An Agressive Tiburon?

Marcel Diaz Perera is an awesome person with the meanest looking Tiburon we've seen. To be perfectly honest, Tiburon's don't generally make our top list of cars but the simplicty yet sheer agressiveness of Marcel's Tibby makes his one of our favorite cars around. Marcel told us about how he has many hobbies but two things in his life are passions... working out... and cars. Cars have always been a passion and at the age of 15 he was already planning on aquiring his mother's 1995 Toyota Corolla, the little money that he made at his job went into this car and it was a never ending project. By the time he turned 19 years old the car had been repainted twice, gone through 2 custom interiors, 2 custom exhaust systems, a full body kit, a JDM front conversion, a full trunk and monitor layout, sported a 680 watt 6 speaker system, 7 inch monitor with DVD, and an engine bay you could eat out of (or so he says). However, he realized soon that he had outgrown that car and once again inherited a car belonging to his mother, a 2003 Tiburon GS. He enjoyed the styling, comfort, price, and aftermarket support so he took over her payments and went to work. Custom made lip kit, wheels, lowring springs, HIDs, custom axle-back, and some minor details later; he fell in love with the ease of customization.

When he moved to North Carolina he decided that he wanted a Tiburon GT manual and the search began again. His criteria included: V6, manual, leather, black paint. After doing some research he found the car he wanted, at the price he wanted and went to the dealership to make the purchase. He admits that after he matured a little bit he realized that he wanted a car that looked like it came off of the showroom floor as designed by the manufacture; a car that looks like what it was designed to be but still distinctively different from the OEM product. In my humble opinion... he achieved just that.

Mods List

Interior:
Red Stitched Leather Interior
Basstib STS
Razo Alum. Shift Knob
Tuscani Steering Wheel Emblem
Carbon Fiber Shift Plate
SFR Aluminum Pedal Set
SFR Gunmetal Door Handles
SFR Aluminum Trims

Exterior:
NIA Bodykits Lip Kit w/Stabilizer Rods
NIA Bodykits Eyelines
Oem High Spoiler
Custom Rear Gills/Pods
KDM Badging
Shaved Hood Badging
Carbon Fiber A-Pillars
15% Tint
Shorty Antenna
Custom Exhaust Heat Shields

Engine:
Cold Air Intake
Headers
Tsudo Catback
Magnaflow Catalytic
Oil Catchcan
Weapon R Engine Damper
Magnetic Drain Sump Oil Plug
Hyundai Silver Engine Cover w/ Black 6 Pack and T Badging

Suspension:
18x10 et 25 all around
225/40/18 Federal SS595 Tires
Eibach Shocks
Tein Springs
SPC Camber Kit

In Car Electronics:
7in. LCD Touchscreen Multiplayer dvd/cd/mp3/ipod.
480watt Wrapped Amp
Custom Trunk Sub Enclosure
12in. Pioneer Subwoofer
F:6.5in. 3-way Pioneer Speakers
R:6x9 3-way Pioneer Speakers

Misc.
8300k HID Kit

Favorite mod?
As of now my favorite single mod is between the NIA lip kit and the wheel setup. Both complete the car.


Anything you wish you had done differently?
There are really no regrets, just a lot of cursing, agonizing pain during the alot of the installs.

Future plans?
My future plans are pretty basic. The car is nearing its 60k TB/Tune up service. I will definitely get those things taken care of and I also plan on upgrading the clutch. It has been 55,000 miles of no slipping fun. I am lucky to be on the stock clutch, but I do baby the car. Money sense is to ride it to the wheels fall off, but if there is any indication of how maintain my cars, this one will last for quite a while.

Shout outs:
I would like to give a shout out to a lot of people. Kevin from NIA bodykits, not only for being a good friend, but for having the trust in me to start a product line for our cars. Sid for being there and taking some great pics of the car. Nick Lucido, for being a good friend and an even better listener, guy makes me proud as a person and a car enthusiast. Tyler, 06tiburonofdoom, for helping and inspiring me into wheel and fitment game.


All photos provided by Sid Fligel Photography