"Tweaks" for an '03 ES?

[Zaurusman]

I should be picking up an '03 Protege ES 5-speed in about a week once the financing paperwork goes through, and in the meantime am wondering about small modifications. I've gone overboard on my '98 Dodge Dakota and am getting the Protege so I can retire the Dodge from daily duty, but I still just can't leave well enough alone. On my Dakota, though I've taken the "perfection" route, I know how to wake it up for a couple hundred dollars and a bit of dremel time. What about these cars? What's the fastest, cheapest way to give the a little bit more oompf and mileage; the best bang for the buck?

I'm leaning towards a short-stack filter for starters. Do strut-tower braces really work? I did a chassis x-brace on my truck and it worked wonders, but it has two body halves on a frame, so it was almost needed for tying things together. Is the 2.0 distributorless and coil-on-wire, or will upgrading plug wires yield a nice improvement in mileage? Is Toucan a good brand in spite of being inexpensive?

TIA

[chaosProtege]

toucan is good if you like cheap plastic. see my sig and do search for stuff. intake, exhaust, and header would be good to start.

[iluvmacs]

Get an exhaust header. I've had to swap the stock back in and i really notice a difference. If you're handy with a dremel and tools look for the VTCS removal. That is supposed to be a good mod, although I haven't done it yet.

Get an intake off ebay to clean up the engine bay and to get rid of excess amounts of plastic.