Got a 136k mi.,'96 HX coupe. Runs great,reliable as ever.But am wondering if there are any mild,inexpensive mods to be done,that would be worth doing for a little more torque,and/or hp. without messing up what's good-(milage,smooth-running,etc.)? Are there any real gains to adding say, the K&N aircharger/short ram or something along those lines?
Are there any reasonable exhaust set-ups that could improve anything-without making the thing sound like someone's weed-whacker on crack?
(lord I, laugh my self silly every time some goober goes zinging by with that WHAAAAAAAAHWHEEEEEEEE sound and a coffee-can sized muffler....)
Not looking to race it, or turn it into any kind of rice rocket.Just a little more oomph,if workable.
In the handling dept.-she does well there mostly,but am curious if there are any reasonable advantages to roll-bars,cross-tower bracing etc. on an otherwise stock suspension. Not looking to lower it to where she drags herself across potholes and speedbumps-so coil-overs,etc Im not interested in. She's plenty low enough as it is.
As far as wheels, currently is stock 14" numbers.Oddly enough, I kind of like them that size-but is difficult to find any replacement wheels in that size that look better/etc. Any suggestions?
Sorry for the long and the wordy,but..too many thoughts for one line.

 

You could get a cold air intake and maybe put on a header with a high flow cat to get a little more power out of it.

As for handling front a rear sway bars can help alot. Strut bars won't really do much unless you have pretty stiff suspension, but it wouldn't hurt to get them anyways. HX wheels are pretty good since they are so light. Maybe get a good set of tires for them, good tires are always worth the money no matter what.

 

Ah. Considering the K&N 63-1016,so may end up going with that.
I'd heard that about the wheels,so Im wondering if maybe I just paint them...Looking to get black ones,but if just painting the stock ones works...
As for tires, Ive been running Toyos for years and they've been fantastic.100% swear by them.

 

Nitrous makes anything fast. Just might not last for ever. LOL!

 

my self i own a 97 hx coupe. super reliable but slow. i just have an AEM CAI and an OBX header and that made a few more HP/TQ. but yeah strut bars do make a difference on my coupe. almost like night and day

 

Here is what I did to mine,
Engine:
Short ram intake
Full 2.25 inch exhaust with 18 inch resonator
Megan Racing Header (which eliminates the cat)
Suspension
Tein S-Tech springs (1 inch drop) to Skunk 2 Springs (2.5 inch drop)
KYB AGX Shocks
Keep the wheels as they are light and getting harder to find and help with the gas mileage. I painted mine gunmetal and they looked great. I also wanted a little more pep from the car and ended up going with an EX tranny, by far the best thing you can do to that car for performance but not so much for gas mileage.
In the end with the HX tranny and the mods listed above and careful freeway driving I was able to get 60 mpg, after the tranny more like 50. And almost anything you buy for the car can be from an EX model too.