Hey y'all, just found this community and figured I'd ask because y'all might be able to help me out.
Recently got myself a AE95 JDM and have been having to do basic repairs, and learn the ins and outs of my engine and electrical; never done car work before so it's actually quite fun. All that said though, I've been taking the easy way out and going through a big box store for cheap, basic replacement parts. Having worked retail though, I know that what stores sell isn't always the best (and more often than not is just mediocre), and I've been considering just going to straight up upgrades instead of sidegrades or down if the quality is terrible. Buy I'm also aware that Corollas aren't exactly made to be "sporty", much less mine from '95 as it's only got a 4A-FHE engine in it, a tiny little four-cylinder, as well as a regular automatic trans. I'm not gonna swap the engine either, as the current only has about 84k miles on it, and honestly I just love the simplicity of the 4A.
So the question now is where do I go from here? I want to upgrade parts if I can, but I'm not looking to turn this into a drifter, rally car (even though it's full-time 4x4), drag, or anything fancy because I'm more convinced I'd blow up my perfectly good engine in the process given its limitations. Are upgrades possible, and if so, what do I want to avoid? For reference again, this is my first time ever working on my own car and I want to really know the ins and outs of it, but don't want to get in over my head if possible in complicated repairs; it's more analog than digital and I'd love to keep it that way if possible.