The first five mods actually worth your money
Ranked by dollars per grin — the upgrades we'd tell a mate to do first, and the popular ones that are a waste until later. Spoiler: the big wing isn't on the list.
Everyone's first mod list has the same five things on it, and four of them are wrong. After watching a few hundred people spend money in this shop, here's the list that actually works — in the order that makes sense.
1. Tyres. Yes, really.
Not sexy, but it's the only part touching the road. A set of decent performance tyres transforms grip, braking and steering feel more than any bolt-on under the bonnet. If your car is on mystery-brand rubber, fix that before everything else — every other mod works through the tyres.
2. A proper ECU tune
On a turbo car, nothing else comes close for money. A custom ECU remap is 15–25% more power for under fifteen hundred bucks, and it takes a day. It's the mod every owner describes the same way: 'should've done it years ago.'
3. Brake pads and fluid
The boring one. Once the car's faster it reaches the next corner faster — and factory pads are designed for the old speed. A pads + fluid + lines package is under a grand and it's the difference between braking later and braking never.
4. An alignment, then suspension
Before coilovers, get a proper alignment — half the 'my car feels vague' complaints are geometry, not hardware. Then if you still want more, sway bars and decent dampers change how the car drives more than a stage of power ever will.
5. The exhaust
Last on the list, not because it's bad — because it's about sound and feel more than raw gain on most cars. When the power and the brakes are sorted, the right exhaust is the bit that makes the car feel finished. Do it early and it's jewellery on a slow car.
What to skip (for now)
Cold-air intakes alone (minimal gain without a tune to use it), throttle body spacers (nothing), strut braces before suspension (decoration), and the big wing — unless your car needs the downforce, and your commute doesn't.
None of this is gospel — a drift car and a diesel tow rig have different first lists. Bring yours in and we'll mark it up. Twenty minutes, no charge, and it'll probably save you a thousand bucks of parts you didn't need.
Thinking about it?
Got a mod list already? Bring it in — we'll tell you what to keep, what to skip and what order to do it in.
Ask the shop+61 2 4961 8527
The short version
Tyres → tune → brakes
That's the order. Grip first, then power, then stopping.
Align before coilovers
Half of 'vague handling' is geometry — fix that first, cheap.
Skip the wing
Intakes, spacers, strut bars, wings — save them for later.
More from the workshop
Got a car that needs it?
Reading about it is step one. Ring the shop or send the form — we'll tell you what your car would actually gain and what it costs.