thehappyfrog

Hi again folks!

I've decided to go with a Supercharger kit instead of that aweful ebay turbo kit I posted earlier. Found a great all inclusive kit here:
2.2/2.4L Bolt on Supercharger Kit

The question I have is should I go used with the supercharger and manifold to save some cash? Found these on ebay and they will work with the ZZP kit listed above.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cobalt-SS-LSJ-Supercharger-and-Manifold-04-to-07-Ecotec-Redline-2-0-2-2-2-4/121852337198?_trksid=p2045573.c100033.m2042&_trkparms=aid%3D111001%26algo%3DREC.SEED%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20131017132637%26meid%3D75796449e4ff41569129e6583145d084%26pid%3D100033%26rk%3D2%26rkt%3D4%26sd%3D151956270628
Thanks! Just making sure I'm getting a reliable build, saves about $700 to buy some used parts.

prod

Have a look on cobaltss.net you can often find them cheaper there, or in a scrapyard if you're lucky.
There's also a lot of info there on adding the supercharger to a 2.2 or 2.4

thehappyfrog

Thanks! Checking it out now. So basically it's ok to use a used supercharger and manifold? Anything I should watch out for when buying one?

CorvetteMongo

I'm not sure if your aware of this, but turbocharges are powered by exhaust gas...its the force of the exhaust exiting the engine that spins the turbo, so in effect it's free power and turbos are very trouble free. Many of them on diesel engines in big trucks run well in excess of a million miles with no problems....
Super chargers on the other hand are driven generally by a belt...it takes engine horsepower to turn them even if your just tooling around town and driveing like your old grey haired granny would....and back in my racing days I learned very early on that super charges can be very temperamental, and when they fail, it's quite a show. Unless your building an all out race car (with would be kind of silly with a HHR) or unless its just for show, I'd stick with the turbo...
A super charger will pack more air/fuel mixture into the cylinders, but is also more likely to blow a piston shaped hole in an otherwise solid part of your engine too....

thehappyfrog

That's interesting Mongo. I had started with wanting a turbo, but saw a lot of folks on this forum talking about how a supercharger is more reliable and less of an issue with the HHR. I'm open to anything, as long as the end price is about $4k. Any thoughts folks?

thehappyfrog

Also I can only seem to find supercharger kits for the 2007 hhr 2.4lt ecotec. Anybody have links to a turbo kit? I'll also check more on the forums. Thanks!

hhrfreek

I have to disagree with much of the post above. I say go with the M62 in this situation. It is very reliable and it will be easier to maintain. I am certain you will have far less issues with a SC vs TC on this car. It will not rob enough power to decrease fuel economy. Your economy will increase because you will switch to premium fuel.

You can part a kit together for a lot less(almost half) by going with used parts, but it can be difficult if this is your first time digging into a project like this. Keep a look out on CL, CSS and eBay for take off kits/parts from an LSJ. That looks like a good SC in that link. If you can get over the yellow lol. Appears it had an easy life so far. Great price with the manifold included. There is no significant scoring on the rotors, looks like the stock pulley and doesn't look like meth was run through it. That guy selling it also knows a lot about ecotecs and sells tons of parts on CSS so he would be a reliable source for parts.

Not sure how you feel about tuning yourself, but if you get hptuners you can tinker on your own or pay someone to remote tune.

My advice before you dig in...just keep it simple, fun and don't get power hungry.

celblazer

The turbo will give your more power and flexibility tuning it. If the motor is setup right you can tune for the best possible power without changing pulleys to change boost and even have a dual tune for low power or max power with the press of a button or a swap of tunes. Nice for when someone else is driving it to have it tamed down.

The blower will always use power even cruising around as it's always turned by a belt. Yes it may be small cruising but still why waste it and why waste it when you need the engine to make the most power, that's when the blower will be using the most(about 10% loss)? I know I'd rather have 25-35hp at my wheels then lost somewhere.

Lastly, there is no more maintenance with a turbo then a blower. Use good synthetic oil and change it regularly. Cool down after a hard run was needed on turbos but today synthetics means the old problem of coking isn't an issue. Still it's a good practice and I'm old school and will let mine idle down a minute or 2.

prod

In terms of modifying a 2.2 though a supercharger kit is far easier. There are existing parts all ready to bolt on and proven to work. There are tons of cobalts out there still running them after 10yrs.

Frenchy42

You lose very little power/economy with the M62. One of the beautiful things about these S/C's is the bypass. Unless you go over ~2500rpm and like %50 or 60 load, air bypasses the S/C. This causes it to not get compressed, requiring less fuel. Unless you try to go crazy on power without modding the engine itself, you shouldn't run into anymore issues than with a turbo. A stock pulley M62 on a 2.2 should make around 210whp with a good tune. Like Prod said, it is almost 100% bolt on. There are a few small modifications you have to make, but they are small and easy. Unless you are going for a ton of power, I'd just stick with the S/C. You can find full kits ready to bolt on for between $700-1k. Plus a tune for about $300.