Hi all, newbie here

I'm located in the US and will get my 9-3 SS Vector this summer. It will be the 2.0t 210hp one. I'm very interested in tuning, and Hirsch seems to be one of the leading tuners. So I have following questions

1. Does Hirsch even sell in the US?
2. Is the 9-3 SS under their development? When can we expect to see final products?

TIA

1. Hirsch is the official tuner for Saab. You should be able to get Hirsch stuff through Saab dealers in the states. Have a look at www.saab.com (http://www.saab.com) on the USA site for info.

2. Yes - I believe that Hirsch are working on the 9-3SS. http://www.hirsch-performance.ch/index_e.htm

...and welcome to Saabscene, armaq http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif

Thanks John,

I emailed Hirsch regarding my questions, they just replied and the answer is no they don't offically offer anything in the US. In the email they even say that there shouldn't be anyone who is carrying their stuff in the US. Although they are the official tuner in Europe, I guess the US market is just too different to play with. But from their words I can tell that they really want to make it to here but right now they can't promise anything.

Oh yea they have "several" 9-3 SS projects going on but "the launch date for Europe is not set yet".

Argh it makes me miss my days in Europe so much...I went to school in England...

Welcome to Saabscene armaq

The following also tune Saabs and I believe ship worldwide (I think!)

www.abbottracing.com (http://www.abbottracing.com)
www.maptun.com (http://www.maptun.com)
www.speedparts.com (http://www.speedparts.com)

Don't know if they'll have 9-3ss upgrades available now, but they're certainly being worked on.

Though be wary of warranty issues with non dealer supplied parts.

There is only one Hirsch tuned USA model 9-3 at the moment.. and it's a previous generation trionic 5 car currently based out of the Ramstein Airforce Base in Germany.. and belongs to our fellow facilitator on the Turbo Team Europe part of the board.. blue99turbo.

thats it.

You say you have the 210hp 2.0t model vector ? - Are you sure it's 2.0t and not 2.0T ? In otherwords, is it the 175HP or indeed the 210HP model? Vector or Aero ?

IF its the 175HP Vector model - then there is an upgrade currently available from Abbott to take the car to 220HP - and that can be purchased in the USA. IF it's the 210HP model, then no one currently has a power upgrade for the car. For a review of that upgrade - visit - http://www.turboteameurope.com then surf to DRIVEN, then ABBOTT 9-3SS R3.

Several tuners are currently working on TRIONIC 8 upgrades for the 9-3SS, only Abbott have currently launched an upgrade (only 175HP to 220HP version), but I'm sure within the coming months more products will be available from the above tuners mentioned by Kevin.

Please do not be tempted to visit non-saab generic chip-tuners with this system... it's one of the most complicated car ECU systems available.. and very easy for a non-saab savvy hacker to screw up - big time.

Mark.

Thanks for all your inputs

I've read a couple of reviews of the Abbott R3, and it seems that they did a really good job. I'm especially happy to hear that their suspension setup not only lowers the car but also keeps good ride quality. I expect them to come up with even better stuff from the 210hp engine.

Also it seems to me that Abbott and Hirsch use the same wheels, the 18" 6 spoke speedline ones, which definitely look just right on Saabs.

Mark, I will have the US spec Vector. In the US we don't get Aero, a US spec Vector is the same as a Euro Aero. So I guess I will have to wait for a bit longer http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif http://www.saabscene.com/forum/images/smilies/fawlty.gif