Improving Fuel Economy 9-5 Aero HOT Estate Auto

[v8250]

Am looking to buy a low mileage 9-5 as above and am wondering what's the best route to improving fuel economy. Does anyone have experience of this? Maybe ECU re-map?

[v8250]

sploosh said:

Switch to LPG? I've done 100k miles in my 95 on LPG.

Conversion cost was £2k a few years back but seems to have dropped to sub £1,000 recently.

yes, this was my thought too. am looking at a car this week that has a new engine installed so lpg makes sense. have ran some lpg-to-petrol calcs and the figures are impressive. i can buy lpg at 65-75p per litre and even with increased consumption there's a 30%+ saving. only question is, who are the experienced saab lpg convertors in the uk?

[v8250]

bikerPaul said:

With all due respect i've have to ask if you are looking at the right car if you are worried about economy.

I have an '06 auto Aero estate and in town then 20mpg is the norm and on motorways i get high 20s and those figures are with a fairly light touch on the loud pedal.

Manuals seem to be a bit better and the pre Dame Edna model (05?) seems to fare better again.

If you were to convert to LPG then the tank will be in the boot which would take away a lot of the benefit of the estate. As for remapping i have seen marginal improvements claimed but not significant savings.

Good luck with whatever you decide.

Here, I'm wanting to scratch two itches at the same time. I've had a 9-5 Aero Hot Estate before and, frankly, loved every minute of it...never has there been such a good all-round vehicle for the money; simply, I think they are the very best dash for the cash so want another.

The second itch is fuel economy. Over the past 5-6years I've been spoilt with semi luxo-barges that have returned very good mpg and see no reason why an Aero, with the right logical mods', can not do the same.

With previous cars returning 48-58mpg [average 40-45mpg], the 9-5's engine should be able to give sensible economy when driven normally and its 28mpg average is thirsty by today's standards. It may be that my expectations are too high for what is an old'ish design but an LPG option [toroidal tank in boot well] with Flash Tube lubrication, with improved economy and 250bhp is a very attractive proposition.

[v8250]

Sploosh, did you have a Flashlube / Flash Tube fitted to your 9-5? Have spoken with Paul at Stretton, he's a very helpful chap.

[v8250]

otolith said:

Are the lower powered 2.3 models actually any more economical? The official figures suggest that the two most economical petrol cars in the range are the Aero and the base 2.0!

According to Saab figures this is correct. Agree ref' auto-box v's manual. Was hoping to find the Saab PH massive to offer some proven mods'...so to give some feedback have completed a mass of research into LPG including an operational spreadsheet based on 10k, 15k, and 20k miles per annum. I can buy LPG between 65-70p/ltr in my area [West Oxfordshire] + £1000-£1200 quoted for a good LPG system. Payback is as follows:

10k: 15.76mths
15k: 10.51mths
20k: 7.88mths

I drive 15-20k per annum meaning ROI within 12mths + amortized annual savings @£1369 p.a. will more than cover the annual running costs/servicing/insurance/annual LPG test certificate et al. With 26mpg average UL with an auto-box, LPG to UL pro-rata MPG is 45mpg; this is a significant saving.