Air Intake Search

[Crum's RS]

I am trying to find an air intake for my 2015 Chevy Sonic 1.4 turbo but i am running into the problem where it says it doesn't make one for my year. Would one from 2012 or 2013 work?? i am looking into an injen Sp air intake or anything that makes decent horsepower. i am up for any suggestions you have. Thank you

 

[ScarabEpic22]

MPFab Intake For 2012-2015 Chevy Sonic - Morgan Performance Fabrication

Best one on the market IMHO. There are plenty of others, and yes any 1.4T intake from 12-current will fit your 2015.

 

[kevjam79]

Unfortunately, you will not gain any horsepower without a tune. There a multitude of options for your build... Dig a little deeper.


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[MORTIS]

^ He should gain a few ponies with the MPFab or similar design intake, but yeah, not much without a tune.

 

[Natesriv]

DDM motorworks... I don't think there's any change in the air intake or MAF placement.

Doubt any HP gains as today's engines map out a performance curve and adjust everything to stay within that... might take a day or so (so you might see some gain, but it'll go back)... hence a tune.

But they look nice.... Jalopnik had an article on the top 10 useless car mods... a CAI (or the standard air intake like DDM or MPFAB) was on that list... STOCK though

 

[Crum's RS]

thank you guys for the input. i did look into ddm and is what i'll probably end up going with but nothing is set in stone. i've been seeing how people are saying the computer dummies it back down to stock. how can it do that?

 

[kevjam79]

It monitors torque output on -the-fly based on several ECM parameters.


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[ChrisRS]

Check out the ZZP intake - they claim that it will give ~12 hp gain wo tune.

 

[Swordsmith]

The Sonic (and similar modern cars) does not have a gas pedal, it has a torque demand pedal. The pedal asks the computer to tell the engine to push THIS hard. Depending on many factors such as the weather, octane of your gas, any mods, it might take 60% of your available gas, or it might take 40%, or 80%. But in order to be consistent, the computer says "he pressed the pedal down this far, this is how much torque he wants".

Stock, the 1.4T is capable of 148 ft/lbs of torque. Maybe your intake would make that 158 ft/lbs. But the computer sees the pedal on the floor, says "he wants 148 ft/lbs" and that's all it gives you.

All the tunes on the market change that to a "percent of torque" pedal. Now your car sees the pedal halfway to the floor, it gives you half of the available torque. Sees it all the way to the floor, it gives you everything the engine can give you.

That, basically, is why there are no gains without a tune.

 

[laborsmith]

Good explanation, Swordsmith.

Laborsmith

 

[Natesriv]

yeah, it's almost fly by wire, which might explain why I'll always be fluctuating + 5 mph when driving on the freeway

 

[TheGreenDragon]

That, basically, is why there are no gains without a tune.

Then again, with how complex cars and their ECUs are becoming, it's also much, much easier to screw the whole thing up.

I've seen lots of threads here complaining about mysterious problems with power/performance, and a lot of them seem to be guys who have had their cars 'tuned'.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm a little hesitant to go the whole tune route if this many people are having problems pushing the engine beyond GM's preferred torque curve. It sucks, and I'm sure the engine can take it, but I have a feeling that GM intentionally made it a pain to mod.

 

[kevjam79]

Then again, with how complex cars and their ECUs are becoming, it's also much, much easier to screw the whole thing up.



I've seen lots of threads here complaining about mysterious problems with power/performance, and a lot of them seem to be guys who have had their cars 'tuned'.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but I'm a little hesitant to go the whole tune route if this many people are having problems pushing the engine beyond GM's preferred torque curve. It sucks, and I'm sure the engine can take it, but I have a feeling that GM intentionally made it a pain to mod.

It's not a pain. It's GM protecting their warranty.


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[Swordsmith]

I'm told it's not about the warranty, it's about providing a consistent experience. If they let the car do whatever it can do, the they get lots of complaints in the summer about how their car isn't putting out as much power as it used to... from people who are ignorant about the higher air density in cold weather. Computer is set to deliver only the power that the car will always be able to deliver regardless of conditions.

 

[Sonic4]

I purchased K & N Typhoon for my 2012 LT 1.4 and Borla exhaust with BNR tune and love my experience with it .:banana:

 

[whitesmoke]

With the proper person doing the tune you will not have any problems. Our car can run the full blown race tune on 104 octane and you could drive it around everyday and never know it wasnt right from the dealer stock with absolute zero problems and amazingly stock driveability.

 

[wbjones]

thanks for the info Swordsmith ... was considering getting one ... (made a huge difference in my '01 Integra) ... but since I don't plan on doing a tune, seems it would be a waste of ~ $300

thanks again

 

[Victory Red RS]

thanks for the info Swordsmith ... was considering getting one ... (made a huge difference in my '01 Integra) ... but since I don't plan on doing a tune, seems it would be a waste of ~ $300

thanks again

Not a waste! While it is correct that you will receive no performance gains the music from the turbo will put a smile on your face. I'm self tuned with HPTuners and it's a huge difference from stock. Keep in mind though once tuned expect to lose about 6 mpg and have to run 93 octane. I have DDM Works with the heat shield and have no complaints.

 

[Swordsmith]

Although I'm tuned up the wazoo and have many mods, I have not lost any mpg and can run happily on 87 octane fuel (although I tend to run 93 as I get more peak performance and slightly better mpg and mostly, because an extra $3 per tank is simply not going to break my bank.)

 

[lousypirate]

Although I'm tuned up the wazoo and have many mods, I have not lost any mpg and can run happily on 87 octane fuel (although I tend to run 93 as I get more peak performance and slightly better mpg and mostly, because an extra $3 per tank is simply not going to break my bank.)

but... e85