negative one is a regular clamp on arrangement using a bolt and nut to clamp on to the terminal. Because of the top-mounted screw and nut on the positive connector, it requires either a special connector puller or a small block of wood and a strong pair of pliers to use as a pry bar. Using the pry bar method, gently prise the connector off the terminal, going around the terminal as you work the connector off.

A note regarding the light sockets -- unhook the clips BEFORE you unplug the wiring connector. Pulling the connector off before will bend the retaining clip out of shape. Then you'll be working for quite some time, like me, to try and bend it back to the proper shape.

Once the clip is released, hold the bulb while removing the plug. Use the reverse for putting in the new ne. This applies to the headlights and driving lights.

Since I've replaced all the running lights on the car I've compiled the following list, for some bizarre reason the Hyundai manual lists the wattage, but not the type. You can print this out and tape it in the manual like I did.

For about sixty bucks I now have a complete Xenon car.

Footnote: I also installed Xenon bulbs, but only for the front low and high beams. They were originally Eurolite H1 and H7 55W bulbs. I must say that the Eurolite bulbs are a waste of time, and in no time at all I was looking for something better. John Gordon introduced me to the PIAA Xtreme White bulbs and these were a dramatic improvement! Bright, white and almost like HID. The beam pattern is also much wider than stock. Thanks to John, you can check these photos out for a great comparison between Stock, Sylvania Silverstar Xenon bulbs, HID [Photo 1, Photo 2], and Roadmax Xenon bulbs [Photo 1, Photo 2]. John thinks that the Roadmax bulbs are brighter than the Xtreme Whites but you be the judge [Photo 1, Photo 2 and Photo 3]. One thing is for sure, the Roadmax bulbs are a better buy as they are cheaper. -- Wayne.

See also the article on Garage Page 4 by John Gordon on Projector Headlamps.

Shortly after picking up my new GT I used the horn, I think it's a law that you have to use it at least once during a Philadelphia rush hour :-). I was not overly impressed, it needs some additional kick. This is a VERY easy modification.

The horn is mounted right up in front of the radiator. If one looks closely you can see the Hyundai has ANOTHER horn position located below the first.

So I call up our friends at J.C.Whitney's and order a pair of replacement horns, one each High and Low, for $12.95 a piece.

A comparison of the old and new is mighty close. In fact, the provided bolts even fit the second bolt hole. Getting easier all the time!

With a few basic tools and some spade connectors from Radio Shack I made a new dual harness.

Then cut off the original horn plug (leave a little extra wire on the plug in case, for some reason, you ever want to put it back). Next, I installed some spade connectors on it and I can now put the original horn back on in about 5 minutes). New connectors on the harness.

Now you can bolt on new High / Low Horn combination. Hook up the connectors and make yourself heard!!

Besides being an easy and cheap modification, the new horns LOOK a lot better as well!!

Footnote: I also installed a pair of Fiamm CTE dual horns in the same horn position as the factory horn. However this design only had the single hot wire to connect, relying on the screw connection to the vertical support for the ground. Again, it is useful to cut the pink wire such that a short length is left past the original connector. Then splice on a new piece of wire and daisy-chain the two horns together. It is that simple. Looks good too. As for the sound ... far nicer and louder than the original. -- Wayne.