Ss
 

Just bought my first HHR SS, love the car, completely stock 2008 front wheel drive,74000m what are some of the first upgrades I should do, and is there any hidden surprises I should be looking for.

:welcomewagon:
Welcome to the site Mike
First upgrade would be IMO would be a Dyno tune from a tuner who has a good reputation as a HP software tuner good for 40-50 hp.
Tim

GM also has a tune. It will put you up to 290hp. Whatever the tune...just get one. The stock SS is pretty tame.

Welcome to the site! Enjoy that SS! Is it an automatic?

Welcome to the site. :thumb:

A tune is nice but in my opinion adding a rear sway bar should be the 1st mod done. Really will improve the handling.

I agree with George, a rear sway bar is a great first mod for both the SS's and LS /LTs

1. A good tune from CJ , (Trifecta) , or from an HPTuner
2. TurboTech engine mount, to plant the power, & control torque-steer.
3. K&N air intake system, for great throttle response around town, & HP gain.
NO retune needed with the K&N system...
4 thru 100 Whatever your heart desires...:nuts:

Why not a sway bar on that list 2005HHRauto ? All those on your list may be good mods power wise, but for a daily driver, a sway bar is almost a must have.
No sense in "putting down" some HP if you can't handle it better in the turns.

Sway bar is in there, 4-100, :lol:
Hmm, My buggy will be 6 years old, next month, & I have never even thought,
about changing out the sway bar.
It handles, very well stock.
Maybes I got to do, like that Salt & Pepper Geigo commercial, & Push It, Push it
real hard, just Push It...:roflol:
Really, not a lot of nice, 'twistys', in Pittsburgh, mostly 100 year old roads,
full of pot-holes...:skull1:

Now, I'll go on to say the the 1st 3 that I listed, are MUST have mods, before
doing any other mods.
1. A good Trifecta or HPTuner tune, good for 50HP/75'lb torque. How sweet it is.
A mod that will surely put a:smile: on your face, & be your, 'key-stone', mod.
It will also make your buggy a true muscle car, with ETs in the high 13s too.

2. Really, a good solid engine mount, should be standard, from the factory,
in our buggys, for the safety factor alone, as it controls wrong-wheel-drive,
torque steer. If you don't go for the best mod, a tune, then please put in, a Turbo-Tech, engine mount.

3. The K&N air intake system is so wonderful, with low speed, around town, throttle response, & it removes the intake restriction, of the stock system. I had removed it, & my buggy felt like a pig, around town. If this system was outlawed, I would sell my buggy, as without it, forget it...:nuts:
I'm now running it with my GMPP tune, just playing around, & it's a 'game-changer', with any tune, even the stock tune...:bow: