for 2g - fmic intercooler, uicp, test pipe, intake, cat back, good tune and probably a drop on springs. All these things you can do yourself, besides the tune probably.. for

Edit: 400 whp - You will probably need at least 7-8k, realistically, considering you will need a new clutch and a bunch of little supporting things like fuel pump, injectors, etc. - Oh and probably would look into a new turbo, like a fp green, map ef2 etc.

 

All Prices are Rough Approximations
Swift Sport Springs/GTWorx: $200 used, $350 new
Rear Sway Bar and Endlinks: $200 used, $400 new
HFC/ Test Pipe: $150 used, $300 new (leave the stock cat-back for quiet DD, or have a shop make you one if you want to get rowdy; on a stock turbo the stock cat-back will not make that much of a difference)
UICP and I/C: $400 used, $800 new
WB, 3-Port, TephraMOD, Open Source Tune: $800
Pro Alignment/Corner Balancing: $200

That will REALLY wake the car up, and leave you with a good safety structure. It's never fun running a car on the edge.....and not know until something goes wrong.

Wait 6 months after this round of mods and re-evaluate your specific goals; road racing, drag racing, street sweeper, etc. Then you start getting into increased maintenance costs, etc

 

Thanks everybody. A lot of good ideas. I am going to start with springs and sway for sure. I just can't handle the front end gap. But it isn't all a looks thing. I would also like to get some of the sway out of it. I am looking at the swift and the GTworx. But from what I have read I can't go wrong with either of those brands.

Unfortunately I can't do the stuff myself because I live in a community that frowns on working on your own car unless it's in a closed garage. But probably most importantly, I don't have the temperament anymore to do it. And I don't want to lose my temper and hurt my girl (Evo) lol. BUT I have a friend that owns a shop so I may take it there and kind of help him do what I need to. Maybe my short temper is because I don't have all the right tools which makes the job a lot tougher. Or I may just take it to a shop that specializes in performance. I figure if I get all the parts I need for one area of the car, the cost won't be as much to have it installed because some of the work is overlapping anyways.

I did find a local place that does performance alignments. Saw a youtube interview with the guy. He really seemed to know his stuff. So I will do that once I get the springs and sway. I think the place is called West End Alignment and his name is Darin Nishimura. Anybody heard of him? I wonder what a alignment like that would cost?

Thanks again for all the advice. There is a lot of it. I am more of a fast in the turns guy than a straight line drag racer. So that is the reason I am picking suspension first. I do plan to try some track days someday but for now it is onramps and local canyons. The G forces are what I live for. Although not to say I don't want fast straight line. It is just second to the G's. And in case this makes me sound like I drive like a maniac. I don't. There is just something about those long sweeping empty onramps that are hard to resist.

 

What is the UICP? And does an intercooler add power or is it to "support" the power once I get the power increasing mods?

 

Darin at West End is one the the VERY BEST suspension specialty shops. When I said Pro Alignment/Corner Balancing for ~$200, he was actually EXACTLY what I was talking about. Typically he is booked about 2 weeks out, so make an appointment

 

UICP= Upper Intercooler Pipe
An IC will both increase power and add support for later, more the later (it cools down the charge before enter the engine itself, cooler is better for power and safety)

 

Looks like most people here agree you would want a full TBE and an intake with a tune. That should run you about $2k total with labor/parts. That'll give you pretty good gains. That's how I started off.

 

At this point in my build, I would have to spend the money on a built transmission.