[Samba_GS-R]

Hello all,

New here. I currently drive a 2003 Hyundai Tiburon GS-R V6. Bacically I have every NA engine mod, and full suspension. The car hadles great(full eibach prokit+ whiteline sways, and f/r STB's) and make 200whp NA(i/h/e,pulley,ignition,ported upper/lower IM, BBTB, S-afc, fidanza flywheel, spec stage 3 clutch,mounts). I am looking at getting something alittle more grown-up and practical though.I am considering puchasing a viggen in the next few weeks(betwwen viggen, and jag XJR). I want to know about first "needed" mods. I know a first should be a VRK. I also intend to add rear sway. What other suspesion mods(ie springs , struts, mounts) would you recomend?

As for engine performance, Looking for ECU, Turbo-back exhaust, intake, and possibly injectors and turbo.
All the items should be available to me in canada or US at most(not looking for over-seas shipping)

Basically looking for a car that ends up handling on par with my current setup, and about 300hp/300ft'lbs..Show me the light boys....

 

[James]

Hmmmm, you don't necessarily need the VRK. There's one particular 9-3 on these forums without it, but with a few other suspension mods, the handling of which has been consistently praised. But then there are others who swear by the VRK (or its various clones). Definitely consider the Eibach pro-kit, though.

As for the engine, how fast do you want to go? 300bhp is fairly easy from your B235R motor, although I sispect you might end up with a rather larger torque figure Others far more knowledgable than I will be along in a minute ...

Oh, and welcome to Saabscene

Cheers

James

 

[Samba_GS-R]

Thanks james..
Keep it comming boys,only lets up the figure to 300whp...tee hee...

oh one more thing, what was the first year for TCS on the viggen, having trouble finding that out.

 

[Vigge]

Originally posted by Samba_GS-R:
[qb]oh one more thing, what was the first year for TCS on the viggen, having trouble finding that out. [/qb][/b]

2001

 

[SenTineL]

I think if you're aiming for 300whp then the VRK is going to be a must. A standard Viggen has huge problems getting it's power down to the tarmac without any fuss even in a straight line, when you try getting on the power early when exiting a corner then things can get, er... interesting .

The first two changes I made were the VRK and uprated rear anti-roll bar, which made a huge difference to the balance of the car and kept it much more composed than the stock chassis. Putting some good tyres on will help with the lack of traction too. I opted for Bridgestone S-03's and have been very happy with them (except for the high wear rate

), but they are far from the only option available to you.

Springs and dampers are a less obvious choice because a lot comes down to the sort of feel/balance you prefer or are looking for. Two popular choices here seem to be either Eibach or Koni dampers. Unless you can get along to a local meet and try out cars with both then there's no easy way to tell which you'd prefer.

I'd borrowed a car for an afternoon with Koni's and Abbott springs and this was what I ended up going for. The great thing about the Koni setup is that they're adjustable - I've got the rear of the car running firmer to reduce squat under power.

Now you've got chassis sorted, you can start adding power and be able to use it .

Oh, welcome to Saabscene

 

[California Saab Tuner]

Engine wise a standard, or very near standard, Viggen will probably give you more

than you need anyway.

In the US most Viggens record between 212-214 whp and around 250-260 wheel lb-ft completely stock. With just an ECU and exhaust the figures jump to about 240-248 whp, and 280-310 wheel lb-ft.

Even the stock Viggen would benefit greatly from suspension. And if you're looking for practicality, big power mods on a Viggen aren't really necessary. At stock power it's already faster than most cars on the road when moving and in a straight line. But from a stop, or trying to power out of corners it has major traction issues.

The only mods I want to do right away to mine are ones that are designed to give it the power it normally has when it's cold out, also when it's warm. Bigger intercooler, ceramic coatings, water injection etc. Not really looking for a huge power increase.

Once I have it sorted power wise in all weather conditions, fixing the suspension and steering will make it much faster, without modding the engine parts. So that's the route I'll take. If I still feel like modding after that I'll get into serious power increases.

With a stock engine a Viggen will give the "300 hp" USDM STi a solid run for its money, and out accellerate an Evo 8 from a rolling start ... so really power is not a problem for this car.

Of course I don't want to diss the stock suspension too badly. When Road and Track tested the Viggen it posted a respectable .84 g's on the skidpad, on similar non-race compound tires the STi' only posted .88 g's. So it does go around corners quickly enough. It just needs major help putting the power down to the ground, and major help giving better driver feedback so that the car "feels" like a sportscar, rather than just going fast.

Dubbya~

 

[swintooh]

Samba asked so this is my tip:
1 Buy a Viggen
2 Install an Eibach Pro Kit
2.5 (Optional) Install an AP Racing brake kit
3. Install a Maptun Stage5 upgrade

Enjoy 350bhp 480Nm beast...

ONLY drawback: 2+3=~9000 dollars.

 

[potto]

At the risk of offending Viggen owners, another route is to buy a 9-5 Aero and enjoy the same engine but with a much better chassis. Just my 2p...

 

[California Saab Tuner]

Originally posted by fliptop:
[qb]At the risk of offending Viggen owners, another route is to buy a 9-5 Aero and enjoy the same engine but with a much better chassis. Just my 2p...          [/qb][/b]

While also enjoying the heavier car, and lighter wallet.

Aero is a mighty fine car too. But I reckon that for a sports can you intend to put some money into, you'd be better off with a 9-3. Once a VRK is fitted, bigger brakes, and some light engine mods, you'd have a very sporty and reasonbly lightweight car.

Not that I wouldn't mind an Aero.

Dubbya~

 

[swintooh]

What is the actual weight difference between 9-3 Viggen and 9-5 Aero sedan manual?

 

[California Saab Tuner]

The MY 2003 Aero is listed in the US at 3470 lbs for the manual ... my 2002 Viggen is listed at 3170. So an extra 300 lbs or so.

Also the TCS Viggens were a couple hundred pounds heavier. If you can get a 1999 Viggen, it was listed in the US at a cool 2900 lbs even. Lighter than my 1989 C900 turbo.

Maybe you Aero owners can just ask the guy with the Viggen to bring a couple of his friends. jk

Dubbya~

 

[swintooh]

Well 150kg is not a lot. Bearing in mind stock Aero has 144BHP per ton, Viggen is slower with 142BHP per ton, but with the same torque figure - 350Nm.
9-5 has a better chasis and is more practical.

I would also suggest a 9-5 Aero!

 

[philip hs]

Hi,

I drove both, a MY 2003 9-5 Aero Sedan (250 hp) and my MY 1999 9-3 Viggen Convertible (225 hp), and the 9-5 appeared to be much slower, especially acceleration above 220 kph.

My friend Kai has a MY 2003 9-5 Aero Waggon (250 hp), and when we switched car with my then 9-3 Viggen Maptun Stage III Convertible (252 hp according to dyno session) he said "oh my god, this is a beast".

This is just my 2 cents.

Yours,

Philip

 

[Samba_GS-R]

You guys have me thinking now. Used Aero's are cheap around here. I may look into this aswell. HOw is the auto transmission in the aero(the wife may need to drive from time to time)Does a 2000 or 2001 have TCS?

 

[James]

All 9-5 Aeros have TCS, afaik.

hth

James

 

[sgould]

But the 5 speed Aero automatics MY 2001 on can take more torque. Up to 2000 the auto box was 4 speed and the engine was torque limited in some gears at least. Probably still is limited in the 5 speed, but not as much.

 

[swintooh]

AFAIK 4 speed auto Aero has the same torque figure as later 5 speed one.
Oh, and if you want to push your car beyond 350Nm (380?) of torque - get the manual.
Torque is limited in the first two gears in autobox (no overboost too).

Having driven both (2000 2.3lpt auto (4 speed) and 2003 2.3lpt (5 speed)) I like mine (4 speed) better. Not at high speeds though (beyond 125mph) then the 5 speed shows it superiority.

 

[California Saab Tuner]

Originally posted by Adam 9-5 2.3t auto:
[qb]Well 150kg is not a lot. Bearing in mind stock Aero has 144BHP per ton, Viggen is slower with 142BHP per ton, but with the same torque figure - 350Nm.
9-5 has a better chasis and is more practical.

I would also suggest a 9-5 Aero! [/qb][/b]

I cannot speak for dyno results in an Aero, but my Viggen dyno'd at 213 wheel hp completely stock. It also got 251 wheel lb-ft. Unless the Aero also has underrated figures from the factory, that would put it a little above the Aero in both hp and torque, and would still weigh between 300-450 lbs less.

Besides that, if you're looking for a sports car, you can't get Aero's in a two door ... yet anyway.

Dubbya~

 

[James]

AFAIK the MO01-on 5-speed autos (thanks for reminding me, sgould ) do have overboost, it's just the earlier 4-speeders that don't. I think.

AdrianW, given that the B235R engine is common to both Aero and Viggen, if one believes that the Viggen's performance figures have been understated then it follows that the Aero's would have been too. Personally - and please don't take offence - I suspect the apparent understatement is more to do with the water you were spraying on your intercooler during your dyno run.

James

 

[California Saab Tuner]

Originally posted by James:
[qb] Personally - and please don't take offence - I suspect the apparent understatement is more to do with the water you were spraying on your intercooler during your dyno run. [/qb][/b]

It wasn't sprayed on every run, and I'm not the only person in the US to get similar numbers. In fact the highest run was the one where I didn't spray water on the intercooler or intake. My friend was the one who was supposed to do that, and he was busy behind the car listening to the exhaust on the final run, which netted the 213 whp readout.

BTW on that note, an exhaust is a good first mod for a Viggen. But, if legal, the catalyst is by far the largest restriction. Both of the Viggen's mufflers are quite well flowing, whereas both of the cats are not. At high RPM and high boost, even without any muffler at all, you only hear a loud whooshing noise, with little, if any, exhaust note.

Also I believe the Aero's use a slightly different computer module. For instance they use that overboost function, while the Viggen does not. The Viggen (in 3rd+ gears) runs more or less a constant 15 psi. I've never seen anyone with an Aero and a boost gauge to verify this overboost function, and to give a quantification for it. So I don't know how much more power it makes.

At any rate ... both cars are quite

and it really is going to depend on if you just want the extra "edge" of being lightweight and a two door, or the extra refinement of four doors and a "nicer" chassis.

Dubbya~

p.s. I'd rather have a two door Viggen, but with a VRK and some suspension mods you could have a four door Viggen that's lighter than the Aero, and also very useful if you like back doors. Not to everyone's taste, but worth mentioning.