I just wanted to share my experience with you guys and gals with the differences in the two. I have a 2009 SS.

I bought the KW variant 1's (preset compression) to replace my BC's because they were way too bouncy. The spring load on the BC's are way too low and are made for a cobalt as most of you know.

As soon as I replaced the rears I took it for a drive and wow, 10x better than the rear bc setup. Don't get me wrong, the BC's were great and still handled great but on normal driving, they're rough. I tinkered with the compressions from soft to hard maybe 10 times and still feels like you're in a bounce house.

I would recommend the BC setup but with a different spring in the rear.

All in all, the KW is a much better setup and also the build quality is night and day compared to the BC's.

Here are some photo's I took to compare the two. I forgot to take a pic of the front strut assembly but the KW's are much better.

Thanks,
Jared

 

Great shots, thanks for clarifying you adjusted the BC's and still a bouncy ride.
Would you verify, it seems like coil bind in the rear springs installed picture, is this the case?

 

There is some coil binding but they do not touch. I might get some rubber to put on the coils but I haven't heard any rear noise when driving.

 

Great, just wanted that clarification, so future readers of this write up won't be wondering! !

 

Of course, I would love to see more HHR's with the KW setup. It really is a nice set.

 

Those KW's lo9ok identical to the pair of shocks I got off Amazon!

 

I don't see the similarity, but even if you do: it's what's inside that counts. The need to look similar in order to fit the space.

 

Oh, man a huge difference, like donuts and a bag of hammers! They're way different.

 

Most shocks do look similar. You can't really change the look and the bolt setup when buying shocks.

Those are Japanese made, KW is german. =)

 

I wonder if the BC shocks would fine tune your back end, seeing as they are adjustable?

Naw, just clean them up and sell or shelve them, somebody might want them !