Saab 95 Aero

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wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 1st September 2012
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Hi all

I picked this up a couple of days ago and thought it was about time I shared.

The reason for me buying one is that my little Puma just isn't up to the job of ferrying me around at high speeds and long distances.


Its a 2002 Saab 95 Aero (auto) with 250bhp. Its on 79k miles.

Its ability to cover vast distances is staggering! Its so comfortable and has obviously had a lot of care and money lavished on it over the years.

Just before buying it, it had the following done:

Wheels refurbished
4 new tyres
New discs and pads all round, including drilled and grooved discs mated to EBC green stuff pads.
Detailed
All bushes replaced.
Full service - Including sump dropped and cleaned.

Its going in next week to have the gearbox oil changed

It runs perfectly and can only describe it in showroom condition!.

It has everything I could want from a comfy, fast motor, Heated memory seat (front and rear), Harmon Kardon sound system (Fantastic!), brilliant headlamps) and its sooo quite at speed.

Anyway photos:








Thanks for looking!

wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 1st September 2012
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
If it has had the wheels refurb'ed, you need to take them back and get the front n/s done again! wink
I wondered how long it would take before that was pointed out!

wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 1st September 2012
quotequote all
otolith said:
Same interior as ours!
And what a lovely place to be it is too

Btw your right up of the Saab is spot on!

wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 1st September 2012
quotequote all
NiceCupOfTea said:
wolfy1988 said:
NiceCupOfTea said:
If it has had the wheels refurb'ed, you need to take them back and get the front n/s done again! wink
I wondered how long it would take before that was pointed out!
No offence intended wink Big Saabs really are just huge value for money, how much did you pay? Quite happy with my 9000 at the mo - would have preferred an auto to be honest, but as a daily it is pretty perfect.
Non taken smile

I paid the equivalent to £2k, unbelievable amount of car for the money imo.

The guy I bought it off was a real enthusiast, I must have counted 10 Saabs in his garden!

wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 22nd September 2012
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Thought I would share my first 1000 miles impression of the Saab.

We have affectionately named it the 'Smacked Baboon' due the noise it makes when you floor it.

I don't love it like I did the Puma but instead I am I'm impressed by its ability to cover ground at high speed in comfort and security, which to be fair is exactly the reason I bought it.

It feels extremely fast (by my standards anyway) and I am rather pleased to report that it is much easier on fuel than I imagined it too be, I am averaging 30mpg, which doesn't sound good but I am definitely putting less fuel in it than I was the Puma it has replaced. I suspect this partly down to the fact that at high motorway speeds it is not really trying where as the little Ford was screaming along.

Its size is taking some getting used to especially in car parks, it's lack of steering lock does not help with this either.

Over the next few days it is getting its Gearbox oil changed, Brake fluid change and some braided hoses. As well as a 'Stage 1 NoobTune', which will take from 250bhp & 350nm to 275bhp and 420nm, I will report back on the difference it makes.

wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 22nd September 2012
quotequote all
bigtomski said:
I paid a visit to Karl for exactly this and it was well worth it!
Unfortunately i'm now thinking stage 3.
I love my 9-5 Aero too!
I am ordering the tune on a spare t7 ecu as I live in Dublin. Can't wait!
Stage 3 should see what, 300bhp and 440nm? Should be 'nippy' after that!


wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Thursday 27th September 2012
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Fitted the Stage 1 'Noobtune' ECU today

It comes with an open SID, which to me doesn't mean much but I plan to learn what it does.

Powerwise its now up from 250bhp and 350nm to 285bhp and 420nm.

I was expecting it to feel very different but rather disappointingly it doesn't feel quicker in normal mode, the gearbox seems to reacting differently which is the real indication of the extra power.

However in 'Sport' mode it definitively feels more powerful, boost is more aggressive and it feels quicker up to .90 leptons. It will be interesting to see how the fuel economy suffers.

Driving wise the power easily overwhelms the chassis, its ability to wheelspin up to silly speeds is worrying. I have spent a bit of time recently getting to know its handling characteristics and my conclusion is, don't rush it, instead smooth inputs and watch your lines.

Got home tonight and the brakes were blue! not sure they are meant to go that color! went for a drive to make sure they were ok, they feel fine at least.


wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Tuesday 18th December 2012
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7000 miles and 2.5 month update:

I have been threatening to sell it for the past month as I was shelling out an awful lot of cash on fuel, Circa €550/600pcm! but I was made redundant a few weeks ago so its staying.

It is a lovely car, in fact my OH loves it more than I do which is ironic considering she thought I was mad to buy it.

Impressions:

Exterior: It has taken some time 'get' its looks as its neither aggressive nor elegant, its more of a pacifist, unassuming if you will. However I do think that it looks both newer and more expensive that it actually is. Worth noting that the headlamps are excellent!

Interior: Really very nice place indeed. The heated seats are a treat in this weather and warm a supremely comfortable seat quickly, its wearing very well and nothing rattles or squeaks (pet hate of mine). Everything works as it should and the SID display remains faultless. I only wish the rear seat heaters heat your back as well as your bum but you cant have everything I guess. Harmon Kardon sound system is very good if not perfect, it seems to be optimized for listeners in the front as apposed to the rear were it is a little too 'bassy' to properly enjoy. oh and a HUGE boot!

Engine and Gearbox: Torque!!, this thing flies! and not thrashy in the slightest, it feels quite effortless, which I like, its nothing like a ATR etc. The gearbox is the the only flaw really, Its the 5speed auto, which 90% of the time its fine, shifts smoothly etc but its the other 10% that I find find frustrating, it lacks enthusiasm if that makes sense and not suited to B-Road blasts as it turns hooning into hard braking and wheelspinning (unintentially btw). One thing I will say though is that its the only car I have owned that seems unaffected buy weight and load, 5 people and a boot load of gear and it seems to pull as it would with just me onbourd, very impressive actually, makes for light work.

Brakes and suspension: EBC greenstuff with Brembo drilled and grooved discs sound good but not really all that impressive, don't get me wrong, they always stop me its just that don't 'feel' powerful through the peddle. Will look into a different set up come renewal. The suspension is admittedly comfort based but then like I said earlier this is not a ATR. I will also look into upgrading this with a Eibach/Koni parts.

So far its not cost me a penny other than copious amounts of juice.

I have contacted 'Noobtune' aka Karl to see what other magic he can wave over it in the form of a stage 3 upgrade etc, as I am all to used to the stage 1 now.

Will keep this updated.


wolfy1988

Original Poster:

1,426 posts

165 months

Saturday 22nd December 2012
quotequote all
Had it serviced yesterday as it had done 6k since its last one.

-Sump Dropped and cleaned, although not needed as it was perfectly clear.
-Rear pads - Mintek
-Gearbox flushed
-Oil
-Plugs - Replaced the expensive Iridium plugs which were gaped at the recommended 1.1mm with NGK BCR7ES plugs but gaped at 0.9mm instead which was recommended to me by Karl at Noobtune, he said it would make the car less sensitive to regular fuel (these are tuned to run on super unleaded).

My god was he right, the Saab was always quick but its swear out loud fast now, the quickest it has ever been and now I can feel the tune, AMAZING DIFFERENCE!!!

I cannot believe the difference it has made to the cars performance, chuffed to bits.