There is nothing wrong with the 1.8
- Thread starter $ub$onic
- Start date
ChrisJ
Active member
mitdr774
also a dinner prick
Gets over 40 MPG on the highway and gets out of its way when needed. Does just fine for me.
Ultimately if built right the 1.8 should in theory be able to support more power than the 1.4. Only way to find out will be to wait for people to seriously start building up these engines.
Ultimately if built right the 1.8 should in theory be able to support more power than the 1.4. Only way to find out will be to wait for people to seriously start building up these engines.
rdss
Junior Member
Yes, at a premium 6 times the cost (if not more) of the 700 dollar upgrade to the 1.4T. Hell, even upgrading the 1.8 to hold boost safely will cost twice the cost of the 1.4 upgrade.
Once again, I'm not a 1.8 "hater" and think if you do not care about longevity you can drop 6 grand into a turbo and run it for a while.
Once again, I'm not a 1.8 "hater" and think if you do not care about longevity you can drop 6 grand into a turbo and run it for a while.
sx sonic
New member
It does appear many people think just throwing a turbo on the 1.8 will make it faster than a tuned 1.4t. Truth is turbo engines have more headroom than an NA engine. If a 1.8 is making more power than a tuned turbo sonic it is seriously eating into its safety margine on stock internals.
Can a turbo 1.8 go faster yes but without improvements to the rods and pistons, it will live a much much shorter life.
Still a good engine, and one of the best in its class, just saying
Can a turbo 1.8 go faster yes but without improvements to the rods and pistons, it will live a much much shorter life.
Still a good engine, and one of the best in its class, just saying
Swordsmith
242hp/252 ft-lbs BNR EFI
Warm up on the turbo means sitting with the engine idling for a minute or two, or more realistically, just 20 seconds and then go ahead and go unless you live right on top of a high speed road, by the time you get down the feeder streets and onto a highway from most neighborhoods you're more than warmed up.
There's nothing to stop you from running around in no-boost mode for a half mile or so, all it takes to get nice and warmed up; you're essentially running an NA engine until you put your foot down on the pedal more firmly. This may vary for some commutes, where you really have to go from 0-60 as fast as possible because your driveway puts you right on a highway... but for those few people, oh well, sit in driveway a little longer. Once you do, you'll be getting to Merge Speed much more rapidly than the NA car, so decreasing the danger you're exposing yourself to every day. Worth it, yeah?
If you're running stop and go errands, there's no need to warm up again, Turbo runs HOT HOT HOT and you can be inside on a 30 degree day, come back out an hour later and your engine compartment will still be over 150... "warmed up" is around 80 degrees. Takes a long while on a cold day before you need to warm up again, and once more it probably costs you a whopping 60 seconds at worst.
There's nothing to stop you from running around in no-boost mode for a half mile or so, all it takes to get nice and warmed up; you're essentially running an NA engine until you put your foot down on the pedal more firmly. This may vary for some commutes, where you really have to go from 0-60 as fast as possible because your driveway puts you right on a highway... but for those few people, oh well, sit in driveway a little longer. Once you do, you'll be getting to Merge Speed much more rapidly than the NA car, so decreasing the danger you're exposing yourself to every day. Worth it, yeah?
If you're running stop and go errands, there's no need to warm up again, Turbo runs HOT HOT HOT and you can be inside on a 30 degree day, come back out an hour later and your engine compartment will still be over 150... "warmed up" is around 80 degrees. Takes a long while on a cold day before you need to warm up again, and once more it probably costs you a whopping 60 seconds at worst.
ChrisJ
Active member
See I kind of assumed this too, if anything the turbo is an oil heater and should really bring oil temps up fast.
TheFallenAngel12
New member
well simply put i bought my sonic to last me for many years. If i had the 1.4T Engine i would not be one to stay "Out of It" and drive it softly. What the hell would be the point in that. I find nothing wrong with the 1.8 and anyone that wants to buy one has the right to do so. I have my reasons for buying the 1.8 engine Sonic. We all know the 1.4T will be faster. So i only have this to say to those that have a problem with the 1.8 or me buying a 1.8 instead of a 1.4T... **** you whos next - YouTube
rdss
Junior Member
So..... No 1.4t..... BECAUSE RACE CAR!!!!
ChrisJ
Active member
Yea,
it seems it doesn't matter how many times you say the turbo on a 1.4 isn't for performance it doesn't get through to some people.
stock 1.8 = 138HP
stock 1.4 turbo = 138HP.
What part don't you get.
rdss
Junior Member
So... Because Econo Car?! Not ZO6 car!lol
Swordsmith
242hp/252 ft-lbs BNR EFI
The 1.4 is less power and torque, a smaller lighter engine, easier to move. Most of the time when you are driving you are asking for far less power than your engine can produce, so a smaller engine is more efficient. But sometimes you ask for more power, and then a small engine struggles, and even if it can deliver, it does so inefficiently, so a smaller engine car can be less economical to operate than one with a "big enough" engine.
The 1.4Turbo works both sides of this line, it's a small engine which delivers small amounts of power at very little cost... but the turbo kicks in and allows it to deliver larger amounts of power effectively.
The tuned (and even better, modded) 1.4T retains its "small NA engine" dynamic but delivers much more power in the high demand area. The mods also increase power at any given amount of fuel, which means in low demand it can use less fuel to generate the small amount of power you need.
The car is however only more economical if you can keep from treating it like some hopped up hot rod... which is hard to do, and even harder the more mods you do.
I can see someone with poor impulse control avoiding the Turbo simply because they know they'd end up spending another grand on mods and then getting 23mpg because they drive it like they stole it and... what? Me? No no I wasn't talking about myself, I don't have a problem. I can go back to running 93 octane any time I want to. No please don't take me to a Betty Ford clinic, I prefer Chevy.
The 1.4Turbo works both sides of this line, it's a small engine which delivers small amounts of power at very little cost... but the turbo kicks in and allows it to deliver larger amounts of power effectively.
The tuned (and even better, modded) 1.4T retains its "small NA engine" dynamic but delivers much more power in the high demand area. The mods also increase power at any given amount of fuel, which means in low demand it can use less fuel to generate the small amount of power you need.
The car is however only more economical if you can keep from treating it like some hopped up hot rod... which is hard to do, and even harder the more mods you do.
I can see someone with poor impulse control avoiding the Turbo simply because they know they'd end up spending another grand on mods and then getting 23mpg because they drive it like they stole it and... what? Me? No no I wasn't talking about myself, I don't have a problem. I can go back to running 93 octane any time I want to. No please don't take me to a Betty Ford clinic, I prefer Chevy.
ThatTmoGuy
New member
Well said Swordsmith, the other day when I was trying to dig up more info on the MGT14 (thats our turbo) I found the specs for the NA variant of the 1.4 and let me tell you that it made a whopping 84hp sans turbo.
