I've actually had this car for nearly six years (now at ~143,000 miles) but didn't do anything to her until the fourth, when the OE struts were showing signs of failure. I've taken to lightly modifying her since, mainly in the form of putting a high-quality aftermarket component in place of a weak or failed OE predecessor. But there's definitely been some 'just because' things done.
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Other than replacing the suspension with H & R OE Sport springs over Koni Yellows, I've put in Eibach sways with Moog endlinks, Cusco upper and lower tower braces, and had HT-Spec Stage 3 braking put into place of our crappy hardware along with Legend two-piston calipers in the front. The wheels are Motegi MR-121s, in the stock size I'm afraid. Didn't want to buy new tires yet again since I'd already blown a considerable amount over the past two years experimenting prior to taking a liking to these Potenza RE970s (225/50). Recently had the front and side engine mounts replaced with XLR8s (62A), which absolutely make a difference. You still won't hunt down Porsches in this car, but it's arguably the most discernible modification I've ever experienced. Really shores up the front end's traction and responsiveness, and the vibration that makes it into the car is minimal even before the bushings acclimate.
A conservative setup overall, but the roads here are too much of a laughable disaster for me to go with aggressive suspension or tire measures. They were fine when only a few of us transplants were out here, but the boomburb effect along with awful infrastructure expansion planning has beaten them to the point that even on settings approximating stock, the car feels a little crashy at time. I've considered pulling the trigger on both to see how much handling is still left on the table once they're sorted out; between looking to return to school and the CL having a lot of sentiment value, I'll can see myself still owning this car in a few years' time. But the market is an interesting one these days, and I'm currently not in a position where I can continue spending at will on her if I get something else. So I guess we'll just have to play this by ear.
Other than replacing the suspension with H & R OE Sport springs over Koni Yellows, I've put in Eibach sways with Moog endlinks, Cusco upper and lower tower braces, and had HT-Spec Stage 3 braking put into place of our crappy hardware along with Legend two-piston calipers in the front. The wheels are Motegi MR-121s, in the stock size I'm afraid. Didn't want to buy new tires yet again since I'd already blown a considerable amount over the past two years experimenting prior to taking a liking to these Potenza RE970s (225/50). Recently had the front and side engine mounts replaced with XLR8s (62A), which absolutely make a difference. You still won't hunt down Porsches in this car, but it's arguably the most discernible modification I've ever experienced. Really shores up the front end's traction and responsiveness, and the vibration that makes it into the car is minimal even before the bushings acclimate.
A conservative setup overall, but the roads here are too much of a laughable disaster for me to go with aggressive suspension or tire measures. They were fine when only a few of us transplants were out here, but the boomburb effect along with awful infrastructure expansion planning has beaten them to the point that even on settings approximating stock, the car feels a little crashy at time. I've considered pulling the trigger on both to see how much handling is still left on the table once they're sorted out; between looking to return to school and the CL having a lot of sentiment value, I'll can see myself still owning this car in a few years' time. But the market is an interesting one these days, and I'm currently not in a position where I can continue spending at will on her if I get something else. So I guess we'll just have to play this by ear.