Dave@ddmworks
Supporting Vendor
Hello Everyone,
Just wanted to give you some information on the intake that we have been testing here on our 1.4L Sonic.
There are a couple things to know about intakes that I want to make sure everyone knows before proceeding though. Intakes on the newer cars are not as easy as just sticking a filter on a tube and thinking that is going to be better then stock. The car manufacturers want to get every bit of performance that they can get out of their cars, but that being said, they still have to make the intake on most cars quiet and unobtrusive. When they quiet down the intake, usually that means including some helmholtz resonators, or long tubing to get the actual intake in a place where the intake sound will not be heard. Getting rid of the long tubing, which allows the intake to be heard is why gains can still be made with aftermarket intakes. Fortunately, hearing the intake is something most people that put on an intake want to hear also, so it is a win/win. The stock Sonic intake is actually pretty good and goes into the passenger side fender after making a 180 degree bend after the filter. This design does a good job of both quieting the intake and also making sure it pulls relatively cool air, but because of the bends and long tubing, it creates some restriction in the intake.
When putting on an aftermarket intake on the Sonic, there should be no check engine lights. With the newer cars like the Sonic you have to make sure that any intake you put on does not cause turbulence at the air flow meter (MAF), or cause the MAF to read the amount of air coming in incorrectly. The reason you want the ECM to read the air correctly is for 2 reasons. The most important reason is so that correct air/fuel ratios can be maintained at cruise and full throttle. Also with the new torque based systems, the ECM uses this air flow number from the MAF with other factors to come up with a calculated torque the engine is producing at any particular time. If the incorrect amount of air is being registered by the MAF, the calculated air flow number will be incorrect and also cause the air/fuel ratios to change. When the air/fuel ratio gets off, the ECM uses short term and long term fuel trims to bring it back in line, if these trims become excessive, then the ECM will throw a check engine light.
Intakes that are designed properly for the system that they are going on will not need a ECM flash to work correctly, or to be beneficial on the Sonic. The only reason that an ECM flash is needed on an intake, is because the MAF table that the ECM uses is not correct with the intake installed because of 2 common reasons: The intake tube is the incorrect size and/or there is turbulence created by the intake that is causing the MAF to read incorrectly.
The DDMworks 1.4L intake:
We have been testing intakes on this car now for over 4000 miles to see what is working and what is not. The intake that we have developed over that time is the way it is for several reasons.
- The tube - We sized the intake tube on our intake to be as close to stock as possible while still flowing better. The intake tube on the stock intake is approx 2.625" ID, so we use 2.75" tubing with an ID very similar to the stock size. This is important, since the MAF needs to be installed in a tube that is similar in size to the stock tube. This keeps the airflow that the ECM is reading consistant between our intake and the stock intake, which means that the fuel trims on our intake are the same as stock.
- Full mandrel bend - The intake that we designed has just 1 bend in it. The single bend on the intake stays the entire 2.75" the entire way. This gives the air as much room as possible through the mandrel bend as possible, creating the best flow possible. Some companies are reducing the tube before the bend or during the bend which reduces flow, we wait until after the entire bend to reduce the intake to match up with the turbo inlet.
- Heat Shield - We are the first ones to incorporate a heat shield on the intake. The intake will be available with a heatshield to help keep the heat of the turbo/radiator/engine from getting into the filter. This has shown to keep the intake temps lower for longer periods of time.
- Horsepower - Testing with the intake shows a solid 5hp gain with the intake, with some places seeing even larger gains. This has been tested on a completely stock car and also cars with exhaust or tunes and similar gains have been shown. (dyno graphs will be posted)
- No tune required - Since the tubing is the correct size and we used a properly sized filter for the power needed, the fuel trims of the system are the same as stock and no retune is needed when installing the intake.
- Colors - The intake will be offered in a highly polished aluminum. We will be able to powdercoat the intake in different colors for an additional charge.
We have now finished testing on the intake and we are going into production of the intake now. Final pricing will be posted when we have it, but we are anticipating the intake with heatshield to be in the $250-300 range, and should be available in 4-6 weeks. You can pre-order the intake on our website at :Chevy Sonic cold air intake
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks!
Dave
Just wanted to give you some information on the intake that we have been testing here on our 1.4L Sonic.
There are a couple things to know about intakes that I want to make sure everyone knows before proceeding though. Intakes on the newer cars are not as easy as just sticking a filter on a tube and thinking that is going to be better then stock. The car manufacturers want to get every bit of performance that they can get out of their cars, but that being said, they still have to make the intake on most cars quiet and unobtrusive. When they quiet down the intake, usually that means including some helmholtz resonators, or long tubing to get the actual intake in a place where the intake sound will not be heard. Getting rid of the long tubing, which allows the intake to be heard is why gains can still be made with aftermarket intakes. Fortunately, hearing the intake is something most people that put on an intake want to hear also, so it is a win/win. The stock Sonic intake is actually pretty good and goes into the passenger side fender after making a 180 degree bend after the filter. This design does a good job of both quieting the intake and also making sure it pulls relatively cool air, but because of the bends and long tubing, it creates some restriction in the intake.
When putting on an aftermarket intake on the Sonic, there should be no check engine lights. With the newer cars like the Sonic you have to make sure that any intake you put on does not cause turbulence at the air flow meter (MAF), or cause the MAF to read the amount of air coming in incorrectly. The reason you want the ECM to read the air correctly is for 2 reasons. The most important reason is so that correct air/fuel ratios can be maintained at cruise and full throttle. Also with the new torque based systems, the ECM uses this air flow number from the MAF with other factors to come up with a calculated torque the engine is producing at any particular time. If the incorrect amount of air is being registered by the MAF, the calculated air flow number will be incorrect and also cause the air/fuel ratios to change. When the air/fuel ratio gets off, the ECM uses short term and long term fuel trims to bring it back in line, if these trims become excessive, then the ECM will throw a check engine light.
Intakes that are designed properly for the system that they are going on will not need a ECM flash to work correctly, or to be beneficial on the Sonic. The only reason that an ECM flash is needed on an intake, is because the MAF table that the ECM uses is not correct with the intake installed because of 2 common reasons: The intake tube is the incorrect size and/or there is turbulence created by the intake that is causing the MAF to read incorrectly.
The DDMworks 1.4L intake:
We have been testing intakes on this car now for over 4000 miles to see what is working and what is not. The intake that we have developed over that time is the way it is for several reasons.
- The tube - We sized the intake tube on our intake to be as close to stock as possible while still flowing better. The intake tube on the stock intake is approx 2.625" ID, so we use 2.75" tubing with an ID very similar to the stock size. This is important, since the MAF needs to be installed in a tube that is similar in size to the stock tube. This keeps the airflow that the ECM is reading consistant between our intake and the stock intake, which means that the fuel trims on our intake are the same as stock.
- Full mandrel bend - The intake that we designed has just 1 bend in it. The single bend on the intake stays the entire 2.75" the entire way. This gives the air as much room as possible through the mandrel bend as possible, creating the best flow possible. Some companies are reducing the tube before the bend or during the bend which reduces flow, we wait until after the entire bend to reduce the intake to match up with the turbo inlet.
- Heat Shield - We are the first ones to incorporate a heat shield on the intake. The intake will be available with a heatshield to help keep the heat of the turbo/radiator/engine from getting into the filter. This has shown to keep the intake temps lower for longer periods of time.
- Horsepower - Testing with the intake shows a solid 5hp gain with the intake, with some places seeing even larger gains. This has been tested on a completely stock car and also cars with exhaust or tunes and similar gains have been shown. (dyno graphs will be posted)
- No tune required - Since the tubing is the correct size and we used a properly sized filter for the power needed, the fuel trims of the system are the same as stock and no retune is needed when installing the intake.
- Colors - The intake will be offered in a highly polished aluminum. We will be able to powdercoat the intake in different colors for an additional charge.
We have now finished testing on the intake and we are going into production of the intake now. Final pricing will be posted when we have it, but we are anticipating the intake with heatshield to be in the $250-300 range, and should be available in 4-6 weeks. You can pre-order the intake on our website at :Chevy Sonic cold air intake
If you have any other questions, feel free to ask.
Thanks!
Dave
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