Here's a quick list of the mods I'm considering or have done. You may find this a helpful starting point for your own research.
Stuff I've done:
- Perrin Lightweight Crankshaft Pulley - this is a reasonably simple install if you have the tools, theoretically it helps your car more smoothly generate power, but... it's probably not a significant change either way. Still, it looks cool, doesn't cost much and is a fun tinker. Part is around $85. There are numerous DIY for this mod.
- Subaru Trunk Lid cover - the Toyota car has bare metal under the trunk lid, I bought the subaru carpeted part and put it on. Super easy, very quick. In Theory, this may reduce road noise, but in practice it's a $90 clean-up to your trunk lid.
- Master Cylinder Brace - Very easy install. This part braces the master cylinder from moving in the event that the firewall flexes in heavy braking. For a daily driver, this is useful 0% of the time. That said, it's an easy install and looks cool
I bought the grimmspeed for $80 or so.
- LED Interior/Trunk lights - the new cabin ight is much brighter, the trunk is not much brighter. Both lights are much more blue now. I got them on Amazon for $12. Super easy install.
- Sound Tube Delete - Really easy. Plugged the hole in the intake with a $2 metal pipe cap from home depot (1.25") and plugged the firewall hole on the inside with the cover of the glovebox 12v socket.
Mods purchased but not yet installed
- Transmission/Shifter Bushings - these will remove some of the flex in the transmission mount, in theory putting a tiny amount more power into the driveshaft and hopefully the wheels. In practice, for a DD, it's gonna add a bit more NVH (noise, vibration, harshness).
- OEM Armrest - This costs about $180, and involves drilling into your center console, but it will result in a leather armrest in the middle of the cabin.
Future Mods
- In cabin sound reduction - I want a bit less road noise in the cabin. I have dynamat and other stuff on the way.
- Headers/Exhaust System/Cold Air Intake/Tune
Gonna do this all at once. I plan to pick up a catted header next summer, do a cat back exhaust whilst I'm down there, install a CAI (like the fa20club) and get a tune to make it all work right.
- Enkei Wheels + Pilot Super A/S/3 - Lighter Wheels + UHP All Seasons
- Braille Battery - Weight savings
- OEM+ Audio. This is a maybe, and is lower on the priority list than the other planned mods.
My goal is to have a reasonably quiet cabin in a well-tired, naturally-aspirated car. It will probably take me about 2 years to get all of this done. Partly because two of the planned mods represent fairly large cash outlays instead of nominal ones.