I got drilled and slotted and have to admit they strictly look good; only a slight improvement in braking

I would go with the CIA and performance exhaust

 

High sport kit you could maybe find on Craigslist. It will take some time though. It took me almost a year of constant looking before I actually got one. Also check car-part.com. A lot of the junkyards on there will ship stuff and rather cheaply actually

 

i know you said you dont want to yet but before i spent money on a cat back or intake i would buy a used top swap kit (you can get them for around $300) then i would get headers, let the stock exhaust on it behind the headers, get a good tune, save the rest of the money and keep saving for a trans build. a basic top swap is reliable i would daily drive a basic top swap every day of the week and you will have a lot more power and fun with a top swap than any NA car IMO.

and as far as the trans goes i wouldnt worry about it to much on a basic top swap. the only difference between a NA trans and a SC trans is the diff and gearing (neither are an issue with a basic top swap)