Andre

I am about to purchase a new 08 M5 HHR SS... I have been doing some reading and am trying to figure out what are the simplest and most cost effective bolt-ons that will not kill the factory warranty. It seems like the HHR LNF Turbo Upgrade Kit (19212670) is a no brainer, my next thoughts are the exhaust and air intake... I do want to make sure the car can still pass the emissions test, so off road pipes are out of the question but I would do a high flow cat. It seems like there are very few CAI options available?

Out of curiosity, what are the average drag strips results for the LNF kit? It seems like the average stock trap speed is about 99mph, so I would guess it would go up to 102mph, is this correct?

I do have some turbo experience... I owned Canada's 1st 7 second drag radial car... this was done with a factory GM 6L truck block and a stock suspension on a DOT tire... I am not expecting this kind of performance from the HHR, I just want a DD that is affordable, practical and fun to drive... and for under 25G's it seems like the HHR SS fits the bill!

bartSS

Get some charge pipies and a full 3" exhaust with a high flow cat. I would recomend getting the downpipe from ADM. The stock intake flows pretty well so im keeping mine for just a bit longer until i get my cai. Also i would get an aftermarket intercooler for better flow

Andre

Will the tune that comes with the LNF Stage 1 kit work well the exhaust and chrage pipes? I will hold off on the intercooler for now...

What sort of trap speed would you expect with these mods?

gcsd3742

this is before my GM stage 1 tune:

hyperv6

Bolt on's have a little improvement on the SS but unless you tune for them often much is not gained.

The new stage kit not only adds 45 HP 5 sp -55 HP Auto but it also opens the learn mode in the factory computer. It will adjust to any improvments bolted on like bigger intercoolers and exhaust much more. The mods will be fully adjusted to vs liited with the closed computer program we have stock.

The learn feature is the hidden seceret to the stage kit many do not know about or understand. Someone at GM understands!

Also the stage kit is a good streetable system and you keep you full or remaining 5 year 100,000 mile warranty.

I have not seen much in times or speeds on the SS with a stage kit since they just came out this winter but I would expect 13's should be no problem even with 3200 pounds to pull.

I am waiting to see what the guys are getting when the tracks start to open in the next couple weeks.

Witht he SS being so new I ecpect more things to show up. Most will be for the Cobalt Tubo but most should also work on our cars.

prod

I havent seen a manual 08 SS at a GTA dealer in about 5 months, good find and welcome to the forum.
Check out www.ontariocobaltclub.com for some good local shops,meets and performance stuff.

bodywerks

This night answer a couple of questions.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/2-0l-performance-tech-46/adm-enhanced-gm-stage-tune-20076/

RocketBuSS

Its unfortunate that you have to worry about emissions so much. I do understand the warranty issue however. Me, personally, I couldnt care less. I'm probably crazy, I just don't think I'll ever have an issue w/ my aftermarket tune I purchased from GMRC (Martin Scott is the guy to talk to) that would actually cause a problem that would cause GM to void my warranty. I have JUST a tune currently, but with running 93 octane and the temps sitting at 50 or less I'm sitting just below or around 300whp.... I actually just tonight orded my Hahn IC charge pipes. I'm still debating the massive intercooler, not that having 300% additional volume wont be great for cooling/condensing, but I dont wish to gain any unwanted turbo lag... yuck. F that noise. Its all about where you want to utilize the power. Realistically, you're NOT going to notice a huge difference in performance with upgrading the exhaust on a stock turbo/ IC/ etc... so wait on that to save money for other things... like an eventual turbo upgrade :) From what I've seen, the only really useful exhaust product isn't even made for our cars yet but its EXTREMELY universal for all kinds of goodies like bigger future turbos, running open downpipes, or quick changing a cat/ straightpipe for track use... too bad its all for the Cobalt TC's but check out the link. Eventually I'm hoping we'll see this app for our cars...

http://www.turbosystem.com/ProjectVe...%20MODpipe.htm

Sweet.

Otherwise, CAIs are good if you wanna hear your recirc valve/ throttle and gain, IMO, a debatable 5-15 hp.... not a bad option, hell, I'm thinking about it honestly, but ONLY if Hahn gets the coolram CAI rollin' or possibly dejon powerhouse....

Best bang-for-your-buck while preserving your warranty (and the environment haha) would be a GM stage kit, a CoolRam (when its finished) and DEFINATELY the Hahn IC piping upgrade.

You'll have a 25-35% gain in power for under $2k. Not bad.

Andre

Would the GM stage 1 kit work with the offroad pipe, or would I need to change anything in the tune?

bartSS

it will work just fine. I went catless and just had the cel P0240 erased through HP Tuners and all is well. The car picks up so much better. But if you get the high flow cat from ADM you wont throw any codes