Questions regarding performance, sourcing, etc

[Drevina]

Hey all, still moderately new to actually posting here but I am currently and in the future looking to continue to put money into making my base 06 Vibe into a semi street/looker/Red light racer (in terms of Hp, etc not actually, keep the racing on the track!)

Basically my goal is Between 5000-10k (CAD) to figure out how to make the car handle better, and look better under the hood. As well as to add performance gains if possible both to handling and engine. I am currently on new rims that I'm getting repainted for about 1200$ and I am fully aware this is a money sink. I love this car dearly and have no issue modding it, my biggest problem is actually finding the parts to do so.

Does anyone have recommendations? I am also looking for a hatch floor mat OEM and a driver's side OEM floor mat as mine was...destroyed.

Thanks to any and all.

Ideas so far are...

Interior mats (OEM)

Repainting my silver lined panels in the car for looks.(Or carbon fiber???)

Getting a strut bar for the rear and front of the car for handling at expense of road feel. As well as suspension/Coilovers.

Potentially repainting the entire vehicle, have to work over a few tiny rust chips from rocks otherwise the car has moderate hail damage but is fully safetied, etc. (I am extremely aware this is not cheap)

Larger brakes? Better calipers. This one has been very hard to find.

I would love to figure out how to get more horsepower with a swappable intake system for summer/winters, and also if I can get engine modifications without swapping into a manual transmission. I like that my car is automatic (I also like manual don't worry) but I plan on getting a Nissan Silvia soon and that will be my manual.

Not sure what else off the top of my head but would love feedback.


Here is the current list of what I have managed to do, I won't space this one for ease of reading.

New rims (17 inch Z.E.I.T. BIMS) which are being redone in Bronze mettalic flake. I also have redone the audio with a new Pioneer sound system and a Sub is on the way alongside Alarm, command start, and the like.

Thank you to everyone who responds

[VibeNation2024]

Welcome! I will add some input but I have always focused on maintenance items such as getting quality touch up paint for chips/scratches, replacing broken fog lights, cleaning headlights with restore kits, using trim restore, tints, regular washing/waxing, etc so I don't have much expirience on increasing horsepower, lifting/lowering, etc. I will say that from what I read, the engineers squeezed as much out of the engine as possible so unless you are looking at some serious $$ for ECU, turbo, etc, your money might be spent better elsewhere.

OEM mats might be difficult to come across but there is a guy near Detriot MI named Brett Hardy that sells parts and has an ebay page. I'm not sure how much shipping would be to Canada but you could email him at TheVibeNut@gmail.com to see what he has and the pricing. He is very fair on pricing and explaining the condition of his parts.

I have see some nice panels that are just wrapped so that might be a less expensive option to dress up the interior.

If the exterior paint is not in great condition, I would put this on the top of your list.

Finally, to give yourself some more ideas, here is a Viber who really upgraded/mod'ed his Vibe and shares explains what he did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rdoWXputpI

[Drevina]

Welcome! I will add some input but I have always focused on maintenance items such as getting quality touch up paint for chips/scratches, replacing broken fog lights, cleaning headlights with restore kits, using trim restore, tints, regular washing/waxing, etc so I don't have much expirience on increasing horsepower, lifting/lowering, etc. I will say that from what I read, the engineers squeezed as much out of the engine as possible so unless you are looking at some serious $$ for ECU, turbo, etc, your money might be spent better elsewhere.

OEM mats might be difficult to come across but there is a guy near Detriot MI named Brett Hardy that sells parts and has an ebay page. I'm not sure how much shipping would be to Canada but you could email him at TheVibeNut@gmail.com to see what he has and the pricing. He is very fair on pricing and explaining the condition of his parts.

I have see some nice panels that are just wrapped so that might be a less expensive option to dress up the interior.

If the exterior paint is not in great condition, I would put this on the top of your list.

Finally, to give yourself some more ideas, here is a Viber who really upgraded/mod'ed his Vibe and shares explains what he did:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8rdoWXputpI

Appreciate the hell out of you, I've definitely through with new headlights, forgot to mention that, everything on the exterior is basically new/replaced light wise to get the looks. Getting a custom plate as well. The paint is....50/50, definitely has scratches, definitely dents, nothing extreme and the rust is sheerly surface level rock chips, no undercarriage (I check yearly) and nothing on the skirts, etc. I am obsessive about the vehicles longevity and health so I check all the time to make sure.

I will absolutely reach out to that guy so thank you Incredibly for that recommendation as well as that YouTuber! Thanks man!

[brutus0011]

or handling improvements, adding front and rear strut bars and upgrading to performance coilovers is definitely a solid plan; it’ll help with cornering and overall road feel. For brakes, you might look into a brake kit from a performance supplier like EBC or Wilwood—sometimes custom solutions for more popular models like the Corolla or Matrix will fit with a bit of modification since the Vibe shares a lot of components with them.

Regarding engine performance, you could consider a cold air intake or a high-flow air filter for a bit more horsepower without needing to swap out the transmission. You could also explore tuning or reflashing the ECU, which can provide some performance gains even on an automatic. As for aesthetic upgrades, carbon fiber accents could definitely modernize the look of the interior, and repainting could be worthwhile if you're planning to keep the car for the long term.

[Drevina]

or handling improvements, adding front and rear strut bars and upgrading to performance coilovers is definitely a solid plan; it’ll help with cornering and overall road feel. For brakes, you might look into a brake kit from a performance supplier like EBC or Wilwood—sometimes custom solutions for more popular models like the Corolla or Matrix will fit with a bit of modification since the Vibe shares a lot of components with them.

Regarding engine performance, you could consider a cold air intake or a high-flow air filter for a bit more horsepower without needing to swap out the transmission. You could also explore tuning or reflashing the ECU, which can provide some performance gains even on an automatic. As for aesthetic upgrades, carbon fiber accents could definitely modernize the look of the interior, and repainting could be worthwhile if you're planning to keep the car for the long term.

Wildly enough never considered reflashing or tuning the ecu, I should look into that! I appreciate the ideas I will check into basically all of those, especially the intake!

This car is (unless wrecked) going to stay with me as long as it possibly can!

Thank you!