Tuning the Hyundai Beta

"Comprehensive guide to performance parts and tuning the Beta G4GC, G4GF, G4GR, G4GB  and G4GM engine!"

The Hyundai Beta G4GC, G4GF, G4GR, G4GB  and G4GM are all great bases for a tuning project and with the optimum motorsport upgrades like a remap, turbo improvements and camshafts you will increase your driving opportunities.

In this article we review Beta G4GC, G4GF, G4GR, G4GB  and G4GM tuning and show the best modifications for your car.

Just because particular upgrades are are common on Beta it doesn't mean it is good, so we'll concentrate) on the top upgrades that will give your Beta  the best value for money to power increase.

Significant gains on the Beta can be made from camshaft upgrades. Altering the camshaft profile alters the intake and exhaust durations on the engine and can dramatically change the power band and power output.

NB: Fast road camshafts usually bump the bhp and torque throughout the rpm range, you may lose a little low down power but the high end rpm power will be higher.

Race camshafts, bump the high end rpm power band but as a result the car will not idle smoothly and low end power nearly always suffers.

In a typical daily driver should ideally to match your engines power to your preferences.

I would be surprised if you have found a Beta Race cam is a pleasure to live with when in heavy traffic.

Each engine responds better to mild camshaft durations so view each engine as unique.

The map and fuel pump and injectors also will say much on the torque gains you'll hit.

Longer valve durations can alter the torque band and on most engines the exhaust and intake durations do not need to match, although most cams and tuners use matched pairs there are some advantages to extending the intake or exhaust durations.

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Guide to the Best Tuning Mods & Upgrades

  1. Mods that Remove a Restriction

    If the intake or exhaust are restricted in any way this will have an impact on your cars performance, so use an induction kit/filter upgrade and better flowing exhaust whenever your tuning creates a flow restriction.

  2. Mods that Improve Handling

    Braking, Suspension and general alignment of the suspension components is vital for any tuning project even before you start increasing power.

  3. Fit Stronger Parts

    Tuned cars will show up weaknesses, typically in the turbochargers, clutch and internal engine components. Whilst most engines can cope with mild tuning mods, TorqueCars recommend that you upgrade the internal components before these weak spots manifest themselves.

  4. ECU Tunes & Remapping

    While some cars can be easily remapped, others may require piggyback ECU's or aftermarket ECU's but this is the most vital step of your tuning project as it fully releases the power from all of your mods and upgrades. Expect 10-20% on NASP engines and 30-40% on turbocharged units.

  5. More Power Needs More Fuel & Air

    Every tuning project will aim to increase the air supply, but fuel supply is just as vital and will need to match the air the engine can utilise. Fuel to Air ratio is vital so upgrade the fuel pump & injectors. Also you can look to perform head mods (flowing and porting), bigger valves, fast road cams and forced induction upgrades to improve fuel.

Stages of Tune

Stage 1 mods: Panel air filters, Remaps/piggy back ECU, Fast road camshaft, Intake headers, Sports exhaust manifold, Drilled & smoothed airbox.

Stage 2 mods: Fast road cam, Sports catalyst & performance exhaust, fuel pump upgrades, induction kit, high flow fuel injectors, Ported and polished head.

Stage 3 mods: Engine balancing & blueprinting, Internal engine upgrades (head flowing porting/bigger valves), Adding or Upgrading forced induction (turbo/supercharger), Competition cam, Crank and Piston upgrades to alter compression, Twin charging conversions.

Plan your options and then find your mods and set yourself a power target to save yourself from expensive mistakes.

ECU mapping should help to to establish the full potential of all the modifications you've fitted to your Beta G4GC, G4GF, G4GR, G4GB  and G4GM.

It will usually give around 30% more power on turbocharged vehicles and you can expect to see around 15% on NASP engines, but your mileage may differs on the modifications you've done and the condition of your engine.

Forcing fuel and air into each cylinder is the aim to any engine tuning job.

Intake manifold take the air from the air filter and allow it to be pulled into the engine cylinders.

Design and rate of flow of the Intake manifold can make a substantial change to fuel atomisation on the Beta G4GC, G4GF, G4GR, G4GB  and G4GM.

Commonly we find the intake headers are ripe for performance upgrades, although a few makers provide reasonably good intake headers.

Adding a Beta larger valve kit, doing a bit of Beta port enlargement and head flowing will also improve power, & importantly will give you raising the power increase on other mods.

Turbo upgrades

NASP engines need quite a lot of work when you add a turbo, so we have a separate guide to help you take into account the pros and cons of going this route on your Beta

The more air you can get into an engine, the more fuel it can burn and uprating the induction with a turbocharger upgrade makes major power gains.

If your car is fitted with a turbo upgrades are relatively easy and you will discover turbo engines are made using more solid components.

However you'll find engines will have power limits

We recommend you find these restrictions and fit more solid crank and pistons to handle the power.

We see many drivers spending a loads on turbocharger upgrades on the Beta only to watch the motor explode when it's been enthusiastically driven.

Large upgraded turbochargers tend to experience a bottom end lag, and small turbochargers spool up much more quickly but do not have the peak end engines power gains.

In recent times the selection of turbo units is always evolving and we now see variable vane turbo units, permitting the vane angle is altered according to speed to lower lag and increase top end bhp and torque.

Twin scroll turbo units divert the exhaust gases into two channels and feed these at differently profiled vanes in the turbocharger. They also help the scavenging effect of the engine.

It is common that there's a restriction in the air flow sensor AFM/MAP on the Beta when considerably more air is being drawn into the engine.

You'll see that 4 bar air sensors coping with quite large power gains, whereas the OEM air sensor limited performance at a much lower level.

Adding a supercharger or additional turbo will make large bhp gains, although harder to setup. We have this in depth look at twinchargers if you want to read more.

Fuelling upgrades and mods

Don't dismiss the need pay attention to the fuel delivery when you are increasing the performance - it makes the car more thirsty. It makes sense to be generous with your flow rate on the injectors.

The rule of thumb is to add 20% when buying an injector, this allows for injector deterioration and gives a little spare capacity should the engine require more fuel.

We think this one is common sense, but you'll need to match your fuel injector to the type of fuel your car uses as well.

Exhaust upgrades and mods

You only need to to upgrade your exhaust if your exhaust is creating a restriction in flow.

On most factory exhausts you should find that the flow rate is still ok even on modest power gains, but when you start pushing up the power levels you will need to get a better flowing exhaust.

Sports exhausts will certainly help air flow from the engine but avoid an exhaust that is too wide or you may end up will reduce the flow rate. Stick to 1.5 to 2.5 inches as a rule of thumb.

Usual exhaust restrictions are traced to the catalyst and filters installed, so adding a better flowing performance alternative will help avoid this restriction.

Weak spots, Issues & common problem areas on the Beta

The Beta engines, if regularly serviced and maintained, are generally very reliable and have few issues.

Regular oil changes are vital on the Beta, particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended we've seen these with over 200,000 miles, and still pulling well with no smoke or issues.

The engine can be quite loud and has lots of vibration, this is quite normal and not a cause for concern but revised engine mounts can reduce this a little. If you get additional vibrations or rattles when braking or accelerating it could be an issue with the HT leads, soils or plugs, and replacing these will usually improve matters.

Regular oil changes are vital on the , particularly when the engine has been modified and is putting down more power than the manufacturer intended.

History of the Engine

A straight 4 block with a DOHC configuration.

  • Beta 1.8D G4GM 1995 to 2003
  • Beta 2.0D G4GF 1996 to 2001
  • Beta 1.8D G4GB 2000-2010
  • Beta 2.0D G4GC 2001 2012

Revs can stay quite high, this seems to be an ECU related issue and a reset usually clears this problem.

For more information on Tuning your engine please join us in our friendly forum where you can discuss tuning options in more detail with our owners. It would also be worth reading our unbiased tuning articles to get a full grasp of the benefits and drawbacks of each modification.

We need your help improving this article, so please send us your feedback in the comments box below and pass on any tips, points or facts we have wrong or have not covered.

We really like hearing from our readers, and hearing about which upgrades were the most effective for them, it helps us improve our recommendations and articles to reflect current trends in modifications and ensures that our guides and tips are kept up to date.

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