Saab 9-5 Aero - Hybrid Turbo and 9000 Bottom End - 350 bhp

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

I'd be happy with that I thought you had the pump fitted?

I'd have a good think about going for the Garett (££££) these new gtx series do spool up quicker than the old ones so thats what I'd be going for, my old gt3076r was a pain in the arse with the extra lag, ballistic above 80 (as in stupid quick!!) but not much life under 70! Foot would be welded to the floor in 3rd from 50 and didn't really get going until 75!!! But it's a fair bit of work to get them fitted (off the top of my head from the last build) your probably looking at:

Turbo £900ish? Not sure on these gtx ones by they're pretty expensive
New downpipe or have yours modified with a 3" vband. You'd really want to go for the 3" vband here as its less restrictive. Around £300 for a new DP?
5 bolt to 3 bolt or vband adapter (bolts the turbo to the downpipe) around £90?
New braided turbo lines around £150. You'll need braided here really to make it easier fitting up.
Actuator £100? Forge are good.
Actuator bracket made up
Maybe a manifold spacer (sas customs sell them)
I'd budget for a tubular here if your going for it so maybe £600-700? (Sas customs or Al on UKS)
Various gaskets/oil restrictor/intake side needs changing (GB-ent sell them)
Thinner rad fan? Mine 'just' cleared but had to ditch the AC. I was looking at a SPAL fan if I fitted my tubular.

Then get the lot fitted, to give a rough idea my old gt28rs/gt30 build came in around £2,300 all in. That was going from stage 4 to 5/6.

My money would be going on a Quaife then keep it nice & rapid under 90. Fun having a bonkers quick 100+mph Saab but it soon wears off!!

Pump being installed tomorrow morning

The Walbro 255LPH Intank Fuel Pump and Install Kit arrived in time just in time this morning, the Walbro's got a lot of weight to it which I guess is reassuring!




Thanks for the run-down of parts required, much appreciated. Will give Tony a call hopefully later this year to aim for 500 bhp, but for now I need to do some trackdays, as it's plenty quick enough for my limited driving skills.

Say it'd cost 2k to get it to the big 500, I could probably sell the current downpipe and 19t setup for around 1k so needs to be done!

What about cams though? Would I need more aggressive cams and deka injectors, the 630cc ones?

Edited by HybridAero on Friday 1st April 22:33

[HybridAero]

Jimmy Recard said:

By the way, could you tell me the name of the wheels?

Hi Jimmy, they're called ALU56 5-spoke split, 18x7.5".

PartsForSaabs used to sell them, but on their website the wheel is on the menu but there is no product listing:

http://www.partsforsaabs.com/index.php?cPath=69_26...

They're pretty rare, but if you check eBay every now and then some will pop up.

I sold my old wheels for 300, bought these with part worn tyres for 280, so was a good move.

Only problems are they are a bit heavy and have bad kerbing, so looking to get them refurbed to same factory silver in the near future.

This is the worst wheel of them all (by a long shot), but according to Total Wheel Works they are not beyond repair.

Edited by HybridAero on Saturday 18th February 12:39

[HybridAero]

Jimmy Recard said:

Thanks Hybrid!

I'm a big fan of the car and I sent a mate the link to this thread and he asked me if I could find out the name of the wheels for his 95. I'm trying to persuade him to get some more power out of it (Aero auto) but he's not biting yet

Thanks it still needs some work though, bodywork could do with some work but kind of like that it's a bit messy at the moment, don't need to worry about the odd scratch!

Aero auto would be perfect at stage 3, with 3" DP (300 quid), 3.5 Bosch FPR (60) and Noobtune remap (80).

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

I had Abbott Racing 243 cams on mine which were the same as Catcams but AR had them slightly modded, they were pretty mild though, suited the gt28rs fine but looking back I wish I'd gone for some Maptun 268's.

Best guy to ask about cams is Faero on UKS and it depends what turbo you go for really. Some work better with the 0.64ar 3071, some better with the 0.86 not sure about the gtx series though.

If you can try and bag a ride in a big turbo Saab to get a better feel for it before splashing out on a new set up ££££ everything happens around 1k rpm later (give or take) honestly mate.....the extra lag can get annoying

Edit: injectors, sorry budd missed that. Yeah you'll need 630's or similar, the GG's will be fine at your current level though. Wasn't a big fan of the 630's mine, had idling problems and sometimes took a few attempts to start which got right on my tits!! So had them cleaned and flow matched, then tried indexing them but still the same. No issues on the greens but had to go for the 630's when I upgraded to the 3076. I'd ask Karl what he recommends here if your after 450/500hp.

Edited by griffin dai on Friday 1st April 23:16

Thanks, yeh I'll have to get a ride in a big power 9-5 before committing.

Fuel pump now installed and it runs a lot smoother now, just need to book a rolling road do you know of any Saab rolling road meets that happen regularly?

Car reeks or petrol now but the local specialist in Berkshire who installed it reckons the smell will go away after a few days.

Next on the list are to get the wheels refurbed and bodywork sorted, but with projects like these I'm worried of getting bored of it near completion! It's so competent now at high speed that there isn't much sensation of speed. The power delivery is so smooth and linear that it doesn't get any more brutal throughout the rev range. Need to find a decent private road to make some vids!

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

Try the meetings or dyno/track day sections on UKS. There's usually something happening

You need the diff mate Just digs in & pulls you around the corners, it tugs you into the bends where before you'd feel the wheels spin and start to undesteer so have to back off. Mine took a bit of getting used to and only now feeling confident to give it some, great coming off roundabouts!! Costs a few quid when you factor in the fitting but you end up with a much quicker car as it gets the power down better & propels you down the road

One popular upgrade on yours is the SAS arb's from the states. Bit pricey but meant to transform the handling. I think PFS also sell them?

Yeh will get a diff sorted when I get new gearbox - Skint now though so if the gearbox goes in the next few months i'm gonna buy a little runaround like a clio, could do with a city car so that when this needs some work I can have it off the road no problem. That's the problem now I wouldn't even think of flooring it round a roundabout in 2nd as it'd spin up immediately, grips well in third though!

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

Have you upgraded the clutch yet? Ideal time to go for the diff when you do the clutch and hit everything in one go. Abbott Racing sell both, they're great to deal with and usually knock a few quid off if I'm buying a couple expensive things at the same time

You'll be amazed with how much extra grip the Quaife gives, just foot down and go

Yeh it's running a Maptun 550NM clutch, so it's right on the limit if it is putting out the estimated 540.

Should've done it then, do you know of any dog boxes for the 9-5?

I want it to sound like this, then I'll definitely need a daily driver!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EJFD9sdQwA

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

6 speed Quaife

http://youtu.be/u2B_qLVomzs

That sounds ruddy awesome! How much are they? Are they stronger than stock?

[HybridAero]

Master Bean said:

My best run today was 14.21 @ 97.94mph.

That's pretty good! What were you up against?

[HybridAero]

AntiLagGC8 said:

Thanks bud although I'm not that knowledgeable on Saab's so what sort of power is that?

Stage 3 normally around 285 bhp 325 lb ft, meant to feel a big step up from stage 1

[HybridAero]

AntiLagGC8 said:

Ah ok thanks! 14's sounds like a reasonable time then given there's probably an element of managing traction off the line.

What's the best time in your scooby? I want to do a quarter mile at some point, wonder if I can crack 100 mph? I timed the car from 100-200 km/h in 4th and it took around 11.5 seconds, which is on par with a C5 RS6 , wonder how much quicker it'll be when I drop down to 3rd from 100 km/h?

I want to do some private road acceleration vids, but need a decent mount for my HTC One M8, not sure if anyone can recommend any? I don't see the point in forking out for a GoPro when modern smartphones have such great cameras.

Edited by HybridAero on Tuesday 19th April 17:59

[HybridAero]

Gave her a proper clean for once



Car's running great, have got used to the power now, so hatching plans for next year - Want to go travelling first though so will enjoy it as it is for now.

[HybridAero]

MrMoonyMan said:

Exactly this. I don't have anything super fast in my fleet (fastest is another black Saab with 'only' 300bhp or the Westfield which is a different kind of fast), it's what I also have alongside them (Classic Range Rover and an old Astra) that keep them feeling scary!

Is your 9000 running a 15t or 19t? I've heard the gt28rs is the perfect match for 9000s and 9-5s, but need an LSD first.

Bet it goes well as they weigh about 80-100kg less than the equivalent 9-5!

Yeh in terms of 'seat of your pants' quick, the 9-5 feels no quicker than my old Saxo VTS, it's just when you look down at the speedometer, 90 feels like 60!

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

3.61 box? You should give the 4.45 a go Made a hell of a difference coming from the 3.61 but could just hit a ton in 3rd, should have had my Volvo valve springs fitted but didn't bother in the end and just swapped boxes again for the 4.05 after I blew the box up

Ref the GT28RS, I'll be honest and couldn't feel much difference in oomph between this and the 19t (but that was on a b204) Plus its a load of outlay for an extra 40-50ish bhp! Another to look at which is fairly cheap now is the t28bb, I think it's almost a bolt on swap from the td04 but my money would be going on a Saabflight Hybrid.

Sounds like my car must have similar to the 4.45 box, 2nd goes to 70, 3rd to 100, 4th to 130 and 5th i'm yet to find out!

Yeh maybe the GT28RS is a bit pricey for the extra top end, think the only way after a 19t is to go all out and aim past 450 bhp towards the magic 500. How would a Saabflight hybrid compare to my 19t?

[HybridAero]

MrMoonyMan said:

It's running a td04 which is a great turbo, nice and reliable, maxes out at 320 which gives a good road car.

I don't suffer from wheel spin much but would love an LSD too. Just for pulling you out of corners. I'm going to add some 9-5 front brakes soon which will help.

Don't know if the 9-5 is as long legged but mine will pull over 120mph in third which can get you travelling at very naughty speeds very quickly. I drive up and down the A5 every day and it makes overtaking effortless.

It's bloody mental in second though, certainly woken me up a few times.

Great fun these Saabs

120 in 3rd is crazy! 5th gear must be barely idling at motorway speed? Great for cruising though and for when tuning for big power.

[HybridAero]

griffin dai said:

Sorry budd!! I forgot you had the 19t fitted already there! If you had the standard 15t still fitted I'd have said go for the hybrid as its meant to be really nice on the 2.3 and some say better than the gt28rs (which was brutal on mine!!!!) but I can't see you noticing a massive difference between the 19t & hybrid or gt28rs, not enough vs the extra outlay anyway, money's better going on the diff I only fitted the RS as I had al the hardware ready for a gt30 build but wanted to try the RS out first.

Next step up turbo wise would be something like the gt30, much more top end oomph but you also get more lag so it's a trade off. The 0.64ar gt3071r sounds like it drives like a big gt28rs though from what I've read, so I'd be tempted to go for that as it sounds a good all rounder. The 0.86 3071 spools up later again but more top end power, gt3076r I really wouldn't bother with as there's not much life below 70/75 in 3rd (as in major turbo lag, foot welded to the floor at 40/50 and it's not going anywhere!!) and it's too quick to drive everywhere in 2nd under 60! Definitely turns it into more of a 100+mph car.

Yeh true not much point in a car that doesn't come alive until silly speeds.

Out of interest, if I fitted an LSD and then the gearbox broke, would that take the LSD with it or is the LSD not in the same part of the gearbox as the bit that typically breaks?

[HybridAero]

How much do y'all think these scratches/dents will cost to get fixed?

[HybridAero]

rolling road session booked for Friday - They're going to have to turn the dyno around apparently as they're not used to FWD cars with that much power/torque! Not sure how that works, maybe they only have a RWD and 4WD dyno?

[HybridAero]

Late finish at work.. time for a hoon, time to upset some financed beemers/mercs/audis



Just had 2nd oil change and fuel filter change, done 4k miles since engine rebuild. Running great except worrying scraping sound from the gearbox, might need a rebuild soon..

[HybridAero]

Master Bean said:

Rolling road results?

Cancelled on me, no appointments available on Friday so hopefully heading to one near Leicester next Friday. Where did you get yours done?

Edited by HybridAero on Sunday 1st May 00:56

[HybridAero]

Robatr0n said:

You should use Vixpy1 who owns Surrey Rolling Road. You won't find better.

Thanks, yeh dropped them an email. They look the real deal