Starting my 5th January with HHRvey (2006 1LT automatic) and it has done well on the ice and snow even on the original Firestone Affinity's. We are expecting a substantial snow fall over the next 3 days, and I have no reservations whatsoever about driving on the snowy roads with HHRvey. As a side note, I traded in my beloved 2001 Malibu LS for a new HHR back in January of '06, and I must confess the HHR had better traction on the snow than the Malibu.

BTW, my Firestones are showing wear as I have 30,000 miles on the car now. Has anyone replaced their originals with the same tire? If something better is out there, any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

I just tool my HHR into a snow cover parking lot today and it made me mad.

No matter what I tried to do I could not spin it, slide it or get it out of shape. Between my tires and the stability control it just kept on going in the direction it was going in.

It is days like this I miss my Sonoma with Limited slip. Doing donuts and power slides are so much fun.

I was a drifter 30 years before it was popular. Just them we were pretending were James Rockford or Steve Kinser. LOL!

I am affraid the bootleg turn may be a forgotten art.

 

HHRvey
I replaced mine with the original tires because I had no issues with them. Yes we have very little snow or ice in N Texas but a good road can become a hazard when it only rains a little and does not wash the oils off the roads.

I shopped around and figured the tires I had were good enough for what I do, but most of all I like the QUIET ride from them. I have no issues with squeeks or rattles in my HHR, but understand others troubles.

 

have a 06 lt first yr for it in the snow .i have goodyear all season and i have yet to get loose driving in the snow .i live in a very hilly mountainous area witch makes winter driving all the more hazardous. so far its been all good.
and i would disagree that all front wheel drive cars handle the same or similar in snow last yr i drove an acura cl v6 model front wheel drive in the snow and that car was all over the place couldnt climb a hill and couldnt go over 20 in a storm.On the otherhand the diff between that car and the hhr is like night and day.

 

i had Firestone firehawks on mine... 07 LT had 44,000 miles on them i replaced them with The same tire.... unlike some on here, my originals i didnt have any trouble at all with them got around great..... and with getting another 6 inches this week of snow... it gets around great..... i did some research and pricing and actually ended up buying my set of 4 from my dealership.....

 

I would agree that driving in snow is mostly the driver. However there is some difference in vehicles. A couple of weeks ago I drove my HHR well over 500 miles on snowpacked roads, it did just fine. Compared to the Pontiac Grand Am I had before it did very well, both being FWD and very comparable in weight the HHR is lightyears better in snow. Compared to my very highly modifed Ford Bronco the HHR doesn't even come close. Most people either don't or refuse to understand that there is considerably less traction when there is snow/ice. In fresh snow more than a couple of inches deep it will not go, but on roads where the snow is packed or plowed it does adequately. All the gadgets in the world will not make a snowpacked or icy road anywhere close to having the traction of a dry road. Unfortunately there are a lot who simply will never understand this. Around here if it is snowing or has just snowed I will drive the Bronco in 4WD, after a couple of days it's back to the HHR.

 

My HHR is a LS model with the 5-speed transmission - I do not have the luxury of such items as Traction Control and Anti-Lock Brakes. My Traction Control is my foot on the clutch and my ABS is working the brake pedal right. This is my second winter season driving my HHR and I have yet to have any issues while driving in snowy and/or icy road conditions. It has always just been a matter of adapting my driving style to the weather and road conditions. Not adapting to the road conditions is where most people screw up - they drive everyday like it is 80 degrees and sunny out. I would offer this little piece of advice: If you do purchase an HHR and it still has the Firestone Affinity tires on it – GET RID OF THEM!! They do OK in the rain, but on snow and ice they are absolutely terrible. Good luck in your search and decision.

 

What year is your HHR? My 2.2L 5 speed has both t/c and ABS. That said, they are no substitute for driving in a manner that is safe for conditions.

 

Wolfman, Mine is a 2007 - the only extra charge on mine was the Destination Fee and it took my three months to find an Orange HHR with a 5-speed at a dealership in my area. That should tell you how long I wanted one - I told the wife I was going to get me one when I saw one at a car show in late 2005. Just had to find the right color and model that fit my budget.

 

The ABS and t/c are standard on the '09 models. It is interesting to note that it wasn't on the earlier vehicles, as GM is famous for removing desirable features as models age, not adding.