Need recommendations from Sonic Mod Vets

[Corbetto]

Sonic Team,

I have a 2012 Sonic LT HB. Everything is stock. I have not modded anything on this vehicle. It has 38K miles on it. I think this would be a fun community project, and I could share the progress with you as I made the mods.

What I want:

Smoother ride (don't want it to feel like I hit an IED riding thru a speed bump)

Something that will make it "pick up and go" a bit faster. (don't know if that is realistic)

Rims (a nice looking set, nothing too expensive)

Headlights and rear lights? Something cool you have seen.

Anything for interior. Was thinking about getting wood trim. Saw something for $120.

Anything else you would recommend. I really want to make this thing look and run good. I love this vehicle, and want to give it the treatment it deserves.

 

[JTee2017]

Sonic Team,

I have a 2012 Sonic LT HB. Everything is stock. I have not modded anything on this vehicle. It has 38K miles on it. I think this would be a fun community project, and I could share the progress with you as I made the mods.

Hey . . and welcome !

Do not know if I am part of the "Sonic Team", but I can suggest a few things. I've not one to go too far with mods these days but there are some add ons that improve.

With a 2012. . you should really address a few age and "wear" maintenance items . .. First. Since you may not know what the previous owner(s) have done for upkeep. Or at least know what you will likely see soon. Thermostat housing, water pump. . . . Purge Valve Solenoid . . a few other hoses, tubes, rear shocks . .. etc Sonics are durable. . . but ONLY if you keep ahead of the few things that will need attention. Wait till they fail. . and you can have big $$$$ costs because some parts make other damage when they fail.
This may seem not so exciting. . . but what good is throwing money at mods if the car sits somewhere broken down?

If you can wrench and DIY. . . the few wear items will cost maybe $300 to $400, but really save you trouble later on.

First. . what engine and transmission? That would decide what you might be able to do for a bit more pep. Since it is a 2012. . . a good Throttle Body clean with CRC TB cleaner . . used sparingly and wiped down with some clean, scarp lint free cloths inside the inner reaches. Use care. .. look up some YOutubes on how to do that.

Some simple mods. . LED interior lights for the "map" and dome lights. Improve things a lot. Maybe some footwell lights?
There really isn't too much you can do with the head lights. I would refrain from LED headlights unless you go with something like the SL2 LED lights form Diode Dynamics. Pricey though. I would not mess with LED tail lights. Gets iffy with resistors needed if you want LEDs for directional bulbs and almost always issues later on. . . in my opinion.

Since you are in a South Coast state state . .. a window tint would look great with the Silver on the car.

Then there is always tires wheels and suspension.
For tires I went with Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires. Softer yet really well handling ride. Better rain traction also.

Again . . 2012. . sway bars link upgrade . .. good ones for $40 are a good upgrade. Some other suspension work might be needed as well since the rubber in the front end ages. Oh . .! And I would check your engine mounts. . . they wear and age and would be good to just replace those. . they can cause vibration that yo might think is suspension. You can buy stiffer after market or just go OEM. If you want smooth and soft experience. . get OEM in my opinion.

There is more. .. Always more. . .

Search in the forum for the items I mentioned. Lots of threads with links or part numbers to the parts.

 

[Pirate Luke]

I agree 100% with JTee. He hit every major point. Only thing I can add is the complete LED swap I did (including taillights) used OPT7 for all LEDs, and has been operating since November '13. Cheap and reliable bulbs for our cars no resistors needed as they provide a harness to handle it.

Keep us updated on your mods

 

[OssiansFolly]

Going to keep the echo chamber going. First thing I did was replace all the lights with LEDs...interior lights, all exterior safety lights, and installed footwell LED lighting. I know a lot of people had issues with resistors and CANbus cancelers, but honestly I was brand new to the whole LED thing and figured it out in two weeks. You can buy resistors and cancelers for whatever bulb you need so no need to solder.

As far as rims go, there is totally a thread on here about Plastidipping them. Inexpensive and makes a world of difference. I already bought my cans to do it when the weather warms up. Just adding that dark coat on the interior to match my car color will make them pop.

 

[Maddog]

Welcome and some ideas

Hey bud, Im not a true Vet but I mess around a lot, I actually like those wheels better than my 2014 style. But Im maybe not normal

If it were me then I would update the look a little, use vinyl wrap to hide the chromy bits, satin or flat black, or go wild and come up with a cool design. Cheap to do and overall best value for money. Lot you can do with those iconic headlights (way cooler than newer models I think) so you can figure some vinyl trim detailing for those too.
JTee has some great ideas in his post too.

For the interior, I think its great on these cars but a bit 'little tikes' plasticky, however you can do plenty with vinyl wrap too, including wood, c fiber and other textures.

Cold Air Intake gives you a small increase in power, feels more, sounds great we all have our favorites, mine is the RacerX CAI just cause its so well made and looks awesome.

Pirate Luke is right, got to use good leds if you go that way. The cheaper ebay ones are mainly terrible, like jtee says and Ive had problems with cheap ones on other cars in the past. Actually just checked prices and opt7 are a great deal I may get that done too. Thx Luke.

Suspension is like a double edged sword, you drop it or harden it for better handling and its just brutal for everyday driving. I havent figured a good compromise yet.

 

[66roadie]

...

Suspension is like a double edged sword, you drop it or harden it for better handling and its just brutal for everyday driving. I havent figured a good compromise yet.

The GM Performance lowering kit is a good compromise.. minimum lowering with great ride & handling. I added the zzp rear sway bar & I'm real happy.

 

[JTee2017]

Oh. . just thought of one more thing . . .

Change the transmission fluid whether automatic or manual. With the Automatic, that fliud gets pretty dirty in 35K to 40K miles. Easy to do but you will need about 17 quarts. Basically drain and fill 3 times. Each "drain" only lets out about 5.4 quarts or so. The rest is in the torque convertor and front mounted transmission cooler. So, drain/fill 3 times rinses and replaces about 96% or so? Not sure of that math.

There are Youtubes on how to do it. Same as on the Chevy Cruze automatic 6 speed if you find one of those.

Here is one of the videos. . . but find and watch 3 or more to get the best feel for it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bB4Pe-BEJOQ

 

[MaD]

LEDs are pretty cheap and easy to do, and you can go crazy fast [emoji12]

Sent from my SM-G900T using Tapatalk

 

[Pirate Luke]

Actually just checked prices and opt7 are a great deal I may get that done too.

The best part is even with the harness adapter they WILL all cram into our stock headlight housing, no cutting/drilling or mounting needed. It takes some finagling and 10 minutes, but it's doable. I'll have had mine installed 5 years no issues this coming October/November. Only lights I've bought by them and had trouble with is the dome lights.

 

[Corbetto]

Hey . . and welcome !

Do not know if I am part of the "Sonic Team", but I can suggest a few things. I've not one to go too far with mods these days but there are some add ons that improve.

With a 2012. . you should really address a few age and "wear" maintenance items . .. First. Since you may not know what the previous owner(s) have done for upkeep. Or at least know what you will likely see soon. Thermostat housing, water pump. . . . Purge Valve Solenoid . . a few other hoses, tubes, rear shocks . .. etc Sonics are durable. . . but ONLY if you keep ahead of the few things that will need attention. Wait till they fail. . and you can have big $$$$ costs because some parts make other damage when they fail.
This may seem not so exciting. . . but what good is throwing money at mods if the car sits somewhere broken down?

If you can wrench and DIY. . . the few wear items will cost maybe $300 to $400, but really save you trouble later on.

First. . what engine and transmission? That would decide what you might be able to do for a bit more pep. Since it is a 2012. . . a good Throttle Body clean with CRC TB cleaner . . used sparingly and wiped down with some clean, scarp lint free cloths inside the inner reaches. Use care. .. look up some YOutubes on how to do that.

Some simple mods. . LED interior lights for the "map" and dome lights. Improve things a lot. Maybe some footwell lights?
There really isn't too much you can do with the head lights. I would refrain from LED headlights unless you go with something like the SL2 LED lights form Diode Dynamics. Pricey though. I would not mess with LED tail lights. Gets iffy with resistors needed if you want LEDs for directional bulbs and almost always issues later on. . . in my opinion.

Since you are in a South Coast state state . .. a window tint would look great with the Silver on the car.

Then there is always tires wheels and suspension.
For tires I went with Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus tires. Softer yet really well handling ride. Better rain traction also.

Again . . 2012. . sway bars link upgrade . .. good ones for $40 are a good upgrade. Some other suspension work might be needed as well since the rubber in the front end ages. Oh . .! And I would check your engine mounts. . . they wear and age and would be good to just replace those. . they can cause vibration that yo might think is suspension. You can buy stiffer after market or just go OEM. If you want smooth and soft experience. . get OEM in my opinion.

There is more. .. Always more. . .

Search in the forum for the items I mentioned. Lots of threads with links or part numbers to the parts.

Coincidentally, I had to replace the sway bar. Sounded like I was dragging coke cans down the road. The car feels MUCH better when accelerating and handling after I got that fixed. I will check out the OPT 7s for lights and I have always wanted to add a cold air intake. I have seen craziness with LED, but I think I will give it a try and add some to the rear door handles. They are always hard to find for drunk people.

 

[RMinNJ]

Interior - the first thing I did getting the car was fabricate a dead pedal cover out of plastic. Later I got husky liners/floor matts that cover it for the most part. So for an interior upgrade I recommend good floor matts/liners. I also have CoverKing front seat covers fitted seat covers which save wear and tear on the seats...

 

[dannyg]

If the car sounds like an IED going off every time you hit a speed bump, you may have suspension issues? My 2015 with 33K miles and stock 15” wheels (like yours) is actually pretty smooth for a small car. I’m no expert on suspensions., just throwing it out there.