I dont know about those who say they cant notice the differance in power between the 2.2 and the 2.4 engine?

Back in May of 2008 when wife/I were looking, I test drove the 2008 2.2 Auto trans and though I really liked the HHR, that engine KILLED the deal for me.. [way to sluggish ]

With that said, the salesman took wife/I to a HHR with a 2.4 engine with Auto trans in it and I noticed a real differance in acceleration.

We travel some 2 lane, 55mph roadways here in Michigan, and the acceleration differance at those speeds between the 2.2 and the 2.4 was really noticable in my opinion, and the EPA is only a 1 mpg lose. I need the extra HP the 2.4 offers for passing on a 2-lane roadway, and for me, the 2.4 was by far, the better choice.

 

good to know; i currently drive a grand prix with the 3800 V6 which gets up and goes, so switching to a 4-cylinder is what's holding me back somewhat.

 

My 08 1LT panel has the 2.2, doesn't seem sluggish to me, at least as long as I don't spin the tires(Drive by wire seems to pull the throttle Waaaay back when that happens).
I'm getting about 22mpg city in the winter, goes up to 24 mpg summer when I'm not using the remote start to warm it up.... lol

Best mpg was 38mpg hiway, keeping the speed to 60mph.

All mpg numbers were confirmed with math, the DIC is sometimes a little optimistic..... it was showing 60mpg for a while on the 60mph hiway trip.

(If you reaally want to mess with your Toyota Prius driving buds, do this: Get up to 65 mph on the freeway and then reset the avg mpg on the DIC, lift off the gas and exit, drive slowly and carefully home- your avg mpg display may be as high as 50mpg doing this! )

 

Sure I know an HHR and a G6 are completely different cars, but my HHR has a 2.2 in it, and my mom's G6 has a 2.4 in it. To be honest, I don't notice much of a difference at all. Honestly they both suck if you want to pass cars a lot, but that might be because I'm used to my 3.1 in my Lumina and the 350 V8 in my truck...

Now my HHR isn't sluggish at all or anything in just regular driving. I just wouldn't take it to Daytona and race.

Definitely not a bad engine or anything. I don't think either are much different.

 

my thoughts exactly. I test drove both of them right after another and to me the difference was quite a bit.

 

You will miss the 3800 and the gearing on the Grand Prix. The HHR is not a performance car unless you pony up for the SS.

 

i went from a 4.3l to the 4 banger and i am much happier with the 4 banger. of course my 6 cyl was in a full size truck.

 

To be honest, I didn't buy the Panel to be a barn burner.... It has enough power to do what it's supposed to do.

If I was looking for fast, it would be a V8/rear drive layout anyway.....

 

I have the 2.4.

I changed the stock air intake to a CGS air intake. I also have a CGS muffler.

I get 40.2 MPG at 57 MPH.

I get 33.5 MPG at 65 MPH.

I use premium fuel. Mobil 1 oil. My HHR has Michilen Pilot Exalto AS tires.

I test drove the 2.2 for one week before I purchased the 2LT model.

I just rented a brand new (had 1,093 miles on it) HHR with the 2.2 engine. I had it for 11 days. My 2.4 2LT gets better mileage and has more pick up. Frankly, I was very unimpressed with the 2.2 in the 2009 HHR.

If you REALLY want pick up, then go for the SS.

If you want excellent mileage, see my notes above.

I love my HHR.

Sincerely,

MWG2

 

Do you have to have the muffler to get the most benefits out of the intake? Or do you think you'd still see improvement just with the CGS intake?