i understand the 'kit' route... a stage 1 kit (and the parts involved.. usually from one manufacturer) makes sense... and i guess the dodges do have stage upgrades for their cars... raise my rent.
i'm still very new to the import gig, mind you, but i also think it just gives guys who don't know anything about their cars, or anything about cars, a way to sound cool... it sounds kinda playstation (grand turismo comes to mind)..
case in point:
i'm eager to hear anything about guys working on imports these days (have pity, i'm older.. i know a different car world than you).. so while at the tint shop the other day a kid comes in and is asking about some kind of jeep part (it's a 4X4 place.. HUGE trucks)... and eyes the speed, asks if i have done anything to it... he points out his honda civic, an older one... clean, with some nice looking rims, and the normal wing on the back...
him: yeah, i'm gonna go with a full stage 3 on this bad boy...
me: really? (thinking wow, that sounds cool, maybe this guy knows his stuff) ... so what does that involve? who makes the kit?
him: oh, i don't know any of that, i just know i'm gonna give my friend 500 bucks and he is going to do it for me...
me: oh.
the conversation turned to other things... at least he didn't want to go race, or anything, and didn't start talking about those damn subies

... he seemed like a nice guy... maybe 20ish... one of the guys who knew him even joked about him not knowing crap about cars...
i just think a 'stage 3' on a civic would involve a lot of input by the owner of the car... and it seems like a term kinda loosely tossed around... one man's stage 3 is another man's stage 1...
hmmmm.... in my best estimation, my old SS nova might have been a 'stage 2'... not very flush rims, AEC (analog engine control) meaning you tuned it all by hand with a screwdriver, timing light, tach, and vacuum gauge.... it had an LSD big time... we just called it positraction. a CAI was my big k&n element under my z-28 chrome lid, my MAF was a holley 750...
unlike all hondas, we all had STEC cam shafts, all it took was a saturday afternoon and you had a new cam profile..... short rebalanced shifter by HURST. mickey thompson and hoosiers with a wear rating of about 20.