Performance Mods talk.
 

I know I may have a lot of posts under my belt, but I am still new to my HHR.
Since I have no idea what to look for for quality parts, I was hoping someone could help me figure out brands and prices for performance mods to my 2008 Shadow Edition..

I am looking to get a Cold Air intake, Larger injectors, Performance Spark Plugs and MAYBE a nos kit if I feel so warranted to do so.

Any help here guys?

-Officer1151

There are many old Air intakes out there, CGS and K&N just to name a few. I will be buying a GMPP one soon. My reason for choosing this one is the simple fact that it doesnt require oil for the filter which i have "heard" can mess with your MAS.

Larger injectors I would look at a 2.4 intake.

Spark plugs I have no idea about.

NOS kit, well I have never installed/used one on a fuel injected motor. My ONLY dealings with NOS kits are FOGGER ssytems that I used on my drag cars.

I am also under the impression that the best bang for your buck is a Trifecta Tune, but I would do this AFTER you have done all your other mods. Contact Tom on the forum for more info.

Wish I could have been more help.

What's your goal here? The stock intake on the HHR is extremely good, your not going to see much, if any of an improvement. But stick with the GMPP, K&N type if you must have one. They shield the filter from heat at least.

Your injectors should be plenty unless you are planning on some sore of forced injection in the future.

You already have iridum plugs, you could swap to a solid copper plug, but I really don't see what it would gain you. There really arn't any "performance" plugs.

NOS, your on your own there.....:propeller:

I didn't realize you had a Shadow when I've seen your other posts, there isn't to many of us on here. I would say the Trifecta tune or PCM4less. When I get back from Iraq I am going to get a tune right away. I used PCM4less on my Chevy Colorado and it was the difference between night and day. When you get the tune, ask for the transmission to shift hard, this really helps with acceleration.

Really now? Are you handing out the tunes btw? :P

A tune is the best bang for the buck, it should be done after other mods so they can be taken into account in tailoring the tune. Here's the thing, stock..... already have a CAI and some really good plugs, Even the exhaust works rather well as far a flow goes, larger injectors wouldn't do much if anything without a turbo/supercharger. So, unless you needed to change something for looks or more noise, the factory stock 2.4L is just asking for the tune. (I will be going with a Trifecta tune)

:roflol:...I wish I could. I'm not really sure if a CAI makes much of a difference as far as performance but it does have a nice sound and makes the filter easier to change or clean. A tune though is a proven performance gain. It wont be like boosting but it will really pep up your power.

Hummm, you do tunes? When you get back I may had to drive the 4 miles to Hiram and see what you could do.....:roflol:

HiJack over.....:D

I must have made somthing sound weird I guess.:gnonespet: I do not do tunes, I have gotten a tune before from PCM4less. I am not sure if they are a vendor on this site or not but they are good folks to deal with. They send you a loaner PCM while your PCM is getting tuned. Then when your PCM is back your send them the loaner. You dont have to get anything reset or unlocked at the dealership, just plug in and enjoy.

What's the cost?

After shipped stuff back and forth it comes up around $180 or so if I can remember right.

http://pcmforless.com

Here is their website. I cannot access it from this computer. LAN restrictions..

OK I got the website catagorized my the network manager so I could access it. I did not see the 2.2 listed as a tune option, only the 2.4 and 2.0. I emailed them to see what the deal is.

Ok. :thumb:

They said they do not support the 2.2 because their HP Tuner software doesn't support the 2.2.

The latest HPTuners beta supports the '08 and up 2.2 & 2.4 with the E37 ECM.

The only ECM not supported is the earlier E16a ECM on the early 2.2.

Alvin at PCMforless is a sharp dude. He should know this.

I just emailed Kelly back and asked her to run that info by Alvin. Thanks

OK so this is the responce I recieved, kinda sounds promising.....:wink:

"We may have time to do some R&D on these in December. For Nov we have a bit too much on our plate at the shop. We would probably need a 2.2L for 2-3 days. I am pretty certain that if it's still in beta that reading it will return an invalid OS/VIN pair, which is going to have to be fixed by HPTuners (sometimes takes a while for them to get back to us) before we can actually tune it. "

Thanks for posting that, hatetoorun. Any updates would be appreciated.

AM

What's the latest on this? I am seriously considering a 2.2 Trifecta tune on my HHR.

How much is it for everything? Shipping, software, etc.

I'll give you my spin on this. I have built many cars in the past few years and maybe this can help.

When it comes to modding a car you need to look from the start of where Air enters the intake track and when it exits and from every part of that process there are most times a place where it can be improved. BUT being that said sometimes there is a trade off of driveability or something like interior cabin noise or rattles do pop up. The question is what can you tolerate?

My Wife's 2007 HHR LT came out of warrentee this past Sept. so basically we are going to own this vehicle long term, kinda sucks, not a fan of it but might as well make the best of it.

Since it has a Eco-tec engine in it, at least there is some support for it and as a guy who races I would look beyond HHR for some of the internal mods and look at places that sells stuff for Cobalts for example.

Looking at the options you can do alot of things such as buying a cold air intake or even making one. I saw one that want to do as it will pull from the grill. Then looking at other "bolt on" mods such as header, and removing the CATS, down to a high flow muffler. You can get a kit made for the car or one fabbed up.

Then looking at internals such has cyl head work, changing compression or even changing cams those will help power.

Doing tunes are great and help cars from making stock power and changing timing and shift points, removing limiters etc etc. BUT when you change the A/F Ratio, you really need to have it retuned not only for WOT (Wide Open Throttle), but also PART throttle and IMO a dyno tune is key.

Street tunes are fine as long as the data can be logged and a competent Tuner can make the correct changes.

I have more, but im at work and I will post more on this subject.

:twothumbs:

Shift timing is no problem here. Manual. :twothumbs:
More info pleaseeee.

http://zzperformance.com/cobalt_ion/index.php

Start poking around, you will see stuff that will work with the HHR. I am even half tempted to check out their Blower kits as most should all fit with out issue, may need some custom piping but over All I would not be scared.

http://www.dezod.com/pd-edelbrock-we...07-40-60hp.cfm IMO I am not a fan of Dry kits but considering most do not get too into their cars you should be fine. Fuel is supplied by the injectors so tuning is a must and most times the timing CANNOT be wicked up so basically its a trade off.

IMO I like this one better, http://www.modernperformance.com/nit...us-p-2118.html As it has fuel and nitrous. Just becareful in the jetting and what comes in a kit can be used on a v8 (100 to 150 hp shot) IMPORTANT SAFETY FEATURE!! http://www.modernperformance.com/ele...us-p-1754.html

http://www.modernperformance.com/pip...st-p-1253.html
http://www.modernperformance.com/ele...wn-p-2150.html These do work, have it in a place where you dont mind the noise. Leave the stock muffler and turn this on and off when needed.

http://www.modernperformance.com/pac...lt-p-1520.html Painted yes, but cheap and if you dont mind the looks this should clear, if worse may need a custom down pipe to connect to the factory exhaust, and IMO just past the front 2 seats should be the cut out.

http://www.turbosystem.com/auto/Buil...0own/index.htm Do it yourself. Hahn has been doing this for years. GM High Tech perf years ago had done a Stock N/A Cobalt up with their system with decent results. Their website has not been updated in a while so you should put a call in if your thinking about this.

At last you should get more reading meterial for the given platform your interested in. be it suspension, or forced induction, nitrous or whichever.

So, if I want to do this, I should shop the Cobalt section, right? I saw some of your links were in the "Caliber" section.

I am saying with this car we need to think outside the box. The link for caliber was listed as the kit was universal. I happend to hit the wrong path, go back, pick 05-10 cobalt and you will see they are the same.

The next thing that I will be looking for is Blower or Turbo Conversion kits. I gotta find the factory engine data as I am not sure what the Compression Ratio for the 2.2L compared to the 2.4L and 2.0L FI models. Very critical when tuning and deciding on what timing/boost the motor can handle.

What I am asking is, do you already have the NOS kit on your HHR?

Before I supercharged I had a few NA mods. The K&N intake did not give me a noticeable gain in hp or economy. I did like the way it made the car sound though. At least it made it sound like it had pep. I picked one up online for about $230. Looking back, injectors are a must if you are doing bolt-ons. The factory injectors will be over 100% injector duty cycle after an intake and tune. Stock injectors are 24# with EV6 connector. ZZP has 33# injectors for NA applications for $100. I have not used the injectors, but they are available and will require a tune. I also put on a header and downpipe. The header was a Cobalt Addiction for $200. The Downpipe was a ZZP, with magnaflow high flow cat for $220. Now this is the only mod in which I noticed a gain and thats why I am bringing it up. The HHR responded great to these. At about 4k rpm I noticed a much better pull. Below that nothing. Fuel economy also went up 10% though. Downside...they added a bit of cabin noise, but the header and dp made it sound pretty BA with the stock exhaust. Be prepared to turn up your radio 2 clicks on the highway:smile: The stock parts do an awesome job with noise suppression at the cost of a noticeable loss in hp. If you get mods like this get a tune along with it and your car will rip. The factory PCM calibrations are generic and provide enough leeway to pick up all manufacturing variances within your car. A tune simply customizes the calibrations to work more efficiently with your particular set up.

On this car no. I just got out of warrentee and its still being paid for. Also the wife does not need Nitrous.

I have a **** ton of knowledge from LSx stuff and my best man at my wedding runs one of the faster, more consistant, and frankly one of the best example of Nitrous cars in the country. We tend to overbuild stuff.

Also to mention that IF you wanted to run a wet kit, one of the better ways to give you a safety window is to do a dedicated 1 gal fuel cell and run c16 all the time in that so your only pulling leaded race fuel for the shot. Its too small to harm anything as far as o2's and CATS but will give you a better shot of keeping the motor together.

Much in Nitrous is the tune, as well as running proper pressure and making sure to check plugs regularly. Thats from a race aspect, but even on street use, having good dicipline is key.

Here is my buddies car and his winter project.....

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/pictur...pictureid=2639

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/drag-r...s-rebuild.html check out the pics.

Oh geez! I didn't notice you had the 2.2l. I forgot I was looking in the 2.2 Tech. One upgrade a lot of people were doing was getting the 2.4l intake manifold and a tune. That might be your best route for intake mods.

how much of a difference does that make?

Here's a link for the 2.4l intake manifold:

http://www.crateenginedepot.com/stor...t-W67C144.aspx

is it hard to install?

Intakes are never really bad, you just need to take time and watch for sensors and hidden bolts.

As for the nitrous, its hardcore for these cars but very viable if you really want that kick when it matters at the most. When the pull starts in a race, you can't stop it.

Have you installed a N2O on an HHR before? Or an intake?

I have installed kits on 3rd and 4th gen fbodies and old school carbed small blocks. Helped with some 302 fords. The wet kit I listed is universal. The biggest issue anyone runs into is how it is activated. Most newer cars are going drive by wired so there are kits for that or companies sell controllers if needed. Cars that still have cable driven throttles can run off a microswitch. Some just use a push button if they want more control.

As for this car on the intake swap. No. But I've done tons of them. Never scared. My issue is that if the car went forced induction the what the intake and headsl flow does not mean as much. Plus with a blower. It will have its own so why spend the money twice.

Best bet is to stick with bolt one. Intake. Exhaust. Tune and see where u fall.

So if I wanted a Nos kit, and a 2.4 intake, I could come see you and have you do it? lol

It would not scare me one bit. Run the car out to connecticut and we can bang one out. Biggest thing u want to worry bout is routing.

So are you confident that you could make it work right with a new intake and a nos kit?

Im pretty confident, but I'll tell you, the extra cost, your better off getting a local shop to do it.

http://www.backstreetper.com/ heard some good things about them.

The extra cash your saving can easily pay for more mods or refills.

Before I forget you can also look into a Nano kit, it works with a nitrous set up to help use all the nitrous.
http://www.nano-nitrous.com/pdfs/PDF...ct_release.pdf

I am not a huge fan as the drop off helps save parts as damage most times occurs on the back half of the track. BUT with a stock typ stuff and not very lean on the tune there should be no issue. Also makes it where you do not need a bottle heater.

Here is some good info, it is LSx related but tons of it covers ALL setups.

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/nitrou...o-read-me.html

http://www.ls1tech.com/forums/nitrou...rous-info.html again, LSx related but good advice.

http://www.nitrousexpress.com/Instructions/stage1.pdf Read this!!