By the end of the summer my scooby fund will have reached the initial point where I said I would drain it (just over 2k). This is where my money will be going. Before everyone jumps up and says "Exhaust, exhaust!" that will be next, I'm working at making the car well rounded and more fun to drive in all ways...

Handling:
Tires (SO3's most likely) I thought about rims but honestly anything that is larger than the stock rims that doesn't cost an arm and a leg will be quite a bit heavier and rob me of acceleration. The stock rims are light and durable. Maybe eventually I'll go to some 17s to improve the handling further but not now.
Rear Strutbar (I have a wagon)
Rear Swaybar
Solid endlinks

Engine/Power:
AccessPort
Cat-back (Borla Hush most likely)
Intercooler hoses (black)

Tranny:
Short Shifter + bushings

Asthetic:
tint

I figure with these mods my car will:
Handle a lot better with reduced understeer (the devil in my opinion).
Have somewhere near 200whp and smoother power delivery.
Have shorter crisper shifting.
Look pimper and cut down on the glare and prying eyes.
Oh and also remain pretty much warranty friendly because I'm still under warranty...:banana:

What you guys think? Money well spended? After this stuff I will be saving up for an up-pipe and down pipe if I decide to screw all hope of keeping my warranty. Stage 2 woot!

 

you should get a catless uppipe too

 

I know, I would love the quicker spool up but I'm trying to stay warranty friendly for now and I feel once you start ripping out the cats they will have an easier time screwing you over... I figure I'll just do up-pipe and down pipe at the same time further down the line. After all gotta leave some things to look forward to!

 

Gut the factory uppipe, itll pass da visual test.

 

To each thier own, but have you looked at Rota wheels? They make some pretty light ones for a pretty reasonable price. 17in wheels will improve your handling more than you may think.

 

I second some rotas. Just picked some up from subydude!

Jun

 

rota's froms suby dude man

 

See I was lookin at some ROTA SDRs or Tarmac IIs but they are gonna be quite a bit heavier than stock and no one who went from stock rims with good tires to aftermarket rims has told me that the improvement was huge. Going from the stock tires on the stock rims to aftermarket rims, no doubt the improvement would be huge... I don't know, part of me wants to keep it sleeper too... If I went with the rims I'd have to not get the cat-back and the strut bar, maybe not even the intercooler hoses. I just think the extra 10-15hp and the sound to go with it will make the car more fun than the rims. Tires is number one in priority. I dunno what do you all think? Rotas or Borla Hush, intercooler hoses and strut bar?

 

If you're going to put on good tires (S-03s), it would be best to maximize the size of the wheels you are going to mount them on. IMO, you'll get the most overall benefit by getting the 17" wheels (look into Subzeros, they are only 16.5lbs) and tires. Many people often underestimate the benefits of going plus 1 in wheel/tire size. When you eventually get the Accessport (the one mod you'll have to give up for now), you'll be happy you got the bigger tires and wheels.

-Soren

 

if your gonna get the accessport then forget about the cat back. you might as well go for a turbo back exhaust. doing the cat back and then getting a dp later would be a waste of money. buy smart buy right the first time.

<))><

 

Eventually, we'll all be pushing that much power anyways no matter what we say. :banana: Isn't that why we bought our cars? Save your money and do it right the first time, take it from me, I've gone through 3 different exhausts, and 2 different downpipes.