Background:
Installed the Turbo Tech Racing 25.4mm (1") solid rear sway bar on a 2008 HHR SS. The installation was straight forward and simple, with total time to install about 1 hour. Installation was performed on a driveway using Rhino ramps.

Sway Bar:
Construction - The bar is well constructed using solid steel. The end plates are precision cut and made of 3/8" thick steel, welded to the solid bar. The welds joints had good penetration into both surfaces, but could have been a little bit cleaner.

Surface Finish - The bar was ordered with a red powder coat surface finish. The powder coating was a little thin in some spots, but no major issue since once installed it cannot be easily seen.

Weight - A little heavy overall. A future enhancement could be the use of a hollow bar instead of a solid bar. This would reduce overall weight and provide equivalent functionality.

Hardware - The installation hardware is complete and well manufactured. The nut plates are powder coated black and the bolts (M10 x 1.5 x 40mm) are metric grade 10.9.

Instructions - Complete and informative illustrated instructions are included that detail all aspects of the installation.

Fit - The swaybar fit was perfect. No contact to any body or suspension parts was detected during installation. The test drive confirmed a noise free installation.

Detail Weight Information -
Bar - 15 lbs.
Nut Plates - 1 x 79.4 grams, 1 x 80.0 grams
Bolts - 1 x 29.6 grams, 3 x 29.4 grams
Total additional weight - 15.61 lbs.

Installation:
Installation is well detailed and explained in the included illustrated instructions. Nothing other than normal hand tools are required and installation can be performed on a driveway with either a jack and jack stands or ramps.

Tools Required:
3/8" ratchet
3/8" x 15mm socket
3/8" x 3" extension
Pair of dykes
4 each 6" plastic zip ties
3/8" Torque wrench (capable of 45 lb/ft)
Loctite 262 (Red) threadlocking compound
Ramps or Jack and Jack Stands

Performance:
The bar offers no adverse affects under normal driving conditions. Fast corners are more stable and body roll is all but non-existent. It almost feels as though the front could benefit from a little more sway bar or stiffer springs to compliment the rear. Full testing and a little more seat time results in significantly faster corner entry and mid-turn speed, increasing cornering speed and stability.

The overall impression of the Turbo Tech Racing rear sway bar is excellent. This modification is cost effective, easy, and recommended for anyone looking for a more inspired driving experience from their HHR SS.

Rating:
Scale - 1 to 5, Worst to Best

Quality - 4
Fit - 5
Cost - 5
Completeness - 5
Effectiveness - 4

This is how the Turbo Tech Sway Bar is packaged out of the box:


This is the included mounting hardware, adequate and well engineered:


Sway bar with packaging removed, nice piece!


Sway bar end plate. Precision cut and heavy duty.


Using ramps makes the install easy and puts the car at the perfect height.














Left side torqued and Loctited in place


Sway bar center in final location


Right side torqued and Loctited in place


Clearance between factory torsion bar and new sway bar

 

Awesome - great organization and detail on the review. I'll definitely consider this as a future mod, and I'll guess that this review will sell a bunch of other SS owners...time to look for commission haha.

 

I don't have my '09 SS yet, but it will have the Limited Slip Differential. Reading that this sway bar works pretty well on the SS, how does it effect the LSD. I'm an aircraft mechanic, not a car mechanic. Never paid much attention to performing mods on any of my vehicles. Since mostly everything is computerized, I really don't work under the hood much. Just reading things in the HHR forums has given me an itch. I am known to take a fast corner now and then, the front wheel drive was made for it. But, the HHR has a higher CG than a normal sedan. The sway bar looks to be a good move to install. Just want to know how it interacts with the LSD.

 

Awesome very detailed review, thanks for taking the time to type it up.

 

Placing my order as we speak.

 

May be a dumb question but....


What do these look like?

And how would they help with the install?

 

Order Placed for a red one, what's the typical time it takes to receive the order? I am only wondering because We are moving and won't be at the address I shipped it to after the 10th of September.

 

It's like a cutting tool, either on a pair of pliers near the handle or by themselves.

 

...and will likely be used to cut the zip ties.

 

Okay...

I know exactly what you're talking about...