GSragtop

So I lucked out and finally found a 2008 HHR SS Locally for me to drive. It was not exactly what I wanted but I did get to drive it. This is what I observed, please tell me if its normal.

- The Turbo was loud, I could hear it spooling the entire time I drove the car, and even at idle I could hear it slightly. On other cars I have driven (with the exception of diesel trucks) the turbo has not been as noticeable. Is this normal??

- The Ride was much better then I expected, for a car with a sporty suspension it was not nearly as harsh as I expected it to be.. A very nice surprise.

- The Sunroof is usable !!! I cant tell you how many cars I have had with sunroofs that were so loud when open you could not use it. The HHR was not all that bad.

- The Red interior trim was not as bad as it looked in the pics..

- This car was an automatic, and I want a stick. After driving it I want a manual even more !!! The Automatic was horrible, I cant believe the 25 HP difference would make that big of a difference, but this car was kind of slow.. Much slower then I expected.. I did notice that the boost gauge did not get much past 10 PSI and usually hovered around 5 PSI on the test drive Is this normal???

Let me ask you guys, I am trying to compare this with a 2005 Cobalt SS I drove a while back, yes I know that has a supercharged motor VS the turbo in the HHR.. However the HHR has more HP.. The cobalt was a blast and BEGGED to be driven stupidly (revs up, moving through traffic on the highway). The HHR was kind of a let down after that.

All and all I was happy with it, and now more then ever think its a car for me. I guess I just need to find/drive a stick....

firemangeorge

Sounds like that one has issues. You shouldn't hear the turbo at idle. Maybe it was an exhaust leak you heard.
10lbs of max boost is not normal. Stock is in the 14-17lb range.
Fwiw. Boost will be limited in 1st gear. That's where the 25hp loss is achieved.
Try to find another one to test drive.

GSragtop

Forgot to mention, that for what its worth this car had already been through the shop and was GM certified.. So it should have been at 100%

at idle I could make out the normal turbo whine.. very low and not loud.. I just know it caught my attention because when the car first started you could actually hear it spin up to speed during those first few seconds. That was with the "autostart" standing outside the car but with in a foot or two of the motor.

firemangeorge

GM certified doesn't mean a car is right or perfect. It just means it has passed a check list of items before being sold as used.

Kersh

I'm going to agree that there must have been an issue with the one you drove.

1) I've been around multiple SS's (including the one I own) and the turbo is rediculously quiet...to the point I WANT to make it louder.

2) #1 coupled with the lack of boost would prompt me to look for leak.

Also, Firemangeorge couldn't have described "GM Certified" any better if he'd had to!

GSragtop

I have been in the car business for 15 years before my current job. You would think they would have caught this. So my guess is they hope to sell the car and then let the warranty cover the turbo when it fails completely. This way it does not come out of there pocket.

The car only had 44,000 miles on it, hard to believe the turbo was failing already unless the car was not taken care of (which is completely possible).. Well the search goes on, and at least I got to drive one and feel the ride, etc...

LawDog88

check out cars.com and narrow it down to your req's for SS, and find the nearest. :)

2005HHRauto

Boost/torque, is limited in all gears, but 3rd, with an automatic, as shown in the chart below....
You can see that 100% of boost/torque/power, is available in one gear only...
Ony 63%-79% of boost/torque/power, is available, in all gears, but one...
There is NO other vehicle, that GM has has done this too, in history, but this is the only way, that GM was allowed, by engineering, to put an automatic, in our HHR SS 'buggys'.
That's why a 'tune', any 'tune', is the single most best improvement, that you can do to an automatic HHR SS 'buggy'...
Our 4T45E automatic, can handle more power, better than GM thought, that it could...
I've proved, after 6 seasons at the track, with 60' times in the 1.6s, & ETs in the 12.3s, that it can get the job done..

Here's another stock graph, of the pitiful , 'power-curve', that shows even more loss of boost/torque/power, on top of the reduction, in the 'gear' chart. Notice how the power, takes a 'dive', after 5,900 RPM
Combine the two, & your stock HHR SS automatic, is a slug…

2005HHRauto

I bought a 'certified', used Buick LeSabre years ago, that needed a lot of work, come state inspection time, 3 months later.
I confronted the owner of the stealership about this, & he laughed, & stated that 'certified', was, part of the used car 'game', & that the 'certified-warranty', would take care of your, 'big-ticket', items. He did do right, by me, & took care of everything, that needed repaired. He stated, that most customers, don't care, or don't have a clue, & wouldn't confront him. 5 years later, that Buick stealership, closed...

firemangeorge

Yes, you are correct 2005HHRauto.( I believe we had this conversation before)

I was just trying to tell the OP that basically the boost numbers he saw could be lower because of the GM programming for the autos. I didn't want to get to technical with him and overload him with precise techno numbers.

All in all, I think the SS he test drove has some mechanical issues from his description.