mcclark0311
New member
Just picked up my first sonic 2014 1.8 non turbo. Just curious what are the best bolt ons I can start throwing money at
New to sonic
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Hunter23145
New member
Many people recommend the K&N cold air intake.
JTee2017
Well-known member
On my 2017 Sonic 1.8L a K&N cold air intake really did nothing for any added performance.
The Best I can recommend is a better set of sport handling tires and maybe a Pedal commander for seat of your pants improvement.
The 1.8L engine is designed well and about all that is reasonably capable of.
Some have even tried adding a turbo, but end up totally rebuilding the engine from pistons, crank, valves, camshaft and more. And even then not reliable anymore.
The Best I can recommend is a better set of sport handling tires and maybe a Pedal commander for seat of your pants improvement.
The 1.8L engine is designed well and about all that is reasonably capable of.
Some have even tried adding a turbo, but end up totally rebuilding the engine from pistons, crank, valves, camshaft and more. And even then not reliable anymore.
Hunter23145
New member
That very well could be the case. I’ve got the 1.4 turbo and the new intake is great for performance and sound, but as far as the 1.8 goes it might not be. I’ve heard mixed reviews about the throttle commanders. Some say it just simulates that you’re pushing the pedal further than you are and that you might as well just push the pedal more. I was looking into them though because the throttle lag is frustrating especially in a manual.
Dingleberry69
Member
Yeah me too. Was thinking about the banks pedal monster as it pulls its power off the OBD2 port rather than the power feed from the ECU. Reason being I heard that some manufacturers supply just enough for the accelerator pedal alone, and units like the injen or pedal commander would add too much load and disable the pedal as there won’t be enough juice to power that module. Running a 2012 1.8 LT 5sp all stock, usually drive with traction control fully disabled for a spirited drive, it’s fun, indeed, but will a unit like this potentially add a little more spirit to a fun drive, or is it snake oil, and not worth blowing the load over (financially).
Hunter23145
New member
Honestly, can’t really say because idk who to believe about it.
I’d think best bet if you’re going to spend that kind of money would be to consider a trifecta tune. I have one of the older iterations of the trifecta tune for the sonic and it’s not half bad. It adds a ton of top end to the car, but it’s not perfect hence my current frustration with throttle lag. What’s nice about it though is I can enable and disable the tune with the cruise control button which is like the best of both worlds. I wonder if the new trifecta tunes are better.
I’d think best bet if you’re going to spend that kind of money would be to consider a trifecta tune. I have one of the older iterations of the trifecta tune for the sonic and it’s not half bad. It adds a ton of top end to the car, but it’s not perfect hence my current frustration with throttle lag. What’s nice about it though is I can enable and disable the tune with the cruise control button which is like the best of both worlds. I wonder if the new trifecta tunes are better.