**putting wheels on the HHR excited**
 

this is my first post ever so bear with me. I recently got a silver 09 HHR LT and I'm getting wheels put on. I've settled came to the conclusion that I'm going to go with black adr 18 inch propulsions.

Will going with 18" require any modification to anything?

what size tires will i need?

how will the ride feel?

will i need to get new brakes?

I like low profile tires, what are some reasonable priced brands?

If lows are a bad idea are there mid level tires available?

**sorry I'm a rookie with all this**

If you have 16" wheels stock you'll be doing a plus 2 up size, if you have 17" wheels its a plus 1 up size. I'd try 215/45/18 tires for a start, they are not too wide and will keep you at the same approximate diameter so the ABS and traction control will be happy. The ride will be a little bit harsher due to the lower profile of the sidewalls, tires do provide some of the springing in the suspension. Shouldn't need new brakes at all, not even an issue, unless at some point you decide to upgrade for looks or performance. Goodyear Eagle GT's are one that a bunch of folks here run, expect to pay about $150-160 each. I've also heard good things about Hankook Ventus V12 Evo's, expect them to run $130-140 each. Hope this helps, and welcome aboard!

You can also look at Discount Tire, Tire Kingdom, or any on-line tire retailer. They have utilities that help you size tires for your vehicle, you're doing things the right way by asking lots of questions. The best mods are the ones that are thought out.

thanks a lot this really helps a lot because i was actually going into this kind of blind and i wanted little to no issues with getting my first set of wheels.

will it be cheaper to order the wheels and tires off of a site then take them in to be installed?

what does the typical installation usually cost about?

after having the wheels, come winter time is it expensive to have your stock tires put back on?

As long as you keep your stockers w/tires on them, switching them for the winter only costs you the time to do it yourself.

It might be cheaper to get everything on-line, but I'd check locally because you always have to figure shipping costs into on-line purchases, so locally may end up being cheaper. Installation costs vary, but expect to pay about $10-15 per wheel for mounting and balancing. When you do buy your wheels make sure you get any installation hardware at the same time, like lug nuts, locking lug nuts, and hub centric spacers if needed. As far as winter goes, if you hang onto your stock wheels and tires you can do the change over yourself, but some tire shops offer a free changeover in the spring and fall, ask them about it.

Thanks a lot for all the replies, this info is extremely helpful.

How would I know if I'll need any hardware?

Ask the rim dealer..

I use this wheel size tool to compare sizes, etc, even gives you the speed-0
differences if any.

http://www.rimsntires.com/specs.jsp

Has anyone on here had problems with there ABS from 18’s just wondering first I have heard about it.:thumb:

18's shouldn't cause ABS issues ericm. The only time problems crop up is when you really get a large differential between the tire size the vehicle is calibrated for and a new tire size with a different diameter. The vehicle can compensate for a small differences in diameter because as your tires wear they get smaller, but go too big and the wheel speed is off and problems can result. You can always go wider, and lower profile with tires, but you have to keep the diameter approximately the same. Check out the link in sleeper's post above, its really handy for figuring out if your size choice is compatible with the stock diameter.