1970judge

Does anyone autocross their HHR or do track days? I have been toying with the idea for a long time. I have a track toy (2015 Z/28) but want to have fun in the HHR too. It needs some maintenance badly, which will happen later this year then I might see about auto crossing it or doing a track day.
Obviously it needs its COG lowered, who has good drop springs/shocks? I always loved the feedback through the wheel, which is odd for such a cheaply made car, but it works well. I can lift off oversteer the car (puposely) and get it headed where I want it. Could use some firmness up front though, and needs more plant.

Is any sponsors still producing sway bars? Shocks/springs?

Blue_SS

I ran my SS back in 2011 on street tires. I had won a class championship locally in DSP in 2010 with my NA 2.5L Saabaru on Hoosiers.

It was all kinds of terrible. Turbo lag totally trashed my run, but the OEM tires sucked too (a big part of why I tried - these tires need to go... let's play). I smoked them coming out of 3 different corners. Smoked Gouda.

My SS understeered tremendously compared to my Saabaru (Saab 92X). I couldn't adapt in one event.

Seriously, hit the Cobalt guys' forum up for this. There are more more of them, and some are on lower level components and budgets.

My wife threatened to make me sleep in my car, so I retired in 2010. My 14-yo son is now talking about doing autocross, so we will see. I might "have to" return. I can build a great car, but I might have to drive it to improve it. My "feel" is much better on autocross courses.

Anyways, I still have lots of connections with autocrosses in the Detroit Metro area. Let me know if you need help finding one.

1970judge

Sweet! A ton of people I work with at MPG do auto-x, though I did manage to convert some to track people. But they at least got me thinking about auto-x to kill some weekends when I am not at the track or a show.

I am moving in about 35 days, so Detroit region is a no-go for me, sadly. Counting down my last days in MI. I will look over on the Cobalt forums. Which forum is best?

1970judge

I still intend to track the HHR this season, I give it probably 1/2 a day before it grenades, but i'm going to give it hell anyway. Before then, unfortunately it sounds like the INNER joitn of the drivers CV axle took a dump. On my move from Michigan to Texas, I hit a crater in Cincinatti, OH and the car felt IFFY for the rest of the 20 hour Journey. Its gotten considerably worse now, to the point that I think everytime I drive it, it seems liek cheating death LOL.

Anyway, I could use some help, has anyone done a remote aftermarket trans cooler and a trans temp gauge yet?

Oldblue

1970judge

I'll tinker with it a smidge, under heaving braking the car has tended to over-steer just a touch, which I like. I want to keep it that way, but plant it just a little more. Eventually I want to try wheels and tires first, good set of meats will probably help the goal initially.

Casa Del Gatos

I can vouch for the OTTP rear anti-sway bar. Made a HUGE difference in rear end stability.
Just don't be in a hurry. Took almost a month after payment to actually receive the things.

But in the end, it was worth it!

Cat Man HHR

I use a Progressive. It has a smaller diameter than the TTR unit. I know sway bar diameter plays in suspension preload, but don't know how much between products. Never had an another bar to change out to see the difference. Metallurgy design is also a unknown, which can be a factor how hard or soft the spring of the bar can be.

1970judge

I am going to keep it simple as I can at first. A) track pads B) lower the COG just a touch C) add some grip. Like I said, the tendency for the car to over steer under heavy braking is decent (I've spun the car twice), the understeer can be curbed a little bit left foot braking. The car is surprisingly pleasant to drive quickly, just needs a few tweaks taken care of.

Also, trying not to melt the trans, hence the cooler..

Cat Man HHR

1970judge read line 10 of this:
The guy used a Hayden cooler and Hayden adapter fittings.
https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/gene...do-8753/page2/