Recent content by ChrisJ

I was checking out the forum after being away for many years and just wanted to add an update, albeit old. My 2012 Sonic LT 6spd manual 1.4T ended up traded in on a different car back in 2019. 145,000 miles, no real issues at that time other than coil failure, PCV issue + cam cover. The...

Wasn't sure if it was best to put this here or in the interior section, but I'm thinking here. Is anyone using a phone mount in their Sonic and if so, where and how? I bought an "Encased" mount for my HTC One M9 and need to come up with a permanent spot for it. I tried using the disc they...

Ok, this may be really dumb especially since I've had the car for 55,000 miles. What's this sticking sound I hear only when idling? Engine RPM does not effect it but if you hit the gas the sound completely stops and then starts up again back near idle. I'm assuming it's some sort of PCV...

So for the longest time I would make sure I stopped using my brakes when backing up to keep the rear drums adjusted. Then I had read somewhere that the type of rear brake setup we have auto adjusts via the parking brake and not by stepping on them while rolling backwards. Everything I saw...

So best I can tell the Sonic's A/C will cycle the compressor even when it's in the 80s out. I set my gauges up today and a thermometer in the center vent. Ambient was low 80s and even sitting still without recirculate on my vent temperatures were in the low 40s with fan on high and engine at...

A co-worker brought up something interesting and now I'm not sure. Can the map lights if manually turned on still kill the battery on a modern car, or will they shut off after x amount of time? My assumption was ALL lights would go off after a certain amount of time. The Sonic's owners manual...

A decent old video on turbo chargers. Airplanes had them in the 1940s and yet some Sonic's still don't! :p The Turbo Supercharger: Master of the Skies - 1943 - YouTube

Was talking to some friends and realized most people seem to think high power amplifiers didn't exist until somewhat recently. A pair of mid 1950s 1KW amplifiers in use. Philips EL6471 playing stereo part 3 - YouTube Yes, they are larger than a modern 1000W amplifier, but they have regulated...

So I need some opinions. It's been fairly cold here, -1F this morning and 14F tonight on the way home. Lots of slush and ice on roads. Tonight right after leaving work I was doing around 75MPH and heard a squealing start. Not a constant noise but kinda rhythmic? My first assumption was a dry...

My wife bumped a snow (ice) bank this morning in her Cruze and it looks like the bottom of the bumper cover may or may not have come into contact with the bottom tube of the condenser. Did 2012 vehicles come with dye in the oil? I don't see any oil or dye at least not yet but it would help me...

I've worn out a second non-stick Caphalon pan now from cooking eggs. Considering going with a good seasoned cast iron as I just tried cooking eggs in a cast iron skillet I bought in 05 and it went great. Last time I tried this it was a disaster but I've cooked nothing but chicken in the pan...

I'm not going to give a name but someone on here really needs to update the pictures in their garage. They're old as dirt and not up to date! Wonder how many people will now go check to see if its them. :banana:

I'm running Cyanogenmod 10.2 which is Android 4.1.2. I tried streaming Pandora from my Android phone last night in the Sonic just to see how it would work. Besides it sounded pretty poor, which was to be expected the one thing I couldn't stand was it kept getting blips. It seemed like it...

I just wanted to share a small bit of info I just received from Mobil via email. According to them there is no harm in mixing different viscosity oils. For example adding a quart of 5W30 to your engine when you had used 0W30 or 10W30 when you changed the oil. In the past I have run 0W30 and...

Maybe its just me but I swear the 1.4 doesn't slow you up much, at all. Is it just because its a tiny engine, or is the ECM holding the throttle open? Even if I downshift and end up at 4K it feels like its barely holding me back. I know gas engines arn't known for engine braking as much as...