I have a question. I have been looking all over the forum to find out what muffler to get. More specifically, the right size.

The reason I want to put a different muffler on it is because it is so quiet, about once or twice/week I forget to shift into fourth.

The sound, performance gain and better fuel economy are all pluses.

I read on another thread the Cherry Bomb 88101 or 88100 would work. Those are both 2 1/4" offset inlet, straight outlet or offset outlet.

I stopped at the auto parts store and picked up a DynaMax super turbo and went over to my mechanic's. We barter a lot and he said he would put it on for me.

Well, the pipe on my HHR is 1 3/4" and we don't want to mickey mouse.

Can somebody please tell me what performance muffler will fit?

Thanks

 

i got the dynomax ultra flow (straight thru) off amazon $55 , 2 1/2in , 2 1/2 out...i'm not sure if it is exact size on my hhr , but my muffler guy said it was correct.....i like it alot , i think it sounds great....simular to a baretta , not too loud , and not rice....my hhr is 08 2.4 2lt.....i don't know about the pipe size , but i thought all were/are the same.

 

You must have a 2.2 LS HHR that has the smaller size pipe

 

I got my new muffler finally.

I measured the exhaust pipe and found it to be 1 3/4" OD. I couldn't find ANY mufflers that had that size. I had to use an adapter of some sort.

I went to the auto parts store and found an adapter that would fit the 1 3/4" OD and would fit a 2 1/4" muffler. I then chose a suitable muffler for what I wanted. I wanted it to be louder (so I could hear when to shift) but something a bit more than a glass pack. I chose a Thrush Welded with an offset inlet and straight out.

I took it to my mechanic who I am good friends with and we barter our expertise. I take care of his computers and he takes care of my car.

We put The Time Machine on the lift and he held up the Sawzall and said, "You're sure you want to do this?"
I said, "Let's do it."

He cut off the old muffler. What a monster that thing is. Not only does it choke the engine but I would say it adds considerable weight to boot!

After cutting off the old muffler he said, "I want to see what it sounds like with straight pipes." I agreed and he fired it up on the lift. I have to say that it didn't sound bad at all. I would describe it as a little loud. Not nearly as loud as I thought it would be.

We put the adapter together and he welded on two hangers. We had to cut a bit from the plastic window well liner since the Thrush came real real close when we lined up the outlet to the cutout.

The Thrush sounds very similar to the straight pipe. It quiets it down some but not too much. I don't think it sounds too "ricey". The drawback is that with the sound I'm more tempted to put my foot in it. I do seem to sense a bit more pep. I can now hear it like I think I should be able to. I'm waiting for a few weeks to be able to tell if I'm getting any appreciable increase in mileage.

I just can't for the life of me figure out why GM would put that monster of a muffler on it and make it that quiet at the expense of power and fuel economy.

 

Aw jeez, more BS with statements like:

"Not only does it choke the engine..."

and

"...at the expense of power and fuel economy."

Fact is that the OEM muffler is a very good design and is not restrictive. I have actually taken the time to do some back pressure testing a long time ago, comparing the OEM the the "legendary" IMCO T924 Turbo (the worst), the DynoMax Super Turbo and a straight though Magnaflow. DynoMax was about the same as stock and the Magnaflow was only slightly better. Put on the Magnaflow and ran some dyno tests... Results, well, maybe about 1 or 2 HP more, considered to be within normal error range.

So... unless you have some documented evidence, please refrain from throwing out some random opinion and contributing to the myth and lore of the interwebz. Thank you!

 

I'm sorry for stating my opinion. It does seem to be more peppy. I've also read on this board that swapping out the muffler increases fuel mileage. I do believe I said I would wait a couple of weeks before reporting any difference.

My main reason for swapping out the muffler was because the stock muffler was so quiet I would occasionally forget to shift into fourth. I would glance down at the tachometer and notice I was turning over excessive RPM and then realize I was still in third.

I will stand by my statement that the stock muffler is huge and way too quiet. This is a gasoline engine we are talking about and not an electric motor.

 

I have a 2006 lt 2.2, I cut the oem monster off and had a thrush glasspack put on that lasted for a month, way tooooo ricey. I then got brave and had a cherry bomb extreme put on, it is deep and throaty. I love it especially outside the car on the inside it is still a bit pitchy but outside it sounds like at least a V-6. Good luck if anyone cares it was the center center design for off road.

 

In my opinion, the HHR (my '07 LT 2.2) is the quietest 4 cylinder car I've ever owned.

My '09 SS is not.

 

ok in the area of exhaust, what is the importance of the down pipe? And will the ecotec run right if you replace your cats with "test pipe" so long as the sensors are all put back in place? Lastly has anyone had there exhaust manifold P/P'd and is the difference truly as satisfying as a header? So after these changes are made, who actually produces's a tuner for our 2.2 HHR's?

 

1) "test pipes" are illegal for on-road use, and can garner SUBSTANTIAL fines for you if you get caught. 2) the rear 02 sensor will almost certainly throw a code since it will be sniffing un-converted fumes. 3) what's "P/P'd" mean?