Slide_Rite's HHR - Pics, Mods & More!
09-16-2013, 02:22 PM
#72
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 03-20-2012
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 292
Suspension upgrades!
I finally got around to some suspension mods. Recently got a good deal on some 2nd Gen. Goldlines, and an even better deal on some used SS shocks & struts that I got for free months ago, both from fellow members. 
My suspension was completely stock FE1, with OE shocks & struts. The ride was way too soft, felt like I was floating. I also felt "disconnected" from the road, so needless to say...this had to change. After a quick trip to AutoZone to buy stuff for a future mod, I dove right in.
This was a one man job, with no impact tools available...so it took me a little longer than most, but it was so simple. Overall, probably about 3 hours including the daunting task of hand wrenching the spring compressors (multiple times for the first one). Due to this, I tackled the fronts first since the rear is literally a 20 min job, involving 6 nuts/bolts in total.
The first & best piece of advice I can give for this job, is to break torque on your strut retaining nuts before you remove them from the HHR, if you do not have impact tools!! This saved me from lots of additional sweating & heavy cursing.
(Oh, and pay no mind to all the autumn foliage...it's my Fall Harvest Edition!
)
Something else that is quite useful... Without it, I chase nuts like squirrels...so it's a must have in my book.
Just a few quick nuts to remove, but leave the two on the strut slightly threaded, so you can hammer the bolts out with no damage to the threads.
There is quite a bit of difference between components, which I hope translates into sufficient drop to satisfy my desire. I'm sure it will be a vast improvement over stock.
I used a folded up shop towel under vice grips to get a good grip on the center shaft and remove the retaining nut. Again, if you do not have an impact gun, you can break torque on these while still installed in your HHR. Another good trick is to keep a bit of an old belt handy. The rubber will both grip the strut shaft and also prevent bite marks from the vice grips.
So after disassembly, cut your bumpstops...and reinstall in the reverse order. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos after reassembly...but it looks the same, just yellow springs. No pics from the rear install either...I was being rushed by the gf to finish and get cleaned up since we had plans that night. But, as previously mentioned...it was as simple as removing two bolts and one nut from each side. I'll try to at least get a photo of the finished rear.
I've also been waiting until it was dropped to add my lug spikes, so voila! There they are...
Immediately afterwards, I rolled her out of the garage with her new stance and went out for some late night shenanigans. First impression...WOW. What a monstrous difference! Of course the low, aggressive look is fully achieved, but I was supremely impressed by her new handling characteristics and complete lack of body roll. Oh how I love it!! Even the gf commented on the incredible difference!
Yesterday was completely a lazy recovery day...but I still found an excuse to go for a drive and snap some pics.
My suspension was completely stock FE1, with OE shocks & struts. The ride was way too soft, felt like I was floating. I also felt "disconnected" from the road, so needless to say...this had to change. After a quick trip to AutoZone to buy stuff for a future mod, I dove right in.
This was a one man job, with no impact tools available...so it took me a little longer than most, but it was so simple. Overall, probably about 3 hours including the daunting task of hand wrenching the spring compressors (multiple times for the first one). Due to this, I tackled the fronts first since the rear is literally a 20 min job, involving 6 nuts/bolts in total.
The first & best piece of advice I can give for this job, is to break torque on your strut retaining nuts before you remove them from the HHR, if you do not have impact tools!! This saved me from lots of additional sweating & heavy cursing.
(Oh, and pay no mind to all the autumn foliage...it's my Fall Harvest Edition!
)Something else that is quite useful... Without it, I chase nuts like squirrels...so it's a must have in my book.
Just a few quick nuts to remove, but leave the two on the strut slightly threaded, so you can hammer the bolts out with no damage to the threads.
There is quite a bit of difference between components, which I hope translates into sufficient drop to satisfy my desire. I'm sure it will be a vast improvement over stock.
I used a folded up shop towel under vice grips to get a good grip on the center shaft and remove the retaining nut. Again, if you do not have an impact gun, you can break torque on these while still installed in your HHR. Another good trick is to keep a bit of an old belt handy. The rubber will both grip the strut shaft and also prevent bite marks from the vice grips.
So after disassembly, cut your bumpstops...and reinstall in the reverse order. Unfortunately, I didn't get any photos after reassembly...but it looks the same, just yellow springs. No pics from the rear install either...I was being rushed by the gf to finish and get cleaned up since we had plans that night. But, as previously mentioned...it was as simple as removing two bolts and one nut from each side. I'll try to at least get a photo of the finished rear.
I've also been waiting until it was dropped to add my lug spikes, so voila! There they are...
Immediately afterwards, I rolled her out of the garage with her new stance and went out for some late night shenanigans. First impression...WOW. What a monstrous difference! Of course the low, aggressive look is fully achieved, but I was supremely impressed by her new handling characteristics and complete lack of body roll. Oh how I love it!! Even the gf commented on the incredible difference!
Yesterday was completely a lazy recovery day...but I still found an excuse to go for a drive and snap some pics.
09-17-2013, 10:56 AM
#74
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 03-20-2012
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 292
For now...a before & after shot of the ride.
01-22-2014, 01:15 AM
#75
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 03-20-2012
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 292
Downtime is dirty time...
Haven't gotten to do anything to the ride in a while due to cold weather & a lack of garage...but me & the girlfriend went camping @ Colorado Bend State Park in Bend, TX. Of course, the HHR was our road trip ride. Loaded the bikes on the back, then hit the road. Pretty nice to hit the hill country and get out of the metroplex. We had planned to go to Palo Duro Canyon for camping/riding, but there was a major cold front headed in from the north, so we went south...too bad it wasn't far enough. Temps in the day were nice, but nighttime was freezing! Somewhere in the 30's in a tent is no bueno. But it wasn't too bad...did some hiking, some riding, and got the ride as dirty as I could...lol.
Our campsite was pretty solitary, only one other tent in the area.
Decent tent site...nice & spacious for sure.
Daytime temps in the 70's made for perfect riding weather.
The road in & out of the state park was around 15 miles of dusty gravel. A few large puddles here & there, and thus it began...my dirty girl.
We did some hiking too, although unintentionally...lol. We started off on the mtn. bikes, but the trail was 2 or more miles of broken sharp rocks & large boulders. So the girlfriend ditched her bike behind a bush and I hiked the remainder with mine. It was killer, but worth all the sweating & cursing once we reached Gorman Falls. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice...
This was as dirty as I could get her by the time we got back to Dallas. I love this picture with the rusty tagged railcars in the background.
Can't wait for spring to get here. Planned out a few more mods after learning one of my speakers (LR) stopped working, and then I blew another (RF)...lol. So my audio is wounded...as that requires door panel removal, I plan to change all speakers, add in door to floor projectors, and paint the door panels then re-install with my shell casing lock knobs. Ahh, I can't wait...
Our campsite was pretty solitary, only one other tent in the area.
Decent tent site...nice & spacious for sure.
Daytime temps in the 70's made for perfect riding weather.
The road in & out of the state park was around 15 miles of dusty gravel. A few large puddles here & there, and thus it began...my dirty girl.
We did some hiking too, although unintentionally...lol. We started off on the mtn. bikes, but the trail was 2 or more miles of broken sharp rocks & large boulders. So the girlfriend ditched her bike behind a bush and I hiked the remainder with mine. It was killer, but worth all the sweating & cursing once we reached Gorman Falls. Unfortunately, the picture doesn't do it justice...
This was as dirty as I could get her by the time we got back to Dallas. I love this picture with the rusty tagged railcars in the background.
Can't wait for spring to get here. Planned out a few more mods after learning one of my speakers (LR) stopped working, and then I blew another (RF)...lol. So my audio is wounded...as that requires door panel removal, I plan to change all speakers, add in door to floor projectors, and paint the door panels then re-install with my shell casing lock knobs. Ahh, I can't wait...
Last edited by Slide_Rite; 01-22-2014 at 01:46 AM.
03-21-2014, 07:44 AM
#78
Deceased
Join Date: 10-03-2005
Location: Sachse, TX NE Dallas
Posts: 2,351
i love all the mods you have done to the HHR. very very cool and a man who mods after my old days and before i got cancer
i am in NE Dallas in Sachse. we have a meet at Kellers on the 29th this month at 7 pm if the weather is good.
you should come down. there will be at least 5 to 7 more HHRs there
call me CJ and i sent you a pm
i am in NE Dallas in Sachse. we have a meet at Kellers on the 29th this month at 7 pm if the weather is good.
you should come down. there will be at least 5 to 7 more HHRs there
call me CJ and i sent you a pm
07-14-2014, 12:35 AM
#80
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 03-20-2012
Location: Dallas, TX
Posts: 292
Tinted fronts & added windshield strip.
Yay!! I got my baby back after being @ the local Chevy dealership for the recall repair for approximately one month. They put me in a nice new little Sonic LT, with a 100 mile/day allowance...including rollover. So I took it...or it took us rather, on a camping/kayak trip to Arkansas! When I got back it was about a week till I got the call & rolled down to pick the HHR up. New ignition & two new keys...done. So happy to have her back!!! Time for mods.
After 7 years & approximately 65k miles I figured the stock front tires were long overdue. Replaced them with a set of Falken Ziex 612's. Seem to be pretty good so far...time will tell.
Finally started hitting the 100 degree mark here in my area, decided now would be a good time to take advantage of the heat & get my front windows tinted. Had them tint the sides to the legal limit and add the windshield strip in 5% down to the AS1 line. I really like the new look & the window strip makes it look lower & more aggressive IMO.
Since I am supposed to leave the windows up for 3 days, I had to construct a quick cardboard cover to keep myself from accidentally rolling down the windows...lol.
I'm a windows down kinda guy...so it's instinctual to go for them when I get in. A piece of scrap cardboard & some masking tape did the trick in less than 5 min.
Overall, I am relieved it's finally done...I bought my in-channel (EGR...I think, been so long I can't even recall the brand) window visors a while ago, but didn't want to install them until the windows were tinted. Now I finally can! Pics upcoming of course.
That should hold me over for now...but I already know what's next.
After 7 years & approximately 65k miles I figured the stock front tires were long overdue. Replaced them with a set of Falken Ziex 612's. Seem to be pretty good so far...time will tell.
Finally started hitting the 100 degree mark here in my area, decided now would be a good time to take advantage of the heat & get my front windows tinted. Had them tint the sides to the legal limit and add the windshield strip in 5% down to the AS1 line. I really like the new look & the window strip makes it look lower & more aggressive IMO.
Since I am supposed to leave the windows up for 3 days, I had to construct a quick cardboard cover to keep myself from accidentally rolling down the windows...lol.
I'm a windows down kinda guy...so it's instinctual to go for them when I get in. A piece of scrap cardboard & some masking tape did the trick in less than 5 min.
Overall, I am relieved it's finally done...I bought my in-channel (EGR...I think, been so long I can't even recall the brand) window visors a while ago, but didn't want to install them until the windows were tinted. Now I finally can! Pics upcoming of course.
That should hold me over for now...but I already know what's next.
Last edited by Slide_Rite; 07-14-2014 at 01:07 AM.