Saab 9-3 Aero

Heres mine

It's a 55 plate Saab 9-3 v6 Aero, ive had it just under 2 years now, haven't really touched it in the last 12 months but plan to get back at it this year (ive been a bit lazy compared to my old cars!)

Here it was the day I collected it, completely standard.

I dropped it off with the Saab garage same day for an oil change and fresh plugs ready for the remap booked for a couple days later

Interior is pretty nice with grey leather & light grey leather inserts, dash is bit plasticky tbh but still a nice place to sit.

Leagues ahead of my other Saabs for comfort & refinement.....but that Audio....terrible!! I've been in a few new shape 9-3's and all have sounded pretty bad. This has the full 13 speaker system and its still awful!

So the first job was an oil & filter change, fuel filter change and fit new plugs. I went for these NGK IridiumIX plugs as theyre recommended for the new map by JZW as standard plugs can throw a wobbly.

Also bought a BSR Optiflow intake kit which sounds like there's a DV fitted! Not to everyones tastes but really brings the v6 growl to life especially on start up. I like it anyway

A few days later I had it remapped, it's a JZW stage 1 'aggressive' map. You get 3 to upload via the obd2 port & laptop: 'Regular' 'aggressive' and 'revised' Should see 320bhp & 409ft/lbs 409 with the aggressive map and slightly more with the revised map but it's also a fair bit smoother and I prefer the slam you into the seat feeling. Power comes in nice and early and the extra torque over standard is pretty insane! Giggling like a school girl first time I floored it....and then the clutch slipped! More on that later

 

[Aerial Andy944]

Reminds me of the problems I had when modding my 944 turbo. Became a standing joke I had my own parking space at the garage, the car was there so much. It's all worth it when the car works perfectly though, keep going

 

[griffindai]

Yep

They had it for around 3 weeks in August to fit the suspension & stage 5 bits, and it will be almost 5 weeks this 'visit'!!

Dying to have it back now!!

 

[obi_waynne]

Any news yet?

 

[griffindai]

Any news yet?

Yep

Had the call Saturday, all done and should be ready to collect later today

Can't wait!! Been bang on 6 weeks!

 

[T9 man]

Yep

Had the call Saturday, all done and should be ready to collect later today

Can't wait!! Been bang on 6 weeks!

Marvellous news Dave

Be careful out there today young man, thick fog in many places so please drive carefully.

 

[griffindai]

Marvellous news Dave

Be careful out there today young man, thick fog in many places so please drive carefully.

Will do

I'll be babying it for 500 miles anyway mate, after all this hassle I'm taking it easy on the clutch!

 

[obi_waynne]

Awesome, enjoy!

 

[rdp50734]

500 mile road trip today then??

 

[griffindai]

SAAB's back home safe & sound.

Really impressed with the clutch (so far)

Pedal feels a little heavier than standard and had much more of a spring to it, got used to it quickly enough though so maybe it's settling down a bit? Didn't feel as bad after an hours drive. Clutch bites slightly lower but nothing major, slight chatter at idle/neutral but was expecting that going from dmf to smf (will upload a vid tomorrow)

Didn't expect the next bit though! This 6 paddle clutch is so easy to drive!! I can't feel any difference between this and the organic clutch in drivability, fine in heavy start/stop traffic, no issues reversing/edging into tight parking spots. So far so good but have only put 50 miles on it....450 to go then I'll see what this 18t can do Just have to resist temptation and go chasing other cars! This exhaust brings them all out to play!!

Quaife- Haven't really tried it out yet as I'm babying the car and sticking to this 500 mile break in so there's no comebacks of it does slip......but you can feel it working even driving normally, just feels better handling and tugs the car in tighter to the corner. First time I've driven with a LSD, can't wait to really open it up!!

Tomorrows job, swap map sensors and remap. Hopefully that'll cure the throttle cut

 

[Aerial Andy944]

Congratulations, sounds like it's all starting to come together. Getting those last niggling problems sorted will be very satisfying. Enjoy

 

[griffindai]

Congratulations, sounds like it's all starting to come together. Getting those last niggling problems sorted will be very satisfying. Enjoy

Getting there slowly!! I think if I'd had my old turbo rebuilt to 19 or 20T it would be all done now as its a proven set up here. I don't think anyone's gone for the insignia turbo plus 550's so the stage 5 map needs a bit of tweaking to suit. Sounds like they all run pretty similar so he just has to make a few changes to get it running nice

 

[griffindai]

3 bar map sensor now fitted and reflashed the ecu.

Took around 50/60 miles to adapt to the new tune, still getting some throttle cut (which the sensor should have eliminated straight away) so had another map to load with more base boost, that's running a little better but it's still here. I've got a feeling this actuators not up to the job, so pay day I'll be giving this a shot:

http://shop.mambatek.com/GM-OPEL-VE...justalbe-Turbo-Actuator-6Sprin-023-0162-1.htm

Excellent price considering it comes with the spring kit!!

Definitely heading in the right direction though! I've got around 240 miles left to put on the clutch until I can floor it and get a couple 3-6k logs done in 3rd. I've kept it under 4K for now....still pretty ballistic here though!

And this Quaife!!! Awesome bit of kit!!!

 

[T9 man]

Marvellous stuff

 

[griffindai]

Thanks Os

Just taking her back out now with HP Tuners plugged in to see how it all works, I'll send John a quick log of the throttle cut issue, maybe he can sort something to calm it down a bit more.

How's the beast going?

 

[griffindai]

Finally managed to get a few logs off to John so he can see what's causing the throttle cut & dumping boost early. Still trying to get my head around HP Tuners, I'll try and post a screen shot of the graph display when I figure it out!!

Basically it's boosting too high and knocking a fair bit, backfiring loads if you accelerate from 2k onwards in 3rd. Initially thought the coils could be on their way out or plugs need replacing (I think they've done around 9k in 2.5 years but he's recommended swapping them after 6k)

So John suggested a different way of driving it, not to load up too early in 3rd & 4th, 2k is way too low. 1st & 2nd no problem but 3rd plus gears needs to be driven a bit different.

3rd gear - don't go WOT until at least 3k
4th gear - don't go WOT until 3.4k
5th & 6th - never go WOT here as it puts too much stress on the engine/drivetrain & clutch so better to drop down and power through the gears instead.

And......he's 100% correct!!!! (I'll add what's been said later but worth a read if you've got the v6) just doing his has transformed the way it drives :shock:

So holding off going WOT until 3k has made a MASSIVE difference to things here! Same map, nothing altered except my driving style. No throttle cut, no boost dump, not a single backfire/pop (completely vanished) just accelerates like never before!!

60-90 in 3.3s!!!! To put that into perspective he's getting 60-90 in 3s with the 20T plus tubular headers and probably a more fine tuned map!!

Pretty impressed with that, I'll get a few more logs to him later, maybe he can tweak the map again and get it a tad quicker? 60-100 is 5 secs dead, pretty sure the 19/20T would cover 90-100 quicker as you get more top end power here, but the whole point of going for the 18t was to have a quick sub 80/90mph car.

So far so good!!

 

[griffindai]

New map loaded for tomorrow!! More fuel & even more mid range clout Dying to try this one out!!

I'm putting the actuator off another month, next purchase is a new set of plugs and coils (rear bank are a right pain to do so its a garage job)

 

[griffindai]

New maps going well, couple more logs sent so maybe even more to come here!!

New times:

60-90 3.09 secs
60-100 4.76 secs

Happy with that Just changing the driving style here has made a nice difference.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Impressive result

 

[griffindai]

Thanks mate, yeah happy with that!! Not far off my old GT30's times!!

Next big job is tackle the cooling side, bigger water rad, swap IC's (for a slightly thinner but wider/taller one) and a bigger oil cooler.

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Do you mean to say that you can never under any circumstances use WOT in 5/6th gears ?? . Gearbox not strong enough

 

[griffindai]

Yes fine to go WOT in all gears mate goes like a stabbed rat but need to roll into 5th from 4th, instead of just flooring it in 5th or 6th. I'll dig out the info he's sent.

 

[griffindai]

Found it

Will let you know how I run these cars. These motors do not like to be lugged. Lugging the motor is high manifold pressure and low rpm, like what you get in the higher gears like 5th or 6th at lower rpm like 2700rpm or something.

With the extra boost and power, you want to run the motor where its happy. Its actually much easier on the motor to run it from 3500-6500 than it is from 2500 to 5500rpm

First and second gear, nothing matters much, you can get on it no matter what rpm.

Third gear, I never do pulls below 3k, I like to be no lower than 3k before I go WOT in 3rd gear.

In 4th gear I am more careful, I will roll into the throttle and not go WOT below about 3400rpm.

I never do pulls in 5th or 6th ever, its too hard on the drive line, clutch, rod bearings and engine in general. I use 5th and 6th gear as over-drive for the most part. The only time I will use them is if I have wound out 3rd and 4th first, then its fine to shift to 5th and wind it to 6k and then to 6th. I will never be cruising on the highway in 6th gear and everything is nice and cool and then just nail it bam ! That is super hard on the engine, the rod bearings and the drive line, auto tranny or clutch. I almost am never in a spot where I cannot drop to 3rd and nail it and wind it out, then 4th, then 5th, then 6th.

If I am too fast for third, I will drop to 4th and roll into it and go WOT around 3400rpm.... Wind and shift :

If you drive the car this way, the engine will last much longer and the clutch will hold up much better and you will be less likely to get hesitation and bucking where the motor is not happy: Aka: Lugging the Motor : Run the engine where its happy and it will treat you much better

Plus your clutch will last much longer too !

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

That's exactly the way I drive

 

[T9 man]

That's exactly the way I drive

Same here, I have nothing to prove and I am fully aware of the Beast's capabilities. I leave all the fast driving and fancy footwork for the track days only

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

Same here, I have nothing to prove and I am fully aware of the Beast's capabilities. I leave all the fast driving and fancy footwork for the track days only

Same here

Track is the only safe place for unrestricted high speed driving as there are no x roads,pedestrians,animals,speed traps,oncoming traffic,drunks,etc and if you do not obey the rules and do something silly/dangerous you will be spoken to and possibly sent packing.

 

[griffindai]

New plugs (NGK LFR7AIX) and genuine Bosch coils ordered. I'm just swapping the rear bank coils over (look a right pain to swap!!) that gives me 3 working spare coils then to keep in the car in case any of the fronts pop! They're the weak spot on the tuned v6 so a good idea to keep them handy. Hopefully that'll cure any missfiring. I'll get these fitted after New Years, then it's off on the dyno to see what this 18t's getting!

Had a chance to upload a quick exhaust vid with some revs, can also see the 3 point subframe brace fitted and hear the clutch/flywheel chatter right at the end of the clip:

 

[T9 man]

Sounds lovely Dave

 

[griffindai]

Thanks Os, slowly getting there!! How's the beast?

 

[T9 man]

Marvellous thanks Dave, popped into Neo's on Monday and had new discs and pads fitted all round and a change of brake fluid, the old beast stops on a sixpence
Had a marvellous time there, coffee, shortbread, muffins, chocolates, what more can a VIP customer want?

 

[griffindai]

mmmmm.....chocolates!!

Are you going to the National in Pembre next year? For the first time in years I'm off work so I can make it

 

[T9 man]

I certainly am Dave, I am Chairman of the SOC GB board now so it would be a very poor show if I did not show
Will have to take off a little more time off from work considering the distance involved; but it should be a great one, everyone is working very hard behind the scenes to make sure that this National is a success

 

[griffindai]

I didn't realise that Os! Yeah probably a good idea to be there

I should really renew my SOC membership and start going to some meets. Dragon Saab usually meet a few miles away but I'm always away in London with work

 

[T9 man]

Please visit Dave, it has been far too long and would be great to finally have that catch up
Chris who runs the Dragon Saab is on the board too

 

[griffindai]

Definitely going to try and make this one mate, looking forward to seeing the beast again too!! I think you've done a fair bit since I saw it back in 2011!!

I'll take you out for a quick spin in this if we get a chance, should be done by August (he says!!)

 

[griffindai]

Cars booked in for the 2nd with South Wales Saab Specialists to fit the new plugs and swap the rear bank of coils over. I was going to DIY here but the rears look a pig to change and definitely scope here to damage something!!

Some pics of the coils, first time I've seen these in the flesh, had a surprise with the length on them!

These are the better '112' Bosch coils and less prone to failing on remapped cars, I'll change the last two '104' coils in a few months. Gives me 3 spare coils to keep in the car now!

Plugs are NGK LFR7AIX as recommended by JZW for his tunes, just need to be checked & gapped for 0.8mm

 

[griffindai]

Also looking at a simple exhaust mod to alter the sound a bit, basically the 9-3 Turbo X (or TX) has a slightly different system to the Aero (same 2.8t v6 engine but has the Hadlex 4wd and a few other changes)

Mine comes with a middle resonator then branches off into the 2 back boxes, the TX doesn't have the resonator and comes with a 'rumble box' just before it branches off. That gives it the distinctive exhaust note (if you haven't heard a TX yet try and have a listen, they sound really nice!!)

Aero system

Turbo X

So the plan here is just cut and weld the rumble box onto my system....and get the thing banging away on the over run

 

[T9 man]

Leave it alone Dave, you're system sounds great just as it is

 

[TCJBOLDIE]

V6 transverse motors are a PITA when it comes to the rear bank.

 

[griffindai]

Leave it alone Dave, you're system sounds great just as it is

Just needs a little less drone & a bit more of a bang Os I think he rumble box gives it a slight crackle

 

[griffindai]

V6 transverse motors are a PITA when it comes to the rear bank.

I was going to attempt it mate but had another look yesterday, you have to disconnect a load of electrical parts and access is pretty tight/awkward. Guarantee I'll break something expensive! At least with the Saab garage they've done loads now and it's only an hours labour.

I can do the fronts though