IgottaWoody

Finally got tired of that feeling of wallowing in mud with the SS and decided to venture into no mans land....ordered me some new FE5 struts and do a little modding. Currently running Sportlines and they just arnt cutting it, not for an SS anyways, and not with KYB's. Nice try but..failed, somebody had to do it, right? And with that, i dug out the SS springs, and did a little backyard comparing..physically the Sports are about 1/2 coil in height shorter, though they have a few more coils then the SS..they are way softer as they compress easily by hand where as the SS do not..hmmmm..guess Cobalt springs dont work as well on an HHR ( remember, we are 400 lbs heavier overall then the Cobalts). Anyways..also dug out my cutoff wheel and lopped one coil off of the SS springs, they now sit 1/2 coil less in height then the Sports...and way more stiffer. but wait..the ride didnt suffer,, but more on that later. Assembly was easy as no spring compressor was needed.. there is just enough squeeze to keep the coil from floating around in the assembled strut, install was by the book from then on. OK.measuring time..the sports measured in at 26 1/8 fender lip to ground..the modded SS coils are at 26 1/4...hmmm,,so far so good, lets go for a ride, shall we?
I was expecting the usual harshness any cut coil gives but, it wasnt there..pretty much felt like the original install! Firm but smooth, way better then the previous setup. Gone is the front end lift (on throttle up)..gone is the constant feel of going over a small washboard ( roads are rough here, felt better back east on better roads), corners tight, but feels almost as nice as the original factory setup! Of course theres going to be some difference, its cut! Same thing as replacing with lowering coils, but better! Anyways..will update as time goes on and I get a chance to 'play' with the new setup.Oh, another thing..the FE5 struts brought my camber back up to an acceptable feel..so be careful with aftermarket struts..may need a camber kit to get it back in line. They are not all built to the same specs so the mount holes could throw the alignment off. But Like any part, all depends on how lucky you get on how it affects your car. So, now we all know, you CAN cut your SS coils one coil and get a comparable drop to the aftermarket coils AND keep that oh so SS ride! Your on your own for the rear coils,,the Sports are ok for now with FE5 shocks, but then i 'm not carrying any weight. (Thinking about adding spring cup adjusters to rear and then cutting them, the cup will capture the coil end and be adjustable for that desired height..requires welding though)..The rears are a future project.........would like to adapt a coilover to replace the current coil and can mount between the existing spring cups with a little modding.

whopper

Nice bit of experimenting there man!!! Keep us posted on how it works out, long term.

IgottaWoody

Thinking of trimming some more to bring it down to one finger clearance in the wheel well..

sleeper

Good write up Woody.. Keep on cuttin'.....

Which cobalt springs do you refer to ?

firemangeorge

Wow. This is the same mod/experiment that I was getting ready to try.
Thanks Woody for taking the lead on this.
I've got the Pedders on mine now and was looking for the same results as far as height and eliminating the "Pedders Pogo" in the front. Guess I'll get out the sawzall and cut off a coil from the stock springs. I'm still using the stock struts, so it should be a good result.

Oldblue

nice tech write up, keep us posted!!

IgottaWoody

Just about any aftermarket spring out there is based on the cobalts..unless they were specifically made for our HHR,s...and some of those are questionable..so..we already know the ss springs are good..so a cut version should be even better..nobody could get the various spring rates mapped out..and quite a few here have gone thru several sets of coils until they foud something close to what they wanted...now..if u use a spring rate calculator, it tells you if you want to do any kind of performance driving, to increase that rate by 25# ...i figure, one coil lopped off should yeild at least that...since struts are limited..figured it best to stick with stock, since struts dont control weight transfer, they only control how fast the weight is transferred, you need a strong enough spring to handle the fact yiu are lowered to keep off the bump stops. So you can have a softer shock but not a softer spring, ( to a point), and avoid the pogo effect...you can go to a really stiff shock to stop that but then ride quality really suffers ( right Sam?) ..might as well throw some 2 by 4,s in there. Its a balancing act...but you still have to start with the correct spring rates..so why not start with the originals,right? Now..who is goig to get the rear sorted out? Besides, at 42$ a spring, its cheaper then 300$ sets just to decide you dont like them.

jay loukakis

I wish I was 40 years younger to take on this project but at my age no way, but I would love to do what you are doing, beat of luck.

IgottaWoody

Went for a 120 mile benefit bike ride yesterday so didnt get a chance to play, but did go to dinner with the car, and it felt great. Theres no residual bounce after going over any roughness, and its smooth, a nice change over the old set up.I have work tonight so i will really get a feel as i venture out on the 'proving track' called I5 ! One thing crossed the mind though, if you really want to see how the changes affected your ride, park the car for a day or so and drive something else.When you get back in, habit will make you remember how it used to be, so then you can really notice the changes... same goes for when your having issues..sometimes you dont 'notice' things until you get away from them, and then return, human nature i guess.

IgottaWoody

All I can say is.....cut them and never look back...if there ever was a feel that belongs to a sports car this is it! is quiet, its smooth and for some unknown reason (harmonics?) the road is quieter, like the sound with new tires. Even the road reflectors are quieter when you run over them. You hit a bump and its a one time thing with no after taste. Corners flat..minimal to no nose dive, and the same for take off rise. Compare it to a rustang if you will but better, Stangs are a bit rough in my opinion. Anyways, now ya know. Cheap drop without the bad characteristics, and if you dont like it, 42$ gets you brand new replacements. I believe the LS/LT owners can play too..want to drop and stay on the soft side, use LS springs. Go a tad stiffer..LT springs...play slot car..SS springs and of course the matching shocks/struts. BTW..I used the same mounts and bearings...just changed struts and springs..the other set was only on the road for 10 months so I know they are not a contributing factor for the change in road sound. And if anybody local wants a set of KYB's let me know..they be reasonable. Like make an offer reasonable..same age..10 months. Front and rears.......