Mods to avoid

[CTB727]

Never buy an aftermarket intake. Most are shit, and the factory one is actually well-designed. Personally I wouldn't bother with high-flow, oiled air filters either. But that's personal preference.

Never buy lowering springs. Eventually you will want coilovers.

Replica wheels (Rota, XXR, etc.). Stick to quality manufacturers such as Rays, Enkei, etc.

[Tokay444]

TRD intake is legit. And the intake testing has proven that while the factory intake is very very good, there are gains to be had with aftermarket intakes. Moreso after tuning.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by CTB727

Never buy an aftermarket intake. Most are shit, and the factory one is actually well-designed. Personally I wouldn't bother with high-flow, oiled air filters either. But that's personal preference.

Never buy lowering springs. Eventually you will want coilovers.

Replica wheels (Rota, XXR, etc.). Stick to quality manufacturers such as Rays, Enkei, etc.

I am very happy with my lowering springs and will never go back to coilovers again. Slap the springs on and forget em with not of the (admittedly minor really) hassle of messing with coilover adjustments.

[Tokay444]

I'd much rather the adjustability. So long as it's effective adjustability. So, until I have $14K USD for Penskes, I'll be on OEM suspension.

[kberkel]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

I am very happy with my lowering springs and will never go back to coilovers again. Slap the springs on and forget em with not of the (admittedly minor really) hassle of messing with coilover adjustments.

Same, love my sportlines.
From aesthetics, the only reason to go coils is to go even lower.
From performance, I'd never utilize coils to their fullest anyway since I don't race.

[Leonardo]

Originally Posted by kberkel

Same, love my sportlines.
From aesthetics, the only reason to go coils is to go even lower.
From performance, I'd never utilize coils to their fullest anyway since I don't race.

That is not the ONLY reason.
Coilovers have smaller diameter springs than OEM suspension. This give more room for wider wheels and camber. And the reason many decide to get them.

I agree that they can slam a car also. But the reason I would get them is to run concave front wheels that are 9" wide with out poking. I still will only lower 1".

[wbradley]

I purchased a lightly used 5:AD body kit pre-painted from a Lexus tech who parted out his car literally within a few months of purchasing. His reason at the time was that aero cost him penalty seconds in Autocross.

It looks OK but the side spats have a 1/8" gap between them and the body just behind the front fender. The rocker parts looks like they were maybe a few mm's too long so that is probably why. I paid the guy to do the install in my garage and he used a lot of windshield caulking as a glue but it still didn't help. Also , the trunk lip lifted at both the left and right edges almost immediately despite the fact that it has never detached after 4 years. I am probably the only one who notices this stuff but it isn't the way it should be.

Good news is they no longer produce this kit for the FR-S.

[Mim]

Originally Posted by kberkel

the only reason to go coils is to go even lower.
From performance, I'd never utilize coils to their fullest anyway since I don't race.

Only reason I bought coils was improved everyday ride. Adding Tein's EDFC, enabling active damping, made it a set and forget affair. The 10mm drop and small neg camber did wonders for the look without the need to worry about driveway's, speed humps and bottoming out on the occasional shity road.

Its more planted with negligible lift / dive and the increased grip killed any desire to go to another tire (still on stock).

It all comes down to clearly defining what your desired outcome is and then researching and selecting the correct aftermarket options to get you there.

[Poodles]

Originally Posted by CTB727

Never buy an aftermarket intake. Most are shit, and the factory one is actually well-designed. Personally I wouldn't bother with high-flow, oiled air filters either. But that's personal preference.

Never buy lowering springs. Eventually you will want coilovers.

Replica wheels (Rota, XXR, etc.). Stick to quality manufacturers such as Rays, Enkei, etc.

- Oiled filters are shit in general. Old tech that doesn't filter well and causes issues with MAF sensors.

- Depends on the lowering springs.

- ALL wheel manufacturers have done "replicas." Rays has done replicas of BBS wheels, etc. So long as they're actually certified (hint: Rota is an OEM supplier in the Philippines and has such certs) they're fine. Though if you're going heavier you're doing it wrong...

Originally Posted by Tokay444

TRD intake is legit. And the intake testing has proven that while the factory intake is very very good, there are gains to be had with aftermarket intakes. Moreso after tuning.

Lots of cash for little to no gain. Gone are the days of early turbo cars that gained 20-30HP from an intake system. If I could find one used, or if it's the last thing I needed (or simply required for the turbo/SC setup) I'd do it.

[mrg666]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

TRD intake is legit. And the intake testing has proven that while the factory intake is very very good, there are gains to be had with aftermarket intakes. Moreso after tuning.

If the factory intake is "very very" good, is the aftermarket intake triple very good? I will take the "very very good" option, it is enough for me. Next step upgrade is forced induction that adds 50% hp. Until then, it is not worth spending time and big money on infinitesimal gains. People forget to enjoy driving this car, while "screwing" it all around.

[norcalpb]

Originally Posted by mrg666

If the factory intake is "very very" good, is the aftermarket intake triple very good? I will take the "very very good" option, it is enough for me. Next step upgrade is forced induction that adds 50% hp. Until then, it is not worth spending time and big money on infinitesimal gains. People forget to enjoy driving this car, while "screwing" it all around.

Yeah an aftermarket intake only provides gains IF you are tuned. Maybe it'll lean the car out when you first install it, but the ecu will correct the AFR and you will lose all gains.

Once you go stage 2 an intake will not provide any gains whatsoever.

[86Boyz]

stage 2 100W bulbs

[Subie_Nubie]

Originally Posted by Tokay444

TRD intake is legit. And the intake testing has proven that while the factory intake is very very good, there are gains to be had with aftermarket intakes. Moreso after tuning.

The TRD intake is actually quite shit. For stock rides it's ok. If you try to use it with an OTS tune, it'll muck up the MAF scaling. Only aftermarket intake I like is Grimmspeed, but then again I'm biased because that's what I run. But the MAF scaling on this is closer to stock and is more compatible with stage 1/2 tunes. A new intake should probably be the least prioritized on your mod list.

[EAGLE5]

The stock intake is great. The new 2017 version is perhaps slightly better. The car does not have an intake bottleneck. A header can free up some power. Tuning does a lot, especially with e85. The stock exhaust is plenty big. Buy an intake for sound. By an exhaust for sound. Don't buy them for power.