Important Note About Lowering...
03-19-2006, 05:11 PM
#1
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Join Date: 10-14-2005
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5,359
Important Note About Lowering...
I spent a few hours at Andy & Becky's on Friday (while Andy repaired my HHR's rear bumper that got "bit"). Before:
After:
While both HHR's were sitting side-by-side, we did some measuring.
One very important thing we learned after measuring Becky's car (a 2LT), and mike (a 1LT), is that there is a huge difference in tire sizes.
My 1LT (with 16" wheels), sit's nearly an inch lower at the axle center than a stock 2LT (with 17" wheels). This means if you have a 2LT and plan to lower it - know that your HHR will NOT sit as low as my 1LT riding on 16's.
The outer tire diameters are way different too, and we concluded that Chevy must be calibrating the speedo's differently for each model as well.
Becky was hesitant to lower her HHR because mine looked too low for her. Now we know why.
Keep in mind that the OVERALL drop with the Gold-Line springs is still 1.80-inches in front, and 2.125-inches in the rear - regardless of what model you own. A stock wheeled HHR with 16's will sit about an inch lower than an HHR riding on 17's too.
Of course if you plus-size your own wheels (buying a larger rim and keeping youe outside tire diameter the same as stock), you will be riding at the same height as stock +/- however much you lowered it.
One other thing Becky commented on was how nice and level the Gold-Line kit makes the HHR sit. It's dead level front/rear. Looks good.
The point of my post is this; some people have expressed that they didn't want to lower their HHR with Gold-Line's because they looked "too low."
Now you know why (it's the 16" wheels). If you have a 2LT with 17's - your rig will not look as low as mine. Just keep that in mind.
After:
While both HHR's were sitting side-by-side, we did some measuring.
One very important thing we learned after measuring Becky's car (a 2LT), and mike (a 1LT), is that there is a huge difference in tire sizes.
My 1LT (with 16" wheels), sit's nearly an inch lower at the axle center than a stock 2LT (with 17" wheels). This means if you have a 2LT and plan to lower it - know that your HHR will NOT sit as low as my 1LT riding on 16's.
The outer tire diameters are way different too, and we concluded that Chevy must be calibrating the speedo's differently for each model as well.
Becky was hesitant to lower her HHR because mine looked too low for her. Now we know why.
Keep in mind that the OVERALL drop with the Gold-Line springs is still 1.80-inches in front, and 2.125-inches in the rear - regardless of what model you own. A stock wheeled HHR with 16's will sit about an inch lower than an HHR riding on 17's too.
Of course if you plus-size your own wheels (buying a larger rim and keeping youe outside tire diameter the same as stock), you will be riding at the same height as stock +/- however much you lowered it.
One other thing Becky commented on was how nice and level the Gold-Line kit makes the HHR sit. It's dead level front/rear. Looks good.
The point of my post is this; some people have expressed that they didn't want to lower their HHR with Gold-Line's because they looked "too low."
Now you know why (it's the 16" wheels). If you have a 2LT with 17's - your rig will not look as low as mine. Just keep that in mind.
03-19-2006, 05:33 PM
#3
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Join Date: 10-14-2005
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5,359
Originally Posted by SIHHR
Wow, how did he fix your car? Was it touch up paint?
It was a major ordeal. (*Andy has done bodywork for over 20-years at least! He is now an insurance adjuster for a major insurance company).He pulled the whole bumper off and did it right. I will post a how-to this week.
Last edited by SoCalHHR; 03-19-2006 at 08:53 PM.
03-19-2006, 05:54 PM
#5
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Join Date: 09-23-2005
Location: Staten Island, NY
Posts: 4,466
Originally Posted by SoCalHHR
No...not hardly! It was a major ordeal. (*Andy has done bodywork for over 20-years at least! He is now an insurance adjuster for State Farm).
He pulled the whole bumper off and did it right. I will post a how-to this week.
It was a major ordeal. (*Andy has done bodywork for over 20-years at least! He is now an insurance adjuster for State Farm).He pulled the whole bumper off and did it right. I will post a how-to this week.
03-19-2006, 06:27 PM
#8
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Thread Starter
Join Date: 10-14-2005
Location: SoCal
Posts: 5,359
Yeah, I was (like a lot of you I'm sure), just under the impression that GM "plus-sized" the rims & tires and that they were all the same (outer diameter) size. This was a big (but pleasant), surprise for us, as quite a few thought the Gold-Lines' dropped my car too low. If you look at the "Lowered HHR" gallery on our site, you can see the diff with 2LT's - they are not that low:
Anyway - good news for those afraid to drop too much!
Anyway - good news for those afraid to drop too much!
