Discussion
Hi
Yes I have one, an 09 Aero Sportswagon.
Book says 48 average mpg, I get about 46 including a lot on motorway driving.
Slightly later models (about 59 plate onwards), Saab did something to reduce the CO2 hence lower road tax bracket, which also increased the mpg without effecting the 180BHP. I have no experience of the mpg's with the later model in terms of if it is achievable.
Tyres, no sadly not as earlier reply. I have 2 Saab's, an 05 Aero ragtop on 17" rims, tyres about £120 each, my 09 180 TTid is on 18" and cost about £180 each (for the same Conti 3 tyres!). What Saab have done is put the TTid on the same profile as the 17" (45), but in an 18" version, not a very popular tyre, hence the price. Most other cars when running 18" go with a 40 profile.
Overall not a bad car!
Yes I have one, an 09 Aero Sportswagon.
Book says 48 average mpg, I get about 46 including a lot on motorway driving.
Slightly later models (about 59 plate onwards), Saab did something to reduce the CO2 hence lower road tax bracket, which also increased the mpg without effecting the 180BHP. I have no experience of the mpg's with the later model in terms of if it is achievable.
Tyres, no sadly not as earlier reply. I have 2 Saab's, an 05 Aero ragtop on 17" rims, tyres about £120 each, my 09 180 TTid is on 18" and cost about £180 each (for the same Conti 3 tyres!). What Saab have done is put the TTid on the same profile as the 17" (45), but in an 18" version, not a very popular tyre, hence the price. Most other cars when running 18" go with a 40 profile.
Overall not a bad car!
Personally I'd avoid the following tyre brands on the SAAB as well:
> Hankook
> Continental
> Fulda
The car's heavy, and they're soft as butter.
Michellin Primacy Sports, £125 a corner, I'm seeing 20k miles before they're FUBAR.
Could've pushed that to 25-30 with "swapping F&R"
MPG wise, glad to see it's not just mine that's down on book. But I'm really happy with the car.
If more BHP or MPG are your thing, re-maps are plentiful as the engine is the GM/Fiat jobby, so 200BHP and oodles more torque is easily come by.
Also worth considering if it's a keeper, as mine is..... Standard exhaust systems are quite restrictive and quite expensive.
Mine's on it's original system at 6years old and 86,000 miles.
Looking at it, it should see another year/20k miles before scrapping.
At which point the whole lot shall be going stainless. HIRSCH do a system, but it's not cheap, I've got a company in Sheffield who can make the same quality system for 1/2 the money.
Consumeables: brakes - Again, if a keeper, KwikFits "brakes for life" deal worked well for me. £180 for pads
but I'm getting a set yearly on that deal. Courtesy of the offer they had.
If you drive it hard, look in to Pagid and EBC as they'll last far better and last longer.
Don't know about the new gen 9-3s, but those same era as mine, the head lights are utter s
te. So choose one with HID/Xenons as OEM
> Hankook
> Continental
> Fulda
The car's heavy, and they're soft as butter.
Michellin Primacy Sports, £125 a corner, I'm seeing 20k miles before they're FUBAR.
Could've pushed that to 25-30 with "swapping F&R"
MPG wise, glad to see it's not just mine that's down on book. But I'm really happy with the car.
If more BHP or MPG are your thing, re-maps are plentiful as the engine is the GM/Fiat jobby, so 200BHP and oodles more torque is easily come by.
Also worth considering if it's a keeper, as mine is..... Standard exhaust systems are quite restrictive and quite expensive.
Mine's on it's original system at 6years old and 86,000 miles.
Looking at it, it should see another year/20k miles before scrapping.
At which point the whole lot shall be going stainless. HIRSCH do a system, but it's not cheap, I've got a company in Sheffield who can make the same quality system for 1/2 the money.
Consumeables: brakes - Again, if a keeper, KwikFits "brakes for life" deal worked well for me. £180 for pads
but I'm getting a set yearly on that deal. Courtesy of the offer they had.If you drive it hard, look in to Pagid and EBC as they'll last far better and last longer.
Don't know about the new gen 9-3s, but those same era as mine, the head lights are utter s
te. So choose one with HID/Xenons as OEM John D9395 said:
Hi
Yes I have one, an 09 Aero Sportswagon.
Book says 48 average mpg, I get about 46 including a lot on motorway driving.
Slightly later models (about 59 plate onwards), Saab did something to reduce the CO2 hence lower road tax bracket, which also increased the mpg without effecting the 180BHP. I have no experience of the mpg's with the later model in terms of if it is achievable.
Tyres, no sadly not as earlier reply. I have 2 Saab's, an 05 Aero ragtop on 17" rims, tyres about £120 each, my 09 180 TTid is on 18" and cost about £180 each (for the same Conti 3 tyres!). What Saab have done is put the TTid on the same profile as the 17" (45), but in an 18" version, not a very popular tyre, hence the price. Most other cars when running 18" go with a 40 profile.
Overall not a bad car!
This is interesting! I'm in this predicament at the moment.. I'm driving a 2.8T with the same 18's as yours. The 225/45/18 is a very rare tyre, also not cheap!!! A 225/40/18 are easily 30/40 a corner cheaper...Yes I have one, an 09 Aero Sportswagon.
Book says 48 average mpg, I get about 46 including a lot on motorway driving.
Slightly later models (about 59 plate onwards), Saab did something to reduce the CO2 hence lower road tax bracket, which also increased the mpg without effecting the 180BHP. I have no experience of the mpg's with the later model in terms of if it is achievable.
Tyres, no sadly not as earlier reply. I have 2 Saab's, an 05 Aero ragtop on 17" rims, tyres about £120 each, my 09 180 TTid is on 18" and cost about £180 each (for the same Conti 3 tyres!). What Saab have done is put the TTid on the same profile as the 17" (45), but in an 18" version, not a very popular tyre, hence the price. Most other cars when running 18" go with a 40 profile.
Overall not a bad car!
I was considering using a 235/40/18 but a 235 really needs a 8inch rim whereas ours are 7.5.. So that leaves me with 225/40/18's
I wonder what the difference is in rolling radius compared to the standard wheel/tyre size of 225/45/17?
I was slightly concerned the wheel tyre combo would look lost in the arches with the lower profile tyre, but the standard 17's don't.
I have one of these, a 2008 Auto bought as an ex demo at 9 months old. Had it for 3 years now. Really nice car, very comfortable, decent amount of power and pretty quick. Not had any reliability problems with mine.
Would definitely recommend one, especially now Saab prices are much lower.
Only ever got close to 50mpg occasionally on the motorway though.
Would definitely recommend one, especially now Saab prices are much lower.
Only ever got close to 50mpg occasionally on the motorway though.
Phil, watch out with your tyre sizing.
You seem to be comparing your car tyre size to a 17", but it is my understanding that your car (and mine) ECU will be set up for 18" 45 profile, which means that if you go for the 18" 40 profile the diameter will be smaller than the 45's, which will mean that your indicated speed will read lower (not always a bad thing with the speed camera's?)than your actual road speed.
Also the ride will be much harsher which is not always a good thing?
You seem to be comparing your car tyre size to a 17", but it is my understanding that your car (and mine) ECU will be set up for 18" 45 profile, which means that if you go for the 18" 40 profile the diameter will be smaller than the 45's, which will mean that your indicated speed will read lower (not always a bad thing with the speed camera's?)than your actual road speed.
Also the ride will be much harsher which is not always a good thing?
Yeah.. I've just been thinking about it.
My only other option would be a 235/40/18. The sidewall will be very very similar so shouldn't affect the ride. The diameter is as close as makes no difference. The only issue going down that road is 235's are probably too wide for a 7.5" rim!
Very annoying.. The range of 225/45/18 tyres is dreadful.
My only other option would be a 235/40/18. The sidewall will be very very similar so shouldn't affect the ride. The diameter is as close as makes no difference. The only issue going down that road is 235's are probably too wide for a 7.5" rim!
Very annoying.. The range of 225/45/18 tyres is dreadful.
Yeh, I agree, Saab when specifying the 225/45/18, did not have the customers wallet's in mind at the time!
I did get my facts back to front in the earlier post. If you put 40 profiles on as apposed to 45's, the circumference would be smaller, resulting in more revolutions of the wheel to complete each mile, resulting in your indicated speed been higher than your actual speed, plus you will clock up more miles.
I haven't got the calculator out to put facts / numbers to the theory, I just thought it best to correct my mistake in the theory before someone else corrected it for me!
Another point, not sure where you stand on insurance if you put a different tyre on to the manufacturers spec, i.e. if you fitted 235's instead of the specified 225's. Insurance companies will always look for an excuse not to pay!
I did get my facts back to front in the earlier post. If you put 40 profiles on as apposed to 45's, the circumference would be smaller, resulting in more revolutions of the wheel to complete each mile, resulting in your indicated speed been higher than your actual speed, plus you will clock up more miles.
I haven't got the calculator out to put facts / numbers to the theory, I just thought it best to correct my mistake in the theory before someone else corrected it for me!
Another point, not sure where you stand on insurance if you put a different tyre on to the manufacturers spec, i.e. if you fitted 235's instead of the specified 225's. Insurance companies will always look for an excuse not to pay!
The 235/40's are still 2.5% smaller than standard.. More than I initially thought. I'll just stick with what Saab intended.
It isn't so much the price. More the limited range to choose from. I fancied trying Goodyear Assemetric 2's or the Ultrac Centos. Both not available in my size! :-(
It isn't so much the price. More the limited range to choose from. I fancied trying Goodyear Assemetric 2's or the Ultrac Centos. Both not available in my size! :-(
Hi All
I was reading this thread as i'm looking at the 9-3 Aero TTid also.
As for tyres,according to Black circles, you haven't got too bad choice. Admit they aren't cheap, but i would consider the Falken at £137 each. I have these on a Lotus Carlton and they handle great. Not sure how long they will last though, 20k might be about right.
I was reading this thread as i'm looking at the 9-3 Aero TTid also.
As for tyres,according to Black circles, you haven't got too bad choice. Admit they aren't cheap, but i would consider the Falken at £137 each. I have these on a Lotus Carlton and they handle great. Not sure how long they will last though, 20k might be about right.
jinkster said:
Suprised the head lights are poor as half of the year in Sweden it's dark! Does anyone use winter tyres on the 9-3? Is it generally good in snow?
Standard lights are crap. I was told by a SAAB dealer that it's as 99% of people spec the XENON ones, not the standard crap.Tyres - mine's on 17s. shocking in snow and ice. Just really, really, doesn't like it. Disable TC etc and then you can get on a bit better, but if doing serious winter driving, steelies and narrower winter tyres with some profile are the way to go
As for snow driving, this was up in Buxton last week, I went past 3 struck 4x4's and a stuck snow plough.
I my opinion the Saab was awesome in the snow.
All the vehicles in front are stuck, I went round all of them.
As for MPG, mine is a TID 150 with a remap to around 185bhp. On a steady motorway run at 70mph I can see Low 70's average.
I my opinion the Saab was awesome in the snow.
All the vehicles in front are stuck, I went round all of them.
As for MPG, mine is a TID 150 with a remap to around 185bhp. On a steady motorway run at 70mph I can see Low 70's average.
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