Sonic Potential Highway Turbulence

[BoG233]

Just curious did the rev limiter kick in it at point or did you just not wanna take it further than that? I'd be impressed if the top speed is higher than my celica gts which was 150 mph

I think it had a limiter . I felt it surging .The Jag in front of me left me standing at that point .

 

[RichieRocket]

Having just taken my car cross country, I think this guys is over stating it. Compared to my wifes Yaris this car is planted on the highway.

1994-95 Honda Civic's had front driver/passenger airbags 92-93 only had drivers as I recall.

A small point I know, but I owned a LOT of 92-95 Civics. Wrecked one pretty bad and I'm still here to talk about it.

Gimpster, like most things, nothing is black/white here. There are many shades of grey...

I think we are in agreement, the Sonic is a relatively small/light car. You will feel cross-winds and turbulence to some SMALL degree, however it is solid overall.

It was the guy in the original article that made it sound like the Sonic would go cart-wheeling off the road if you got into the wake of a truck...

As for crashes, you may have survived your crash, but given the choice, if I had an Escalade crash into me, I'd rather be in the Sonic than an early 90's civic

 

[oldertech]

Yeah, those civic hatchs had incredible mileage! Too bad they can't build them like that anymore. The lean-burn cruise gets great mpg but the hotter, lean, combustion produces too much NOx (nitrous oxides) to meet emission standards...

Yeah, I often wondered if 50+ MPH with Leanburn compared to 20-something MPG in a cleaner, newer car ultimate lead to the same emissions over the long haul. And how come, 20 years later, someone couldn't figure out how to make Leanburn cleaner?

Ultimately, it was the "tin can" consideration that lead me to a new car. I'm ready to hypermile in the Sonic with occasional bursts of faster fun, like I did in my VX.

 

[Gimpster]

Often emissions output vs. MPG are left out of the discussion with hypermilers. Its like ok you saved a few bucks, but blew 5x the tailpipe..... win/lose or lose/lose?

 

[oldertech]

Often emissions output vs. MPG are left out of the discussion with hypermilers. Its like ok you saved a few bucks, but blew 5x the tailpipe..... win/lose or lose/lose?

I know, so gimme my Sonic! I've been at 3800 on the GM tracker - was hoping to hear an update today. It's been 2 weeks since I last heard. I guess Thanksgiving really slowed things down. Meanwhile, I'm driving the 1963 MG that never knew what emission controls were, other than those smoky things the went out the back.

 

[laborsmith]

BoG: Car and Driver reports the Sonic is drag limited at 124 mph, which I suspect would be based on a calculation. It looks like you reached the limit that the Sonic could force its way through the air in real life. I've been in Corvettes and Camaros at those speeds, and they were rock solid, almost as if they were built for those speeds. Chuckling out loud. How did the Sonic feel? At 90, the fastest I dared on a holiday weekend, the Sonic felt rock solid to me. I've had my Corvair up to 90 but it felt like if I kept it there I might go airborne. Not a pleasant feeling, at all.

Laborsmith

 

[BoG233]

Man that little puppy was solid for the most part the steering is electric I here so a real high speed you still have a sense of feel of the road . I felt a slite drift but I think that was my passing of the other cars . NO shimmy shaking or any other disserable movement that was not the road feel . The Jag I was following move like I moved . It was a nice new bit of I95 south . The weather was clear . The temp was cool about 72ish . And my wife was asleep in the passenger seat . I slowed down when I woke my wife . So I think she could tell we were speeding ( you know the wifie radar )

 

[beaslbob]

It may be I am more used to driving smaller cars. The Camaros I have owned in the past are the biggest cars I have owned since the 70's. I find the Sonic more stable on the highway then the J-Body cars I owned and almost if not as stable as the 2005 Cobalt SS/SC with the Quaife limited slip differential that I traded in for the 2010 1LT Camaro I no longer own.

Laborsmith

I saw they should have felt a corvair on snow and ice with wheel ruts from other cars. there was an interesting ride you had to keep on top of.


my .02

 

[wingman]

I came in here to post "Thanks captain obvious" to the guy that wrote that article. What did he think would happen when driving behind a semi in a small car???

Thanks Mr. Obvious, being a truck driver, I couldnt have said it better. Not just sonics in my experience.

 

[wingman]

If you maintain the right distance, throttle control, etc. you will get better fuel economy no matter what vehicle. Big or small, high or low C/D, why do you think semi-trailers run in packs? Most cars will get a little squirrely behind a semi-trailer, its not just a sonic trait. Its a good heads up, but not something abnormal, just something to be expected. Besides that 40+ mpg who needs a semi-trailer??

 

[GhettoHippie]

I've put 2503 miles on my sonic sedan since I bought it 36 days ago. It still has the factory 195 tires on 15 inch rims. I drive like a bat outta hell & like to see what my car can do here & there =-) At about 70-75mph even with no wind & no other vehicles around it starts to get alil turbulance & touchy at the wheel. 80-90mph hold on & drive straight. Cause it doesn't take much to get squirrely in that car at those speeds. 90-100mph on the highway just hitting the airpockets & temp changes on the road will almost make you change lanes with out really wanting to. Not too excited about how it drives at high speeds, but I still love my sonic. If I could get them to make a radio for it that would get loud I would have no complaints

 

[laborsmith]

The Sonic does have quick steering, one of the things I like about it.

I did not like the tires my Sonic came with, and should have shed them immediately instead of piling up a couple hundred miles thus relegating them to used instead of takeoffs. On the other hand, I did get to experience the OEM tires and can compare them with what I now have. If one likes a ride comparable to a Buick or Cadillac, I would say the OEM tires are for you. But if one desires something more sporting, capable of handling speed and turns, then you will be disappointed in the cars handling characteristics as long as you use the OEM tires.

Laborsmith

 

[Fit4Sonic]

The Sonic does have quick steering, one of the things I like about it.

I did not like the tires my Sonic came with, and should have shed them immediately instead of piling up a couple hundred miles thus relegating them to used instead of takeoffs. On the other hand, I did get to experience the OEM tires and can compare them with what I now have. If one likes a ride comparable to a Buick or Cadillac, I would say the OEM tires are for you. But if one desires something more sporting, capable of handling speed and turns, then you will be disappointed in the cars handling characteristics as long as you use the OEM tires.

Laborsmith

So, if you've posted this elsewhere, sorry...but what specific tires (brand) did you replace them with, and how are the handling characteristics now?

Was the new rubber just better all-seasons, or did you get strict performance tires as replacements to the stocks?

Thanks

 

[Danny5]

Man that little puppy was solid for the most part the steering is electric I here so a real high speed you still have a sense of feel of the road . I felt a slite drift but I think that was my passing of the other cars . NO shimmy shaking or any other disserable movement that was not the road feel . The Jag I was following move like I moved . It was a nice new bit of I95 south . The weather was clear . The temp was cool about 72ish . And my wife was asleep in the passenger seat . I slowed down when I woke my wife . So I think she could tell we were speeding ( you know the wifie radar )

Street racing at your age? Do you know what could have happened if one of those cars you passed at 130mph decided to change lanes???

It may be a new car, but you definitely want to think twice before driving (or admitting on a public forum) at triple digit speeds. 10 air bags would be an after thought at those speeds

 

[laborsmith]

Fit4Sonic: Kuhmo Ecsta ASX, Ultra High Performance All Season per Tire Rack.

I have used Kuhmo Ecsta tires in the past and have found them to be an excellent choice.

Laborsmith

 

[leaky]

I've put 2503 miles on my sonic sedan since I bought it 36 days ago. It still has the factory 195 tires on 15 inch rims. I drive like a bat outta hell & like to see what my car can do here & there =-) At about 70-75mph even with no wind & no other vehicles around it starts to get alil turbulance & touchy at the wheel. 80-90mph hold on & drive straight. Cause it doesn't take much to get squirrely in that car at those speeds. 90-100mph on the highway just hitting the airpockets & temp changes on the road will almost make you change lanes with out really wanting to. Not too excited about how it drives at high speeds, but I still love my sonic. If I could get them to make a radio for it that would get loud I would have no complaints

What's up with the radio?

It's funny you say that, my '06 GMC Canyon, which literally has every option including the highest end audio available, never goes loud enough (even if you turned off the auto-volume that goes up to drown out highway speed noise)..

No such problem on the Trailblazer or Equinox my parents own..

In the 4-door truck upgrading the system wasn't all that practical, could be done but you end up with a sub and amps jammed into 4 inches of clearance under or behind seats. I just put up with it for the last 215,000 miles ..

Looking at the sedan (ie trunk for audio equipment mounting ) already planning a small audio upgrade into it. Anyone now if there are pre-amps on the back of the stock deck?

Jon

 

[GhettoHippie]

The radio just lacks power & the speakers don't seem like they would be able to handle any extra power. tax return = new audio setup in my sonic sedan. I'm so over the stock radio setup.

 

[theenico]

So how did we get from discussing highway turbulence to talking about the speakers?

 

[AxelRipper]

Back to the turbulence issue, I was trying to notice it while driving last night, but couldn't. I thought I noticed something once, but I think it was just me still getting used to the tight steering.

 

[BoG233]

Street racing at your age? Do you know what could have happened if one of those cars you passed at 130mph decided to change lanes???

It may be a new car, but you definitely want to think twice before driving (or admitting on a public forum) at triple digit speeds. 10 air bags would be an after thought at those speeds

I was not racing the Jag past me and I saw a opertunity to make for lost time on the belt way 3 beautiful lanes a Jag leading the way It was perfect . So I egged him on a little so what . If he thought I was racing I would have been laghing to hard to focus on driving .A 20,000 dollar zippy car racing a 160,000 dollar jag LMAO ,ROFLMAO !