| Make: | Saab |
| Model: | 9-5 SE 2.0LPT |
| Year: | 2000 |
I've owned this Saab since January 2004 and being a little disappointed
with it's performance, upgraded it using the Saab Performance kit (ECU and
red injectors). This takes the BHP from 150 to 192 and has improved mid
to top end responsiveness but I've not noticed much change to the low end
torque and I'm still not really happy with it.
I've also done a few cosmetic changes such as replacing the side indicators
with smoked versions (since taking the photo above).
I feel that the standard suspension is a little soft and was thinking about
upgrading this with a stiffer, lowered version, but I've just received the
Saab service history and it's only just had the rear shocks changed so I
can't really justify binning the old setup yet.
So here is a list of points that I think need attention:
- I'm still not happy with the low end performance of this car and suspect an underlying problem.
- As I said above, the suspension leaves a lot to be desired... cornering is reminiscent of a 2CV!
- I get a slight puff of blue smoke on startup, so may be looking at a turbo at some stage.
- The exhaust is starting to show signs of giving up the ghost... I feel a stainless steel sports exhaust calling...
- Do you 9-5 owners out there find that your 9-5 spins it's wheels at the slightest hint of a damp morning? If this isn't fixed by a future suspension upgrade.. I may have to think about the LSD upgrade by Abbott Racing.
07/02/2006:
OK.. the performance issue was starting to get on my nerves.
I decided to call Ed and Giles at Abbott Racing. Their view was that it
sounded like something wasn't quite right and that they were sure they'd
be able to help out.
01/06/2006:
The big day... my visit to Abbott Racing.
Ed welcomed me and suggested a cup of tea before we started... they're all
a friendly bunch of people. We discussed my concerns about the performance
and Ed suggested that he took my 9-5 out for a spin... he'd not gone more
than a few yards before saying ... "Lack luster, to say the least!".
That was it, a man that knew, agreed with my suspicions :-)
Considering that this car had already had the Saab 192bhp ECU and red injectors
fitted, this was disappointing.
Ed suggested that we go out in his 9-5 so that I could compare the two cars..
what a difference.
Back at the workshop, the fun started as Ed and Mark, the technician, started
checking out various components.
Items were changed in the following order and the car checked after each
exchange:
- Original ECU swapped for an Abbott remapped one
- At this point boost pressure was checked & found to be on the low side
- Boost control valve
- Mass airflow sensor
- Cat
- Dump valve
At this stage Ed called Pete, their ECU guru, who suggested removing one
of the pipes from the boost control valve... WOW.. that made one hell of
a difference to the power delivery! It turns out that this pipe connects
to the thottle body and should have a valve in it to stop backflow but that
this proves that the valve is faulty. Ed checked with Saab and to replace
this valve, you need to exchange the complete valve and pipe assembly..
£148.00 to you and me :-(
I elected to leave this disconnected until I can find a suitable replacement.
It was disconnected from the trottle body end and the thottle body fitting
sealed off.
So, we'd found the main problem but were still running with the Abbott ECU.
This was swapped back for the orginal to see how this ECU would now cope...
it didn't perform anywhere as well as the Abbott one so I took the plunge
and had the Abbott unit re-fitted.
Now, as I've mentioned elsewhere on this site, the exhaust was starting
to show signs of wear, so I also had to make a decision on whether to do
something about that too. Ed explained the various options and after much
deliberation and mentally noting how much of a knocking my credit card could
take, I opted for a complete 3" stainless steel system including race
CAT... yum yum.
To say that I drove home with a smile on my face would be an understatement.
Big THANKS to all at Abbott Racing.
27/06/2006
After the initial thrill of the much improved performance, I was still not
100% happy with the low end torque and that the engine still used to rev
slightly when changing gear. Time for a tinker myself....
I decided to check the preload on the wastegate actuator as I knew that
this had come disconnected at some stage early in my ownership and been
re-fitted by the supplying garage.
I removed the actuator arm and held the wastegate closed. The preload was
about 1mm (ie I had to pull on the actuator, about 1mm before it would fit
back on the wastegate arm). From what I've read, this should be somewhere
between 2 and 3mm but really it should be setup by applying about 0.4bar
pressure as other things such as freeflow exhausts and air filters can effect
this adjustment. I elected to just manually adjust the actuator arm to give
me about 2-3mm preload and it's definately improved matters but still not
100%. There seems to be quite a bit of movement in the wastegate.. dunno
if this is normal or not.
28/06/2006
I'm not having a good week!
I pulled away from a junction, change into second and seemed to loose power.
Then the slightest touch on the thottle would send me kangarooing down the
road. Dipped the clutch and the revs shot up, took my boot off the accelerator
and the engine died... just as I hit the roadworks..... noooooooooo!
With nowhere to stop, I killed the engine and waited for the traffic to
move.
Got through the roadworks and went to turn left, into a side road, braked....
err, no assisted brakes... arrrgghh, engine stalled... err, no assisted
steering ... shhh***tt !!! Had to tell Josh, my son, in the back seat that
he should never use that type of language!
Have I given you enough clues?.. engine reving at the slightest touch of
the accelerator, engine stalls when you lift off the accelerator, no servo
assisted brakes.
Luckily for me, I'd read about a similar problem on Saabscene, a year or
so before and the grey matter had retained it!
The vacuum feed for the brake servo had parted company from the inlet manifold.
I pushed this back on and was back on the road in two ticks. I just want
spend a little time on it in the near future to see why it popped out and
if there's a way to stop it happening again!
6K service.
Engine flush, oil and filter change.
Checked the brake servo vacuum connection.. it looks fine now. I'll keep my beady eye on that!
What next then.. well, it's got to be suspension and it may mean a return
visit to Abbot Racing for this too.
When I asked Ed how long it would take them to fit new dampers, springs
and anti-roll bar, he said "About two hours". It's hardly worth
me doing it myself!!!
03/11/2009
OK .. I'm getting really bad at updating this web page, but I have been
keeping a 'Service History' .. check out this PDF
There are a number of very good forums and websites available.
Check these out:
http://www.saabscene.co.uk/
http://www.abbottracing.com/
http://www.elkparts.com/
http://www.partsforsaabs.co.uk/
http://www.carnetix.co.uk/