Yeah I would tell you the only way to make it worth it would be to grab a 5 speed and a 1MZ; even then it is debatable. It's just not a tuner car in the classic sense, and Toyota wasn't even thinking along those lines when they designed the motor set or the cars it went in.

The 1MZ is an interesting engine; I've just finished a 3 year term with two of them. They have more torque than they do horsepower, a lost art now a days with variable valve timing (it won't have it unless you source one out of a 98-on ES300 or a 2002-on Camry, and the 98 will just have VVT, not VVT-i). With just a simple and cheap set up (TRD high pressure radiator cap, TRD oil filter, Injen intake/heatshield, HKS hyper-grounding and minor brakes/suspension stuff, premium gas and good oil), it was able to deal with an intake/exhaust RSX-S, an I/H/E base RSX, an I/H/E tC and everything under them. Nothing to brag about, but it isn't a D16, and you do have displacement at your disposal.

Besides custom turbo set-ups, the only forced induction route I'm aware of involves the TRD supercharger, a piece that is both increasingly rare and expensive. Bolt ons will make it fun, especially in a light car, but I blew a knock sensor almost immediately, and concluded my adventure as a result. You run out of cheap mods REAL fast, and you need to start dropping serious money for not that much horsepower; it isn't cost efficient no matter how you look at it.

So my final thoughts.....if that is the car you are driving, you don't have the money needed to properly modify it. Sorry to be blunt. The real world is.....well real. I wish you luck with whatever, and I do have 1MZ stuff for sale in the Flea Market if you need it.