SuKi

Eibach Pro Springs sitting on 225/55 16 Riken Raptors. Day one of springs settling front and rear. Not a substantial drop, but I do like the tire to wheel well ratio better. Hopefully they'll settle a little more

SuKi

Cored the second cat today. Can't tell a difference, but there is piece of mind know Big Red can breathe better.

Oldblue

You need to open up the exhaust , I went with the 2 1/4 inch Walker system and a mandrel bent DP , not much gained but better MPG by 1.5

SuKi

I'm definitely thinking that. I've found the 2.4 2 1/4 intermediate piping from a few online vendors around 50$, but shipping to here is 200 more. I hadn't yet gone to any local shops to get estimates. I plan on getting the ZZP mid length headers with 1.5" primaries and their DP, but I've got to get the cat back figured out. I'm in the process of other projects that are already paid for, just waiting on parts, so the exhaust is taking a back seat. I'm still weighing performance Vs. Cost right now. Although, I will probably be getting the ZZP parts, just a few months down the road. And then a tune from them.

SuKi

It's time for an update. I've painted the wheel covers and the brake drums. I had planned on doing HHR logos on the drums, but it just didn't work out. I think I'm going to leave the drums just painted. I've also decided, well for the moment, that I won't be doing any performance mods to Big Red. I plan on finding an SS when I get back to the states, so I'm going to keep Big Red for what she is, a great daily driver with plenty of room and great on gas.The suspension upgrades were definitely a good choice to do though. That's not to say she won't get dressed up because I've still got a lot to do yet. Here they are, Pics

SuKi

I also finished my exhaust for the time being. It consists of a Cherry Bomb glasspack for resonator and a Cherry Bomb Vortex muffler installed into the stock 1.75" piping. It's not to loud and it is aggressive, but I understand now when people talk about their exhaust "droning". I'm going to give it a few weeks at least to see if I like it, but for now I'm happy . I'll make another video while driving since the rev limiter really doesn't let the exhaust sound like it normally would.

SuKi

Just realized in this thread, I haven't posted anything about the intake. Here it is, K&N with dual re-routed intake hoses and homemade intake scoops. Sorry if this is a repost from "What did you do to your HHR today." Just trying to keep a log of what I've done in one place if anyone has any questions.

SuKi

I took a video while driving to get a more realistic feeling of how the exhaust sounds. A short uphill drive by my house. Camera is mounted on bumper above the muffler

SuKi

So my wife is in the states for about a month, which means I can drive her car and let Big Red rest for a while. This also means I have a few weeks to get some work done without worrying about driving to work.
I finally started on my front bumper. I was going to shave the bumperettes off, and once I got the front off, I realized just how much damage she had. No worries, just some practice I get with bodywork. And when I completly ruin things, another one is 60$ or so online.

I got a plastic welder on Amazon, a cheap $15 one, but it held up for a few hours today. I cut the bumperettes off with a pneumatic sawzall and cut up my donor bumper to match the holes. Well as much as possible, turns out my donor is not at all the same shape as Big Red when I thought it was. So a few small peices and more plastic melting. Here are some pics of one of the holes filled with some sanding done and a pretty decent sized crack welded up. This is no where near complete, so I know it looks like garbage right now.

This process is realatively easy once you figure out exactly what to do. I watched a few youtube videos and it is as straight forward as they body guys make it seem. I'll be smoothing out the black piece in the middle as well. Hopefully I'll have a finished front end shortly.

Oldblue

Nice job! Don't forget to vacuum the house , make the bed and do the dishes before the wife comes home!!