Hello... thanks for the comments! I had my exhaust work done at Marco Muffler in Sacramento. They have a few locations in the area, and have been reasonable in the past. If I recall, it cost me well under $75 to remove the mid-muffler and add the resonator, which I purchased separately from Summit Racing online. It was funny... I went in and told them at Marco what I wanted. They tried to talk me out of it since they didn't believe it was going to make much of a difference. Well, it sounds great. The youtube audio doesn't do it justice. Stage III is perfect! At idle it isn't too noticable, but you can definitely hear the difference under moderate throttle. It's been one of my favorite inexpensive mods, and a lot cheaper than a complete exhaust upgrade.
I purchased my springs through one the Acurazine vendors, although I cannot remember which one off hand. The vendors here are pretty competitive, so you should be able to find one that will match the price of the other.
I picked the Tein s-tech series as I heard from others that they were not much stiffer than stock. I am extremely happy with them. I figured I only wanted a modest drop anyways, so the coilovers were going to be a waste of money anyways. I did purchase some new shocks as well, because I did not want to have to take everything apart again after the OEM ones failed (I hear that it's a problem with those who decided to wait). The whole set-up was just over $500, plus installation by an old mechanic of mine that worked on my several Miatas over the years. The ride is just slightly stiffer, which is a welcome feature. I take some back roads into work that have seen better days, and it isn't unbearable. I think it's the perfect match for a car that is a daily driver.
A vast majority of the 3G TL owners believe firmly in the OEM A-spec underbody kit. I was hesitant at first, but after seeing it first hand, I was impressed. I'm not sure if you are going to go that route, but if you consider anything cosmetic, I would recommend picking up at least the front lip spoiler. It definitely adds something to the front of the car that doesn't take away from the beauty of the base design.
Let me know if you have any further questions. I'd be happy to try to answer them.
Sean
