What mods/tunning have you done to your Saab?
Discussion
Just for fun really. Also may provide good advice for newbies looking to tune there cars.
What tunning have you done to your Saab and what difference has it made? Who did you use and how would you rate them?
So I've got a 1999 Saab 9-3 2.0ltr LPT Convertible.
When I bought her I wanted this one as it was the best platform for the mods I had in mind and with the smaller turbo it would give faster spool-up for a more spirited red light thrash.
When I bought it in '08, she had covered 45k miles and had 3 owners totally un touched or tuned and in fantastic condition inside and out.
When I first drove her I was amazed at how sluggish she was and the turbo lag was an utter joke. Town driving was a 3rd gear affair and it annoyed me a lot. The handling was also very boatish with a lot of roll when cornering. She also suffered from torque steer.
So first mod was, a BSR Induction kit and heat sheild and a Forge atmospheric Dump valve.
This made a massive difference to the turbo lag and the intake/dump valve combo sound wicked.
next was clear side repeaters and a new set of alloys.
The bug bit and I decided that I needed to up the power and address the handling issue so;
Koni Adjustable shocks and 35mm lowering springs all round.
Steering rack brace and clamp.
Uprated 22mm rear anti-roll bar.
This made a massive change to the handling and totally got rid of the torque steer with the clamp and the ARB. The shocks I had set semi firm but to be honest it's bloody hard even on the lowest setting, but grip is brilliant.
This was then the base for the first power increase which was the Speedparts Stage 1 ecu (+73bhp/+127Nm) taking it from the standard (154bhp/219Nm) to (227bhp/346Nm).
This made a massive change to the car and it really made it quicker in all aspects especially off the mark.
This lasted for around 7 months then again the bug bit and as luck would have it the exhaust blew a tiny hole in it so I had an excuse to replace it with a full 3" SS system including race cat and 3" downpipe. I nearly died when this arrived it was and is massive! I then had to up the ecu to stage 3 which added (+91bhp/+139Nm) over standard taking her up to (245bhp/358Nm)- this was again a leap forward but still not where I plan on stopping.
I will say on a bad point that having the car lower with a stadard exhaust is fine but with the 3" system I can't go over speed bumps wihtout grounding out the middle box (it is as high as possible) and getting on and off my drive is now a problem. I have also hit the flexy on the downpipe when pulling on to a pub car park that dropped away. So lowering her is not great at times.
All tuning has been via Elkparts. They are really good guys and know there onions. The chasis stuff all came from Parts for Saabs and again they are good guys.
The bug hit again after a few beers last night (Oh I'm in the dog house) and I have bought a 2.5" air intake pipe which will increase air flow and and increase bhp
Next planned mods are a Quaife LSD, high flow Intercooler, green giant injectors and a 3bar fuel pump.
In the future (win lotto first) I plan to do a TD04 turbo conversion and get a nice 4 branch manifold
I would eventually like to hit around 350bhp and 500nm.
Oh and the breaks will be getting changed soon to as the stock ones are on the way out so drilled and grooved all round.
Would anyone recomend a performance break pad that is not to noisy or dusty?
Sorry for the long thread but I have man flu so I'm killing time.
All the best
Olly
What tunning have you done to your Saab and what difference has it made? Who did you use and how would you rate them?
So I've got a 1999 Saab 9-3 2.0ltr LPT Convertible.
When I bought her I wanted this one as it was the best platform for the mods I had in mind and with the smaller turbo it would give faster spool-up for a more spirited red light thrash.
When I bought it in '08, she had covered 45k miles and had 3 owners totally un touched or tuned and in fantastic condition inside and out.
When I first drove her I was amazed at how sluggish she was and the turbo lag was an utter joke. Town driving was a 3rd gear affair and it annoyed me a lot. The handling was also very boatish with a lot of roll when cornering. She also suffered from torque steer.
So first mod was, a BSR Induction kit and heat sheild and a Forge atmospheric Dump valve.
This made a massive difference to the turbo lag and the intake/dump valve combo sound wicked.
next was clear side repeaters and a new set of alloys.
The bug bit and I decided that I needed to up the power and address the handling issue so;
Koni Adjustable shocks and 35mm lowering springs all round.
Steering rack brace and clamp.
Uprated 22mm rear anti-roll bar.
This made a massive change to the handling and totally got rid of the torque steer with the clamp and the ARB. The shocks I had set semi firm but to be honest it's bloody hard even on the lowest setting, but grip is brilliant.
This was then the base for the first power increase which was the Speedparts Stage 1 ecu (+73bhp/+127Nm) taking it from the standard (154bhp/219Nm) to (227bhp/346Nm).
This made a massive change to the car and it really made it quicker in all aspects especially off the mark.
This lasted for around 7 months then again the bug bit and as luck would have it the exhaust blew a tiny hole in it so I had an excuse to replace it with a full 3" SS system including race cat and 3" downpipe. I nearly died when this arrived it was and is massive! I then had to up the ecu to stage 3 which added (+91bhp/+139Nm) over standard taking her up to (245bhp/358Nm)- this was again a leap forward but still not where I plan on stopping.
I will say on a bad point that having the car lower with a stadard exhaust is fine but with the 3" system I can't go over speed bumps wihtout grounding out the middle box (it is as high as possible) and getting on and off my drive is now a problem. I have also hit the flexy on the downpipe when pulling on to a pub car park that dropped away. So lowering her is not great at times.
All tuning has been via Elkparts. They are really good guys and know there onions. The chasis stuff all came from Parts for Saabs and again they are good guys.
The bug hit again after a few beers last night (Oh I'm in the dog house) and I have bought a 2.5" air intake pipe which will increase air flow and and increase bhp
Next planned mods are a Quaife LSD, high flow Intercooler, green giant injectors and a 3bar fuel pump.
In the future (win lotto first) I plan to do a TD04 turbo conversion and get a nice 4 branch manifold
I would eventually like to hit around 350bhp and 500nm.
Oh and the breaks will be getting changed soon to as the stock ones are on the way out so drilled and grooved all round.
Would anyone recomend a performance break pad that is not to noisy or dusty?
Sorry for the long thread but I have man flu so I'm killing time.
All the best
Olly
Edited by Ollyc on Tuesday 3rd August 13:25
Wow my LPT is bog standard, it does have magic tree, do that count? 
I'm suprised that you said you thought it was laggy in standard spec. Maybe I'm just used the massive lag on my Subaru Forester (also a TD04 btw).
Does it sound any better now you've had the exhaust done? I always thought they sound a bit harsh when reved
PS don't get drilled disc. They will crack. A good grooved set will be just as good.
I'm suprised that you said you thought it was laggy in standard spec. Maybe I'm just used the massive lag on my Subaru Forester (also a TD04 btw).
Does it sound any better now you've had the exhaust done? I always thought they sound a bit harsh when reved
PS don't get drilled disc. They will crack. A good grooved set will be just as good.
Edited by markCSC on Wednesday 4th August 15:52
markCSC said:
it does have magic tree, do that count?
Hell yeah. Thats more magic tree than my LPT. lol.In regards to the noise I honestly thought it was going to be loud but she just has a nice burble now, when you take her high up the the revs she obviously gets noisy but in a deepa nd meaningful way. That combined with the dump valve and induction kit sounds brilliant.
If I was to compare the (sorry) racket of scoobies and that ilk that are noisy and pointless this has a powerful more soulful sound and when I drive I am very sedate so most of the time it goes very un noticed by the world. Only now and then do I let her really open up and then it comes together in a brilliant sound. especially with the roof down!
I'll have a look at various disc / brake pad combos. Cheers for the heads up. I had an MR2 many moons ago and whent the drilled and grooved route and it stopped faster than it accelerated!
I do at some point want to upgrade the flexy lines to a braided set at some point though as that should improve feel a bit.
MonkeyBusiness said:
My 9-3 TiD 150 has been remapped by Celtic Tuning.
Transformed the car and I'm pleased I did it.
The remapping really is pound-for-pound the best mod on the market. How do you find the fuel mpg now?Transformed the car and I'm pleased I did it.
Mine has improved on town driving from est 21mpg to 27mpg and on longer motorway miles from est 32mpg to a healthy 39.9mpg I even got it on the SID to go to 43mpg on one run to Scotland last year!
Ollyc said:
The remapping really is pound-for-pound the best mod on the market. How do you find the fuel mpg now?
Mine has improved on town driving from est 21mpg to 27mpg and on longer motorway miles from est 32mpg to a healthy 39.9mpg I even got it on the SID to go to 43mpg on one run to Scotland last year!
My daily round trip is only 10 miles (shouldn't have bought a diesel really) but I'm averaging 37. Long runs are 45ish, even had it upto 60mpg according to the SID once.Mine has improved on town driving from est 21mpg to 27mpg and on longer motorway miles from est 32mpg to a healthy 39.9mpg I even got it on the SID to go to 43mpg on one run to Scotland last year!
Strangely I find myself driving slower since the remap. I suppose I know the power is on tap if needed.
MonkeyBusiness said:
Strangely I find myself driving slower since the remap. I suppose I know the power is on tap if needed.
You know I have found the exact same thing. I have never been one for hooning everywhere or for long periods on any journey. I like the odd blast. I haqve a couple of Bikes and in reality the power of them will always outrun a car so when I've been spoiled with them the enjoyment of beasting the car is a little dull. lol.But the best thing about the Saab in my opinion is that most people have no idea that she is pretty rapid and the amusment factor of showing up some newer/pricier/bigger machines is always well and truely worth every penny. As from the outside she looks stock standard bar the alloys and the slightly lower stance.
But I totally agree I think I drove her faster before I did any tuning than I do since starting. I think this may also be due to if I know want to increase spped I just push the 'loud button' before it was almost always a 'drop a cog' moment and boot it which I thought was a bit of a poor show.
My 2002 9-5 Aero estate is fully tuned by Hirsch, Abbott and Elkparts with 320 brake on 18" OZ Alloys and Toyo Proxes, as on my TVR. Its absolutely fantastic on the Autobahns here in Germany.
Brake Pads: I use Red Dot on my TVR and they are great, but my Saab has Mintex fitted at the mo.
Regards
Mark
Brake Pads: I use Red Dot on my TVR and they are great, but my Saab has Mintex fitted at the mo.
Regards
Mark
Sounds good I'm in the middle of a buying frenzy and and I've just bought my front discs (sorry) I went with the drilled and grooved discs and I've yet to place my pad order but I'm hovering between EBC redstuff and EBC greenstuff pads. I think the red ones will win out. The others I nearly went for where BlackDiamond but I'd never heard anything about them.
Sounds good fun with the autobahn. Would love to know what mine would do. Never been past 70mph here in the uk
Sounds good fun with the autobahn. Would love to know what mine would do. Never been past 70mph here in the uk
With regards to brake pads, I wouldn't go with EBC. Green stuff will not be up to the job and a lot of people (including me) have had bad experience with Red Stuff (do a search on here). I had them on the Scoob and there was no pedal feel when cold. When hot they were fine, but they very rarely got that hot in normal driving. Also they wore down really quickly.
I'd be tempted by Ferodo DS2500 pads. I was going to buy a set for the Scoob after reading loads of good reviews but went with some (cheaper) Godspeed pads (Subaru specific).
The Saab is on the same OEM pads as when I bought it a few years ago. Don't do much braking as it just goes up and down the A14
The Saab is on the same OEM pads as when I bought it a few years ago. Don't do much braking as it just goes up and down the A14
Edited by markCSC on Monday 9th August 10:34
My 2002 9-3 Aero Convertible Auto has had the following:
Stage 3 MapTun conversion - ECU/3" Exhaust+sports cat/Free-flow air filter - change from 205bhp/270Nm to 270bhp/370Nm
22mm rear anti-roll bar
(Work was done by APL Saab)
Because it's a "slush box" I can't take torque beyong 400Nm anyway, so I think it won't be modded further.
The mods have had the following effect:
Overall the car is much faster generally, but the increase in torque has been the thing I've noticed most...
The rear anti-roll bar change has reduced torque steer dramatically and also flattened out cornering...
Stage 3 MapTun conversion - ECU/3" Exhaust+sports cat/Free-flow air filter - change from 205bhp/270Nm to 270bhp/370Nm
22mm rear anti-roll bar
(Work was done by APL Saab)
Because it's a "slush box" I can't take torque beyong 400Nm anyway, so I think it won't be modded further.
The mods have had the following effect:
Overall the car is much faster generally, but the increase in torque has been the thing I've noticed most...
The rear anti-roll bar change has reduced torque steer dramatically and also flattened out cornering...
markCSC said:
With regards to brake pads, I wouldn't go with EBC. Green stuff will not be up to the job and a lot of people (including me) have had bad experience with Red Stuff (do a search on here). I had them on the Scoob and there was no pedal feel when cold. When hot they were fine, but they very rarely got that hot in normal driving. Also they wore down really quickly.
Yellow stuff are suitable and will work on the road and track. They are half the price of ds2500 and just as good.Well ended up going with Mintex pads as they where good last time I used them with these discs on my old MR2.
SO
The 2.5" intake pipe. When I got it I was suprised how big it realy is. When changing it with the OE part it shows just how restrictive the OE part is and how roughly cast the actual bend on the OE is also.
Now as I always do when putting on a new toy, I took her for a run to get a feel of the 'normal' and then again after fitting me 'toy'.
WOW
It hasnt given loads of power or any outright grunt what, I feel it has done is, smoothed the rev range from idle to red line. It rockets in all 5 gears now and standing starts are even more fun. I always felt a few flat spots but this has elliminated them to a fair degree.
I'll get a few pics up later for your approval
Next plan will be to replace the intercooler as you can feel it almost charge/discharge when really hammered. So a new IC will be bought before the year is out. and will I hope sort out my modding for the year at least.
Now just need to get my arse out and do the front brakes and for now job done.
SO
The 2.5" intake pipe. When I got it I was suprised how big it realy is. When changing it with the OE part it shows just how restrictive the OE part is and how roughly cast the actual bend on the OE is also.
Now as I always do when putting on a new toy, I took her for a run to get a feel of the 'normal' and then again after fitting me 'toy'.
WOW
It hasnt given loads of power or any outright grunt what, I feel it has done is, smoothed the rev range from idle to red line. It rockets in all 5 gears now and standing starts are even more fun. I always felt a few flat spots but this has elliminated them to a fair degree.
I'll get a few pics up later for your approval
Next plan will be to replace the intercooler as you can feel it almost charge/discharge when really hammered. So a new IC will be bought before the year is out. and will I hope sort out my modding for the year at least.
Now just need to get my arse out and do the front brakes and for now job done.
My Aero has....
Full Abbott 3" DP & System
2.5" Intake
Speedparts Filter
Forge BOV
ECUpRoject Stg3 Re-Map by Mackan @ 290bhp
Lowered coils & gas dampers.
22mm SAS Arb
BlackDiamond discs and EBC redstuff, and to be honest they are crap !
The redstuff are hard on discs, and have no feel about them at all. On a trackday they would fare well, but for day to day use Mintex 1144s or Greenstuff offer better round the doors braking.
Ive got lots more mods, most of which I cannot remember.
My 2001 95 2.0LPT has the official SAAB tuning kit ECU fitted so now 185bhp from 150bhp - it made the car so much nicer to drive, way more torquey, smoother and better on fuel. The list price was something daft like £1200 but I found some at a clearance of £399.
All this talk of tuning - where do you boys go for insurance? Mine is currently via Highway because of the mod but it has gone up 20% this year and that ECU is costing me a lot! (Full no claims, no points touches wood)
All this talk of tuning - where do you boys go for insurance? Mine is currently via Highway because of the mod but it has gone up 20% this year and that ECU is costing me a lot! (Full no claims, no points touches wood)
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