Seeing This through to the end: Rebirth of the Lucky Star

[rice4life]

After a long hiatus from here I've decided to make my return. Lots of things in my life has changed, but not my love for cars.

As some of you old ones know, I crashed my LS400 grand touring project right after I started it.

Here's a quick recap of the past 2 years I've been gone, and a look into the future with my Grand Tourer themed Genesis.(M5 fighter?)



Then I bought a Lancer Ralliart
After a few days of ownership I ordered parts.


Then more parts:


Then I bought and refinished wheels:

Then projector headlights and a vented hood:



A month after that was done I sold the lancer for an STi


Then the "new" engine turned out to be crap.


$7000 later I had a new type RA engine with a bigger turbo and supporting mods


But the center diff was whining and 4th gear started grinding a week later so I sold it for $9000

which led me to buying another dream car of mine...





A Genesis Sedan 4.6

Ever since the LS400 was dead I've always wanted another go at a big bodied GT cruiser, so I found this one at a local dealer for $15000, I spend several hours negotiating and got it down to $10000 with a warranty.



After the Ralliart and STi, I realized that I'm not at a point in life to buy those kinds of cars and continue sinking money into them, so I needed a reliable fairly quick daily driver that I could modify. I looked back at which cars I wanted at one point or another in my life, and the Genesis sedan was definitely on there. After searching craigslist and looking at all of the different models of genesis I finally settled on a 2010-2011 sedan.

What sets these two years apart from the 2012-2014 and 2015+ genesis's I was looking at is the ZF transmission, ultimate package was standard on all 2011 genesis, the 4.6 TAU engine, non sticking sunroof, and a more aggresive electronic LSD. The Hyundai/Mitsubishi 8 speed in the 2012+ cars has weak clutch packs that wear prematurely and cause slip, and on top of that the 5.0 has a relatively high failure rate for the engine as well. The ZF transmission is used in the BMW 7 series, Bentley Continental, Rolls Royce Phantom, and a few other high end luxury cars spanning 10 years prior to the Genesis's release, so it should be bulletproof when it comes to mods. The 4.6 ECU is also much more receptive to tuning.

So now I was lucky enough to find a 2011 Genesis 4.6 with every option available for that year, black leather interior(most are tan), and a silver exterior I truly thought it was fair to name her after my LS400 that died a premature death. The Lucky Star.

Fun fact: This car has a better HP/Liter vs any other car in it's class.
Fun fact 2: The lexicon sound system was originally exclusively contracted with Rolls Royce, and has 17 speakers!

So the plan is the same as when I had the LS400. A luxury cruiser with Grand Touring elements that you'd see cruising the Wangan, but applied to a Korean Flagship car.

I just picked up some 5Axis S5f wheels in 19x8.5 and 19x9.5 in matte bronze. I'm going to paint them gunmetal grey metallic and throw on some meaty sticky tires and lower it soon.

Needs:
Lows
Chrome window tint
Wheels and tires
Intake(bought not installed)
Exhaust
Tune
Lip Kit
Rear Window spoiler
Black roof





Sorry for the instagram pics, the quality sucks.

I'll take proper photos when I have time.

[cressidodd]

Ooook, I wanna see where this is going!

[rightfullrudder]

Awesome man, love these cars and good to see some of the old crowd sticking around the forums.

[_e90]

Definitely excited to see where this goes.

[Miroteknik]

I was off the forum while you went through the cars listed above. Glad you included that, I am sure some observations were made

Great choice on a big body, will be watching this.

[rice4life]

Here is a better picture of what I'm working with, I'm going to paint 5AD wheels soon and throw them on.

[19birel]

Always thought these were cool cars, a datum point for when Hyundai decided to start making good stuff. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

[rice4life]

What I'm feeling is do something like if they offered a performance spec Genesis sedan better than the 5.0 Rspec. The 5.0 rspec is only faster on a well prepped drag strip, as only one auto magazine was able to get it to the advertised 4.8 seconds. I feel that with a 4" intake, custom exhaust and cat deletes, and a tune I'll be able to break that easily with some sticky tires. The ZF trans seems to put the power down better than the Hyundai/Mitsu 8 speed anyway.

Always thought these were cool cars, a datum point for when Hyundai decided to start making good stuff. Can't wait to see what you do with it!

I've always liked Hyundai's cars since the early 2000's ahaha. The first real step into luxury was when they discontinued the XG350(competed with specced out camry's and accords) and introduced the Azera(at the time of release was the quickest Korean car ever with a sub 6 second 0-60). The Azera competed with the Avalon, ES350, Buick Lacrosse, and other lower scaled luxury cars. Surprisingly it did well, and my grandpa bought one new with every option and I fell in love with it. Quiet, surprisingly quick, and has some a timeless look. That's what initially put the Genesis Sedan on my radar.

The 1st generation Genesis Sedan's were built to outdo the 5 series and the E class's(Excluding the M and AMG cars). It was larger than the E60, larger than the W211, had more power than either, quicker to 60 than either, had a stiffer chassis than either, and more standard features. It's a bit smaller than an LS460, S class, and 7 series so it's an awkward size as it's bigger than the GS, 5 series, and E class.

[scweet14]

YOURE WELCOME FOR DOING YOUR COILS ON THE LANCER lol

But nice pick up man!

[DjGreggieP]

Looks good! I can't wait to see it continue down the road of progression!