Celica Forums General Discussion Exterior new to customizing, help?

hey everyone,
im probably getting a celica soon, and ive been looking at body kits for a while now. but my question is, i dont really know what to change in the car to improve performance. i dont want to spend anymore than 2 grand or so, and i dont want to be illegal if possible. also, things like lowering the car; would a cop care if i had the car dropped like.. 1.8 inches? im probably in over my head with the whole idea of tuning up a new car, but just curious anyway.
thanks a lot.

There are state laws for hieght of cars, but it's rare that you'd be pulled over for it, however if you were speeding etc, they might add it on. For performance get a cold air intake, an exhaust, some headers, considering you are inexperienced with it I don't recomend dealing in NOS or supercharging/turbo however for $2000 a supercharger or turbo is out of price range anywho.

i think your car has to be lower than 3 or 4 inches to the ground to be illegal. in addition, some states (california included--so thats you) has a "distance to headlight" rule of 22" i beleive? someone correct me if i'm wrong. a 1.8" drop won't affect your legality...unless you have an EXTREMELY low kit. (the headlight rule will be fine, but the distance from the ground may be affected)

for 2k on peformance mods, i suggest:

1. injen cai ($200)
2. trd exhaust ($700)
3. eibach sportline springs 1.8" front, 2.4" back...basically about 2" all around. ($200)
4. apr flex control bar ($100)
5. aem tru-power pulley ($80)
6. wings west v-line spoiler ($300)
7. b&m shortshifter ($150)
8. act street clutch ($280)

total cost: $2,010. and you can find all of these product cheaper if you do an adequate search

note: didn't know if you include a spoiler as a 'performance product' but it does increase downforce so i included it. if you don't, then subract $300 and find some more goodies

save the 2000 dollars and save up a few thousand more and get a turbo.. because if you plan on getting a turbo u'd have to get a new exhaust anyway and you wouldn't be able to use teh aftermarket headers or intake so just save up if you plan on going F/I

I'm assuming you are going performance to race it. Inexperience racers and turbo's / super's/NOS is news at 11 kind of shit. Take it slow get some driving experience

no but thats the thing, im not doing it to race necessarily. sure ill get some friends out to an empty area and race them but im not going to go around the city looking for races. also (yes i know ill get yelled at) but im thinking about going automatic. and yes i know its a major difference, which is another reason i want to upgrade the car.

Full auto or triptronic? I have triptronic cause I'm too lazy for a manual and there is too much traffic in summer over here. Kinda wish I went manual but it's no biggy. Hey it doesn't really matter if you want an auto, it's about having fun. Driving is great and racing is a blast, just be careful that's all, no need to wreck yourself or a beautiful car. I took a stunt driving course, if you get the opportunity do it, it makes you a much better driver and its really fun!

if ur not going to race it then there really is no point of performance upgrades the car stock would be fast enough for you then, and especially if ur going automatic, there is no point visual you can have a blast though

no but i mean, i want to get my acceleration up basically. and increase top speed a little if its not too much to do. its cause.. ah screw it i dont need a reason, its fun to speed?
so just talking acceleration, what mods could i do? would it be hard to get the car to do 0-60 in 6s?

Well, for accelerations...get a lightened flywheel...Carbon Fiber hood...basically anything that is lighter then stock. A Cold Air Intake and Exhaust will also help your performance.

with cold air intake an exhaust...your initial (torque) will decrease, but it will more than make up for it once you get going

acceleration is fairly easy to increase...top end is a different story. because your stock tranny can only spin so fast..and your stock setup will spin it almost as fast as it can go...you can only increase your top end by a small margin. once you hit redline in 4th gear (automatic versions only come in 4 gears in both the gt and gts model celicas) that's it. you stock setup will get you almost to this point as i metioned earlier.

so unless you won't to install a whole new tranny (which i doubt--you're not looking for anything major) your top end will stay relatively the same.

most normal performance modifications are only focused on weight savings, handling, and acceleration, not top end.

ok so flywheel... lighten up the car.. new exhaust and intake or no? im not really interested in top speed, just acceleration.

...I do not know dude...(Auto)there is no point for you to try make your engine more powerfull...Just improve your suspention and make your car looks nice... Intake ,exhaust...it's just waste of money for you...But it's your call.

flywheels are only present on manual transmissions

if you are getting in auto, performance mods wont do anything for you. if i had an auto, i'd go straight show because you're gonna get no "go" unless you do forced induction.

Nothing at all wrong with an auto. 95% of the cars on the street are auto these days. HOWEVER, if you go auto, stay away from the GTS. Because of the RPM range of the powerband on the GTS, when automatic it's actually not much faster than the GT. If you consider that you'd be saving tons of $$$ by getting the GT and not the GTS, you will have WAY more money to mod the car as well.

As far as those mods go, I'd say either get a body kit or the factory Action Package. Basically something to make the car look unique right off the bat. After that, the TRD exhaust would be my next call for some go, followed by a stereo system for some show.