So I picked up my new Sonic monday night

[rek001]

Hi all, I picked up a silver Sonic hatch, 1.4L, auto trans, this past monday night.

Really, really sharp car - beyond my expectations!

I absolutely promise pics when I get my digicam back from a friend.

In the meantime, what reasonable mods should I do to enhance, extend the life of my wheels?

I already ordered the japanese center padded armrest, I decided I'm gonna use 93 octane gas.

Not really into trifecta mod, but I may consider it.

What about this heat shield?

Any other things I should do? I really like this car and am gonna baby it, (while I drive the piss out of it).

Thanks very much.

 

[Kuntryboy865]

Intake and exhaust but you really should consider the tune.

 

[cndctrdj]

the tune lets the other mods work

 

[Eric Smit]

welcome!

the tune is the biggest gain both HP and MPG (if you can keep your foot off the loud pedal).

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

Hi all, I picked up a silver Sonic hatch, 1.4L, auto trans, this past monday night.

Really, really sharp car - beyond my expectations!

I absolutely promise pics when I get my digicam back from a friend.

In the meantime, what reasonable mods should I do to enhance, extend the life of my wheels?

I already ordered the japanese center padded armrest, I decided I'm gonna use 93 octane gas.

Not really into trifecta mod, but I may consider it.

What about this heat shield?

Any other things I should do? I really like this car and am gonna baby it, (while I drive the piss out of it).

Thanks very much.

Congrats on your new Sonic and thanks for picking Chevrolet! Please do you use caution before modifying as it could void the warranty. Let us know if you any questions or concerns. Please do post some pics. Have a great week!

Matt,

GM Customer Service (Assisting Vanessa)

 

[rek001]

Thanks for replies!
Will the Trifecta tune void my warranty?
Does anyone know where I could get this done in NW Indiana? I'm not mechanically gifted.

 

[Kuntryboy865]

Thanks for replies!
Will the Trifecta tune void my warranty?
Does anyone know where I could get this done in NW Indiana? I'm not mechanically gifted.

Pretty much anything you do to the car will void the warranty. If you flash the tune in transparency mode the dealership wont see the tune, it will just see it as a stock reflash. Still though if they do discover it, it will void your warranty.

The tune doesn't take much to do. I'm like you i'm not mechanically gifted either but I did it. You just buy it online and buy or rent the cable from the same place (badnewsracing.net) and you wait for the EZ flash cable to arrive and the tune file through email.

Once you get the tune file and cable you download the EZ software from badnewsracing.net and then you plug your EZ flash cable into a laptop and the other end into the ODB II port, and you turn your car on (not on with the engine started). The rest of the instructions are on badnewsracing.net. Its not hard.

 

[GMman]

Welcome to the family !!

 

[rek001]

Wow, I don't want to come across as old ladyish but - a lot of you guys have voided your warranty?
What if you develop a problem that could have been fixed under warranty?

 

[mowcowbell]

Congrats on your new Sonic! I wouldn't waste the extra $$ on 93 octane. The 1.4L Turbo is optimized from the factory for 91 octane, and will alter the timing if you use lower grade 87. Any octane higher than 91 is just a waste of money.

Darin

 

[rodslinger]

.... Please do you use caution before modifying as it could void the warranty. ....

Matt,

GM Customer Service (Assisting Vanessa)

That is an overly broad statement and it should be clarified. You cannot void portions of the warranty on parts of the car that are not affected by the modification. You can generally only deny a warranty claim for a failure that was the DIRECT result of the modification.

 

[ThatTmoGuy]

Wow, I don't want to come across as old ladyish but - a lot of you guys have voided your warranty?
What if you develop a problem that could have been fixed under warranty?

I'm tuned with no exhaust and a DIY intake, I got my trans replaced under warranty without question. get the tune man....

 

[rek001]

Tmo, exactly how would I go about doing "no exhaust and a DIY intake"?
Not familiar with this...

Also, the Trifecta tune, that's real popular, yes? Would that void my warranty?

As for the voiding warranty issue, I'm just concerned that the dealership would take every opportunity to weasel out of warranty work, and I think these mods would certainly give them that opportunity.

I don't trust dealer service departments, from past experience.

 

[ThatTmoGuy]

Tmo, exactly how would I go about doing "no exhaust and a DIY intake"?
Not familiar with this...

Also, the Trifecta tune, that's real popular, yes? Would that void my warranty?

As for the voiding warranty issue, I'm just concerned that the dealership would take every opportunity to weasel out of warranty work, and I think these mods would certainly give them that opportunity.

I don't trust dealer service departments, from past experience.

For the DIY stuff check out my build thread, its explained fairly well in there (link in my sig) Plus the tune cannot be found by the techs at the dealership. They would need to pull your ECM out and send it to GM, by that time they would have already found a reason to void your warranty. You should also read up on the Magnuson Warranty Act. Basically if you mod the exhaust they can only void the warranty on the exhaust not the whole car, same with intake, intercooler, so on and so forth...

I wouldn't go doing things that have not been done yet but a tune, intake, and exhaust won't kill your chances of getting something fixed so long as you enable transparency mode on the tune.

 

[rodslinger]

As for the voiding warranty issue, I'm just concerned that the dealership would take every opportunity to weasel out of warranty work....

Just be educated on what TMO linked and always keep your nuts (or someone's nuts) with you if they try to pull a fast one. If you think your dealer likes to play games, find another dealer. There are friendly dealers out there that just want to fix your car and keep you happy.

 

[key1cc]

Congrats on your new Sonic! I wouldn't waste the extra $$ on 93 octane. The 1.4L Turbo is optimized from the factory for 91 octane, and will alter the timing if you use lower grade 87. Any octane higher than 91 is just a waste of money.

Darin

Really??? I had not heard that before and i have been running 87 octane mostly and occasionally 93. But if what you say is true, i am wasting good money running 93...where
did you get that info ?
Key1

 

[Chevrolet Customer Care]

That is an overly broad statement and it should be clarified. You cannot void portions of the warranty on parts of the car that are not affected by the modification. You can generally only deny a warranty claim for a failure that was the DIRECT result of the modification.

Hi rodslinger,

I think the key word is "could" here. It is GM's policy for us to inform customers that if they do mods and it's found to be directly related to the cause/problem it could possibly void their warranty or parts of it. You can check with your dealership's Warranty Manager for specifics.

Just so you know we are not the mod police. Hope you're still enjoying your Sonic!

Vanessa
GM Customer Service

 

[rek001]

Mod police? C'mon Vanessa - it's Mod Squad.

OK, guys, I read TMO's stuff. I don't want a loud growl, I just want to get the best power and handling per gallon out of the car.

So what should I get?

 

[Kuntryboy865]

Mod police? C'mon Vanessa - it's Mod Squad.

OK, guys, I read TMO's stuff. I don't want a loud growl, I just want to get the best power and handling per gallon out of the car.

So what should I get?

Turbo back exhaust, ZZP or DDM intake and a tune. Later on springs or coil overs.

 

[ThatTmoGuy]

Mod police? C'mon Vanessa - it's Mod Squad.

OK, guys, I read TMO's stuff. I don't want a loud growl, I just want to get the best power and handling per gallon out of the car.

So what should I get?

I was running without a resonator for a while and it's loud, if you want to do it on the cheap check out the new thread http://www.sonicownersforum.com/forum/t6607/ Without the muffler the Sonic sounds like it should have from the factory.