Minnesota Newbie
- Thread starter Crides
- Start date
Crides
New member
7. Why get flex fuel sensor if there’s so many E85 stations? In cold weather they dilute the E85 with extra gasoline, and I would like the ECU to optimize on the fly as the ethanol concentrations change through the seasons. And I don’t want to run out of gas if no ethanol stations nearby…
Crides
New member
9. That’s 10 Posts! I’m excited to join the community and turn this compact efficiency into a go-cart. In the era of push button start, electric motors, and continuously variable transmissions, I’m excited to own a relic of human-controlled Detroit rumble with minimal electronic assist.
Thesd45
New member
Welcome from your neighbor with more lakes!
Your source must be outdated. According to the Wisconsin State Energy Office Wisconsin currently has 134 stations with E85. Wisconsin State Energy Office:**E85 Stations
Crides
New member
Thanks for the well wishes and sorry for the late reply. It's been 5 months and over 2,000 miles around town. I need to figure out how to post pictures, but the exterior is still pretty stock looking except for wheels and snow tires. Updates so far, in order:
1. Hawk Performance Brakes from BNR. Great purchase. Old rotors were warped. These have serious bite and stop the car firmly. Drilled and slotted looks cool but honestly it's hard to see in a small wheel unless a very open spoke pattern.
2. DDM Works rear anti-sway bar and ZZP steel end-links. Did these at the same time. Hard to tell in normal city driving, but got snow tires soon after so haven't taken roundabouts at much speed.
3. Nokian Haakepellittaa snow tires and 16" MB wheels. I'll post a picture soon. Looks nice. Haven't had a big snow yet. I also really like the Blizzaks on my Mazda. Plan to upgrade summer tires to Michelin Super Sport at some point.
4. ZZP Shifter Cable Clamp and Shifter Bushings. My favorite upgrade so far. Drops right into gear with a firm 'clunk-clunk', like it knows right where to go. No play, feels sporty. I've thought about a short-shifter but I actually like rowing through the gears casually to let the revs fall to that sweet spot where it matches with no lurch.
5. ZZP Catback exhaust. Just got it installed yesterday, was $75 off for Black Friday! I've got the turbo so it didn't come with a resonator. It sounds good. Deeper tone at idle and low revs, but not overly loud inside the car. My only complaint is that something in the dash area consistently resonates and rattles inside the car at about 2100rpm, but disappears higher or lower. Anybody have a guess what that is? I was planning to put dynamat in the doors and trunk floor anyhow to reduce road noise and give the doors (and especially the hatch) a more solid feel. Maybe that will help.
That's it for now! Waiting until spring for further upgrades. Will probably do the MPFab CAI, BNR tune, and BNR LS7 coil upgrade once snow is gone and sticky tires are on. Will need to save up some $$ before the ethanol conversion. Coil upgrade sounds pretty key since I'm not going to be able to fix or adjust things if spark blowout.
Air + fuel + spark = fun!
1. Hawk Performance Brakes from BNR. Great purchase. Old rotors were warped. These have serious bite and stop the car firmly. Drilled and slotted looks cool but honestly it's hard to see in a small wheel unless a very open spoke pattern.
2. DDM Works rear anti-sway bar and ZZP steel end-links. Did these at the same time. Hard to tell in normal city driving, but got snow tires soon after so haven't taken roundabouts at much speed.
3. Nokian Haakepellittaa snow tires and 16" MB wheels. I'll post a picture soon. Looks nice. Haven't had a big snow yet. I also really like the Blizzaks on my Mazda. Plan to upgrade summer tires to Michelin Super Sport at some point.
4. ZZP Shifter Cable Clamp and Shifter Bushings. My favorite upgrade so far. Drops right into gear with a firm 'clunk-clunk', like it knows right where to go. No play, feels sporty. I've thought about a short-shifter but I actually like rowing through the gears casually to let the revs fall to that sweet spot where it matches with no lurch.
5. ZZP Catback exhaust. Just got it installed yesterday, was $75 off for Black Friday! I've got the turbo so it didn't come with a resonator. It sounds good. Deeper tone at idle and low revs, but not overly loud inside the car. My only complaint is that something in the dash area consistently resonates and rattles inside the car at about 2100rpm, but disappears higher or lower. Anybody have a guess what that is? I was planning to put dynamat in the doors and trunk floor anyhow to reduce road noise and give the doors (and especially the hatch) a more solid feel. Maybe that will help.
That's it for now! Waiting until spring for further upgrades. Will probably do the MPFab CAI, BNR tune, and BNR LS7 coil upgrade once snow is gone and sticky tires are on. Will need to save up some $$ before the ethanol conversion. Coil upgrade sounds pretty key since I'm not going to be able to fix or adjust things if spark blowout.
Air + fuel + spark = fun!
Crides
New member
Also, I highly recommend the LTZ if people are considering one. The heated leather seats are really nice material and shape, and they heat up very quickly. The whole car heats up quickly, actually, being so small. The sonic already has a lot of headroom to accommodate taller drivers, and the sunroof makes it seem even more spacious. 2012 model doesn't have a screen in the dash, but the bluetooth works, you can play music through the aux plug or usb plug in the dash, and the radio is easy to operate with steering wheel controls. When playing music through the usb port it says "ipod," which is funny because they don't exist anymore, but you can navigate through songs using the steering wheel controls. And I do prefer the older models headlights and motorcycle tachometer to the new models more generic design.
In the era of push button start,World knowledge electric motors, and continuously variable transmissions, I’m excited to own a relic of human-controlled Detroit rumble with minimal electronic assist.
