I got my tax refund back and I have $1500 to spend on my car. Right now I have 17" rims, 205-40-17 Kumho tires, AEM intake, and a Borla muffler.



Should I spend the money on:



- Lowering springs

- New shocks and struts

- Strut bar

- Shop installation



or should I



- New exhaust pipes (stocks right now)

- 4-2-1 header

- Shop installation



Are there any other things I could buy in my budget? Keep in mind everything has to be installed by a shop if its something major. I dont have the tools or know how to do it myself.



Do people get more enjoyment out of having a car that handles better and can go fast through curves or do they get more happiness with engine mods and being able to go fast?

 

Personally, I don't think one is good without the other. You can't say it's one or the other, it's equal enjoyment. But for the sake of this thread, suspension mods are great because you can really push the car around the corners, still play around with $35,000 cars (especially on the highway) and not have any engine mods.



Suspension does have its drawback, as comfort is almost completely lost and it's sometimes annoying having to watch out going over bumps. Your fenders will also take an occasional bend every now and then.



I/H/E doesn't really do anything impressive. It just gives you a little extra pull when you need it.

 

you should be able to get all that under $1,500.



Show us your car (add it to the Garage). We'll tell you where to spend it.

 

I could give a flip about show, all I see is the interior. Make it fasterrrrr

 

Lower it and pop an intake and a solid tune up in it. Plugs, wires, oils, springs, struts and some diy would hve you in that budget with a supply of your drink of choice to do it all.



A tool kit for the basics is cheap and if you were to approach it without hesitation but respect you will be happy at the end of the day.

 

It's way more fun to drive a slow car that you can push than a fast car you can't control

 

Woah you have shocks AND struts? Impressive



Anyway you should be able to rent spring compressors, buy some shocks and springs and buy a cat-back. Just throwing a full exhaust system isn't going to free-up any crazy horsepower so there isn't really a point in buying an aftermarket exhaust manifold. Save that for if you decide to go turbo, because if you do decide, you'll have to change it anyway. At this point it's mostly for sound and a measly 5hp (if that).

 

You can easily get all of that for $1500, and these prices are just quick searching for products and paying a shop for 100% installation, if you really tried to cut costs down you could



KYB GR2 struts - $200

Eibach springs - $200

Equal length Header - $300

Custom exhaust - $300



ALL labor/shop installation (if you don't want to/can't do it yourself) - $500 for all this?



Make sure to go to a place that does custom work, or a place where you know someone, don't just drop your car off at Midas with $1000 of parts in the back.