Sedan Sonic Exhaust Upgrade Project

[TheFallenAngel12]

Hey Everyone, I am planning to do an upgrade of my 2012 Sonic Sedan's Exhaust system here soon. But before i start jumping into things i have some questions about my cars exhaust system.

I keep hearing everyone talking about "Resonators" and "Second CAT's" on here. I will be honest and say i dont have a clue what is what on this new car. So if you all could help me out that would be great. I am going to supply some pictures for everyone to look at i took of the underside of my Sonic. If someone could point out for me what each large peices are in the system that would help in figuring out what i want to replace and so forth.

Im pretty sure on the first set, the first picture on the top left the first large tank is the Catalytic Converter. then there is a huge tank after it in the next picture. then some pipes leading towards the muffler.

Then you have the muffler in the second set of pictures leading to the exit tail pipe.

If the Large tank in the first set of pictures after the smaller one is just a resonator and not a converter i want to swap that out with a better unit. im thinking of putting in a Cherry Bomb Glasspack in its place, then for the muffler im thinking a Flowmaster 60 Series. Im Looking to give this a nice agressive sound but yet at the same time keep it somewhat mellow as i do have to drive this car to work at 4am in the morning I dont need the PoPo's getting all worked up and constantly pulling me over for a loud exhaust. I think the Cherry Bomb will compliment the Flowmaster and keep it from loosing its sound thru the rpms and not sound like well most flowmaster's do on a 4cyl lol.

Let me know what you guys think. Im doing this as i dont want the same setup as everyone else and im just tired of waiting on someone to make a setup for the sedan sonics. so im going to make my own setup. Wont be til Next Spring before i even start this project tho so you all know. Thanks for any feedback on this!

 

[rdss]

You're correct, secondary cat, then resonator and then the muffler. The first cat is right off of the turbo. Are you planning on replacing the stock pipe as well or just putting the glass pack and muffler in on the stock pipes?

 

[Eric Smit]

Perhaps you'd like the sound of no second cat or resonator.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-I-y9JZra2o&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Perhaps with a muffler. I don't have a muffler.


-Eric Smit

 

[1967stella]

Do you recall seeing a video of down pipe second cat and resonator no muffler? I cant find anything

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

hey thanks everyone for the information and suggestions!
@rrds - my thoughts are to put in the cherry bomb glasspack in place of the stock resonator and then run new pipes to the muffler. Thinking 2" pipes. Pretty sure the stock ones are 1.75". So slight increase. Then change the muffler out with the flowmaster and finish it like the stock exit just under the car for a hidden look. oh and i have the 1.8 not the turbo so would i still have 2 cat's?
@eric.smit - you have a nice setup. Love the sound. Im using the flowmaster mainly because its a more tamed, that will give me an aggressive sound without being overly loud. The cherry bomb will just increase the sound of it some to give it just the right amount of bark without waking up the entire town as i roll thru lol. Thanks for the suggestion tho. Eventually i will upgrade the second cat with a highflow one.

 

[CoHPhasor]

Id go 2.25", I mean, if you're opening it up, make it worth it.
(1.4T I'd go 3" if I could swing it, but I'd settle for 2.5")

 

[TurboSonicLT]

^^^^ I agree, with forced induction engines (supercharging & turbocharging) it is best to evacuate exhaust gases with the least resistance possible. Running a 3" exhaust may seem like overkill but if you upgrade parts later on you will get the most HP & TRQ. Natural Aspiration tends to like a little back pressure but not much.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

ok i first want to say i have the 1.8 Non-turbo engine, not the 1.4 turbo. Should have bought the 1.4 but thats besides the point... @CoHPhaser ~ you make a good point. If im going to upgrade the pipes might as well do it right. I will do 2.25"-2.5" depends what sizes are availble for the glasspack and flowmaster when i look them up. Then do the pipes accordingly. I wrote that at 5am in the morning, i wasnt quite awake yet lol. One question i have is for the muffler what are the offsets for it? is it a top inlet - middle outlet or center - center?
i know this is a little off subject but for those that have done the trifecta tune. I dont have a laptop or access to one. And i dont trust myself messing with the ECU. Who would do this tune (aka *company) that i could go to and have this done for me. Anyone know of like dealers that install the tune for trifecta? dont want to add an intake till i get the tune done.

 

[daleharalson22]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPENlTbr0v8&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Resonator deleted and muffler. Everything pipe wise is factory.

 

[Eric Smit]

Fallen- You can search on trifecta's website and look for the supported vendors. You might be able to find one near you.


-Eric Smit

 

[TurboSonicLT]

I believe the muffler is center-in and offset-out. Might want to verify that information. As I stated earlier, N/A cars should have a little abck pressure (muffler). I would suggest bumping your exhaust pipe diameter to 2.5" and nothing more. That will be enough to support some heavy modding. Your next point of focus will be from the exhaust manifold to the cats. That will be a big performance fix for you. If you end up with a full exhaust I would suggest getting a tune before you tackle anything related to the manifold & cats, that way you don't run into your engine throwing codes and leaning out the engine...

Any question, I am here!

-Derrick

P.S. Ditch the resonator all together.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

thanks for all the information everyone! i will keep this in mind when i build my exhaust system. I cant check the links right now but when i get home i will look all this over again and reply back accordingly. Again thanks for all the feedback. This helps alot!

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YPENlTbr0v8&feature=youtube_gdata_player


Resonator deleted and muffler. Everything pipe wise is factory.

Hey daleharalson22, That Sonic sounds bad@$$ with that setup you did. So you just removed the resonator and muffler and it sounds like this. Sweet. But as i keep saying and i dont mean to sound like a prick when i say it but i dont have the 1.4 Turbo Engine. I have the 1.8 Engine, so i doubt my 1.8 will sound that good without putting atleast a muffler on.
-------------------------------------------------------
The reason i want to add the cherry bomb to the setup instead of just straight piping that section is i feel with just the flowmaster 60 series, that muffler will only have sound up to 2500rpm's then just be what most flowmasters do, raspy and can like. Im hoping with the cherry bomb glasspack in line before it, it will help give the flowmaster a little more bite to its tone but also at the same sense keep it relatively tame. I want it to sound good and aggressive like yours, even tho without the turbo it wont ever sound like yours, but i also need it to not be overly loud so to be able to drive at 3-4am in the morning and not have the cops all up my @$$ for a loud exhaust.

Thanks everyone for your Feedback and comments. it really helps me in getting this system put together and ready to go when i start building it next spring. The only reason im waiting til then is i wont have the extra funds til then. otherwise i would do it right now lol. Thanks again everyone! Much Appreciated!

 

[Opticon]

I'd use a Magnaflow 6x14" round instead of a cherry bomb. They provide a deeper softer tone.

I would mounted it right after the second cat then do the rest of the system in 2.5" with no muffler. If it's too loud you can always add one.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

I'd use a Magnaflow 6x14" round instead of a cherry bomb. They provide a deeper softer tone.

I would mounted it right after the second cat then do the rest of the system in 2.5" with no muffler. If it's too loud you can always add one.

I have heard magnaflows on these sonics and i just dont care for how they sound. They are too quiet and not enough tone to them on the sonics. The Flowmaster is going to be very quiet on its own, Like slightly louder than stock. So thats why i want to use the cherry bomb to increase the sound of the flowmaster. I want to use the flowmaster just for something different than what everyone else is using and to keep the cherry bomb tamed. I appreciate the feedback, i do. but i wont do a magnaflow on my sonic. Everyone is entitled to there opinions.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Fallen- You can search on trifecta's website and look for the supported vendors. You might be able to find one near you.


-Eric Smit

Hey Eric, I did the search on the Trifecta Site and i did find some vendors in this state. only problem is there is only 2 vendors and they both are 2-3 hours away from where i live! damnit... So i guess i wont be doing the Tune afterall. I dont feel like driving 2-3 Hours every time i need to have it checked out or updated as i assume every now and then these need to be checked over and so forth. Its a real bummer as i bet that tune would have made my sonic open up and run so much better. Figures So i guess if i do an intake upgrade it will only be a temp thing til the engine downgrades it to stock. Thats just my luck.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

Cherry Bomb Glasspack im looking at for my sonic to replace the resonator.

Cherry Bomb 87510 Cherry Bomb Glasspack Mufflers

Flowmaster 60 Series Muffler i plan on getting for my Sonic to Replace the Muffler.

Flowmaster 952462 Flowmaster 60 Series Delta Flow Mufflers

Then Upgrade all the pipes from the Cherry bomb to the muffler and the exit pipe after the muffler to 2.25". Im going to have the cherry bomb and the flowmaster mounted onto the pipes with Triangle Bolt on connectors so that if i want to yank off those two pieces later i can if i decide i dont like the sound. That way i can do a quick swap at any time. So for now im sticking with the cherry bomb and flowmaster. but if it doesnt sound right after its all said and done, then i will unbolt those pieces and do a different setup. Thanks everyone for your feedback.

 

[Opticon]

I have heard magnaflows on these sonics and i just dont care for how they sound. They are too quiet and not enough tone...

I'm going to ask you questions not because I want to argue but because I don't want you to make a mistake... Were those magnaflow mufflers on 1.8L Sonics?

Because I know 1.4Ts with magnaflows are very quiet and breathy.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

I'm going to ask you questions not because I want to argue but because I don't want you to make a mistake... Were those magnaflow mufflers on 1.8L Sonics?

Because I know 1.4Ts with magnaflows are very quiet and breathy.

Dont get me wrong, im not trying to argue with you either, just give my opinion on what i have heard of these mufflers on the sonic. But to answer your question the only magnaflows i have heard on a Sonic are the 1.4 Turbo's as not too many people have upgraded there exhaust system on the 1.8 yet. So you honestly feel that i would be making a mistake using the cherry bomb glasspack?

If I may ask you just to ask and not to argue, why do you feel the Cherry bomb glasspack is such a bad idea? Ive never used them before so if there is a legit reason as to why i shouldnt use it on my car please do let me know.

Im looking for a nice aggressive sound without sounding overly loud. I just dont want it to sound like a coffee can is all. and i feel just the magnaflow on its own will be too loud for what i am looking for. I dont want my sonic to be as loud as my old Sunfire was. Lets put it this way, People knew when i started that car. and people knew when i took off and was coming, they heard me before they even saw me and knew i was on my way.

Thanks for any/all advice. Thats why i made this thread so i make sure im doing the right stuff for my sonic and giving it the best chance of a good performance upgrade.

 

[TheFallenAngel12]

2012 Chevrolet Sonic 1.4L Turbo Magnaflow Exhaust - YouTube

Here is the Chevy sonic with the Magnaflow i have heard on youtube. It just doesnt sound all that good to me. just blah.