I put in the greaseable urethane front swaybar bushings from whatever aftermarket source ("Energy Suspension", maybe?). They barely made it 10K miles. I put new OEM bushings back in, they were <$5 a piece, and, as you say, I think they are 2 mm smaller for the SS than the base HHRs. The originals lasted 122K if I recall, the urethanes lasted 10-15K miles, and now I have 20K miles on OEM replacement bushings. The FE5 OEM stuff is very good, but it seems the parts are drying up quickly.

 

I just now noticed this part of your comment. Are you sure they used the correct LCA’s? They’re hardly ever available and virtually all the parts suppliers list the wrong ones as “fits” SS. They’ll “fit” all right if you don’t mind the the ball joint shank rattling around in the knuckle.💩

https://www.chevyhhr.net/forums/ss-s...iameter-64831/

 

And the knuckle cracking trying to tighten it.

 

Yes the correct LCA’s were installed in 2020, there was a thread about it then.

 

Good find, Oldblue. The lower control arm that was replaced at that time was the incorrect one for LS/LT, with the smaller ball joint stud. I wonder if the knuckle is cracked?

 

The tread I read shows the correct SS LCA’s were installed

 

Yes, but before the correct LCAs were installed, did it crack, and go unnoticed?

 

This whole 23 mm sway bar on the SS is curious to me. I always used to drive RWD Volvos, still have a couple vintage ones from the 60s as a matter of fact. To improve the handling of our 240s and 740s, etc., we always used to grab the heavier (larger diameter) sway bars off the GT models at the wreckers or purchase even larger diameter sway bars from IPD, a third party Volvo performance parts supplier. The thinking was that a heavier/larger diameter sway bar was better because it was stiffer and improved handling. That logic doesn't seem to jibe with GMs logic of fitting the SS models with a lighter/lower diameter sway bar than some of the other models had. I mean, if I want to improve the handling on my SS and avoid the problems of having to look for the harder to find 23 mm sway bar bushings, why wouldn't I just go to the wreckers and get a 25 mm FE3 Sport suspension sway bar and brackets, etc. off of whatever model HHR that had those bars? Is it not a direct swap? What am I missing here?

 

I haven’t compared them 23 mm and 25 mm to each other, only thing I can think of different is the turbo and exhaust pipe possibly contacting the 25 mm LS/LT bar

 

You could do that. What you’re missing is that it’s about optimization and trade offs. If bigger is always better, why not just put 2” sway bars everywhere?

If you make the CG low enough and the springs stiff enough, there’d be virtually zero body roll. No problem to solve except rattling teeth and compressed vertebrae. Comfortable springs allow roll in corners, sway bar reduces that, at the cost of jounce being transferred to the other side of the car. This results in both wheels trying to leave the pavement instead of just one - the trade-off. The stiffer the sway bar, the worse the transfer.

I’ve driven cars, and read about cars, that have a pronounce tendency for the rear to “step out” in a bumpy corner. The HHR does that a bit more than I like, probably because it has a torsion beam rear suspension, which effectively has a built-in sway bar. Ever notice the torsion tube there? You could make it bigger or add another one instead of buying a sway bar.

SS has a lower center of gravity and stiffer springs. Apparently in the opinion of the designers, less roll stabilization in front was optimal. I seem to remember a different part number for the SS torsion beam. I don’t know if it’s stiffer or less stiff.

I can see how for particular conditions, especially a smooth track, the 25mm sway bar would work. It would increase understeer, but that could be corrected with the right rear sway bar. But just using stiffer springs would work too, with less pitching during braking and acceleration.

Stiffer springs or bigger sway bar front increases understeer.

Stiffer springs or bigger sway bar rear increases oversteer.

Sway bars are getting kind of old-fashioned. With active suspension, you don’t need them at all.