Disagree with wood.

"The KYBs are Fe3 plus a little extra,,they are ok but not great."

The kyb excel Gs I mention and use are fe5, not fe3 plus a little extra. And you do not need to match struts/shocks with spring types. The ride in the end is all about same, with lowering springs no matter what setup you choose you will feel bumps.

 

Silverstreet....

Are you sure you have KYB's SPECIFICALLY for the SS. I know the KYB catalog does not list a specific strut for the SS. They do list a strut for ALL models however.....and it is the same strut part number for all. When I talked with KYB, about a year ago, they indicated essentially what "woody" is stating.......they are a little stiffer than the sport suspension in the stock 2lt. They WOULD NOT/COULD NOT provide any comparison numbers such as rebound/compression rate, etc.

Might have changed from a year ago, however.

 

No, I have the KYB Excel Gs on my 2.4 LT. There is no specific KYB Excel for the SS or LT or LS. Like you said they are all the same.

Confirm my info with TurboTechRacing on here, they say the KYB Excel Gs are the equivalent to fe5s. What model they are on is meaningless especially when there is aftermarket springs involved. I also contacted KYB before I bought for other reasons and I was told fe5 standard in Dec of 2012.

Here is a thread with turbo saying this. And on the second page of this same thread you can find wood claiming the Excels are silver and only sold overseas so I'm not sure where he is getting his info or how accurate it is being my excels were bought in Minneapolis and are black.

I own the LT2 2.4 but the one SS I found locally that was priced too high and had too many miles had the KYB Excels just put on, the sales sticker even listed the work the dealership had done and this included the kybs and some electrical piece and new/used tires. I test drove it and ride was great, I believe SS had lowering springs as well just not sure what brand. Didn't peak underneath to see being it was low as hell and I knew I wasn't buying, just wanted to drive one once.

Edit-Sorry, forgot to link thread.

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/brakes-%7C-suspension-%7C-shocks-%7C-struts-24/koni-struts-rear-shocks-41029/

 

http://www.kyb.com/service/color.php...and thats the lastest one..used to be the excel and the GR2 were 2 different names on the same shock..one sold overseas, one sold here...marketing changed all that and now the colors will be the same...also you said AS OF DEC 2012..my post was a bit before this date..if its true then thats great..but shocks built before then are still FE3..Also, just put on shocks WILL feel ok, great actually..until they get broken in and loosened up,,how do I know this? Look under my SS..only been on there since August..ready to trash them.

And if ALL your after is looks with complete disregard to handling characteristics , then sure,,,put any shock and spring combo on your vehicles you want and hope you dont find yourself in a predicament where your vehicle control has been compromised by road conditions and you plow into something. Comments like that will get the un/ill-informed driver into trouble because they 'believe' its all good and will drive it beyond their capabilities. Do your own research first..

 

My HHR is a 2006 2lt, lowered with Progresive springs 2 inches in front, need to buy struts looks like I wiil go with the AC Delco fe5, in checking prices it seems Rock Auto has the best prices, $7.00 m0re for the left hand side???

 

I never understood that difference either....

 

When I purchased mine from Rock Auto, they had different prices in the on-line catalog. They were also on national back order....everywhere I checked person to person. About 2 days later, the guy I talked with at Rock Auto called me back and said, because of our discussion he considered it a personal challenge to find them. He had located a set and if I was still interested they are available. I received them about 4-5 days later and they were PRICED THE SAME AT THE TIME OF THE ORDER AND DELIVERY.

Just trivial info for you.