My new (to me!) Saab 9-3 SE Convertible Project

My new (to me!) Saab 9-3 SE Convertible Project

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Discussion

tbc

3,017 posts

176 months

Tuesday 21st August 2012
quotequote all
looks great

thinking of doing the sound deadening with my Audi A2

being aluminium body you can hear the radio outside on Vol 2

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Tuesday 21st August 2012
quotequote all
tbc said:
looks great

thinking of doing the sound deadening with my Audi A2

being aluminium body you can hear the radio outside on Vol 2
Definitely worth the effort althought it takes ages to do, I've still got the deaden the rear quarters frown I guess it's mostly in vain here though as its a convertible and will never be fully sound deadened, but doing the doors has definitely added a little more punch to the mids. I bought all the stuff from here:
http://www.caraudiodirect.co.uk/deadening-damping-...

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Thursday 23rd August 2012
quotequote all
Made a start on a simple amp rack and false floor last week. Took a while to figure out the best way to do it just want something very simple...nothing flash!!) One problem I had was the spare wheel, with the size of these amps especially the colossal A7 they take up close to half the boot space and getting the spare in/out just isn't happening so I've binned the spare and gone for a can of tyre weld instead!

Boot as it is normally


Power/Earth & speaker wires coming under rear seat


All I've basically done is take a template off the carpet floor then cut out some 12mm MDF to size, its wedged in nice and tight plus has around 1.5" gap at the rear for the cables to come through. Big bunch of cables there!!! Just need to route them properly under the carpet this week then trim to size.





I'd have gone for thicker 18mm MDF here if the amps were screwed directly to it as its a big chunk of wood and does bow a little in the middle, but will be fine wen the tops screwed to it for added strength

Placed the amps on the false floor then cut some wood down to size and another sheet of MDF will go above here for the amps to sit on.


No pics of it getting done! But here's the strips all cut to size and screwed down


Top bit cut and placed on top, just needs trimming...


Amps will live on top like so! Loads-a-room!!!!!



Top now trimmed to size and trial fitted again in boot..pretty heavy but not that bad.



Amps loosely placed on top, was worried about the roof bag hitting it but there's plenty of space above...so were good!


Loads of boot space!


Maybe not! Can fit my works bag in the space there but getting a suitcase in there is a no no...you can see why I went for the tyre weld now! No way could I get a spare in/out...even if I hinged the boot to lift the the half up it'll be too tight.


Cables will go under the top part and I'll have the power distribution block either on one side or might have that actually under the false floor and secured in the tyre well so its away from the RCA's & speaker cables.


All going well then realised I need to get these in there as well


Will probably have a crack at making up a fibre glass sub enclosure over the summer and have it on the side of the boot...if the false floor was thicker I'd have stuck it in the centre and use the wheel well as the enclosure, but I think 12mm will just vibrate its little tits off!


One thing thats been suggested to me is shut off (or turn right down) the rear components and just have the fronts plus sub working and get better staging. All new to me this SQ way of thinking!! I used to have the loudest and amped speakers in the back, then just run the fronts off the Head Unit, but after listening to a friends lovely sounding Clarion set up it makes sense.

So I might end up selling the 2 channel DLS A2 amp and just have the 5 channel DLS A7 running the fronts active plus the sub on its dedicated channel 5. Channel 5 on the A7 is around the same power output as the A2 bridged!!!! Monster amp!!

I'll try a few different combinations out though and see whats best...really wanted a very loud system (needs it with the roof down) so we'll see...

The Pioneer DEH-80PRS Head Unit I've just bought (should be here within the hour) ;ol; can run a fully active 3 way set up and sounds like a fantastic unit, so I might run the front mids & tweeters active then instead of having the 2nd amp just run the rears off the head units pre amp.

So the boot will end up something like this with one amp plus a 2 crossovers for the rear components:


How it stands now, need to cover it in the closest grey acoustic carpet to the saab colour I can find, will also have a strip of MDF covering the gaping hole underneath to hide the cables.





griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
Also spent a few hours cleaning and polishing it last week (it needed it!!)

Gave it a wash with Megs Gold Class Shampoo & Conditioner, some guys say it leaves a greasy finish but just wanted to try it instead of the usual Auto Glym stuff I use.

Dirty!!


Then clay barred it with Megs Claybar kit


Washed & dried off again then treated it with some AG HD Cleanser


Cleaned the wheels with AG Custom Wheel Cleaner...need to do these again



Polished with the new formula AG Super Resin Polish (miles better than the old stuff)





Then finally finished off with AG HD Wax



Also had a T7 modded stage 1 remap done by a friend on friday, just need to catch the courier with this new Pioneer head unit (already missed him twice!!) then get the T7 APC and new ECU fitted....cant wait for that! Going from a mental 450+bhp 9000 to sensible (very slow) 154bhp has been hard work the last 3 months, this remap should give around 220bhp.....will do until I get the big turbo fitted and get back to 450.



griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
A few days later I fitted the Stage 1 ECU & T7 valve .....that compressor hose was a right bd to get back on!!!!

The ECU has been mapped for super unleaded (Vpower in this case) but will also adapt for 95 RON, after a few days driving on the usual Texaco rubbish I filled it up with a couple tanks of vpower then added 8/9% thinners to the mix, quick ecu reset & adaption run (basically canning it for half hour) ....much better!

Still can't get t5 suite to work properly, once I've sorted it I'll live map it on vpower & thinners.



The Pioneer head unit also turned up, after loads of hassle. Fitting this over the weekend once the boots finished & cables tidied up & trimmed up size.


griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
RCA's fitted a few days later,, these are Van Damme cables with eBay special plugs!! Just can't afford to splash out on mega expensive plugs. A friend made these up for me last week (along with the stage 1 remap)...top guy...very talented.
I bought 8m lengths which have been halved (4m pairs)....would advise going a tad longer though as these are 'just' long enough!!


Length looks good here, but trust me they just fit up to the amp with an inch or so to spare...


Paired up & plastic tied together



Then coverd with some polyester braided sheathing



Ends need pulling tight then trimming


Heat shrinked each end, amp end needs a bit more give for the cables as the RCA inputs are far apart (big old amp!!)



An hour and lots of swearing later!!! All done!



Had a nightmare trying to route this....more swearing! Passenger seat (which came out fine last time) just would not budge on the last bolt!! Drivers seat...same deal and so annoying!! Plan was to re-route my power cable down one side of the transmission well and these rcs's down the other to cut down on interference but no joy, so I ran them down the drivers side with the speaker cables (should be ok??)

RCA's (left) Power (middle) Earth (right) and speaker cables running down both sides of car. Need to move the power cable closer to centre and away from speaker cables


All cables now routed, false floor needs carpeting then fit amps, trim speaker cables and that's done!!


Also tried fitting the pioneer head unit...needs a blanking plate or cup holder between the Sid & storage compartment then that's finally done.






griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
Then decided to splash out a bit more on the handling, so bought a Genuine Saab 22mm rear arb. Another friend of mine from UKSaabs kindly fitted it for me. Definitely a worth while mod! Corners much better than before, still not brilliant but it's never gonna handle like an Evo!





Fitted:


Sid/single din blanking plate also sourced from a friend..that's getting fitted with a new vinyl wrapped dash next week. Have gone for a dark brushed aluminum colour vinyl this time instead of the usual carbon fibre stuff.

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
Bit of vinyl wrapping therapy today! I picked up a spare wood dash a while back for £8!!! The Saab c/f one is no good for the new single din head unit so this ones getting used instead.

I bought a few samples the other month and decided on this dark aluminium finish vinyl from 3M. Basically the same stuff as the Carbon Fibre Di-Noc ...just a different finish which has a brushed metal feel/look to it:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/BLACK-ALUMINIUM-FILM-3M-...

Pics:

Spare wood dash


Small roll of vinyl


Not the best pic but you can make out the grain on the film


Placed over dash & cut to size....have a tiny bit left over for something else (couple rare parts from what I've seen!!)


Back part getting heated up, gets it nice and flexible then and stops it rolling back into a big tube


Air drain holes on the sticky bit (make sure you have these or it just bubbles like crazy and ends up in the bin)


Slowly peel off with a little heat as you go



All flat


Gently & lightly placed over dash (don't press down as it needs to be lifted up repeatedly to get nice & smooth.


Start one one side, heat up so its nice and floppy! Then tuck under the side and start smoothing the bubbles out


Air vent knobs cut out (or you cant get it tight)



Heat up the dash holes as you go along then get the rough shape pressed through. I found heating it right up then press it down to shape, then it stays like that.


Other side



Starting to take shape


Very carefully heat up the din/stereo etc holes then push the vinyl down so it sticks...then cut but be careful not to cut too much off as the walnut will show underneath


Tuck excess vinyl around back, heat up and stick down then trim



All done, by no means perfect, I'm out of practice with not doing one in over a year! Two small bits I'm not happy with but its virtually impossible to get 100% perfect so it'll have to do!






Also fitted the stereo blanking plate so I can finally get this Head Unit fitted....going in Monday....


This afternoons job was gonna be carpeting the amp rack but the heavens have opened back up...





griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Monday 27th August 2012
quotequote all
Little more vinyl wrapping

Picked these up off eBay for 25 quid!

Walnut door caps plus glove box trimming (rare!!!)


Just had enough wrap left over, but need to get more for a few other parts that I fancy covering



Bit more fiddly to cover as there's not much to grab onto...dash was easier as I could lay it flat and use both hands!



Heated up the ends then pulled the vinyl tight and wrapped it around


Repeated this all the way round, smaller parts are a right pita to wrap!!


One side done



Both done


Glove box thingy next


Tucked under, thinner/tight curved parts are a 'mare to cover!!




Done!!



Plan is to also cover the grey door handle surround, then add these like so...(pic pinched off google)


Also bought some more Focal speakers to replace the dodgy passenger side one, these went back to sender for a refund....they're in a hell of a state....I'll give it another couple weeks looking for a replacement speaker then I'm sacking the Focal's and going down another route but with some HQ home Hi-Fi speakers instead.





griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Need to update this and get it to where I am now...

Finally got a chance to finish off the false boot floor!!!!!

Couple samples, decided on the darker graphite one in the end.



Crappy UK weather is driving me bananas so I did it indoors while SWMBO was in work!!



Ordered 1.2 x 3M worth of acoustic carpet...thought it best to get a little more than required just in case I **** it up...plus I might have enough left over for the sub enclosure...

Cut to size with enough for an overlap


Strips cut out & trimmed to size, then glued down



Pulled tight & glued down on opposite side


Base done

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Spare slat used as a template, then cloth cut to size & glued to each one.


Slats done


Top side was then cut to size, slits cut out then trimmed & glued down.

All done





Won't win any competitions!! But I just want the thing up & running now, fingers crossed it'll be dry tomorrow so I can fit the amp, dash & head unit..

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Back fitted in the boot. I'll mount the x-overs each side of the amp.





Then swapped the dashes over...and I'm fresh out of new swear words as this really tested me!!!!! Got the old one stuck getting it out and the new one wedged solid getting the ******* thing back in!

Also fitted the new pioneer...looks very complicated but lets me go 2 way active front end plus sub, might go 3 way front next year. Fantastic unit with loads of cool features like time alignment and various EQ settings plus the active stuff....but takes a bit of getting used to after coming from Alipne....



Pretty happy with the colour, more to do later this month!



Vents need a quick going over with hair dryer & tidying up:


Not that happy with this single din adapter piece of crap though. Just can't get the HU to sit correctly, will take a better look tomorrow.

Next job...cut cables & get the amp fitted/wired up and that should be it for now until I find some new speakers.

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Amps now fitted and wired up

I'm running the front mids & tweeters active through the amp (each speaker has its own separate amp channel) but controlling them through the head units intnal active crossover. Channel 5 will be for the sub when I get round to building an enclosure and again ran active from the head unit.

Rear mids & tweets will be run passive with the unused Focal crossovers from the front components but for now they're disconnected with the HU's internal amp switched off

So will be an active/passive system



Also fitted the Bluetooth mic which works a treat.



Then had a play around with the audio settings (sounded really crap at first) I used the auto SQ & Time Alighnmemt feature and this made a hell of a difference...tons of features on this unit!! Still not bang on and needs some tweaking so I've turned off the TA & Auto EQ features for now (pretty hard to set up)

Also tried out a few differnt USB options (no cd changer with these) works fine with a normal USB stick doesn't work with my micro USB stick but works great with my Western Digital 250 & 320gb external HD's (pretty sure these Pioneers can read up to 750gb) but doesnt work with my new 500gb HD (with new gen USB)

Works great with iphone4 and has full control over iTunes.

Coming together now!!!

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Possible turbo change for something a bit loopy....

Couldn't help myself spin

Holset HE451ve




Not sure if I'll fit this to the vert or keep it for the next car which will either be another 9-3 or go back to building a nutter 9000 Aero...or leave Saab for a while and get a Fiat Coupe Turbo which ive been hankering after for a while now.

A few guys have fitted the HE351 to their Saabs with success but this it a little bigger...so we'll see...

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Collected the turbo this week...I'll let the pics do the talking but it's one spicy meatball
eekeek

My 'spare' 0.64ar GT3076R with 0.70 compressor housing...still a fairly big turbo that should give around 450bhp on this 2.0 (give or take) but still pretty laggy on this engine, would have been better on my old 2.3


And the Holset...compressor housing doesn't look loads bigger here...


Until you look down on it!


GT30 again


Holset...exhaust housing is just huge on this thing! Also weighs a ton!



griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Friday 14th September 2012
quotequote all
Couple side by side shots....fair play to Holset!! this thing is just enormous and feels twice as heavy as the 76rotate


Just dwarfs the gt30 here! Bit bigger than expected!










Big innit!! Maybe too big....

Best get myself over to the various Holset/DSM etc forums for info. I've had it cheap anyway so if it is too much then can always sell back on eBay, then stick the 76 on....or just go for the Super40 which is what I'm eventually after as its been a well proven turbo on a few of these engines, spools up just a tad later than the 76 but gives miles more oomph up top (Awesome unit)cool

Apparently this is a 750bhp blower so a good 100 over what I was really after! And 300 over the last car...and around 600 over standard!!! Maybe too much! I'm still not sure if this is right for this car so it might get shelved for the next one or even sold/swapped for something more subtle, the veins can be locked in place so looking at it I might be able to still get an early ish spool while still making decent numbers...also I've read that the electronic actuator can fair/play up so I'll probably go for a mechanical one instead if I do fit it.

In the mean time I'm after fitting something a litte more sensible to give circa 340/350bhp like a 19t tdo4 or more likely a t28/gt28 series turbo as ive still got the fitting kit here off the gt28rs/gt3076 build.

Just need an uprated clutch (Viggen clutch for the 28 or Spec stage ??? for the big one) bigger IC but need to keep the A/C as ime not doing that mistake again so can't go too tall but thickness is ok with 3.5" and then get a decent 3" downpipe built and matted up to the moded 200sx tubular manifold I've had sat in the garage for around a year! Everything else is boxed up and ready to go.

That's it up to date now! Just need to think on this Holset...as its mahoosive!


Ilovejapcrap

3,286 posts

113 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
2012 last update !

I guess I'll never know what happened

griffin dai

Original Poster:

3,204 posts

150 months

Wednesday 19th October 2016
quotequote all
Ilovejapcrap said:
2012 last update !

I guess I'll never know what happened
Sold it for this:
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...

Nice enough car but just couldn't get on with a convertible and felt a right prick everytime the roof was down.

Monster Holset & gt30 also went, I think the Holsets on a turbo'd e30 in Eastern Europe now!