My sons 97 RS is back in the shop (surprise). In the meantime, he's looking at all sorts of mods and I'm not sure what to get him. His car is stock except for 17" rims. Most of the money that was going to be for mods, went to rebuilding the engine, replacing the clutch, etc. so bang for the buck is critical. This is a daily driver for a HS student, not a track car. I know each item has probably been discussed to death, but any (constructive) help appreciated. That said, here are some of the things he's interested in. I'll list them in the priority I think is important, but feel free to correct as necessary and make suggestions for specific items (brand, source, price, etc):

1. Tires (current tires recently passed inspection but are mismatched and marginal)
2. Brake rotors/pads (some vibration up front. He likes the looks of the D/S, atlhough I don't think the holes really do anything)
3. Shifter bushings/short throw shifter (pretty sloppy shifter; bushings should help, all his buddies talk about short throw shifters, so thought about one of the $40 jobs on eBay while we're replacing the bushings).
4. Shocks/springs (he likes the cheap adjustable coils on eBay, but I've read that they suck. He wants to lower an inch or so. Will he need a camber kit? If so, what is a cost effective solution? Shoud he get good struts now, springs later when he can afford them?
5. Intake (everyone MUST have a pretty intake right? Probably another eBay item and then add a K&N to it)
6. Everything else (LSD, tower brace, custom lights, etc.)

Thanks for reading.

:love wish my dad would listen to my hobby :)


hmmm so heres my 2c . . . enjoy

Tires= big thing if its daily driven. i like my Bridgestone Potenza G900 there a great all weather tire, and being from nebraska i need somthing for everything. granted there are sticky tires out there but you will be replacing them sooner plus they can really suck in the rain. they are a fairly quiet tire as well and have a sporty tread pattern so they look good too.

Brakes= if hes got 17's he needs GSX calipers and rotors, besides being a good upgrade all around they will fill the rims better. if your thinking of sport rotors GO BRAND NAME and NOT from ebay. those D/S "brembo" ebay ones are unsafe and will develop cracks and possibly fail with spirited driving. MachV and RRE usually have sales of the OEM GSX rotors for cheep. however if you want aftermarket look for brands like AP racing and Brembo as they are one of the few manufactures that make there own blanks then drill or slot them.
as far as pads go EBC makes a nice pad that produces little brake dust and bites hard with little warm up.

shifter bushings= one word SYMBORSKI everyone here that has one sweares by it! http://www.machv.com/symshifkit1.html just click and buy lol :thumbsup
combine that with a B&M or Fidanza shifter (or ebay knock off, dont worry most are fine) and some shift cable bushings ( http://www.machv.com/mavshcast.html ) and your shifting is gonna blow your mind!

springs= true coil overs would be nice but pricy. some Tokico iluminati or blues with some Tein springs would do nicly. and yes dont forget the Camber kit. Ingalls is nice or you might be able to get away with the washer trick for it as long as your not droping too far

intake= shinny & names =$$$ unless you can score an injen or AEM cheep then yeah the home made or ebay one will do ya well combined with the K&N. if you know any paint friends they might be able to hook you up with painting it for ya or prep it your self and use some high quality spray can stuff so it will stand out in the bay.

others= you didnt mention an exhaust so ill throw out the ebay N1 knock off. cheep and sounds good. if you need to pass inspection or trying to be a little more low profile id grab a GST catback.
strut tower bars are nice but you get what ya pay for. cheper ones may look good but flex more, but the super stiff ones can be pricy. OBX are solid and come in a variety of colors. DC Sport and D3 make good ones as well.
little things that make a difference to me would be replacing the little 194 wedge bulbs with some LED ones. you can find them on ebay and are avaliable in white, bluish white, and blue. you can also find the LED dome lights there as well.

Originally posted by foggy45
:love wish my dad would listen to my hobby :) hmmm so heres my 2c . . . enjoy Tires= big thing if its daily driven. i like my Bridgestone Potenza G900 there a great all weather tire, and being from nebraska i need somthing for everything. granted there are sticky tires out there but you will be replacing them sooner plus they can really suck in the rain. they are a fairly quiet tire as well and have a sporty tread pattern so they look good too. Brakes= if hes got 17's he needs GSX calipers and rotors, besides being a good upgrade all around they will fill the rims better. if your thinking of sport rotors GO BRAND NAME and NOT from ebay. those D/S "brembo" ebay ones are unsafe and will develop cracks and possibly fail with spirited driving. MachV and RRE usually have sales of the OEM GSX rotors for cheep. however if you want aftermarket look for brands like AP racing and Brembo as they are one of the few manufactures that make there own blanks then drill or slot them. as far as pads go EBC makes a nice pad that produces little brake dust and bites hard with little warm up. shifter bushings= one word SYMBORSKI everyone here that has one sweares by it! http://www.machv.com/symshifkit1.html just click and buy lol :thumbsup combine that with a B&M or Fidanza shifter (or ebay knock off, dont worry most are fine) and some shift cable bushings ( http://www.machv.com/mavshcast.html ) and your shifting is gonna blow your mind! springs= true coil overs would be nice but pricy. some Tokico iluminati or blues with some Tein springs would do nicly. and yes dont forget the Camber kit. Ingalls is nice or you might be able to get away with the washer trick for it as long as your not droping too far intake= shinny & names =$$$ unless you can score an injen or AEM cheep then yeah the home made or ebay one will do ya well combined with the K&N. if you know any paint friends they might be able to hook you up with painting it for ya or prep it your self and use some high quality spray can stuff so it will stand out in the bay. others= you didnt mention an exhaust so ill throw out the ebay N1 knock off. cheep and sounds good. if you need to pass inspection or trying to be a little more low profile id grab a GST catback. strut tower bars are nice but you get what ya pay for. cheper ones may look good but flex more, but the super stiff ones can be pricy. OBX are solid and come in a variety of colors. DC Sport and D3 make good ones as well. little things that make a difference to me would be replacing the little 194 wedge bulbs with some LED ones. you can find them on ebay and are avaliable in white, bluish white, and blue. you can also find the LED dome lights there as well.

Thanks for the reply. A few follow up questions/comments: Thanks for the tire recommendation. ARe GSX brakes larger than the RS brakes? Is that why they are recommended as an upgrade (especially with 17" wheels)? Also, are you saying the eBay rotors that actually show the Brembo boxes in the ad are fakes? The Symborski kit is what I was thinking of for the bushings. I've seen a couple of different style shifters and was thinking of the type that has sort of an "S" shape rather than the straight shape. Is one style better than the other? What are the wedge bulbs?

yes the gsx rotors are a bit bigger. they are 2 piston design as opposed to the RS's single piston design. they resist fading better and have better stoping power.
the ebay brembos are sometimes brembo blanks (un drilled) and then drilled or slotted after the fact. some companies do this legit and know what there doing when they drill or slot rotors (SP Power is one) while others try and home brew them and sell them as real rotors these have a reputation for cracking or even chunking off under stress.
any shifter (that physically fits) will be an upgrade. some people here have some of the knockoffs and enjoy them. just make sure its a short shifter design and includes all the parts and instruction and one that dosent require modifications to make it fit. im a fan of warrenties so i went with a B&M kit so im biased.

wedge bulbs (or 194 bulbs) are the ones in the sidemarkers, rear lisence plate lights, and some of the interior lights. heres an example http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/PIAA-SUPER-WHITE-LED-LEDS-168-194-WEDGE-BULB-BULBS-JDM_W0QQcmdZViewItemQQcategoryZ33713QQihZ004QQitemZ140184748835QQrdZ1QQsspagenameZWDVW

nitrous it makes us all smile

Originally posted by twack
nitrous it makes us all smile

LMAO! Just what every 17 YO guy needs! When he hits 18, he can add that himself, but it's not coming from me. Neither of us could afford the tickets or insurance increases that would be almost certain to follow.

I have heard good things about some ebay brakes/rotors there was recently a discussion about them on dsmtalk, I'll see if I can find the thread.

Thread: http://www.dsmtalk.com/forums/showthread.php?t=189377&highlight=ebay

If you want a decent used aem short ram intake I will be putting one up for sale oh sometime tonight so check out the FS section.

I like what I see so far. Good responses and your priority list is correct; safety and maintenance first.

I would reccomend the B+M shifter. Relatively inexpensive and feels pretty nice.

As for suspension, I'm partial to the KYB AGX's. Good price, great quality, nice ride and have adjustability. The Tiens springs are also nice in that they don't have a radical drop (1.3" ) and they have an excellent ride quality. You can safely buy these off E-bay. Just check the company you buy from out.

Originally posted by bullettdsm
I like what I see so far. Good responses and your priority list is correct; safety and maintenance first. I would reccomend the B+M shifter. Relatively inexpensive and feels pretty nice. As for suspension, I'm partial to the KYB AGX's. Good price, great quality, nice ride and have adjustability. The Tiens springs are also nice in that they don't have a radical drop (1.3" ) and they have an excellent ride quality. You can safely buy these off E-bay. Just check the company you buy from out.

Thanks for the feedback. With all the other stuff he needs, the springs will have to wait a while. I'll keep the recommendations in mind. Went with the eBay T-6 style shifter (also ordered bushing kits for underhood and shifter). Santa's on a budget.

Originally posted by 2G_Dad
Santa's on a budget.

Tell me about it :P

Thanks for the info. While I hadn't read the DSMtalk thread, I had read the long article they discuss, concerning d/s rotors vs standard surface rotors. I'm leaning towards Powerslot Pro II rotors and Satisfied Gransport 6 pads from Tirerack. Never heard of the pads before, but they get high marks in stopping power, plus low noise and low dust. Son likes the bling factor of d/s rotors, but maybe the dimpled rotors will be enough eye candy with less chance of the warps and cracks of drilled rotors. Too late on the intake, already ordered an eBay cheapo to put a K&N on (but thanks for the notice). Man, shopping for this kind of stuff is fun. I can't wait for Christmas. I just got a set of 215/45/17 General Exclaim UHP's from Tirerack, based on their survey results and owner opinions. Hope they live up to the reviews. Also, have a few other goodies on the way, including short throw shifter and Symborski bushing kit. It's going to be a fun Holiday!

Hmm...was attempting to reply to cs82685.