Show us your Saab!!
Discussion
pigeyman said:
Very nice! Now I want a 9-5 haha
I'd say go for it man, you're really missing out! Great power, superb comfort and the ability to munch motorway miles like nothing else! Plus you can pick a good one up for under £2000, can't go wrong really. Just try to avoid the pre-04 cars, as you'll have to drop the sump to deal with the oil issues they had.chazza114 said:
pigeyman said:
Very nice! Now I want a 9-5 haha
I'd say go for it man, you're really missing out! Great power, superb comfort and the ability to munch motorway miles like nothing else! Plus you can pick a good one up for under £2000, can't go wrong really. Just try to avoid the pre-04 cars, as you'll have to drop the sump to deal with the oil issues they had.In my experience of 9-5s, the only one that gave me serious problems is now at the breakers yard.
It was a 56 plate "Dame Edna" 9-5 Aero estate, and the final straw was the gearbox breaking, at 180k.
That followed an engine rebuild at 130k (worn piston rings, head gasket failure, slack timing chain etc etc).
Personally, I have a policy of buying cars with the walnut dash, ie pre 2003, and usually a bit earlier than that.
My wife's 1999 9-5 2.3 Turbo SE Auto estate has been no problem at all in the 4 years we have had it since buying it for £875 in 2015.
My previous two 1998 cars were no problem either, until one was written off avoiding a texter coming straight at meat 60mph, and the other was sold at 180,000 miles.
My current one is a 52 plate with 91k on the clock. 2.3 SE turbo estate auto. Bought for £990, but I did get unlucky this time - it needed a new turbo suddenly two weeks after i got it, so sits at £1500. Nobody's fault. Parts bought from Neo Brothers, by the way - top service and good advice, total cost of parts, inc oil, £360.
Can I just dispel one myth? I know it's not very PH of me, but having owned both can i just say that, in normal road use, in my opinion there is no difference between the 170 bhp 9-5 2.3 low pressure turbo and the 250/260 bhp 9-5 2.3 Aero high pressure turbo. Seems mad, but read on.
Both, accelerated from a standing start with auto gearboxes, get to 70 at exactly the same point on my local test track, and both overtake with ease. The difference in BHP is explained by the thought that the extra 80/90 bhp only occurs with the engine revving close to the red line, thus fully working the high pressure turbo - ie you have to drive it like you stole it, with the accompanying 12 mpg.
I don't drive my cars like that - you are more likely to find me commuting on the A1, cruise control on at 70 mph, watching the dash telling me that I am getting 41 mpg. For a Sunday blast on the twisties i have a 400 bhp 4.6 V8 turbo TVR. Horses for courses.
Ok chaps, shoot me down in flames
In 2001 I had a very early 1998 R-plate 9-5 2.3lpt manual saloon and it was great. Ex-dealer demo so fully loaded, bought at 3yr old with 85k miles old and I took it to over 200k in another three years. Had a head gasket and new DI pack at some point I think, but no major issues that I recall. I've gone back to 9000s now though, I like a hatchback. I'd probably still go for an early 9-5 if I ever have another.
Think the difference is whilst moving, such as an all ready rolling 50-100-70 overtake the extra power is noticeable. As well as doesn't the HOT allow overboost where as the low pressure doesn't?
Plus there are other things such as brakes/suspension etc that comes with the Aero over the others.
Plus there are other things such as brakes/suspension etc that comes with the Aero over the others.
Lazadude said:
Think the difference is whilst moving, such as an all ready rolling 50-100-70 overtake the extra power is noticeable. As well as doesn't the HOT allow overboost where as the low pressure doesn't?
Plus there are other things such as brakes/suspension etc that comes with the Aero over the others.
On this last point, only one of my early 9-5s had sports suspension (fitted by the previous owner), but it cornered flat and with real precision, and was an utter joy on the fast but bumpy Fenland roads. I have to say it stopped well too, despite not being an Aero. Plus there are other things such as brakes/suspension etc that comes with the Aero over the others.
When I next had a different make of car, it was a Mercedes E Class W210, which was such a contrast to the Saabs - cornering was complete guesswork, and the body roll made my daughter car sick..
I honestly cannot say I noticed my if Aero had better suspension or brakes - driven alternately with my wife's 2.3 SE, it just felt the same.
Good tyres (my Aero was on Uniroyal Rainsport 3s), and better quality brake pads made more of a difference in my experience, but i am not doubting what you say.
both my brother and father had saabs, brother was friendly with the guy who owned the saab garage in Ayr, County saab. Father had two anniversary 9000's a company one then when he retired back in 2000 bought one, traded that for a 95 griffin, brother had a 93 viggen, that was a nice car, monte carlo yellow it was.
Well, it's been over a month since I last posted in this thread, but unfortunately it's with bad news. After taking my 9-5 Aero to stage 3, it decided it couldn't hack it and has chosen to die. Perhaps it wasn't particularly smart to run 300bhp and 450nm through a 120,000 mile engine, with a mixed service history and 5 previous owners, but then again I'm not particularly smart. And so at 90mph, piston no.4 gave up on life and cracked. It was probably on it's way out anyways but 19psi doesn't help either...
And after shopping around, considering hopping back into the world of hot hatches (182's and Type R's were considered) or just getting a boring old shed, I knew I couldn't give up on the world of Saab. So £1100 later, I'm back in a 9-5 Aero, but this time it's a two owner, 91000 miler with full service history.
It needs a good service, some fresh rear brakes and few other bits and pieces, but overall it's an absolute bargain. Over the winter I'll keep it stock, but it may go on to stage 3 tune if I'm feeling stupid. Finally, here's the a picture of the twins, such a shame one of the is dead.
And after shopping around, considering hopping back into the world of hot hatches (182's and Type R's were considered) or just getting a boring old shed, I knew I couldn't give up on the world of Saab. So £1100 later, I'm back in a 9-5 Aero, but this time it's a two owner, 91000 miler with full service history.
It needs a good service, some fresh rear brakes and few other bits and pieces, but overall it's an absolute bargain. Over the winter I'll keep it stock, but it may go on to stage 3 tune if I'm feeling stupid. Finally, here's the a picture of the twins, such a shame one of the is dead.
Having missed the excitement of the "will it, won't it" lottery on whether the car would successfully compete a journey that I stopped playing when I sold my TVR I've now bought another ticket.
I present for your delectation my £570 9-5 1.9 TID Vector Sport Wagon, with not a jot of service history for its 129,000 miles, in black:
All it's got to do is get me 400 miles each way in the next week without breaking down.
And if I get hungry on my trip I can always eat some of the spaghetti in the boot:
What could possibly go wrong?!
Please do tell me as I'll need to fix it ASAP!
I present for your delectation my £570 9-5 1.9 TID Vector Sport Wagon, with not a jot of service history for its 129,000 miles, in black:
All it's got to do is get me 400 miles each way in the next week without breaking down.
And if I get hungry on my trip I can always eat some of the spaghetti in the boot:
What could possibly go wrong?!
Please do tell me as I'll need to fix it ASAP!
edit: I should point that this is not my car. The image was posted on one of the Facebook UK SAAB groups. The crash happened very early yesterday morning, I am not sure exactly what happened. Apparently there was just one person in the car and she walked away fine.
Edited by pigeyman on Saturday 28th December 18:13
QBee - cheers, I guessed that it was towbar related. Unfortunately when I put it in reverse I get an error message from the parking sensors so whoever had a go was a willing amateur I think.
More unfortunately the car will be completing the southbound leg of the journey on a transporter - as I set off yesterday on about mile 5 of 395 I had my first experience of "running-on" and all of the associated fun and games.
The oil level was a wee bit high when I bought it and the best guess of the recovery guy (who's got a Vectra with the same 1.9 TID engine) is that there's fuel in the oil from incomplete DPF regens and that has eventually led to this failure.
I think I saved the engine by knocking it out of gear but there's lots of oil under the turbo now and dripping onto the floor. When it gets back to mine I'll have a proper look.
Pretty gutting (and a bit perplexing) as it never missed a beat on the northbound journey and I was congratulating myself on my shed-buying nous - that will teach me
P.S. all three of the recovery guys whom I dealt with directly (plus the AA guy who stopped to check on me) were absolute heroes. AXA breakdown insurance who sent the first guy with no details of the fault and the wrong size truck not so much heroes as malcoordinated numpties.
More unfortunately the car will be completing the southbound leg of the journey on a transporter - as I set off yesterday on about mile 5 of 395 I had my first experience of "running-on" and all of the associated fun and games.
The oil level was a wee bit high when I bought it and the best guess of the recovery guy (who's got a Vectra with the same 1.9 TID engine) is that there's fuel in the oil from incomplete DPF regens and that has eventually led to this failure.
I think I saved the engine by knocking it out of gear but there's lots of oil under the turbo now and dripping onto the floor. When it gets back to mine I'll have a proper look.
Pretty gutting (and a bit perplexing) as it never missed a beat on the northbound journey and I was congratulating myself on my shed-buying nous - that will teach me
P.S. all three of the recovery guys whom I dealt with directly (plus the AA guy who stopped to check on me) were absolute heroes. AXA breakdown insurance who sent the first guy with no details of the fault and the wrong size truck not so much heroes as malcoordinated numpties.
Your comment regarding the parking sensors fits with the spaghetti in the boot - the sensors have to be disarmed for towing, or they drive you mad when you are trying to park your 8 metre caravan..
If you have still got the TVR you could use that? Back in 2014 we owned three cars, an Audi A8, a Merc ML and a TVR Chimaera. For most of December the only one reliably running every day was, yes, you guessed it, the TVR. The Audi had terminal electronic problems and the ML lost track of its crankshaft position. TVRs are so much less complicated than all this modern German stuff.
If you have still got the TVR you could use that? Back in 2014 we owned three cars, an Audi A8, a Merc ML and a TVR Chimaera. For most of December the only one reliably running every day was, yes, you guessed it, the TVR. The Audi had terminal electronic problems and the ML lost track of its crankshaft position. TVRs are so much less complicated than all this modern German stuff.
chazza114 said:
Well, it's been over a month since I last posted in this thread, but unfortunately it's with bad news. After taking my 9-5 Aero to stage 3, it decided it couldn't hack it and has chosen to die. Perhaps it wasn't particularly smart to run 300bhp and 450nm through a 120,000 mile engine, with a mixed service history and 5 previous owners, but then again I'm not particularly smart. And so at 90mph, piston no.4 gave up on life and cracked. It was probably on it's way out anyways but 19psi doesn't help either...
And after shopping around, considering hopping back into the world of hot hatches (182's and Type R's were considered) or just getting a boring old shed, I knew I couldn't give up on the world of Saab. So £1100 later, I'm back in a 9-5 Aero, but this time it's a two owner, 91000 miler with full service history.
It needs a good service, some fresh rear brakes and few other bits and pieces, but overall it's an absolute bargain. Over the winter I'll keep it stock, but it may go on to stage 3 tune if I'm feeling stupid. Finally, here's the a picture of the twins, such a shame one of the is dead.
At 300bhp, a stock B235 is right on the edge. As you found out.Thank GM costcutting for that. If its a daily driver and want it to remain reliable then go for a tune around the 270bhp mark.And after shopping around, considering hopping back into the world of hot hatches (182's and Type R's were considered) or just getting a boring old shed, I knew I couldn't give up on the world of Saab. So £1100 later, I'm back in a 9-5 Aero, but this time it's a two owner, 91000 miler with full service history.
It needs a good service, some fresh rear brakes and few other bits and pieces, but overall it's an absolute bargain. Over the winter I'll keep it stock, but it may go on to stage 3 tune if I'm feeling stupid. Finally, here's the a picture of the twins, such a shame one of the is dead.
Or pull the engine and build a B234 / 35 combo. Then your good for 4 to 500bhp with no engine mods required.
Saabaholic said:
At 300bhp, a stock B235 is right on the edge. As you found out.Thank GM costcutting for that. If its a daily driver and want it to remain reliable then go for a tune around the 270bhp mark.
Or pull the engine and build a B234 / 35 combo. Then your good for 4 to 500bhp with no engine mods required.
Think I'm gonna go down the B234/5R hybrid route, as I still want 300hp but would need the reliability for a daily driver. I'm gonna ring Tony from Doncaster Saab and see how much it would set me back. Shouldn't be over £2000 according to a good friend! Then the other Saab will probably get sold on, but for now it's a reasonable shed. Or pull the engine and build a B234 / 35 combo. Then your good for 4 to 500bhp with no engine mods required.
The sheds in a shed.
QBee said:
Your comment regarding the parking sensors fits with the spaghetti in the boot - the sensors have to be disarmed for towing, or they drive you mad when you are trying to park your 8 metre caravan..
If you have still got the TVR you could use that? Back in 2014 we owned three cars, an Audi A8, a Merc ML and a TVR Chimaera. For most of December the only one reliably running every day was, yes, you guessed it, the TVR. The Audi had terminal electronic problems and the ML lost track of its crankshaft position. TVRs are so much less complicated than all this modern German stuff.
I've read a thread on UKSaabs that will help with the spaghetti, tbh that forum is a goldmine for specific info on this car.If you have still got the TVR you could use that? Back in 2014 we owned three cars, an Audi A8, a Merc ML and a TVR Chimaera. For most of December the only one reliably running every day was, yes, you guessed it, the TVR. The Audi had terminal electronic problems and the ML lost track of its crankshaft position. TVRs are so much less complicated than all this modern German stuff.
Chimaera was sold a while ago and the Saab is my first toe in the water since then. The TVR never once properly broke down in my two years with it so I do agree that, as you say, sometimes simple is best.
The Saab will be back on my drive in about 30 minutes having been recovered from very near the Scottish border so tomorrow will herald my first go at tinkering with it and trying to get it back on the road.
Guess who's back again. That's right, thanks to Tony at Doncaster Saab, my Stage 3+ Aero is back on the road!
£2k later and its back up and running! Here's a little breakdown of what state the car is in:
Seeing as this engine is now good for 500bhp, more power mods may be in store down the line!
£2k later and its back up and running! Here's a little breakdown of what state the car is in:
- Machined and refreshed B235R block and head
- Refreshed pistons, rods and crank from a B234R
- DO88 Intercooler and delivery piping
- 3inch downpipe from PartsForSaab
- Bosch 3.5bar FPR
- Noobtune Stage 3+ Map running 300hp and 450nm
Seeing as this engine is now good for 500bhp, more power mods may be in store down the line!
chazza114 said:
Guess who's back again. That's right, thanks to Tony at Doncaster Saab, my Stage 3+ Aero is back on the road!
£2k later and its back up and running! Here's a little breakdown of what state the car is in:
Seeing as this engine is now good for 500bhp, more power mods may be in store down the line!
Nice! I had a NOOB stage 3 9-5 that pulled 306bhp and 460nm and was at that state of tune for over 40k never missed a beat, really miss that car, i'm just hoping that I can find a nice one in Ohio when I emigrate in a couple of months.....£2k later and its back up and running! Here's a little breakdown of what state the car is in:
- Machined and refreshed B235R block and head
- Refreshed pistons, rods and crank from a B234R
- DO88 Intercooler and delivery piping
- 3inch downpipe from PartsForSaab
- Bosch 3.5bar FPR
- Noobtune Stage 3+ Map running 300hp and 450nm
Seeing as this engine is now good for 500bhp, more power mods may be in store down the line!
tdm34 said:
Nice! I had a NOOB stage 3 9-5 that pulled 306bhp and 460nm and was at that state of tune for over 40k never missed a beat, really miss that car, i'm just hoping that I can find a nice one in Ohio when I emigrate in a couple of months.....
Sounds like you need to buy a 2nd hand ECU and get Stage 3 map on it before you go abroad. That way you can take your power with you wherever you can find a nice car and the appropriate parts!Gassing Station | Saab | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff