DDMworks Build Thread

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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
We wanted to start getting some pictures up of our test car as we have been going through the build process/development with the car. That way you can see what we are working on and also see some of the changes as it progresses. I am starting out with the pictures of the car stock and will get some updates of how we are progressing on it ;)

Some information about our test car:

1.4L Turbo, 6 spd manual.
White with the Brick interior
Stock 15" Wheels
Connectivity Package and Block Heater

Here she is right after we picked her up:

DDMworks_Sonic_Front.jpg


DDMworks_Sonic_Rear2.jpg
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
Shortly after getting her, we wanted to try out some black wheels on the car. So we contacted Fonzey@Dip-you-car and had him send us a wheel painting package with the Black Satin.

Painting the wheels with the Plasti-dip was really pretty straight forward, just clean the wheels well before painting. Also we learned that it is best to paint the inside of the wheel before the outside of the wheel ;)

Here is how it turned out:

Started off with a clean wheel:

Stock_wheel.jpg


Then we placed the index cards around the perimeter of the wheel:

Stock_wheel_with_cards.jpg


After reading the directions online and watching the videos, we made sure to do several light coats, here is the wheel after the first coat:

1st_coat.jpg


After a couple more coats:

3rd_coat.jpg


Here it is after we did 5 coats on the wheels and let it sit over night:

finished_installed.jpg


So far we have been happy with how they have held up with the plasti-dip. The car gets washed every Saturday, and we have done some brake testing (more on this later) which really heated up the rotors and the wheels and the coating is still holding up great.
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
Exhaust going on...

The next thing that was installed on the car was the exhaust. We started out with several different versions and all together we ended up with 4 different systems that cover the entire range from almost stock to race. Our car is of course using one of our 1.4L turbo exhausts - Chevy Sonic exhaust

sonic_exhaust_installed2_480x640.jpg


sonic_exhaust_installed3_640x.jpg


sonic_exhaust_installed480x640.jpg
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
Intake testing

Now that we had the exhaust taken care of we went on to do a little improvement on the intake side of things. We tested all kinds of different tubes and filters to come up with an intake that increased horsepower but also kept the fuel trims like stock. Here is what we came up with:

Here it is before we did the heat shield:

intake_prototype_installed640x.jpg


Then we designed the heatshield to work with the intake and these are the final pictures of the prototype setup, (please note the production pieces will be a single piece tubing, mandrel bent with much better welds, this was a prototype)

DSC06028.jpg


DSC06025.jpg


DSC06021.jpg


DSC06034.jpg
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
shifter bushings

The next thing to go onto the car was the shifter bushings for the manual transmission. This really helped make the shifter a little more direct and not feel as loose as the stock piece.

06116_640x480.jpg
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
More testing

Right now we have a couple things we have been testing and should be releasing one of them real soon...

First is a set of coilovers that we are testing, this will be more of an entry level kit around the $1200 range. They have adjustable shock body length, 20 way adjustable valving and of course adjustable spring perches.

DSC06165.jpg


The other thing we have been testing is a new set of brake pads on the car. We did some testing on the stock brake setup and this new setup with the rotors made a big difference, more information coming soon...

DSC06270.jpg


And lastly here is a picture of how the car sits right now:

DSC06291.jpg
 
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Dave@ddmworks

Supporting Vendor
Stratton_Chevrolet_Sonic said:
Love the stance with white and black wheels...what were the results of the brake testing?
Click to expand...

The new brakes helped out a lot.

We set up a little brake testing area that we could do stops over and over on. The car was driven at 70mph and at a cone marker full brakes were applied, the distance was marked with a cone on the side of the road, the car was then driven back to the start point and the procedure was repeated.

After 4 stops like that we started to notice braking distance getting a little longer. On the 5th stop it was just 5 feet longer, but on the 6th stop the distance jumped 22 feet longer.

We then went in and swapped the pads, rotors and fluid and took the car back out. On the initial stop the distance was the same as with the stock pads. After 14 stops the distance was still the same, no fade. So we were happy with the upgrades to the brakes. The new pads can make a little sound at light pedal pressures, same with the rotors since they are slotted. Other than that they are a great upgrade to the stock setup for anyone pushing the car a little in the curves.
 
Gee Whiz

Gee Whiz

New member
Any updates or additional modification on this build? I'm particularly interested in the entry level coil-overs you mentioned.
 
ThatTmoGuy

ThatTmoGuy

New member
Gee Whiz said:
Any updates or additional modification on this build? I'm particularly interested in the entry level coil-overs you mentioned.
Click to expand...

+ a million on the coil overs, i want the pedders but im sure that setup will do just a good or better and save a few hundred bucks
 
jpierro79

jpierro79

New member
I want to know about the coil overs for sure. Pedders is too much money for my blood. I also wanted to say your employee Mike was such a wonderful help to me on the phone the other day AAA+ to him. He is was customer service should be. I will be dealing with your company for more products just because of the way he treated me. I personally am a technician and I know how I would like to treat customers and would like to be treated. He exemplifies a what an employee should be. He answered all my questions and had the utmost patience with me placing my order. Any question he did not have the answer to he found out immediately. Had only one question he did not have the answer to and I got a prompt email only a couple of hours later with the answer to my question.

Thanks Sincerely,
John Pierro
 
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