Celica Forums General Discussion Engine and Performance help with handling and power please

So I want to make my celica a beast through the canyons so my friends won't bag on the car so much and so that I can win at soothing atleast since they all have faster cars their parents bought them 🙄. Also id like to have a bit more power to so I'm so under powered going up hill in canyons. Any help greatly appreciated but I don't want to ruin the reliability and longevity of the car considering it's a 2001 celica get with only 69,000 miles on it

Have a quick read through here:
https://celicahobby.com/forums/ubbt...-performance-what-should-i-do-first.html

Some very basic advice which wont destroy your engine:
Cold air intake.
Performance exhaust.
Performance suspension.
Light weight wheels.
Light weight performance tires.
Reduce weight of your vehicle.
Lower your personal body weight.
Drive on 87 octane for around town. Fill up on 91+ for canyon carves.

Read up on some performance driving techniques:

Thanks for the list and link, luckily I'm pretty light so body weight ain't a problem, would a that pfc chip (I think it's called) ruin the engine?

The chip is the last to do, upgrades to motor should take priority honestly.

And an easy/reliable way to make power for about $4k or less is a s/C kit from a Lotus setup (Lotus talk.com). I have installed one on a past 2zz I owned and they are VERY fun and powerful. If you get an OEM kit, should net you about 250hp, if you net an aftermarket setup, it should net you about 350hp...which in a 2zz is a blast.

Install is really easy...took me about 5 hours in my garage, and all in all should be darn near identical.

Would mods such as a cold air intake and performance exhaust effect my gas mileage at all or the dependablity of the car?

And also can you guys list some good brands of exhaust kits and intakes please.