just saying hello
Discussion
Just introducing myself and my blach 900t16s. Have spent lots of money and time on the car, and am looking at replacing the dampers and bushes next. I think I might go with the standard sachs saab set-up as it seems good value. Has anyone here uprated there classic 900 suspension, and do youthink it was worth it over standard?
Regards
Regards
Hi Olly 
Another black T16S here - in fact our cars met as I seem to recall buying a set of wheels off you
Had my suspension sorted just over a year ago - went for Kilen springs (-25mm) and Bilstein shocks.
The result is a totally transformed car out on the open road. Sticks and handles very nicely, and inspires a lot of confidence. Feels much more planted. (Mind you my old shocks were knackered!)
However... it is quite a hard ride (and it's quite hard to start with!) and round London's potholed roads it can be a bit jarring. Other problem was with my standard exhaust the front cat replacement box used to scrape every speed bump going.
In my case fitting a JT 3" exhaust (no front box and actually sits slightly higher than standard) has made the car much more driveable on a daily basis.
Something else to be aware of - you may well get rubbing on the rear wheels with the 16". Common opinion seems to be that 195 section rear tyres are fine with 16" wheels and a few mm lowering, but I still get some rub with loads in the back or road compressions. Nothing too serious though. 205s were too much on my car.
So definitely a good addition to the car although it might be a *tad* too compromised for everyday use around town....
>> Edited by nicecupoftea on Friday 28th April 20:26
Another black T16S here - in fact our cars met as I seem to recall buying a set of wheels off you
Had my suspension sorted just over a year ago - went for Kilen springs (-25mm) and Bilstein shocks.
The result is a totally transformed car out on the open road. Sticks and handles very nicely, and inspires a lot of confidence. Feels much more planted. (Mind you my old shocks were knackered!)
However... it is quite a hard ride (and it's quite hard to start with!) and round London's potholed roads it can be a bit jarring. Other problem was with my standard exhaust the front cat replacement box used to scrape every speed bump going.
In my case fitting a JT 3" exhaust (no front box and actually sits slightly higher than standard) has made the car much more driveable on a daily basis.
Something else to be aware of - you may well get rubbing on the rear wheels with the 16". Common opinion seems to be that 195 section rear tyres are fine with 16" wheels and a few mm lowering, but I still get some rub with loads in the back or road compressions. Nothing too serious though. 205s were too much on my car.
So definitely a good addition to the car although it might be a *tad* too compromised for everyday use around town....
>> Edited by nicecupoftea on Friday 28th April 20:26
Thanks for the replies, chaps.
Not after anything too harsh, as the car is being passed onto my sister soon... (might be getting a TVR, but cant bring myself to sell the saab!) I think I'll go for the standard set up; as you said its fairly stiff as standard, plus mine has stiffer 40mm lowered springs already. I'm sure standard replacement shocks will be a revelation after 160k anyway!
Nicecupoftea, your car looks really good with those wheels; they do seem to finish off the t16s a treat. Did you get them refurbished in the end?
Olly
Not after anything too harsh, as the car is being passed onto my sister soon... (might be getting a TVR, but cant bring myself to sell the saab!) I think I'll go for the standard set up; as you said its fairly stiff as standard, plus mine has stiffer 40mm lowered springs already. I'm sure standard replacement shocks will be a revelation after 160k anyway!
Nicecupoftea, your car looks really good with those wheels; they do seem to finish off the t16s a treat. Did you get them refurbished in the end?
Olly
Hello!
In that case, just change the shocks. What you need for this car are monotube gas-pressure shock absorbers - both Koni (Special aka the regular 'reds') and Bilstein (B6 Sport) fit that description and thus can be seen as a proper upgrade from the twntube gas filled OE (Sachs) units, although the price difference might be just a few tenners at worst. A good set of shocks will transform the ride/handling on the 900, and is thus heartily recommended. Other contributory factors to c900 handling are alignment (best for 'spirited' driving is about 1.5 deg negatvie camber, 2.25-2.75 deg positive castor and as little toe-in as you can dial in on the equipment without it being zero) and tyres (195/60/15 OE size holds no 'performance' options these days, 205/55 a bit too wide for the OE rims but would fit a 9000 15" wheel quite well, most tend to go for 16" at some point though) and if you're serious about the handling balance of your car, remove the front torsion ber in conjunction with the use of stiffer springs.
[Ah, I see there are already 16" Aeros on that car. Ignore the tyre bit then, and go for the stickiest compound you can find come replacemnt time. I'm running Toyo Trampio R1R road/track hybrids on Saabine, highly recommended if you can get and (legally) run them in the UK (only Japanese road certification on the R1R, the R888 is much more of a semi-slick so I'd think twice about using those in all weather conditions).
Oh, and I'll be getting a TVR somewhere down the line too, but I can't see it replacing the Saab!
>> Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 3rd May 08:03
In that case, just change the shocks. What you need for this car are monotube gas-pressure shock absorbers - both Koni (Special aka the regular 'reds') and Bilstein (B6 Sport) fit that description and thus can be seen as a proper upgrade from the twntube gas filled OE (Sachs) units, although the price difference might be just a few tenners at worst. A good set of shocks will transform the ride/handling on the 900, and is thus heartily recommended. Other contributory factors to c900 handling are alignment (best for 'spirited' driving is about 1.5 deg negatvie camber, 2.25-2.75 deg positive castor and as little toe-in as you can dial in on the equipment without it being zero) and tyres (195/60/15 OE size holds no 'performance' options these days, 205/55 a bit too wide for the OE rims but would fit a 9000 15" wheel quite well, most tend to go for 16" at some point though) and if you're serious about the handling balance of your car, remove the front torsion ber in conjunction with the use of stiffer springs.
[Ah, I see there are already 16" Aeros on that car. Ignore the tyre bit then, and go for the stickiest compound you can find come replacemnt time. I'm running Toyo Trampio R1R road/track hybrids on Saabine, highly recommended if you can get and (legally) run them in the UK (only Japanese road certification on the R1R, the R888 is much more of a semi-slick so I'd think twice about using those in all weather conditions).
Oh, and I'll be getting a TVR somewhere down the line too, but I can't see it replacing the Saab!
>> Edited by 900T-R on Wednesday 3rd May 08:03
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