I don't want to risk damaging my tires, that is why I wanted to know the max/min PSI that I should be running at. That 'dip' in the road is rather extreme & is over a drainage grate in the middle of the street, that Most Do go around, but is difficult with other traffic to do.

 

I reread your initial post and I see the struts were done recently so we can take those off the list. What you're probably hearing is the suspension reaching the limits of its travel either on compression or rebound hence the noise. I'd still have the shocks checked the next time its serviced and also see if they can lubricate the suspension bushings, they are often overlooked and can make a good bit of noise when dry and creaky.

I would still keep the tires right where Chevy says to keep them, low profile tires do look low in comparison to other tires but if properly inflated they are fairly resilient. If you hit a pothole hard enough to blow a lo-pro the chances are that it would have damaged a regular tire just as easily. Tires are a touchy subject with me because I was a tire installer and I've been trained on their proper care and use.

 

Thank You Very Much for the advice. It helps me understand Much More. I Do hear a 'creaky' noise either over certain dips, or until the car has been going for a little while. (I guess after awhile of driving, the 'squeaks/creaks' have 'loosened-up') I Will have My mechanic check the suspension bushings to see if they are properly lubed, as you suggested. Thanks Again!

 

No problem. I've found that HHR's regardless of age and mileage can be a bit "vocal" at certain temperatures. The three here in the "fleet" range from 85,000 miles on the 2006 to 8,000 miles on the 2011, and they all have a certain temperature where they complain over bumps. The quietest of the bunch is Paddy the '07, it has to be exactly 44 degrees for him to creak and groan, just a touch colder or warmer and silence reigns.

 

I Think I found out what the 'scraping/grinding' sound was on the front of m HHR. There is that drainage grate with a rather big dip in the road. I was driving down that road, hit the dip, heard the noise of what sounded like a bottoming out or grinding sound. I got home & just wanted to look at the suspension to see how it looked. That is when I found the scrapes on the front bumper right below the fog light. (a bit higher & it would have busted the whole light.) Well, Needless to say, I Will Not go through the dip, but Now Around it. I now have a scraped bumper that I will need to get 'touched-up', but since it is plastic, I don't necessarily need to hurry since it won't rust, but it Will give me time to get used to going Around that spot. (It is Almost in the middle of the road, just offset to the onwe side I travel by. Like I said, it isn't all to shallow & Anyone in their right mind would just go around it, but I am used to just going over it with the Explorer truck I had since that was higher off the ground & made No difference whether I went over it, through it, or around it.) By the way, Most Everybody Does go Around it, it is just a hard habit for me to break. So with that said, Is it safe to think my front suspension is working properly? That Was a concern I had a while ago when I was hearing some 'grindind' noise, which I thought was a broken or worn strut/s. There is approximately 44,000 miles on the vehicle, so I figure I can guess that I have another at least 5,000 more miles to go before I need to look into replacing some suspension components.

 

Godfather,

1. If the tires on your HHR are not the originals then they could be anything out there.
2. That means that they could actually be a different size and load rating then what was standard.
3. The tire pressures listed on the drivers side sticker are the correct pressures for the correct tire size and load rating that should also be on that sticker.
4. The tire size should be followed by an S or an XL
5. S is for standard load with 44lbs Max.
6. XL is for Extra Load with 51lbs. Max.
7. Chevrolet takes each vehicle and sets the listed recommended pressure on the sticker based on the gross weight including passengers etc.
8. That will not be the same as the Max. on the tire because they always leave some leaway.
9. Therefore the correct air pressure for the standard tires is on the sticker for your HHR.
10. The gross weight is not the same on the front as on the rear when the car is lightly loaded, but when you load the back with passengers and gear they come pretty close and that is why the recommended air pressures are close to the same for the front and rear.

SO..... Check to see if your HHR has "Standard Tires" with the standard load rating S, and if it does then use the door sticker air pressures.
If not, then I would still keep the pressures very close to standard.
I would guess that they should be 30-32lbs. Cold. I run 32lbs. cold Nitrogen in my 2011 1LT.
Use a good gauge.
They will add approx 2 lbs. when they warm up unless you are driving higher speeds or it's a hot day.
45 to 50lbs. is way too high ....

SF

 

I suggest you buy a good guage if you watch so many people putting air in the tires even the tire shops so many just throw the guage across the room, buy a good guage I have 3 and check them against eaCH OTHER TREAT THEM LIKE JEWELS, YOU WILL GET LONGER TIRE LIFE.

 

Today, my tire gauge said my tire had 32 PSI in it. However, my DIC said that that tire had 37 PSI in it.

I lowered it to what my gauge said was 30 PSI, the DIC said it was at 34. I let it sit a while... rechecked, still at 34. Gauge still reads 30. ALL of my tires had this same deviation. I tried another tire pressure gauge with the exact same results.
Odd.

I took it for a 15 mile ride through twists and turns to heat them up. DIC tire pressure only increased by 2 PSI. My tire gauge showed the same increase.

I don't know the resistance the presence of a sensor puts on actual gauge readings versus DIC readings. I will just put my faith in the TPMS... If I die due to tire over-inflation or malfunction, you can all be my witnesses. I ditched a mechanical apparatus to rely on an electronic one. The odd thing is, they are all "off" (if they're even off) by the exact same increment. I could have two bum gauges... who knows.

EDIT: I always check with 2 gauges. They are the dial type. I went and checked with the stick type, they show the reading my TPMS shows. My dial gauges must have gone to ****.

 

Another update. I RECHECKED yet AGAIN my tire pressure. Stick gauge said 32 PSI on the fronts. DIC said 34. I lowered the pressure a bit so that it showed 31 PSI on the stick. My DIC indicated that it was now at 31 also.

Odd.


It takes about 10 seconds to update, so when you add or subtract air, it takes a moment to tell you what its seeing.

 

Woke up this morning and all tires were showing 32 PSI. Upon driving 36 miles to work, they all reached 34 PSI and stayed there. Yay.