Saabscene Saab Forum - Saab Technical Information Resource banner

Traffic Light Grand Prix

4K views 25 replies 16 participants last post by  mark e 
#1 ·
Okay Okay so I only have a 2.0LPT. But 150 horses at the front still makes for reasonably rapid progress unless you're at Silverstone.

Anyway my mate has a Rennault 19 16v. Its about the same age of mine 1995 with 1.8 137 bhp engine & about half the weight. We were both on the way home from the gym the other night & I was giving it large where I could on the Motorway & lets be honest - he was struggling to keep up.

Feeling good about this we pull up to the lights. Late evening - no traffic - dry road & I have 4 P6000 boots on. Feeling chipper I wait...........red.......amber....green GO GO GO. I feel some wheel spin - no problem I expect a chirp as the tyres bite - only they don't in fact my car starts bouncing like one of those American pimp mobiles as my mates Renault streaks into the distance & I'm doing 6000 revs and about 2 miles an hour - how [expletive deleted]. Easing off the throttle now totally deflated.

Living in Northern Ireland I'm not exactly handy to Abbots for some mods - just wondered what you wise sages would suggest to boost traction so that I can give my mate a sound thrashing
 
#3 ·
There's actually a very cheap "mod"...
modify your clutch control technique!!

Seriously though there are basically two extremes for getting away quick... you either keep the revs up and slip the clutch keeping it just on the edge of wheelspin or if you have enough grunt, floor the accelerator and properly spin the wheels, although this is no so effective with cold tyres.

Either one is expensive in the long term for the life of the clutch or tyres, and neither is good for the box.

You'd be better settling for getting away smartish by moderating the accelerator and getting it into second as soon as poss.

(and then you also wouldn't give Saabs a bad name as soppy boy racers
)
 
#4 ·
Hi, Green Saab.

I find I can make very good progress in my 2.0LPT, as long as I don't try to compare it to the 275hp of my modified Aero. 150hp isn't much in the grand scheme of things, but it's the decent torque that makes it go better than the majority of cars.

Firstly, if you're into traffic-light drag-racing, you need good grippy tyres. If you haven't used high-performance tyres, you'll be surprised at the extra grip you can get from the likes of Bridgestone S-03s.

Secondly, what mileage is on your car? You probably need to change the control arm bushes (standard rubber ones will do, but you could fit Abbott ones if you like). These are practically a consumable item. New ones will reduce torque steer and wheelspin, as well as getting rid of that "vague" feeling in a straight line at speed. Standard ones are cheap (Abbott ones are anything but) and they're easy to change. I changed these recently on a CSE 2.0LPT auto after 100K miles (far too long) and the difference was amazing. (That car is now living in your part of the world for the time being).

If you did decide you wanted some Abbott Racing stuff, well, first I'd look elsewhere for good stuff at lower prices. However, you should be able to get them by mail order and either fit them yourself or have a local mechanic fit them for you. It depends how far you want to go, but stiffer suspension, especially at the rear, will help reduce weight transfer off the front wheels during "take-off" and give you more grip.

Finally, of course, it's well worth practising standing starts. Even with less than optimal grip, it is possible to control wheelspin and get off the line pretty quickly. I find it is better to take it easy until you get rolling, even losing a few yards, then make it all up and more by flooring it in 2nd gear.

Of course, that's all theory since I don't do traffic-light drag races
 
#8 ·
Hi Green Saab,
From your comment,
"I expect a chirp as the tyres bite - only they don't in fact my car starts bouncing like one of those American pimp mobiles ",
I think that Bills' suggestion of control arm bushes is spot on as a first point of call. Stiffer springs is probably the next, for the reason Bill gives.
Then a nice extra dose of boost pressure (not too much mind, else it will overcome the chassis mods ) , just to make sure your friend only sees the rear plate of your Green machine
Nick.
 
#9 ·
Tell you what, Leon, the day it flies out through the gearbox casing, you can have it (if you can find it)! Must be any day soon...
It'll be interesting to see how much difference Mark's LSD, suspension mods and 17" wheels make at the track day (hope it doesn't rain ) against my finely-tuned (well, co****ly-tuned at the moment) Abbott suspension and standard wheels. A wheel-alignment tweak tomorrow should help roundabout negotiation even more.

And I suspect the rear Konis hadn't actually adjusted at all the other day, which is why the damping reading was so low on the machine. I haven't heard of this happening, but when I took them off to tweak them up a bit more, they're suddenly as hard as the front ones were that day. I felt something happen as I tweaked them up. Perhaps the internals just "stuck" a bit in the year since I last adjusted them?

So far, it's handling better than ever, but I suspect I've found the limit for "executive-car ride comfort". Just as well I have the CSE for when ride comfort is important.
 
#11 ·
I looked into upgrading my old CS LPT - the cost of the chip and the extra insurance was prohibitive. Having driven an upgraded 9-5 2.0 LPT I'm very glad I just changed the whole car and got a 2.3 (225BHP)Carlsson!

Horses for courses - you will definately notice the difference upgrading your LPT. However the difference between my 2.3 Carly and an upgraded 9-5 2.0 was a lot more than between my 9000 CS 2.0 LPT and the upgraded 9-5!

You're starting on a higher platform - and can upgrade form there. A 16v Renault 19 would have been anihilated by my Carly! Which I've now sold!


Get a 2.3 Carly or an Aero! That'll see them off.
 
#13 ·
Mine does this as well..
I had put this down to spring/damper mismatch
the damper should absorb the bouncing...
Mine have done 160k so they need replacing methinks...I have done the bushing thing already and the lsd and the wide tyres and it still does it... so now I am saving up for a set of Koni's...
btw the best way of getting it off the line is to get it moving without wheelspin by slipping the clutch /short shift into 2nd and then floor it
and watch stuff disapear in your rear mirror...
(like the murk s-class brabus last night )
 
#17 ·
Green Saab,
Racing on the public highway tut tut tut

However since you will need to make your mate eat dust (especially in le Renault)I would agree with bubbles, i.e. get off the line sharpish (but not dumping the clutch at 6000 rpm) then get into 2nd and floor it. To get big SAABs to move you need that turbo spinning. Once you have almost redlined in 2nd repeat in 3rd,4th stc.

His renault will probably beat your SAAB to say 20 mph, but then you should sail past him.

To be honest while wider tyres would help I would suggest its more of a clutch thing. My AERO with bigger wheels and tyres will just bounce up and down if i give it lots of revs and dump the clutch as per yours

Also I got "my bushes" replaced yesterday, what a difference, the front seems nuch more stuck to the road and cornering is more precise.

Kevin Mc - excellent crying graemlin.
 
#18 ·
Well guys, as expected a minefield of information ranging form very useful to pretty amusing.

For the record my lpt is 95 with 65k on clock & totally standard as Saab built it. Tyres are 195 15" P6000.

This was my first go at really flooring it from a standing start. In time I think the bushes are a definite candidate as well as bigger boots.

First up though, looks like I'm going to have to practice dipping the clutch.

Not much point in having a turbo unless you use it is there?
 
#19 ·
Green Saab, yours is an LPT - light pressure turbo. The benefits of the turbo are best seen on mid-range acceleration, even an lpt is respectable on the 50-70 overtake. As for standing starts? Hmmmn.

In my experience, the other guy normally starts pulling ahead, but I am into second gear before he is. I've soon got the benefit of higher revs and the turbo saying hello at around 3000. The gearing seems pretty long on my Saab so I can stay in 2nd for a fair while and watch him disappear behind me Mind you, I do have 200bhp to play with.

If you do it that way, they think they've got the better of you and as soon as they think that you are catapulted towards the horizon as they play with their gear lever.
 
#20 ·
Definately an amusing thread.. and I concur with Johns comments fully.

The full pressure Turbo's reach max torque at only 1,800 rpm!!! My 2L ECO does it at about 2,200rpm. So definately no need to rev the head of the old car, bearing in mind that it is torque that counts for pulling power rather than BHP.

Also, the mass of the 9000's mean it is not an ideal 1st gear starter, due to all that inertia (reluctance to start moving) acting on the sheer mass.

So going for a 2nd gear followed by 3rd gear mid rev range surprise is the best bet on the Le Renault adversary! )

Apart from too much welly, bouncing front tyres on accelleration will be caused by a worn out shock absorber. Having said that, the Saab gas/oil filled shockers are very reliable. Worth doing the bounce test though = press down on each front wing and make sure that rebound only occurs once or twice. Hope this suppliments the great wealth of standing start info already posted.
 
#21 ·
I don't know what the rest of you think but I feel that first gear on FPT Saabs is far to low. Much too easy to spin the wheels when taking off fast and even when you don't spin the wheels you lose all momentum when you have to change into 2nd at a ridiculously low speed. I would prefer a taller 1st gear about halfway between 2nd and the present 1st.
 
#23 ·
I feel that first gear on FPT Saabs is far to low. Much too easy to spin the wheels when taking off fast and even when you don't spin the wheels you lose all momentum when you have to change into 2nd at a ridiculously low speed[/b]
Spot on, Derek. I am particularly careful not to spin the wheels as I know that it is all too easy to do so, especially in the wet. Yesterday I managed to just get a touch of squeal pulling out of a T-junction. What's more the surface was dry.

Pulling out from stationary into a stream of traffic, without causing it to slow down, used to present no problem in the classic 900 lpt - not so my 9-3 HOT.
 
#24 ·
Apologies if this is a crass comment but why get involved? You would have far more 'wind up' value by simply refusing to be drawn into such a juvenile contest on the basis that the paper already proves your machine to be superior..... explains why you couldn't hack it the other night - you simply didn't want to be bothered ;-)
 
#25 ·
You have a good point, Careful. Assume the moral high ground and refuse to be drawn into such a contest. Even more appealing when the Nova SRiturbonutterb'stard has squealed away from the lights and cocked up a manouevre a couple of minutes later and you sail by within the legal limit making much better progress with much less fuss.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top