I just picked up a 96 Avalon for my daily driver since my Jeep doesn't do so hot on the highway. Well mod fever has bit already and I'm looking to hop it up a bit, but am having NO luck finding anything performance for this car! Yeah I know it's the ultimate grandpa-mobile, but somebody has to make some stuff for it. I've heard that it is very similar to the ES300 and might even use the same motor (3.0 V6) so I was thinking if I could find some performance stuff for an ES than I'd be set. Can anybody confirm/deny any similarities between the two?

 

Yes, you are correct...the Avalon was not designed as a sport sedan, and it is indeed popular with senior citizens. It uses a slightly tweaked version of the 3.0L Camry V6. TRD probably doesn't market much, if anything, for this car, but you could see if the slightly firmer springs, shocks, and power-steering gear from the Camry SE ( a semi-sports sedan ) would retrofit. That would give you a little firmer feel and slightly better cornering.
One word of caution with this engine....if you use regular petroleum oil instead of synthetic, do NOT let it go too long between changes......many owners have had serious engine damage from this. If you don't change the oil often in this car, it is prone to sludge, gelling, and siezed-up and ruined engines.

 

You might want to consider an aftermarket spoiler & a classy looking tint job. It does wonders for the cars appearance! and MM is correct, whatever oil you use, change either according to the owners manual & don't extend the intervals.

 

Never been a fan of spoilers unless the car truly needs one (top fuel dragsters, IRL cars). My buddy owns a tint shop and he's gonna hook me up, going with 20% probably.

For the exterior mods I'll probably just get tint and some rims down the road, but I really want to know what I can do performance-wise for this thing. I know a really good custom exhaust shop, so that's easy, but I'm looking for thing like the K&N FIPK systems, aftermarket computers, and other little hop-ups like that.

 

20% is the perfect shade for the car That;s exactly what I have on my ES not too dark at night & dark enough during the day to make the car stand out. I also have a K & N air filter, I pretty much leave everything else factory myself but new rims add to the appearance as well if your not totally happy with the ones you already have.