Hyundai Azera Tuning

"Thanks for reading our Hyundai Azera tuning guide."

The Azera is a awesome project car to carry out. The key to Azera tuning is choosing the right mods - a lot of money can be wasted if you do it wrong.

Produced originally from 1986 the model has been revised and updated over the years and is currently in it's 6th generation. Newer cars are exponentially better than the original version that came out, and rival many quality brands today.

It was branded Genesis and Grandeur in some market areas and different regions had slightly different engine choices and options.

In this article we consider Azera tuning and show the best mods that work. Hyundai Azera have loads of potential and with carefully picked modified upgrades like ECU maps, turbo improvements and camshafts you will noticeably improve your driving fun.

Please watch our video which covers the 5 principles of tuning your car. Be sure to keep up with our latest YouTube content and subscribe.

Best mods for your Azera

1. Intake Upgrades and Exhaust - Note that on their own these mods won't ADD POWER in most cases, but they can help enhance power after other mods by removing the restriction.
2. Braking Mods - Enhancing your stopping power needs to be listed in your priority list.
3. Fast road cams are one of the most significant mechanical changes, but they must be installed by someone who knows what they are doing and they are not always easy to source but you might find a local firm to regrind a stock camshaft.
4. Head work - The goals of porting and flowing the head are to get air flowing into the engine while removing flow restrictions and turbulence.
5. ECU Tunes - Azera engine tuning/remapping provides the biggest gains in terms of cost, aftermarket ECU upgrades, and inline Tuning boxes are all alternatives.
6. Azera Suspension Upgrades - Replacing worn bushings and shocks dramatically improves Azera handling Poly Bushes and Coilovers are typically fitted to achieve this

Azera Tuning Stages

Typical stage 1 mods often include: Panel air filter, Lighter flywheel, Engine Tunes/Remapping, Sports exhaust, Alloy wheels, Suspension upgrade (drop 21mm - 40 mm.).

Typical stage 2 mods often include: Ported and polished head, high flow fuel injector, fuel pump upgrades, Power/Sport clutch, Fast road cam.

Typical stage 3 mods often include: Adding or upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Engine balancing, Internal engine upgrades (pistons/head/valves), Sports gearbox, Competition cam.

Azera Brake Upgrades

For sharper improved stopping you should get better high friction brake pads and mate this with larger brake discs.

Please note that some performance friction pads can grind and will need to be really hot before they bite.

In every day driving the brakes are occasionally used and won't stop you as well so source pads which don't need to be really hot.

Fitting meatier brake discs and better performance pads will make for dramatically improved stopping. (They will brake effectively over longer periods during heavy use than stock brakes will, but grip has more of a bearing on the cars ability to stop).

As a word of warning please note that race pads can grind and will need a lot of heat before they are effective.

On your regular commute to work the brakes are only used rarely and won't be as effective at slowing you up so source pads which have a low working temperature.

Top end power should be your overall aim on the Azera with a nice fat peak torque band.

To be completely frank and honest, on the more modest engine sizes you are wasting your time spending money on modifications, so if this applies to you get yourself an engine swap then apply the following mods.

Azera Power mods.

These are the motorsport modifications are usually fitted by our members, decide how far you wish to go in your tuning project before you get going.

2nd generation

• 2.0 L 6G71 V6
• 2.5 L 6G73 V6
• 3.0 L 6G72 V6
• 3.5 L 6G74 V6

3rd Generation

• 2.0 L Delta V6
• 2.5 L Delta V6
• 2.7 L Delta V6
• 3.0 L Sigma V6
• 3.5 L Sigma V6

4th Generation

• 2.4 L Theta II I4
• 2.7 L Mu V6
• 3.3 L Lambda V6
• 3.8 L Lambda  V6
  diesel:
• 2.2 L D4HB CRDI VGT I4

5th Generation

• 2.4 L Theta II I4
• 2.4 L Theta II hybrid I4
• 2.4 L Theta II GDI I4
• 3.0 L Lambda II V6
• 3.0 L Lambda II GDI V6
• 3.3 L Lambda II GDI V6
  diesel:
• 2.2 L D4HB CRDI VGT I4

6th Generation

• 2.4 L Theta II GDI I4
• 2.5 L Smartstream G2.5 GDI I4
• 3.0 L Lambda II  MPi V6
• 3.0 L Lambda II  GDI V6
• 3.3 L Lambda II  GDI V6
• 3.5 L Lambda II V6
  LPG:
• 3.0 L Lambda II  LPi V6
  diesel:
• 2.2 L D4HB CRDI I4

Quarter miles times for the Azera before and after tuning mods and upgrades

Getting the best performance modifications for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road making the car difficult to drive.

Getting the best performance modifications for your planned usage of the car is vital. Stage 3 motor sport parts just won't work well on the road making the car difficult to drive.

Your targets when modding your car should be a nice flat torque output. You want to avoid sending all the torque to be at the top end unless you are creating a competition car.

In this article we shall give a little insight into the world to the best mods for your car, but we'd encourage you to spend some time on the site looking into the details of each type of performance mod.Fast road cams offer one of the biggest bhp gains for your money as far as a bolt on performance modifications goes on a NA (naturally aspirated) engine.

It maximises the intake and exhaust durations and increases the power if done right. Ideally you'd add other mods and finish up with a remap. We'd also caution you not to go with a competition cam as this affects the engines idling and general town driving characteristics.

You will need to ensure that the engine is not starved of fuel so will need to look at the fuelling.

If you find you experience flat spots and surges after your modified mods you should check the fuelling and try a higher octane fuel as well. Larger injectors will enable you to supply sufficient fuel to the engine.

A fuel pump will only deliver a finite amount of fuel, so you may need to uprate this if your injectors are demanding more fuel.

Azera Intake and Exhaust Tuning.

The next area for modification is the intake and exhaust.  Please note that WE DO NOT FEEL YOU GET POWER GAINS FROM INDUCTION KITS, unless you have tuned your car extensively and are finding that the standard air intake has become limited.

For most Azera engines TorqueCars would suggest you just go with a washable panel air filter. On heavily tuned engines and turbo vehicles an induction kit will help release the power providing you address the problem of supplying cold air.

Do not go with the widest exhaust you can buy this will slow up the exhaust flow rate - the best exhausts for power gains are usually between 1.5 to 2.5 inches. It is the shape and material more than the bore size.

Head porting and polishing the head will allow you to maximise your air/fuel charge. Leave this to a professional though with a proper flow bench and machine tools When you heavily modify your Azera you will see that the standard clutch starts to suffer so get an uprated clutch. The best mods in our experience for your Azera are remaps, sports camshafts and induction improvements.

NA (naturally aspirated) engines do not achieve big power gains if you tune/remap them, unless you have done extensive modifications. With turbocharged engines this is another story. A tuned/remapped turbo will give massive power gains and fully release the potential power of the engine.

Adding forced induction will see large power gains but this is usually too expensive to be cost effective. It is generally easier to add a supercharger than it is to get a turbo working. Turbos give boost in increasing proportion to rising engine speed and this can make mapping difficult.

The nice correlating boost and rpm characteristics of the supercharger make them easier to map. Adding forced induction will nearly always require a lower compression ratio or water injection.

Azera Alloy wheel upgrades.

Alloy wheels will help the brake cooling and are usually less heavy than the steel ones. Don't forget that your choice of rubber greatly affects your cars grip and handling. It is not worth compromising performance with cheap tyres when you can buy directional tread pattern performance tires.Large Azera alloys can decrease performance. If you get big alloys you will be changing your final drive ratio.

For this reason we would advise sticking to a maximum wheel size of 18 inches, although we know some of our members have fitted larger wheels with no problems.

Azera Handling/Suspension upgrades

Improving the handling for most drivers, is rated as a top priority mod in your Azera tuning project.

Fully adjustable suspension allows you to fine tune the handling of you Azera often benefitting your drive.

Drop the car optimally somewhere in the region of 22mm - 44 mm. and fit modified stiffer dampers, bigger drops will need other modifications in most instances.

Azera Handling/Suspension upgrades

Improving the handling for most drivers, is rated as a top priority mod in your Azera tuning project.

Upgrades to the Azera's suspension and handling

Handling tweaks are often the initial step for the Azera.

What considerations must you make when setting up and selecting your suspension if your Azera serves as a daily car as well?

Uprated Bushes

Enhancements to the bushings: Things you need to know

The suspension components of the Azera may be mounted and moved around the car's chassis through bushes, which are rotating rubber mounts. The rubber ones will degrade with time.

Installing new OEM rubber bushings may dramatically improve the performance of your car.

It's probable that the ride may be a touch rougher because to the stronger polyurethane bushes, but they'll last longer and maintain tighter handling.

They may also hasten the depreciation of other suspension components due to the increased vibration and play.

With a new set of poly bushes, the excessive play associated with rubber bushes may be eliminated.

Rare and older models may only have polyurethane main bushes available in aftermarket bushing kits, however most recent models feature a complete set of suspension bushes.

Custom bushes are often built to Azera your requirements.

A common misconception is that a non-adjustable suspension system that lowers the vehicle by 30mm from a franchised component shop is the best option.

Vendors may assert that their Azera suspension kits are compatible with any or all of the Azera model years.

For a vast variety of vehicles, a 'compromized' approach is obviously incorrect.

How low should you go on the Azera?

TorqueCars research and testing indicate that the maximum suspension drop for most road vehicles is 28 - 41 millimetres, whereas the maximum suspension drop for hot hatchbacks with lower OEM suspension is 18 millimetres.

These tolerances may be drastically lowered if the wheel size is changed. Even with 16 or 17-inch wheels and conventional suspension, lowering the vehicle may create a slew of issues.

Stability may be improved by lowering the Azera, but the ultimate goal should always be to enhance handling. It is critical to use the right shocks when employing lower springs.

Fully adjustable suspension allows you to fine tune the handling of you Azera radically improving your drive.

If you would like to know more, or just get some friendly advice on Tuning your car please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss Azera options in more detail with our Azera owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased Hyundai tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

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