Saab 9000 tuning tips

[obi_waynne]

Post up a short hello in here and tell us about yourself, your 9000 and what you have planned modification wise for it.

 

[tolcol]

Hi,
I just bought a black 9000 Aero (1994 180k) and wondered which mods would be best to start out.
It has a dump valve fitted and i was thinking of removing this as i have the original part and i dunno if i want everyone looking whenever i change gear (at high revs).
The engine is smooth and the suspension is fine but i hear that these cars have much potential for more power (not that it's slow!).
Also i want to change the dash as it's wood effect and i'd prefer black of carbon fibre.
Any thoughts??

 

[obi_waynne]

Hi Tolcol and welcome to TorqueCars. The 9000 aero is indeed capable of good things. I would agree with the removal of the dump valve as this does little for performance. Your best option for a mod will be to have a remap and this should give you another 30-60bhp.

Does yours have the Garrett T25 turbo or the Mitsubishi TD04? The T25 is better but Saab decided the autobox wouldnn't cope so stuck on the TD04 instead.

Have you found our Saab 9000 article at http://www.torquecars.com/saab/9000-tuning.php

The engine is high mileage so I would think about getting the compression tested to see if it is still in good condition.

In terms of interior styling I have seen some nice carbon fibre stick on panels. These are made from plastic so are raisedup and have a neat edge - this is much much better that the rolls of fake carbon fibre you can get. Ebay is probably the best place to loo for them.

 

[pitbullo89]

Hi i'm new to this. MY NAME IS SHAYE BY THE BUT CALL ME PITBULL. I Have a 93 9000cse turbo and i was wondering if anyone has done the swap TO THE NEW 3.OT THAT COMES IN THE 9-5. I AM IN SCHOOL FOR MECHANICS NOW BUT I WANT TO BE ABLE TO DO THIS SWAP IN MY DRIVEWAY. MY CAR IS A STICK SO I WANT TO KEEP IT THAT WAY BUT ADD SOME MORE POWER AND TORQUE IN TH BOTTOM END OF THE RPM RANGE. HAS ANYONE DONE THIS SWAP BEFORE AND/OR CAN IT BE DONE LET ME KNOW ALSO IS IT POSSIBLE TO MAKE IT TWIN TURBO ON THAT V6 THANX FOR THE HELP AND INFO

 

[obi_waynne]

Hi there Pitball and welcome to TorqueCars. The engine bay should certainly be big enough for the engine. I suspect that you will also need to get the gearbox from the 3.0T donor. I've not actually seen or heard about anyone doing this engine swap I'll do a bit of asking around for you though.

Failing this you will be the first. Check the engine mounts and driveshaft lengths to see if they match. (Engine mounts can be custom fabricated as can driveshafts but the whole job will be eaiser if the engine just sits in the bay properly.

 

[pitbullo89]

Thanx for the help. I will keep this site posted on how it goes, and if it will work. One question do you think i should get the whole front end of the car or just motor and trans and stuff?

 

[obi_waynne]

If you can get a whole car which has had a rear shunt you will be able to sell on lots of parts like the interior and will get a lot of the money back. That way if you need something else you have a stash of parts readily to hand.

Take lots of photos - I love to see work in progress reports.

 

[pitbullo89]

Ok i will it might take some time also because i want to build the motor first . I talking pistons bored out block balancing heads everything but i will keep photos on the site and let you know if i have to do any fabricating of mounts and stuff.

 

[obi_waynne]

Cheers Buddy I'd appreciate that a lot.

 

[pitbullo89]

No problem

 

[pitbullo89]

Does anyone know where i can find a 2.3 head for cheap i need to rebulid mine
thanx

 

[obi_waynne]

Heads for those are like hens teeth - is yours not servicable?

 

[pitbullo89]

Well i want to rebulid mine with biger and better parts

 

[pitbullo89]

And plus i need to be able to keep driving my car around while it is being done that is why i am trying to find another one

 

[obi_waynne]

I see now! You can then take your time on it and do a proper job.

I think you'd be better off getting a complete engine, doing a strip down and rebuild. If you get it blueprinted and balanced you'll have an awesome engine. I've asked around down here and tried the local breakers yards and they don't have anything in at the moment.

 

[pitbullo89]

do u know where i could find a cheap engine for my car in new jersey and how much also do u think a t3/t4 turbo would fit on my car ?

 

[c130fxr]

Hows it going everyone. My name is Aaron and I have a 94 9000 Aero which I acquired this past November. So far no major mods other than I just installed a 7in Panasonic CD/DVD in place of the factory system. Next mod for me is going to be a 3in turbo back JT exhuast which I should have in the next few weeks here.

 

[obi_waynne]

Keep us posted on the exhaust, i'd be interested to kow if the car feels quicker.

 

[pgarner]

Welcome to the site mate

 

[c130fxr]

Will do Waynne. Also I will try to post up some pics of the stereo install since i just finished my custom aluminum trim ring. Gonna be adding more custom aluminum and titanium trim to the car interior and exterior. I feel if the car was "Born from Jets" The plastic bits need to be replaced with material that goes in Jets.

 

[obi_waynne]

Coolio Thanks for that!

 

[c130fxr]

Well here is a quick pic of the stereo install will probably post more in the ICE section after this one.


The trim ring is 2024 T-3 aluminum with the cladding remove and a custom brushed finish applied.

 

[obi_waynne]

That looks very nice. You've done a good job there.

 

[c130fxr]

Thanks Waynne, well I have ordered my 3in Jt Superflow exhaust and it is on a slow freighter from Sweden. The ship time is going to be about three weeks. So until then I am on standby with the mods.

 

[MasterAuron]

De-cat too or just cat-back? You should see very good gains improving the exhaust side of things on a turbocharged car. Also, the faster you get the exhaust gases out, the less lag you should get. Consider changing the manifold, downpipe and turbo elbow (every elbow I've ever seen from a turbo car has been extremely restrictive) and lag or cermic coat as much as possible.

 

[c130fxr]

MA its gonna be a 3in from the turbo back no cat with the kit but I am putting in a magna-flow race cat when i have it welded up. This particular kit is the beginning to going above Stage 3 in the performance mods.

 

[MasterAuron]

Sounds awesome and a good start. I've never understood all this "Stage" tuning stuff, just a commercial phrase. What sort of mods are we looking at for a "Stage 3" build?

 

[obi_waynne]

Its one of those meaningless phrases but typically Stage 1 is a mild state of tune suitable for the road. You expect your standard service intervals and good reliability.

Stage 2 is a fast road setup where comfort is sacrificed a little for better handling. Service intervals are reduced and reliability is average.

Stage 3 I view as a full competition setup. Not really suitable for the road as the engine is tuned to the max for peak power. It will generally be lumpy at low rpm levels and will need regular attention/rebuilds.

Anyone else care to define the "stage X" tuning phrases? Am I being too harsh?

 

[c130fxr]

Depends on what you base stage tuning on. What you described I would say is more accurate for the cars as a whole ie motor trany suspension etc. With my saab I have found that it they do the stages just on engine performance and it goes well past stage 3. Maptun a Saab specialty company goes all the way to stage 7 :blink:. Pretty much it goes like this....

stage 1- cold air intake
stage 2- cai and aftermarket exhaust
stage 3- cai 3in exhaust and a ecu remap
stage 4- stage 3 with bigger injectors upgrade factory turbo componets
stage 5- bigger turbo etc...

as you can see the stage process just describe at what point in your build that you have reach since each stage builds upon the last. And by doing this reliability still stays pretty well intact. Just in case your curious my car is factory with 225 hp. Stage 3 should bring me in the neighborhood of 320 hp. Stage 7 brings you to 515hp more that double the factory setup and extremely hard to handle but fun!

 

[c130fxr]

Well I have an update. After a month of waiting for the exhaust it finally arrived from Sweden. All I have to say is the sound is AWESOME and the performance matches . Along with the 3in from the turbo back (no cat) I also installed a cold air intake (home built) which is made of Inconel a super alloy that disapates heat like crazy. Now to get a stage 3 tune for the ECU and I should be close to the 300 hp mark. I will try to upload some pics to my gallery later.