I've just begun messing around with my car with the dinky stuff like painting calipers and cheap junk. i want to get real into it and was wondering where I should start on my '96 5SFE GT Hatchback. I want a very clean look to the engine bay and exterior. I was thinking of getting the H1 Erebuni Bodykit from http://www.shophyperformance.com/cgi-bin/hp/000372.html
If anyone can suggest places of quality to buy from and/or parts that would awesome!

This post has been edited by tjblacrosse: Feb 12, 2008 - 11:11 AM

well you already got a short shifter so thats a good 1st start.

look into
suspension
-TEIN SS coilovers (~$1,000) / or if you don't wana spend that much H&R springs, or TEIN S-tech springs coupled with KYB GR-2 shocks.
-Suspension techniques sway bars
-HAWK/Ferodo brake pads
-Slotted rotors
-quality tires
- ss braided brake line + fluid flush

body
-Erebuni "h1" is a nice clean kit (don't put a spoiler on)
-wheels 17" light to medium weight (under 25lbs) wheels is a good size/weight
- procarparts makes clear sidemarkers and turn signals to help with the look
- TOYOTA JDM taillights

thats a decent start on top of the
intake, headers, exhaust

That's kinda what I was going for. I don't have much cash but the S Tech Lowering Springs (SKL36-AUB00) looked great on others cars, the Arospeed Crome headers (ARO800912), and the Injen Technology intake system (IS2040) could be good addition. Does anyone happen to know if I need to get anything to go with these parts or how well they add to a Celica? Thanks!!

reinforce it, but its not a Coup or an ST. the Coup and/or ST is better for reinforcing because they're great for track. and by that i mean 90 degree turns at 50mph GTs are for drag.

reinforce to be able to handle speed, not track. Quick corrections at high speeds,quick acceleration, good light weight rim, stage 1,2, or 3 clutch (depending on what your trying to build) stuff like that. just something to think about while your figuring out what you want. again reinforce first but remember what your driving.

>

Stech is a great spring
Arospeed doesn't make headers for our car anymore, go on ebay they are all over on there for cheap.
Injen intake is a waste of money, fabricate your own intake. or go back to 6gc main page and click "how-to section" and look for the DIY intake write up.

stech will be a great handling increase
header = 5hp
intake = better throttle response maybe 1 hp

IMO, our cars mostly look good JDM style. The Japan aftermarket kits are not bad, but the others (Fast N Furious Style) are a bit extreme, ruins the curves of the car.

Thanks for the help! So on that reinforcing point you made, is it possible to reinforce for speed AND handling? I've seen people stiffen their rides and say that drastically helps their corners with speed. But with not much experience under my belt I would love to do something easy to medium difficulty that would help my performance. Thing is, I love the look of the after-market cold air intakes, making my own would look like crap. My engine bay needs to look a lot nicer (aka hasn't ever been steam cleaned or anything). Any suggestions again? Thanks again guys for answering my newbie questions! Great help!

when you increase your ability to handle, you increase the ability to cut lap times down...(go faster)

so any improvement to handling also helps with speed.

it doesn't help from a power point of view.

you might be able to put the power to the ground more efficiently though.