93 Areo Hot W reg Handling

[limee]

Just got this car very nice, But the thing will not go around bends the way i would like it to,It pushs wide around corners and just under steers like mad. Any one out there got any good ideas Thanks

[viggen114]

No simple answer to that one.
A list of questions for you first.
1. Standard or lowered springs
2. Has the steering rack bracket where it joins the bulkhead been 'done'
3. What state are the shockers in
4. has what is known as the Viggen Repair Kit been fitted
5. Poly bushes
6. Roll bars and bushes - are they standard or worn

In my opinion 2, 4, 1 are a must and the rest are is to suit a particular requirement.

Ian

[limee]

Thanks for the reply
1 standard springs
2 what bracket on the the rack
3 shock seem ok
4 what a viggen repair kit
5&6 i will have to check
Thanks for your time Tony

[900T-R]

limee said:

4 what a viggen repair kit

Abbott Racing's Viggen Rescue Kit, developed in response to the poor reception the 9-3 Viggen got on account of its wayward handling. The extra grunt of the 2.3 litre high output turbo engine served to highlight a few basic shortfalls of the Cavalier-derived GM900/9-3 platform, most notably lower wishbones divided in the middle by a rubber 'donut' bushing' for NVH purposes, causing insufficient wheel location under torque (driveline or brakes), and the steering rack (barely) being kept in place by clamping it to the bulkhead using a stamped sheetmetal bracket (older Saabs have it bolted firmly to the frame longitudinal beams). The VRK addresses both these issues, and adds a lower subframe brace. There have been several cheaper aftermarket copies of the steering rack brace, most notably from the now-defunct (at least, that's what it looks like) MP Performance in the USA.

After having got the basics right, you can really change the car's attitude from predominantly understeer to a more 'adjustable' behaviour with lift-oversteer available on demand, by fitting an uprated rear anti-roll bar.

[aerofoil]

I have recently fitted an uprated anti roll bar to my Aero Hot. (elk parts). Compared to the original saab item, it is massively stronger, (could bend original by hand!) and have pictures of both next to each other. It has definitely improved the cornering of the car. The back feels much toughter and it will change direction without any where near as much roll. I am still not impressed with the cars handling though. It does seem to lean heavily still round bends, maybe I am been overly negative as coming from a cerbera I guess anything will feel a bit weak, but my wife's sports KA is much. much better on the sharp corners. You don't seem to get at much of an issue as the speed increases, as the car tends to settle into bends much better, and fitting the role bar has seen me able to get at least another 5mph plus round by favourite slip road exit. I am tempted to look at harder springs on the car as I think these may give me what I'm looking for in terms of cornering, but don't want to make the car any more harsher over the rough stuff! Its a shame as the car is relatively quite light and should be easier to tame, it has ample power to see of most things, just when you get to the corners I feel a bit let down.

[limee]

Hi
I know what you mean i get out of nobles and then in to my saab it feels crap all round, under steers and then just push`s wide i`am going to fit the rack bracket, bottom arm brushs, And make the bar that fits between the chassis rails at the front,And then see how that is. I will post again when i have done it.
Tony

[Truckosaurus]

I fitted an Eibach ProKit (4x dampers and springs) to my old 9-5 and that transformed it. The ride/handling balance was superb. It was a decent price (£400-500?) from ElkParts but I believe they no longer sell it

The only downside was that combined with the 3" JT exhaust and downpipe it scraped over speedhumps.