[HSJrSaab9000]

Hello everyone. I just bought my first car and I chanced into a very clean gentally driven 1996 Saab 9000 CS. When I told a friend he laughed and asked if I was kidding. I've barely driven it, but I love it so much. I just need more power . I was wondering if, sence this site seems to be mainly British, you know any dependable performace parts that have croosed over to the States, and won't put a 16 year old a lot furthur (spell that wrong?) in dept than I all ready owe my father for the 9000? Thank you for any help you can give me.

 

[California Saab Tuner]

*further and debt*

I'm from the good ol US of A ... as are ERP and a few other members.

www.group9performance.com sels MapTun upgrades and http://www.genuinesaab.com/default.asp sell various upgrades for the 9000.

Most of the upgrades are pretty pricey. But well worth your time.

For about $650 you can get up to 235 hp and 296 lb-ft ... for about $1,500 you can get up to 248 hp and 308 lb-ft ... of if you DO decide to break the bank for $4,000 you can upgrade to 309 hp and 362 lb-ft + cost of speeding tickets and buss tickets (for when you lose your license) ...

Dubbya~

 

[James]

Welcome to Saabscene

Which engine does your CS have? That'll tell us what is and isn't possible from a tuning point of view.

Cheers

James

 

[California Saab Tuner]

I assumed it was the 200 bhp turbo. In the US I think that was the only 4 cyllinder in the CS ... could be a V6? If it's a V6 I dunno what'cha gonna do. Exhaust and intake presumably. Never see the power gains from the turbo.

Dubbya~

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

Sorry. I forgot tell you about the engine. It's the 2.3 I4 Turbo. I'm not sure if it's the 170 or the 200 hp version. My father said it didn't even feel like 170hp, but while looking through service reports they said the turbo wasn't running at full boost. The sugested remedy was replacing the stock turbo, which has close to 147,000 miles on it. Right now I'm just looking at bolt-ons or upgrading the cast-iron snail. Which do you suggest as a better choise. I can save up the money after I pay for my half of the car. I just want enough to get a little more pop off the line. That and beat the Civic's at my school that have only got axle-back exhaust and have taken out their spair tires to save weight.

 

[California Saab Tuner]

You'd hafta have something seriously wrong to lose to a nearly stock Civic in a Turbo 9000. If the turbo is knackered I suggest getting that ASAP. You can get a rebuilt one from TheSaabSite.com for like $600 or so. While it's off there are a few things you can do for free to get small bits of power. But I suggest waiting until you're ready to replace things before worrying about that.

Once everything is up and running like normal, the prices I gave earlier should apply. Since it's probably not the 170hp engine. Then you can really start making mean Honda-insulting power.

The 248 hp upgrade from Genuine Saab should make your Saab nearabouts as fast as my Viggen. (Give or take as it has between 250-260 hp) For some video reference ... that's about this fast:

(if you're gonna download, right click and save as, it's about 3MB)
http://www.geocities.com/atwareham/Fast.MOV

Enjoy!

Dubbya~

 

[StanleyB]

Welcome to SSc HSJrSAAB9000 .
One quick and dirty, I mean cheap, way of getting some more raw power is perhaps doing what a friend of mine did over the weekend on his 9000 (I helped him by the way

).
We fitted a MBC and cone airfilter. In your part of the world you would be looking at a DAWES MBC and a K&N airfilter. U$100 to U$150 or there abouts would not be a dishonest guess. Whilst not the safest of method to employ, the MBC route on a 2.3 will soon have you being chased by a few police cars. Assuming they can catch you in the first place .

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

I used the owners manual to read the VIN earlier, and I was saddened to see a U in the engine desegnation. So it is the 170 hp "low presure" engine. Is the low end the same as the one's in the 200 and 225 engine's and just a matter of turbo size? I stomped it at a stop light and felt like I was crawling. Would it be worth the money to buy a boost gauge to check to make sure the booster is working? I can feel the turbo at low speed, but at higher engine speeds I feel nothing. Could there be a leak on the turbo manifold?
Also the gauges like the speedometer and tack won't light up. I checked the fuse, because the right parking light wasn't working eighther and these two are on the same fuse, but the fuse wasn't blown. I replaced the light in the corner light and it works now, but not the gauges. Do I need to get a big Italian guy named Tony after the people who sold me this car or is this something easily fixed. I'm sick so I'm going to bed. G'night.

 

[Jezzadee]

Originally posted by HSJrSaab9000:
[qb]I can feel the turbo at low speed, but at higher engine speeds I feel nothing. Could there be a leak on the turbo manifold?
[/qb][/b]

Sounds like a typical LPT, but it's hard to tell without actually going in it. It should not feel really slow, but the LPT does have more power lower down which tails off after about 3500 RPM. I would think you have a vacuum leak somewhere, either a hose has popped off or one is split or punctured. As StanleyB says, putting an MBC on it will dramatically increase performance up to and beyond a Full Pressure Turbo, but you have to be careful with it. If you don't have one already, put in an intercooler before doing this. Have a look on www.townsendimports.com for a diagnosis of vacuum leaks. Ideally someone who knows LPT's should take a look at it to establish if it is running normally or not before you start turning up the power. I only know about 900 LPT's, but spent the first few months of ownership wondering if the turbo had been secretly removed in the night, for all the good it did. Now I've got an MBC and its

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

I don't want to sound like I'm from C.R.A.P. ( Committee to Resist Acronym Proliferation) but some of the acronyms confuse me. I'm taking LPT to mean low presure turbo, but MBC leaves me staring at my dog for answers.

 

[sgould]

HSJrsaab9000,

You need the Saabscene Glossary from here:
http://www.saabscene.co.uk/ubb/ultimatebb....2/t/000111.html

 

[FoeCom]

That and beat the Civic's at my school that have only got axle-back exhaust and have taken out their spair tires to save weight.  [/b]

Make sure to grab a camera to catch that "smoked by a 4 door sedan" look on their face on the way by, it's priceless.

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

My computer seems to not want to load the file, but I did find MBA, but I don't think you're telling me to upgrade my brakes to go faster. I found in a FAQ section how to fix the instrument panel lights, but it's all the lights so I don't think that will help.

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

MBC- Manual Boost Ctrl?
Is that it? This makes me feel like such a loser. I know tons about cars, but this Saab is completely foreign (sorry. I tried to think of something that didn't seem like a pun) to me. So many things that I've never heard of.

 

[timw]

Originally posted by HSJrSaab9000:
[qb]MBC- Manual Boost Ctrl?
Is that it? This makes me feel like such a loser. I know tons about cars, but this Saab is completely foreign (sorry. I tried to think of something that didn't seem like a pun) to me. So many things that I've never heard of.    [/qb][/b]

Join the "club". I've worked on plenty of non turbo (and non swedish) reasonably high performance vehicles over the years (at an amateur level) but I feel like a total ignoramous in this area.
BTW, I couldnt down load the glossary either - I dont think it is your computer.
Cheers and hang in there.

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

Thanks. It helps to know others are in the same situation. I found that one of the vacuum lines is broken and the site that I've been looking at for parts doesn't have the vacuum fitting in stock for my car, but the do for 9000's 10 years older that mine. Hopefull I'll get all the problems squared away soon. Then we can live happily ever after, my Saab and me.

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

I'm currently looking at Abbott Racing's ecopower upgrades. It would be awefully nice for only $850. Is the ecu p&p or will I need to have it tuned by a local shop? 205HP sure would be nice. Who around here would believe 200+ out of something like a 5-door Saab? These Civic's are in for a beating.

 

[eriklit]

The MBC just allows your turbo to build up a higher (adjustable) pressure therefore generating more power. Downside is that you will bypass the safety features of the trionic.

Bit more expensive, but safer, is an ECU upgrade as you said by e.g. abbott. 205 HP does not sound that much tough. Maptun for instance does 245. I think price will be similar (they also have a rep in the us of a)

erik

 

[zeke]

Well, here in the 'states all LPT's came with an intercooler. The only things they didn't have were the BPC solenoid, plumbing/hoses, non-graduated (sp?) vacuum gauge, and FPT ECU. If you go to a salvage yard, you should be able to find all these parts for a few hundred bucks. The project is an elementary DIY exercise. This will give you the full 200 hp. All B234 turbo engines have the same bottom end - you have the same pistons, crank, etc. that the Aero engines have.

 

[HSJrSaab9000]

Originally posted by eriklit:
[qb]205 HP does not sound that much tough. Maptun for instance does 245. I think price will be similar (they also have a rep in the us of a)

erik [/qb][/b]

THat's just the Stage 1 tuning. And I'm not sure how much power my tranny can hold.