New '06 owner in Minnesota
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Senior Member
Joined: 06-26-2012
Posts: 161
From: Saint Peter, MN
Haven't posted anything in this thread for about nine months, but only because I really haven't done anything with the HHR except drive it since my last post.
Yesterday afternoon I decided it was finally safe to take the Blizzaks off and put the real wheels back on the HHR. The front brakes were new when I bought the car last summer, but I didn't know anything about the rear drums. Decided to pull them off and while they probably still had several thousand miles of use left I figured as long as it was up in the air with the drums off I might as well replace the brake shoes. Got too late last night to do much more than pick up the new shoes so I saved the work for today. After looking at it this morning I figured it was a good time to finally install the rear Gold-Line leveling springs I picked up last year. And hey, while I was under there I should do the TTR rear swaybar, right?
A few pics are below. No before and after, unfortunately, because all I really set out to do was get the snow tires off. (Wasn't about to reassemble everything and take it off the jackstands just for "before" pics.) You'll have to pardon the filthy wheels -- winter grime plus old brake dust isn't a great look. The swaybar was the easiest upgrade I've ever done, I think -- four bolts and done. (Only thing that would have made it easier would have been a helper to hold things in place while I got the bolts started.) Haven't really given it a good test but soon!
Stock and Gold-Line springs:
New springs and shocks installed:
Passenger side after:
Driver's side after:
TTR swaybar before installation:
Swaybar installed (hard to get a good shot):
Swaybar installed (slightly better angle):
Yesterday afternoon I decided it was finally safe to take the Blizzaks off and put the real wheels back on the HHR. The front brakes were new when I bought the car last summer, but I didn't know anything about the rear drums. Decided to pull them off and while they probably still had several thousand miles of use left I figured as long as it was up in the air with the drums off I might as well replace the brake shoes. Got too late last night to do much more than pick up the new shoes so I saved the work for today. After looking at it this morning I figured it was a good time to finally install the rear Gold-Line leveling springs I picked up last year. And hey, while I was under there I should do the TTR rear swaybar, right?
A few pics are below. No before and after, unfortunately, because all I really set out to do was get the snow tires off. (Wasn't about to reassemble everything and take it off the jackstands just for "before" pics.) You'll have to pardon the filthy wheels -- winter grime plus old brake dust isn't a great look. The swaybar was the easiest upgrade I've ever done, I think -- four bolts and done. (Only thing that would have made it easier would have been a helper to hold things in place while I got the bolts started.) Haven't really given it a good test but soon!
Stock and Gold-Line springs:
New springs and shocks installed:
Passenger side after:
Driver's side after:
TTR swaybar before installation:
Swaybar installed (hard to get a good shot):
Swaybar installed (slightly better angle):
Thread Starter
Senior Member
Joined: 06-26-2012
Posts: 161
From: Saint Peter, MN
In between rainstorms this weekend, I FINALLY managed to get the Sky rims installed that I purchased back in 2012. Not too shabby! For those looking to replicate, I ended up using Dorman 610-323 replacement studs along with 15mm spacers sourced from eBay.
The eagle-eyed among you may notice it's sitting a little higher in the rear. I ended up pulling out the Gold-Line leveling springs and installing new GM shocks (old ones were fine; just seemed like the right thing to do). I'm probably just getting old, but the harsher ride with the Gold-Line springs has really been getting to me for the last year or so. I'm a lot happier with ride comfort after going back to the original springs, but I sure wish I could get the best of both worlds. Maybe look for some SS rear springs? I dunno.
The eagle-eyed among you may notice it's sitting a little higher in the rear. I ended up pulling out the Gold-Line leveling springs and installing new GM shocks (old ones were fine; just seemed like the right thing to do). I'm probably just getting old, but the harsher ride with the Gold-Line springs has really been getting to me for the last year or so. I'm a lot happier with ride comfort after going back to the original springs, but I sure wish I could get the best of both worlds. Maybe look for some SS rear springs? I dunno.
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