first $2000
 

Hi, I'm new to N/A tuning and especially cars that handle the twistys well so I ask... What would be the first bits you would suggest with a budget of $2000? I am mostly happy with the car but it just needs a little...salt and pepper to taste kinda thing. I like quick but I am starting to love the handeling. So lost. Also, sorry if there is a post like this elsewhere.

Rims and drop, the first things I do to any car. You get looks and also get handling improvements if done right.

+Alignment

Tune, drop, intake and muffler delete! my .02 cents

My bad, I forgot not everyone knows that that is a requirement when you make any suspension changes.

sending it all to me

tires + seat time repeat

by far the biggest improvement to this car is better tires.

if you can swing rims or a drop in for that price too then all the better.

but 100% tires is the best first mod, those stupid ultra low rolling resistance michelins are garbage

EDIT: also brake pads if you plan on tracking it, the stock ones dont hold up very well.

Yeah, but he's probably on the city all the time, and personally tires are "meh" because they degrade over time, and how you drive.

I rather invest the money first into a decent suspension, that alone changes the daily driving.

After than it's based on preference.

The car already handles amazingly. Why throw out all the time and engineering that went into the stock suspension to make it work as well as it does with the tires they chose for it.

My first and possibly only mod would be exhaust. Looks, sound, and performance upgrade.

Tune. Seriously. You are not "changing" anything, you are just activating what's already under the hood. It's already been said by a few tuners that the stock tune purposefully de-powers the car in certain RPM bands, likely to make it easier for the general public to drive it. Given a budget of 2k, you can keep the car looking and handling like stock by just getting a tune, and a drop in filter. Not an intake, a drop in filter. Like the one from Perrin. Then spend the rest of that 2k on burning gas.

This is what I'm planning for upgrades:

1) CBE (ordered - usually start with tires/wheels, but I dislike the stock exhaust)
2) summer tires + wheels (before spring for track days/autocross)
3) coilovers or springs/sways + camber plates
4) F/I (possible)

I think $2k could get me 1 & 2, depending what wheels and tires I went with.

I wish $2000 would somewhat satisfy me lol

Definitely an exhaust + tune.
Tires and suspension isnt worth the money. The stock tires = fun. The car already handles great. Just get an exhaust and tune