Yeah, that would be cool to meet someone that knows all this stuff. I appreciate your help

 

I'm more afraid of correcting whatever your high school aged friends will tell you but you seem to have your head on straight with the light modding to complement an already good looking car and plus I wish I had as much help getting into it when I was new, I'd rather the scene be really helpful and friendly like it is now and be welcoming and stuff.

 

Yeah, my friend was like "WHATEVER YOU DO, DONT GET SPRINGS. THEY ARE GARBAGE COMPARED TO COILOVERS". Sigh. I know, I am mature for my age.

 

Meh, he's got some insight maybe, not sure what he's thinking with that statement but a lot of things can be said in relation to that. I really don't know him so I don't want to say anything about it but here is some stuff to think about:

Springs may eventually blow your stock strut towers, it'll be a long time probably, tons of people go years with no issue or even the life of the car, and springs aren't adjustable like coilovers, and the stiffness of the springs aren't nearly as high compared to coilovers.

Luckily we have a few cheap coilover options for tC's that won't break the bank and basically share the same pricing as really nice springs, raceland being the more popular option (what I and a lot of people have) and then there's the more recent Rokkor tuning coilovers, both can be had for about 300~ and are of very similar design. The racelands have a great warranty and great service as well so that's something to consider.

I went from Tein H-tech springs (lower drop than TRD but not crazy low) to raceland coils and loved the difference, wish these coils existed when I bought my springs the first time around.

Like I said the install process is basically the same for either setup with the coilovers being a bit more time consuming due to having to do the adjustment on them. Plus coilovers will mean you can have your stock struts and springs untouched for when you return the car back to whatever condition you plan to sell it in, so it preserves the state of those items more so than a set of springs would do.

He's probably thinking 1000-1500 for a set of coilovers, and we're thinkin' more like 300, they'll do the same thing so long as it's a daily and nobody will fault you here for not getting something nicer if you don't intend to track/race the car or can live with a bit bouncier ride (not as bad as it seems, and you can ride in my car to know what it's like, although my seats might negate some of the effect there).

 

Yeah, ive heard springs are also bouncier. Why are RaceLand coilovers so much less expensive than the normal ones, like TRD or H&R?

 

They're not nearly as adjustable, it's height only, they require some maintenance (white lithium grease to keep them from being noisy, not really an issue if you care for your car anyway) and they are bouncier than average for coilovers.

The quality is actually quite good for what you get and there's a huge HUGE thread on the suspension section about people using them and issue and support/warranty etc..

They're really popular for VW's and some BMW's even and they've been around for those brands for a bit longer than here so we at least knew they had some pedigree.

I'm not really a pro about the design and make of different kinds of coilovers since I don't track my car in any fashion so the knowledge isn't really necessary to me but I'm sure someone else could chime in with a bit more info into that.

 

Welcome, so looks like everyone is shooting you in a good direction and at least you have some knowledge and are on other forums, heres what to get to make the car abit better looking:

HIDs- make sure to get a 35 watt ballasts and not 55....go on the sponsored section on here on the classifieds and the dealers on here actually give an awesome deal on their hid kits for like 55 bucks shipped.

APT fog lights- can find them on ebay and they are awesome and super easy to install ( add Noyka yellow bulbs to them and look even better!)

front lip- RS1 is pretty popular and so is the oem or gfx front lips

exhaust- can go on youtube to listen to the vast array of exhausts to see what sounds best to you ( thats what I did and i picked the Megan Drift Spec and love it!) Greddy, Megan, Hks etc..

intake- can get a cold air intake or short ram to feed more air in and have a cool sound lol

tint- self explanitory

wheels- cheap way is to paint your "Stockies" stock wheels ( theres a DIY on here)

Also check out Dezod Motorsports to look at everything, and check out the classified sections to find awesome deals on slightly used or new parts!!

Hope that helps! also where at in Seattle you live? im bout an hour in a half south of you in Centralia/Chehalis

 

Thanks for that as well, yeah I learned a lot in the past 24 hrs about what to do to my car.

I live in Bellevue.

Are the APT fog lights you are talking about the lights on the bottom of the car, like below where your normal and highbeam lights are? Right now they are covered by two mesh-like things.

 

correct, theres those ones ( The APT's or the expensive ones..VRD's) or theres the OEM ones that go where your bottom grill goes

 

Yeah. Your list looks cool but I feel like half of those things would be a waste because they cause me to spend the money on the parts then having to either remove them and sell them (so I gotta carry along my stock parts) or sell them with it and only make more money on it if someone is interested in the parts. I feel like especially with Scion's people want to customize their own things. So things like the Lip kit may not be my best option, even if I think the RS1 lip kit is sexy.

 

How about you list any of the optional equipment your car already has, that way we can skip those things when we list stuff out.

 

Only things it has right now that I know are aftermarket head unit that has GPS on it. Besides that, everything is stock.

I think also I should put a price of what I want to spend on the car, that is important so we dont overspend and just buy things because they are there to be bought, you know? I am a student and everything and only have a part time job (usually like $400 a month)

 

Additionally, how hard would it to be to remove a lip kit from a car? I was looking over the RS1 LK and liked it a lot.

 

It's screwed in at the wheel wells and otherwise held on with double sided tape. Remember you need it painted unless you go with the CF one.

 

So you think its not such a great idea to get it then? I mean, I have seen a lot of tC's with the RS1 LK on it, maybe someone would want it.

 

Well it's just what you're willing to spend or if you know anyone who will paint it cheaper. It shouldn't damage the car and it's really easy to take on and off really. I'd say do it. There's only one cf rs1 kit around here and no painted ones, it'd be sweet.

 

http://www.racingsolution.com/scion/...l-lip-kit.html

What color would that come in? Just wondering. You are talking about CF, however it says its ASB Plastic :S

 

Yeah. That one is abs, it'd come in black primer. There is a full CF one too though if that interests you, just prolific as an option instead of having it painted, I'd rather you get tr abs and paint it though.

The biggest things you can do to change the look of your car is tint and lowering, then wheels if you want to, but there's a lot of small stuff that can be done too, full tbl, HID's, fogs, headlight and tail light vinyls to change the looks a bit, etc...

 

Yeah, I think my first things I am gonna do are tint and springs (H&R). Good?

Then I have a feeling my uncle for Christmas is getting me something for my car, maybe a spoiler. I can add that LK later along with other things.

 

Funny, my uncle called an hour ago and told me to look on eBay for some spoilers. I think I found a spoiler PAINTED for $98, but idk if its real or whatever. Also, the lip spoiler seems to be more expensive, and that just doesnt make sense

Here:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/2005-...item27b75feee0