Supercharged HHR
05-03-2011, 11:26 PM
#1
Senior Member
Thread Starter
Join Date: 03-04-2010
Location: SE Wisconsin
Posts: 458
Supercharged HHR
This is my new look 2.4l Ecotec. 2006 2.4l 5spd HHR with the Eaton m62 supercharger. I noticed there weren't any SC threads so I thought I'd share my HHR project.
And the Supercharged little beast:
I ordered a kit from ZZPerformance for the 2.2l/2.4l that was designed to be installed on the Cobalt/Ion in July of 2010. I figured it'd fit since many of the parts are compatible between the Cobalt/HHR. I was able to get it working with little extra work. The biggest problems were setting up an intake and getting the H/E mounted behind the fascia. After 3 days and an all-nighter I was totally floored at how this transformed my HHR(which I now refer to as the Heritage Hot Rod). Its been a ton of fun in a learn as you go project. I have done every bit of work to the car myself including the tuning and honestly I am far from done but I thought I'd share a bit of what this little beast can do!
If you were to install the SC with mild boost(8psi or lower) you could get away with no other upgrades. I am currently boosting the stock engine at 12.5 psi with a 3.1" pulley. This is a list of all the supporting mods I have installed besides the SC kit:
3.1" Pulley
60lb Injectors
Cobalt Addiction Shorty Header 1.75 primaries to 3" collector
ZZP 3" to 2.5"catted(not anymore
) downpipe
Magnaflow SS Muffler
Custom CAI 3.5" taper to 3" at throttle body
Ported LSJ throttle body
Exedy Stage 2 Clutch
OBX Limited slip differential
Custom traction bars
Poly transmission mounts
A little info on the project:
With the 3.4" pulley I was making 7 psi of boost and was able to put down 0-60 times of 6.0sec
(and I thought the stock mid 8sec 0-60 felt peppy), but the wheel hop was terrible so I made poly transmission mounts and that only mildly helped the problem. The next step was bolting a bracket to the sub frame and attaching a traction bar.(pic of traction bar and others in profile pics) Many people have done this mod, but the problem is that bolting it to the sub frame using the hole that is on the bottom there reduces you ground clearance by almost 3 inches and after I had already noted scuffs on the sub frame I decided to drill holes in the side and attached the bracket and traction bar to the lower control arm. To reduce the noise and clatter I used a bicycle tire and bolted it in between the sub frame and bracket. This mod almost completely eliminates wheel hop and allows the car to track really well in hard corners. Soon after I went with a 3.1" pulley and this brought boost up to about 11.5psi. Then I ported the TB and installed my intake and I was up to 12.5. Now I had major power. I was easily able to get wheel spin straight line in 2nd gear and any time I was cornering it was silly how easy it was to break traction. The stock clutch held 7-8 psi easily and never slipped but once I installed the smaller pulley it began slipping under WOT. I was doing 5.7s 0-60 @ 12.5psi. After I installing the stage 2 clutch and LSD I consistently bust out 5.2s. The LSD really hooks up and it's pretty dang sweet leaving two rubber marks in the street.
. I wish I had dyno numbers to show you guys but I will honestly probably never pay for it. I think the 0-60s say a lot though. Hopefully I'll hit the track this summer for some 1/4s. And even though I am putting down good power this thing is really tame when driving around town, but that took a tank of gas and hours of tuning
. Also most people are surprised when I tell them that my fuel economy is still 31mpg hwy (70mph) though overall its down about 15% compared to N/A since its hard to stay out of boost in stop and go traffic.
The thing I have found really gratifying is that I have been able to do all of this myself. Having fun in this car has become my hobby since I got my HHR in Oct of 2009. For some reason this silly car inspired me to do something fun. I originally got it because it was a big enough to fit my bikes in and it got good fuel economy. Hopefully I will get the rest of my mods done this fall which include: 2.4l JBP cams, 78# valve springs, forged pistons and neutral balance shafts, but time will tell.
Thanks.
And the Supercharged little beast:
I ordered a kit from ZZPerformance for the 2.2l/2.4l that was designed to be installed on the Cobalt/Ion in July of 2010. I figured it'd fit since many of the parts are compatible between the Cobalt/HHR. I was able to get it working with little extra work. The biggest problems were setting up an intake and getting the H/E mounted behind the fascia. After 3 days and an all-nighter I was totally floored at how this transformed my HHR(which I now refer to as the Heritage Hot Rod). Its been a ton of fun in a learn as you go project. I have done every bit of work to the car myself including the tuning and honestly I am far from done but I thought I'd share a bit of what this little beast can do!
If you were to install the SC with mild boost(8psi or lower) you could get away with no other upgrades. I am currently boosting the stock engine at 12.5 psi with a 3.1" pulley. This is a list of all the supporting mods I have installed besides the SC kit:
3.1" Pulley
60lb Injectors
Cobalt Addiction Shorty Header 1.75 primaries to 3" collector
ZZP 3" to 2.5"catted(not anymore
) downpipeMagnaflow SS Muffler
Custom CAI 3.5" taper to 3" at throttle body
Ported LSJ throttle body
Exedy Stage 2 Clutch
OBX Limited slip differential
Custom traction bars
Poly transmission mounts
A little info on the project:
With the 3.4" pulley I was making 7 psi of boost and was able to put down 0-60 times of 6.0sec
(and I thought the stock mid 8sec 0-60 felt peppy), but the wheel hop was terrible so I made poly transmission mounts and that only mildly helped the problem. The next step was bolting a bracket to the sub frame and attaching a traction bar.(pic of traction bar and others in profile pics) Many people have done this mod, but the problem is that bolting it to the sub frame using the hole that is on the bottom there reduces you ground clearance by almost 3 inches and after I had already noted scuffs on the sub frame I decided to drill holes in the side and attached the bracket and traction bar to the lower control arm. To reduce the noise and clatter I used a bicycle tire and bolted it in between the sub frame and bracket. This mod almost completely eliminates wheel hop and allows the car to track really well in hard corners. Soon after I went with a 3.1" pulley and this brought boost up to about 11.5psi. Then I ported the TB and installed my intake and I was up to 12.5. Now I had major power. I was easily able to get wheel spin straight line in 2nd gear and any time I was cornering it was silly how easy it was to break traction. The stock clutch held 7-8 psi easily and never slipped but once I installed the smaller pulley it began slipping under WOT. I was doing 5.7s 0-60 @ 12.5psi. After I installing the stage 2 clutch and LSD I consistently bust out 5.2s. The LSD really hooks up and it's pretty dang sweet leaving two rubber marks in the street.. I wish I had dyno numbers to show you guys but I will honestly probably never pay for it. I think the 0-60s say a lot though. Hopefully I'll hit the track this summer for some 1/4s. And even though I am putting down good power this thing is really tame when driving around town, but that took a tank of gas and hours of tuning. Also most people are surprised when I tell them that my fuel economy is still 31mpg hwy (70mph) though overall its down about 15% compared to N/A since its hard to stay out of boost in stop and go traffic.The thing I have found really gratifying is that I have been able to do all of this myself. Having fun in this car has become my hobby since I got my HHR in Oct of 2009. For some reason this silly car inspired me to do something fun. I originally got it because it was a big enough to fit my bikes in and it got good fuel economy. Hopefully I will get the rest of my mods done this fall which include: 2.4l JBP cams, 78# valve springs, forged pistons and neutral balance shafts, but time will tell.
Thanks.
Last edited by hhrfreek; 05-04-2011 at 12:11 AM.
