2015 Chevy Sonic/Wall/4 PSI 15's/SA 6K/Active/Arc/CDT/Singer/US Alt/XS

[WalledSonic]

This post is a bit of a mess, and its not in perfect chrono order, but hang in there.

Now that the shell was installed, I had to finish the port and baffle design. To be continued...

Now, for the alternator:

Mr. Singer gives great customer service. He took the time to answer questions and offer opinions. At the time, I had only reached out to 'the big guys' and they either no-quoted me or didnt respond.

My old '72 Chevy PU was Omaha Orange, so I had Mike spray the case in neon orange for nostalgia purposes.

Had to remove the inner fender lining so I could do the swap. The socket is shown on the belt tensioner.

Stock unit next to the Singer rewind. Same casing, slightly smaller pulley. The pulley wasnt spaced appropriately, but it was easy to shim the casing when I actually installed. Measured the two alts side by side and concluded that I needed 2mm of spacing. I found some washers and dropped it in place. The install was easy, although the alt is located in the most difficult area of the engine bay.

[WalledSonic]

My car has a PCM controlled alternator, so the voltage swings from 12.7V (into the battery voltage) all the way to 15.1V, depending on a variety of conditions. For those who own newer GMs, this is a good read:

http://acdelcotechconnect.com/pdf/imtn_V12I305.pdf

I have another article that expounds on the conditions that cause changes in the control of the module.

The Chevy Sonic, unfortunately, has a 2-pin connection:

I reached out to many companies looking for a solution to my voltage regulation, but the only one offering a solution for my particular 2-wire alternator was US Alternators. They are creating a module that can hold my voltage at a steady 14.4V all the time. The owner also has some great threads on this forum.

Quickie of the finished alt install:

[WalledSonic]

OK, so back to the cabin and trunk.

Sonic needs a new trunk floor. One leg is a bit short so that I could actually fit it in thru the trunk. Keep in mind, I did NOT think everything out ahead of time, I just started building a wall. Haha

I liked what Karkov did in his Tahoe to secure the batteries, so I did something similar. Cut some wood, fastened it down. Vinyl to come at a later date.

This massive 2x8 I had lying around, so I notched it and cut a rabbet so it would fit behind the back wall, in the trunk area:

Again, the rabbet allowed the board to sit flush on the vertical boards, but to fit over the metal frame of the trunk pass-thru (no longer a pass thru obv):

Lots of PL 3X

[WalledSonic]

There was a spare tire bracket, but I cut it out and matted over it. I plan on getting some 17s and run-flats soon, so the spare tire wont be necessary in 2017.

Some details on the electrical in the trunk:

Found a spare fuse in the dash fuse panel, so I ran an add-a-fuse with 12ga wire to a 120A relay in the trunk. The ATL fuse block below is good for 100A, so I fused the relay from a 100A fuse in the ANL fuse panel. Look close, the third block from the top has a cable that snakes behind the back and down to the relay.

The primary reason for the relayed fuse panel is for remote turn-ons for the amps.

[hdorre]

Mmm i spotted 3x in quite a few pics.. following.

Its coming along nicely so far!

[CstrokerV]

off topic im looking in to the sonic hatch how does it drive?... and nice job so far

[Karkov]

OK, so back to the cabin and trunk.

Sonic needs a new trunk floor. One leg is a bit short so that I could actually fit it in thru the trunk. Keep in mind, I did NOT think everything out ahead of time, I just started building a wall. Haha

I liked what Karkov did in his Tahoe to secure the batteries, so I did something similar. Cut some wood, fastened it down. Vinyl to come at a later date.

This massive 2x8 I had lying around, so I notched it and cut a rabbet so it would fit behind the back wall, in the trunk area:

Again, the rabbet allowed the board to sit flush on the vertical boards, but to fit over the metal frame of the trunk pass-thru (no longer a pass thru obv):

Lots of PL 3X

Yay! Thanks man! Everything looking VERY good. Well thought out, clean, errorproof, etc. tuned.....

[WalledSonic]

off topic im looking in to the sonic hatch how does it drive?... and nice job so far

Drives well, I love the lil car. Its been reliable as heck and there arent many issues with the non-turbo version of the car since 2012. Even with 300lbs of batteries, half the box installed, and an engine tune, I got 28mpg going to Austin last weekend. I get about 22mpg around town, mostly due to how I drive. Theres a sonic forum that has a bunch of great information. If you decide to purchase one, PM me for a bunch of details on the suspension, Trifecta tune, etc.

The biggest problem I currently have is that there isnt room for a second alt. I'm currently looking into running a single 18V alt and using the XS stepdown for the 12V ECU, but I need to do more research first. My only other complaint is that there arent many places to put stuff inside the car. Its a cheap basic car! But thats why I bought it so its not much of a complaint.

[WalledSonic]

And with a payment of $190/month, I have a lot of room in my pocket to buy sound equipment

[WalledSonic]

Found the pic with the crossovers in the center kicks. Ive gone active now but it was great at the time.

Heres some pics of me being impatient and throwing in some equipment temporarily

2 12's sealed facing back wall. I couldnt work on the system that week, so I threw this in so I could enjoy the commutes and a mini road trip. Sounded decent for budget Pioneer subs on the KS600.2.