Modifying your car on a budget?

Modifying your car on a budget?

I'm starting to mod my car (1997 7A-FE Auto) and would like some ideas or tips for free or cheap mods to increase the cars performance.

I want to keep things relatively inexpensive. While I'm not expecting miracles, I just want to make it more safe and driveable.... commuting in Toronto driving a Corolla is not the best experience as you tend to get cut off and picked on a lot

Cheap eh??....Hmm, I got alotta ideas for ya..

Sharpie window tint, spinner hub caps, home depot "JDM YO!" front lip spoiler, Folger's special blend exhaust, PVC pipe intake, Remove drivers side wiper and raise passenger side wiper five inches on windshield, Boeing triple-deck aleron, and stickers stickers stickers!....don't forget the NOS energy drink just in case...

damn if there was any of those we wouldn't be buying turboes...

drive like a nut, the people picking you up will be the police.

you could buy those electric supercharges and a temp mod resistor you're gonna kill the engine, but it's gonna run 0.328723 faster going down hill

I was thinking more along the lines of weight reduction or relocating the battery to the trunk.

But it's nice to see that both you guys have similar taste in mods

only thing to make you go faster worth the money is... lol... ok ok...

moving the battery to the drunk will do squat, unless you make a CAI out of something that won't rust with a GOOD filter...

other than that.... S/C or Turbo

lol S/C or Turbo setups aren't even close to being cheap....

by cheap, I mean somewhere in the sub-$500 range. Should've posted that earlier.

i would say get some good lowering springs and maybe the brakes

You're looking for something safe and reliable? Toyota did a pretty good job on their own...maybe you should start with a routine tuneup and make sure everything's working as it should be..

$500 isnt gonna get you far especially with performance. Lowering springs would be a pretty good start tho followed by intake. If I were you, i'd say do it right the first time, save your money and buy quality parts. Unless you own a house (or have a demanding girlfriend, lol), your car is probably your best investment so treat it right. Quality over convenience. You can't expect results quick. And remember, there is no car project that is ever truly complete so once again, do it right the first time instead of fixing it over and over with the "cheap" stuff.

words of a wise man, my little grasshopper...

it's a 97 and a corolla. there is no real performance there. best option would be to lower it with some wheels so you can take the stuff off when you go to sell it.

NAZZ or Engine swap if u want power... but under 500 for engine swap = impossible... go for suspension for now... look for some lowering springs in for sale section and get some struts off ebay.. total probably cost u 3-400 plus install cost....

pick up a wrecked ae92 gts and do a drivetrain/powertrain swap. that should be around 500 to 1000. your best bang for buck is going to be your suspension though. nothing will liven your car up more for the price.

First of all, fix everything broken or needs to be fixed. After everything is ok, then start to mod your car.

save that money, save even more and use it as a down payment on a faster car. for now...just deal with it.

Words from a wise man. I hate it when people mod their car but it has soo many other problems that should be taken care of first.

^LOL, that reminds me of *someone always had broken front bumper.
You guys should know who he was. LOL

For just $500, you can try intake, header, and muffler if you don't want to get into suspension yet.

Depends on what you mean by "modifications". I mean, like the other day - I "modified" my bumper by bumping the neighbor's trashcan out of the way with my car.

Anytime you mean performance mods + budget with a car like the Corolla, then you be much further ahead by taking the $500 and sticking it back in your pocket. Like that old saying goes - "How do you double your money? Fold it in half and put it back in your pocket".

Many here have good points - first, a good tune up will reveal any lost power. Upgrading the springs and struts can cost more than $500 - unless you DIY, but the suspension mods tend to make the largest difference in the car's behavior. Uless you consider the $500 budget above and beyond tune-ups and normal maintenance of the car. A transmission flush and refill, coolant flush and refill, new air filter, oil change, plugs, wires, cap, rotor, cleaning the throttle body, maybe new O2 sensors, cleaning the brakes - maybe new pads, brake fluid flush and refill, power steering flush and refill, A/C recharge, throttle body cleaning, etc. - can burn through $500 pretty easily with a comprehensive tune-up.

Some really good suggestions here so far.....

The car is pretty well tuned-up as far as maintenance goes, I get regular oil changes and over the last 2 years it's received new:

-Tires
-Brakes and brake fluid
-Air Filter
-Rebuilt strarter
-Spark Plugs
-Spark Plug Wires
-Transmission fluid
-Power Steering fluid
-Coolant

So yeah, the $500 will be above and beyond maintenance, I know it's a small budget to work with, but I'll take what I can get as I'm stuck with this car until I can afford something better. The car is going to be used mostly as a daily driver and the roads here are terrible to drive on at best... in winter, it's even worse, broken pavement and potholes everywhere, so I don't know how practical lowering springs would be.

I mainly said performance because I want to leave it open to whatever you guys want to suggest.

yea, definately a good idea to get maintenance out of the way....and depending on where you are with mileage, a tranny flush, radiator flush, complete belt change (including timing belt) and new water pump would be a good idea to take care of too. That should set you back pretty close to $500.

Oops, forgot to add that in... I had the timing belt done last year as well, car has 85,000miles

based on the highlighted above i would suggest saving your money until you can get something better. invest the 500 into something until you can afford the better car.

^^such as a down payment...or tags tax and title...

Thanks for the suggestions, I guess it will stay the way it is for now.

I still would like to mod my 98 (High CR block, nitrous, yada, yada, yada), but I would rather just do a little bit to make it more fun to drive every day, and I'll save up my money for another car down the road. The fiancee and I are both saving up money for a collective car fund (to get her a Yaris sedan and me a Fit (sorry, guys, I still like Honda, too!)) so we can get better cars in a few years if we save up enough. Besides, if you get a car that actually has decent aftermarket support, it won't cost as much (on average) to modify it.