Discussion
Quite a rare thing really, basically a 9-3 with the engine and a few other bits from the 9-5 Aero in it. Renowned back in the day or rediculous amounts of torque steer... which was a pretty good summing up. Mine is mainly used for blats to Europe and has a rather interesting history as it traveled quite a way to get to the UK having originally been supplied in Australia and shipped to the UK when it was 9 years old.
Here it is at Bathurst during it's time in Aus:
The reputation for torque steer wasn't unjust and they were a bit of a compromised package in their day. Mine has had quite a bit of work to try and solve this and other similar issues, it feels a whole lot more modern than it is, especially considering it's north of 155K miles now! It's also considerably quicker than my old 996 and midrange performance is fairly dominating with around 450NM of torque in the mid range.
Modifications include the near standard Viggen Rescue kit but with the addition of another solid brace on the drivers side rather than just the single one used as standard. It also has a Speedparts 4 point subframe brace in place of the normal Abbott two point brace. Suspension is all standard bits with the addition of some poly bushes in the right places, spherical bearings in the control arms and Bilstein B8 dampers and Maptun springs. The rear of the car is also rather flexible due to the size of the hatch so there is now a 4 point brace which bolts into the tops of the rear damper turrets and triangulates these down to the main chassis member which runs across the rear of the floor behind the rear seats which has really helped the rigidity of the rear of the car, the hatch doesn't squeek anymore when cornering hard for example!
The rear track has been increased by 50mm and the arches rolled to allow for sufficent clearance, the front track is increased 40MM which required no modification to arches or liners. The standard rear ARB has been suplimented by the addition of a modified Lotus Elise Front ARB. Suspension geometry is pretty much standard as there isn't room for a lot of modification here but the front turret tops have been modified to allow another degree of front camber and the car runs with a very slight amount of toe in. The rear beam has been gently nuzzled with the portapower as this was a long way out of whack as standard.
Brakes are standard Viggen all round (the Viggen had a larger 308mm front brake setup from the factory) with aftermarket grooved discs and Performance Friction 05 compound pads in the front and OE Saab Viggen in the rear. Wheels are standard Viggen with 225/40/17 Toyo R1Rs.
The engine is pretty standard, it was replaced in 2009 when the original died of the fairly normal Saab sludging issue. The new one is a much later spec B235R with slightly stronger pistons, much improved oil breather system etc. It has a Forge recirc valve and wastegate actuator which have been annodised black, the standard rubber vacuum hoses replaced for silicone, later type "Cobra" intake pipe, the precat has been removed from the downpipe, a larger Forge intercooler fitted and a lower loss air filter element in the standard air box. It is essentially on "stage 1" software and makes around 275bhp and 450NM of torque at around 1.45bar boost peak.
There has been a bit of weight reduction carried out with the bonnet sound deadening, rear quarter sound deadening, spare wheel and associated, rear speakers etc. removed. It weights 1380KG on the scales so has a fairly respectable power to weight of around 200bhp/tonne.
The interior is early Aussie spec Viggen so carbon dash and possibly the finest leather combo ever of orange and black which has mellowed with age to a more base ball glove/essex bird tone in the flesh.
As above I use it for a lot of long journeys across Europe and quite a few bits of France, Spain and Italy aren't heavy on the road lighting as a result it has HID high beams and driving lights with conventional halogen low beams in order to avoid dazzling anyone in normal operation.
Future plans are to modernised the interior electronics a little with some sort of Parrott head unit for blue tooth, iphone compatibility and Sat Nav. An additional 45L fuel cell in the boot to give just over 100L total capacity and once some time is available power will need to go up from where it is now via a 19T turbo and associated bits and pieces. At the same time I'd like to do something with the brakes, I'm sure I can fit a 325mm disc in there but caliper choice is pretty limited. An AP CP6600 will go or possibly a Porsche 996/Boxster front 4 pot but I really don't want to change the wheels or have anything too obvious showing! Also required is a front number plate holder as due to the shape of the bumper and the fact it never had a UK plate originally I've lost a couple in the past, the contact patch for a sticky pad is pretty small and banging a few screws through it is a bit harsh.
I'm in two minds as to if I should put it into a bodyshop to have the bodywork tidied up. I rather like the sunbleeched look it's rocking from it's time in Australia along with its various dents and scuffs. It makes it a lot more stealthy I feel! The plus side of it's time out the country is that the shell is pretty much immaculate rust wise having never seen salt until it was nearly 10 years old, from the work I've done on it the bulkhead etc. is also very sound with no cracking and the additional bracing should keep it this way. I have no reason to change it for anything and the requirement it fills of fast and subtle transport isn't going to change in the near future so I hope to see it past 250K miles over the coming years.
Max M4X WW said:
Love it, I had a 9-3 Aero 'Coupe' a while back and it was a bit wayward in the handling department! It sounds like yours has had everything it needs! I especially like the 'standard' suspension with Bilstein shocks, Maptun springs, Bearings, Brackes, Lotus ARB's etc etc!!
I meant more that all the pickup points, arms, uprights etc. were standard but do see where you're coming from 
It's really reducing the flex in various bits that has helped the most, if the bits the dampers and springs are acting on isn't moving about randomly it can only help them work better. The rear brace made a very big difference as a go pro and string showed quite how badly the shell flexed in this area when loaded.
It's great now and very comparible to modern stuff, not quite an R26R but certainly on a par with a Focus ST.
Nice, orange/black seat combo is lovely 
If your not on UKSaabs yet it's definitely worth joining as there's a few Viggen owners on there with a wealth of knowledge (saved me thousands of pounds modding my 9000!!)
I think the b235 gets you safely to around 320bhp before it's forged piston time or swap for a b234 bottom end (so £££...£)
A 19t should get around 350 with supporting mods.
Good guide below but can be done a lot cheaper if you shop around.
http://uk.maptun.com/tuningGuide.php?kategori=671&...
If your not on UKSaabs yet it's definitely worth joining as there's a few Viggen owners on there with a wealth of knowledge (saved me thousands of pounds modding my 9000!!)
I think the b235 gets you safely to around 320bhp before it's forged piston time or swap for a b234 bottom end (so £££...£)
A 19t should get around 350 with supporting mods.
Good guide below but can be done a lot cheaper if you shop around.
http://uk.maptun.com/tuningGuide.php?kategori=671&...
Owners/former owners of 9-3's, you're probably already aware of this but just in case others aren't, there's a pretty bad problem with the steering rack mount points on the bulkhead which can lead to an MOT fail as well as some concerning/scary handling issues.
Quite well documented - there's some talk that adding bracing up front will increase the stress on the bulkhead, making failure of the rack mounting points, or just the flexing flexing, worse. Fixable though, just awkward to get to, some places have advised that the dash needs to come out but that doesn't seem to be the case as it's a £400 fix from the usual Elky specialists.
Quite well documented - there's some talk that adding bracing up front will increase the stress on the bulkhead, making failure of the rack mounting points, or just the flexing flexing, worse. Fixable though, just awkward to get to, some places have advised that the dash needs to come out but that doesn't seem to be the case as it's a £400 fix from the usual Elky specialists.
ReaderScars said:
Owners/former owners of 9-3's, you're probably already aware of this but just in case others aren't, there's a pretty bad problem with the steering rack mount points on the bulkhead which can lead to an MOT fail as well as some concerning/scary handling issues.
Quite well documented - there's some talk that adding bracing up front will increase the stress on the bulkhead, making failure of the rack mounting points, or just the flexing flexing, worse. Fixable though, just awkward to get to, some places have advised that the dash needs to come out but that doesn't seem to be the case as it's a £400 fix from the usual Elky specialists.
It's not the rack mount points its the bulkhead itself that splits/fails, the rack movement is a consequence of that as the rack is mounted to the bulkhead not to the subframe like most modern cars. From what I have seen and having done (an admittedly basic engineering assessment of where the loads are going) anything you can do to reduce the flexing of the bulkhead will increase greatly, if not remove, the issue with them cracking. Improving the rigidity of the subframe reduces the flex in the bulkhead as you are for all intense reducing the movement possible in the inner wings/suspension turrets which the bulkhead is in the middle of. Quite well documented - there's some talk that adding bracing up front will increase the stress on the bulkhead, making failure of the rack mounting points, or just the flexing flexing, worse. Fixable though, just awkward to get to, some places have advised that the dash needs to come out but that doesn't seem to be the case as it's a £400 fix from the usual Elky specialists.
FWIW this car has not had an easy life at all and the bulkhead is perfect, they do crack but its certainly not everyone that does
Griffin Dai, the later 235R pistons aren't really that bad but as always it's down to combustion chamber pressure rather than a BHP figure to determine where they give up. The top ring land is a much more modern emissions orientated design than the 234R so simply isn't as strong as there is physically less material supporting it. 450NM is about the reliable limit but a larger turbo allows this chamber pressure to be maintained at higher revs and as power = torque X RPM / 5252 more "work" is done as a result. A good idea might be to run 234R pistons on a custom rod which would give sufficient strength for old 9000 Aero type power without the draw backs of a forged piston in a high mileage application.
MGZTV8 - It moved when it's owners did.
Abbotsmike - I will dig it out and upload it. You'd think that as its a dead/twist beam rear setup there wouldn't be that much but it's surprising quite how much it deflects in this area. Explains why the hatch and parcel shelf squeaks over rough roads!
MrMoonyMan - Everyone seems to go crazy winding the power up on this era of Saab but they go an awful lot quicker with a decent chassis than another 75bhp! If someones cut the roof off for you though.....
Thanks for all the positive comments. As said it's definitely one of the last to look properly Saab like i.e. 3 Door with a massive rear quarter! It looks a little dated these days but compared to the likes of Mondeos and Vectras which were about at the same time it's holding on well in the looks department. There are a surprising number of Viggens still around too, out of 311 originally registered there are still 221 out there. Although I suppose mind did technically +1 that figure.
MGZTV8 - It moved when it's owners did.
Abbotsmike - I will dig it out and upload it. You'd think that as its a dead/twist beam rear setup there wouldn't be that much but it's surprising quite how much it deflects in this area. Explains why the hatch and parcel shelf squeaks over rough roads!
MrMoonyMan - Everyone seems to go crazy winding the power up on this era of Saab but they go an awful lot quicker with a decent chassis than another 75bhp! If someones cut the roof off for you though.....
Thanks for all the positive comments. As said it's definitely one of the last to look properly Saab like i.e. 3 Door with a massive rear quarter! It looks a little dated these days but compared to the likes of Mondeos and Vectras which were about at the same time it's holding on well in the looks department. There are a surprising number of Viggens still around too, out of 311 originally registered there are still 221 out there. Although I suppose mind did technically +1 that figure.
I'd be really interested to know if the chassis mods make a noticeable difference? I have a Cavalier, basically the same chassis and same hopelessly numb steering and horrendous torque steer. It's got to the stage you now need to countersteer if you nail it on the motorway.
I looked at the steering rack brace kit, though my other Cavalier has poly rack mounts, poly buses in the steering arms and the front bushes in the lower arms are also uprated. It still feels pretty univolving, they both do though the 4x4 one is significantly better. The 2wd one, just hopeless!
I did consider bracing the subframe, ie welding in a couple of cross bars, in effect the same idea to the lower four point brace kit fitted to this. I also can't do anything about my camber angles - aside for fitting adjustable top mounts. It's off the road now for winter so this has given me food for thought but if you don't mind, "The Rescue Kit" ??
Anyway, back on topic... stunning car, real soft spot for these.
I looked at the steering rack brace kit, though my other Cavalier has poly rack mounts, poly buses in the steering arms and the front bushes in the lower arms are also uprated. It still feels pretty univolving, they both do though the 4x4 one is significantly better. The 2wd one, just hopeless!
I did consider bracing the subframe, ie welding in a couple of cross bars, in effect the same idea to the lower four point brace kit fitted to this. I also can't do anything about my camber angles - aside for fitting adjustable top mounts. It's off the road now for winter so this has given me food for thought but if you don't mind, "The Rescue Kit" ??
Anyway, back on topic... stunning car, real soft spot for these.
The NG900 was very similar to the Cav but I think there was quite a few changes between this and the 9-3. In this one you can got WOT in second or third and it will either go straight or light up the least loaded wheel, there is essentially no torque steer. As standard it'd aim for the hedge given the slightest chance and amount of throttle so yes it's made a huge difference to it!
Rescue Kit refers to a set of modifications Abbott Racing devised for this chassis to solve a lot of the issues the press complained about. It does work very well and I would certainly investigate bracing the subframe as if it is anything like the 9-3 one it's very bendy!
Rescue Kit refers to a set of modifications Abbott Racing devised for this chassis to solve a lot of the issues the press complained about. It does work very well and I would certainly investigate bracing the subframe as if it is anything like the 9-3 one it's very bendy!
Nice car OP! Have a soft spot for these, but having had a 9k and 9-5 Aero in the past I'm biased.
Has it still got an open diff?
Out of interest, what's the logic behind running a touch of toe-in at the front? My geometry guy recommends a bit of toe-out to help traction on a powerful FWD car, his theory being that as torque is applied the wheels tend to naturally toe-in, so the two cancel out.
Has it still got an open diff?
Out of interest, what's the logic behind running a touch of toe-in at the front? My geometry guy recommends a bit of toe-out to help traction on a powerful FWD car, his theory being that as torque is applied the wheels tend to naturally toe-in, so the two cancel out.
Gassing Station | Readers' Cars | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff