Sonic 1.8L Commuters

[DaBlackapino]

I love my 1.8LS..and I've Never had an issue other then when they had the recall for the heater Cord...but..besides that, there's nothing wrong with my Car. I fill it up about twice a Month...sometimes i can Go almost a month on just one Fill up..but I'm only getting about 17.4mpg..since Alaska is..well...Anchorage is only got 300,000-500,00 people MAYBE..so driving from my house to to is only 3miles each way....and driving to downtown is only 20 mins. But i still get GREAT Gas.

 

[brainpause]

I love my 1.8 L Sonic. I did not drive the 1.4 Turbo when I was shopping because I needed a vehicle to tow behind RVs. The 1.4 Turbo cannot be towed 4 wheels down. I assume the transmission is a little bit different. I did not want a manual transmission either because I am in city traffic a lot.

I drove it 30,000 miles last year in about six or seven months. I even slept in the car probably 100 nights. And that was in the driver's seat! I could pull my comforter over my head, put my CPAP mask on, and I slept quite well.

I even drove 801 miles in one day to try to get back for my dad's surgery.

At 74 or 75 mile-per-hour cruising and driving very long distances daily, I would get about 33 miles per gallon.

I also love the stock sound system. It sounds very good and I love my XM Radio.

My only complaint is the air conditioner. It doesn't want to blow cold unless the RPMs are 2000 or higher.

Larry

 

[rojoes]

My only complaint is the air conditioner. It doesn't want to blow cold unless the RPMs are 2000 or higher.

Larry

Add a tiny bit of r134a and it will blow cold air at idle and colder air when cruising. I did this to mine 3 yrs ago and it is now 100%

 

[rojoes]

1.8 Sonic is rock solid only Achilles are stock Air Intake hose http://www.sonicownersforum.com/for...ied-material-air-intake-house.html#post346342

Also I had to add a tiny amount of r134a to get the air conditioners performance up to par. Also I hated the stock tires.

1.8 also has a timing belt that needs to be serviced every 100,000 miles but engine is proven and will run past 200,000 miles with regular care.

 

[Tuxedo_Maskk]

It's encouraging to hear all the positive opinions having now had my 2015 18.L Sonic LT for 4 or so months.
looking forward to running it for another few years.

 

[$ub$onic]

I own 2 1.4's and a 1.8

Long term I much rather prefer a 1.8.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

The 1.8 is ok. We also have a 2013 Ford Focus with a 2.0 and the 6 speed automatic(I think they call it a powershift or something), the tranny in the focus basically works like a stick shift being shifted by a computer.

The sonic is nice, but the focus can run circles around it. The one thing I hate about the sonic is the head rests. The sonic is an awesome car, but I wish the headrests would adjust backward.

 

[JesusTheAgnostic]

I own 2 1.4's and a 1.8

Long term I much rather prefer a 1.8.

Why though?

 

[mitdr774]

I own a 1.8 and used to own a 1.4. One of his 1.4s used to be mine. I fixed more things on the 1.4 in a year than I did on my 1.8 over the past 4 years.

Other than the engine/transmission the 1.4 cars have no advantage to the 1.8 cars. The 1.8 is a great commuter car that will return great economy and be cheap to keep on the road long term. Its fantastic for autocross as well.

I will be keeping my 1.8 car after it gets back from the bump shop, and plan on buying another car. I may get a new 1.4, but only due to having to get it in order to have a sunroof.

 

[ohio_grad_06]

I can agree with wanting a 1.8 for long term. The 1.4 you have the turbo on it etc. More stuff to break. The 1.8 is close to the same hp, I think a bit less torque though. But less complexity=easier to fix if things go south.

 

[spacedout]

I can agree with wanting a 1.8 for long term. The 1.4 you have the turbo on it etc. More stuff to break. The 1.8 is close to the same hp, I think a bit less torque though. But less complexity=easier to fix if things go south.

If you live in a hilly area, the 1.4T low end toque is much more enjoyable to drive. 1.4T auto has all 148lb-ft of torque available at 1850-5000RPM, 1.8L needs to rev to 3800RPM to hit is peak, which is only 125lb-ft. I can drive all day in hills and never pass 2500RPM, 1.8L is best described as buzzy in comparison needing RPM to to any real work.

I had no out of pocket expense besides general maintenance with my 2012 cruze 1.4T over 95,000 miles, only parts changed where coilpack and plugs at 80K(only did the coil pack since I bought a spare in case of a ripped boot). Have put 10,000 on my sonic 1.4T so far, I expect another trouble free 4 years of ownership.

Sure you could have a turbo fail, but by the time I would have to pay for it I will be driving something else. I never keep a car outside its powertrain warranty.

 

[Kcmo83]

Ignition upgrade

So on carid there is a kaylen brand coil pack upgrade said to increase HP. Anyone tried this out?

 

[carsNskis]

So on carid there is a kaylen brand coil pack upgrade said to increase HP. Anyone tried this out?

Coil packs don't "add" hp, they just keep you from losing it if you increase cylinder pressure (more power to make sure spark ignites)

Not something you need to worry about on the 1.8 unless you shave the cylinder head

 

[Kcmo83]

For $70. Says its a upgrade by advancing spark and blah blah. I know ive read basically tuning after upgrades is the way to go. Unfortunatly that voids my warranty. So i guess ill wait the 5 years. I mean ive been driving cherokee xj's for the last 7 years so this is just fine the way it is.

 

[mitdr774]

The coil pack only fires the ignition coils when the ECM tells it to. With how modern engine controls are I highly doubt anyone other than GM could find a way to somehow alter the timing advance without altering the control program in the ECM. I would also advise against just advancing ignition timing without altering the program. These engines are rather tempermental when you start making changes without taking the whole program into account.

 

[Kcmo83]

Thanks for the advice. I think ill just stick with my drop in and lower it out on wheel spacers. I will add exhaust and a tune for after the warranty period since it voids it.

 

[Tonyc712000]

If you buy a new tuned computer, and keep the original one, all you have to do is swap out thee computers if service is needed at the stealership. Then you don't have to worry about the warranty!

 

[mitdr774]

Not always that easy. I have not tried on a sonic, but some cars require programming to allow that. The ECM has a unique code in it that the other modules look for.

The cost would probably be more than the majority on this forum would be willing to spend.

 

[Papasonic]

If you buy a new tuned computer, and keep the original one, all you have to do is swap out thee computers if service is needed at the stealership. Then you don't have to worry about the warranty!

Swapping the ECM probably isn't a good idea because of the following reason:

Click link below
Search Results do not swap control modules

I suppose you could obtain a new ECM programmed to your specific vehicle in addition to the original ECM, but as noted previously, cost would be prohibitive. You just cannot use another module from another vehicle.

 

[Tonyc712000]

Swapping the ECM probably isn't a good idea because of the following reason:

Click link below
Search Results do not swap control modules

I suppose you could obtain a new ECM programmed to your specific vehicle in addition to the original ECM, but as noted previously, cost would be prohibitive. You just cannot use another module from another vehicle.

doodoo.