[ImpalaSam]

Hello, new Cruze owner here. I have liked the look of the Cruze since it was introduced and when
my 2002 Cavalier was totaled I took the leap and bought a new one. It is a 2016 LT RS 1.4T manual.
The car is nice but I must say I am disappointed in the performance. My Cavalier had the NA 2.2 Ecotec
with a manual and it was fun to drive, the Cruze not so much. This is my first car with the drive by wire
and maybe I just need to figure out how to drive it but so far I am not very happy with it.

 

[Terryk2003]

Welcome! Congrats on the new car! You're right, the 1.4 isn't exactly quick, especially in stock form. A tune helps them significantly, even if you leave the rest stock.

 

[Patman]

Welcome! Congrats on the new car!. As Terry said and you found out, the stock 1.4 is not the same as the 2.2. Remember you are also dealing with a turbo on the 1.4 and 2.2 is Fuel injection and the Cruze is geared more to fuel efficiency than the Cavalier was. One thing you could do is run some premium gas and see how the car responds to that after a tank or 2. The tune will definitely wake the car up and remind you more of the Cavalier. Most all of us have felt the same way about the performance but there are several things you can do along with the tune and gas. check your spark plug gaps some have found them all over the place when they should be consistent. Anyway, welcome and read up on the forum about various thing you can do.

 

[ImpalaSam]

Welcome! Congrats on the new car!. As Terry said and you found out, the stock 1.4 is not the same as the 2.2. Remember you are also dealing with a turbo on the 1.4 and 2.2 is Fuel injection and the Cruze is geared more to fuel efficiency than the Cavalier was. One thing you could do is run some premium gas and see how the car responds to that after a tank or 2. The tune will definitely wake the car up and remind you more of the Cavalier. Most all of us have felt the same way about the performance but there are several things you can do along with the tune and gas. check your spark plug gaps some have found them all over the place when they should be consistent. Anyway, welcome and read up on the forum about various thing you can do.

Patman, I have run nothing but 93 octane since I got it, in my opinion any boosted engine needs all the octane it can get.
I wish the car had a boost gauge so I can see what the turbo is doing, I have tried using my tourque pro app but I think
something is off with it as the boost only shows 4psi., I was under the impression it should be around 15.

 

[obermd]

Welcome. The Cruze is a torque controlled engine so the boost will only be what the ECU is commanding to meet the torque requirements but only seeing boost around 4 PSI is low. My ECO MT routinely hits 7-10 PSI in my daily driving.

 

[billyhime]

Hello, new Cruze owner here. I have liked the look of the Cruze since it was introduced and when
my 2002 Cavalier was totaled I took the leap and bought a new one. It is a 2016 LT RS 1.4T manual.
The car is nice but I must say I am disappointed in the performance. My Cavalier had the NA 2.2 Ecotec
with a manual and it was fun to drive, the Cruze not so much. This is my first car with the drive by wire
and maybe I just need to figure out how to drive it but so far I am not very happy with it.

What part of SC are you in? I live in Charleston, but am overseas for another week.

 

[BrandoFisher117]

Welcome!

 

[ImpalaSam]

What part of SC are you in? I live in Charleston, but am overseas for another week.

I'm in the upstate, Inman