Don't get me wrong....the stage 1 is great....but if I would have waited several months...read the message boards...and did my homework..I would have just installed the sensors, plug & play harness, and had James tune it with HP.

With all of the problems I had with the stage 1....the warranty ment nothing to my dealer....so I gained absolutely nothing..warranty wise. If you end up getting the stage 1, make sure to go to a deal that will back up the warranty and make sure the tech know's what they're doing.

I'm not saying that all stage 1 installations are crap...but I have ready more bad than good about them. The power is okay....but compared to my HP tune...the GMS1 felt like a big turd.

Again...I did not have the plug & play at the time...which was probably the biggest issue. Now, I have the plug & play (after installing and entire new engine harness) and I'm HP tuned. Power is unreal.....going for an E47 tune (done by James) next

 

Thanks
I have a set of bridgestone potenzas which seem to have very good traction for a radial

 

If you end up getting the stage 1, make sure to go to a dealer that will back up the warranty and make sure the tech know's what they're doing.

This statment is what makes the difference in how well the kit performs. The prople who had issues generally are the kits that were installed not using the proper Kent More crimpers. This is key as it is the only way to make sure the wires were connected properly. Now that the new harness are out that should no longer be an issue if you use them.

 

This statement is partially true.

I had a lot of issues with my upgrade, mostly coming from a dealer that was on it's way out of chevrolet.

Given that, even if the crimps were done properly, even if the soldering was done properly, even if moving the IC up worked, even if a stiffer top motor mount stopped the lower sensor from hitting the AC compressor, it still did and was the cause of 95% of my problems.

The last dealer, went against convention and just flipped the sensor where the pigtails faced the IC and since then the car is solid without surging, cels, cutouts and the power is now linear and you can actually count on it, etc. etc. (and etc. etc. means multiply the issues by a factor of 10.)

To get to that simple fix, I did all the above, plus added a new wiring harness, plus installation, the crate engine depot connectors to get rid of the splices and a lot of time and money.

Now I'm glad gm had the gumption to upgrade the car, given the financial problems they were in and I'm glad that now I have a workable, reliable and fun vehicle and (unlike 2 years ago) chevrolet and gm are putting a lot of effort into following on on dealer service and issues.

I can tell that customer satisfaction is very high on GM's list.

I love this car, get tons of compliments, love driving it and now that I've customized it to my taste it's the kind of car that when I park it I look back.

The only three things I wish is #1 a grab handle for the 3 passengers (which is really needed given the way it corners), #2 a real center console for storage and #3 that they hadn't discontinued it.*

IMO

James

*The HHR SS is probably the most under the radar car chevrolet has ever sold. Nobody, even die hard chevy fans know about it. Today a ss camaro owner came over to me in a parking lot and said "you know I've always hated the HHR, but yours, wow, I'd buy one today".

You see on this forum how much the owners love their cars and regardless of issues, find a fix and continue to personalize their SS.

To me it's a real modern performance car. Small motor with a lot of power that not only goes fast and handles, but has a lot of utility.

 

I did have an issue with the map hitting the AC compresser on mine. But it was an easy fix and was due to the fact my IC was repaced and bolted in farther back. Just some washers and shimed forward fixed it. Note too while it did take some of my time any issues or repairs on the Upgrade is covered under warranty including the loaner car. THere should not be any out of pocket cost if your car is under warranty. The kit itself should have a 1 year warranty as it is.

The Map hitting the AC compressor is a very rare thing so odd are great it will not be an issue but if it is the dealer should fix it free.