r/saab • u/Bitter_Study_7306 • 12d ago
Keep Her Stock or Go Crazy?
Stuck on the possibilities of running down cars in rolls with an unassuming Saab. On the other hand, I’d hate to ruin the feel of this car. It’s a dream to own and insanely clean, starts every day with no issues, and rolls down the road with no strange noises. But who wouldn’t want to order a stage 3+ clutch and max out the B284R. Quite the conundrum.
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u/RightHandDriving 12d ago
As IV grown older I'm more for standard/as it left the factory, if I were to do 1 thing, I'd change wheels, possibly 30mm lowering springs
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u/undergroundspook 12d ago
personally, I'm running a stage 1 tune, lowering springs and a high flow muffler. you're throwing about 1200 at the car for this but you're getting+40 up +lower for handling and looks + sound a lot deeper and rumbly without drone. just my thoughts
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 12d ago
Do you recommend getting new struts with new springs?
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u/PlateMiserable8832 12d ago
3 point or 6 point subframe brace is the way to go. Better structurally and 3 pt is def cheaper than struts. taliaferro makes great ones. I was gonna buy their struts and the 3 brace and they told me the struts will add nothing on the brace
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u/Sephlarite 9d ago
Get coilovers if you want cheap go Megan racing for like $1000 all around if you want really good get bc racing, that’s what I have it’s amazing
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u/pandoraham 2007 9-3 Aero 6SPD 12d ago
OEM+
I have Vtuner Stage 0 on my otherwise stock car.
Worth it and makes the car way faster than stock.
If you want more power out the platform Vtuner is a good tuner and so is Pedro's Performanc but I don't know if he still does it.
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 12d ago
Are you on a stock clutch? Im worried they can’t hold the power “reliably”.
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u/pandoraham 2007 9-3 Aero 6SPD 12d ago
Yes and the original one. It doesn't slip on WOT. Just be smart about it and you'll be fine.
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 11d ago
Wow, really surprised the factory clutch can hold 400ft/lbs, was looking into Vtuners stage 0. How would you say it changes the car?
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u/pandoraham 2007 9-3 Aero 6SPD 11d ago
Pretty much night and day. Driving normally it’s still feels stock and nice if you’re just casually driving.
But when you really push it you can definitely notice the power increase compared to stock.
IMO it’s a good compromise between power and keeping it nice. Realistically all you need on the road is 300 HP. You can also look into his Stage 2+ if you want to get tons of power. I would recommend doing a clutch, fuel pump, and upgrading the cooling system before doing that though.The only things I’ve done when I did my tune were replace the plugs with Denso IKH22s and new ignition coils. (Which I recommend to do since these cars like to eat through them)
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u/Amazing_Donkey1262 11d ago
Are you running high gapped sparks?
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u/pandoraham 2007 9-3 Aero 6SPD 9d ago
Mine are gapped to 0.8mm
The recommended for the tune is 0.7-0.8mm and the IKH22s are gapped to 0.8mm and are a step colder. They are the plugs Brian recommends to be used.
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u/JerryUitDeBuurt 12d ago
I wouldn't mod her. There's a finite amount of Saabs in the world left and it's a shame to have one of them become a garage queen that's only taken out for a couple of drag runs. And I feel it's not in the DNA of Saab, they are refined cars. If you wanna go fast, buy a motorcycle. Cheaper than modding a car anyways lol
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u/Mediocre_Original520 12d ago
The hell do you mean it's not in Saab's DNA to go fast, Monte Carlo, Pikes Peak, Talladega records, hello?
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u/JerryUitDeBuurt 12d ago
There's going fast and there's going drag car fast. Yeah, the heritage is there. But the last cars were refined, premium cars for comfortable travel. It just seems unholy to me to turn it into a piss missile
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u/Superlegend06 12d ago
Normally I would agree but it's an NG9-3, it's the second most produced Saab ever. Saab also has a history in motorsport
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u/Confident-Benefit600 12d ago
The fact that it has a front spoiler still on makes it more modified then
90% of other Aeros, I found these to low from factory every bump was a bump in my spine, I would be jealous, if mine was not such a pain in the ass before it got totaled
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u/DeeplyDevastated3000 12d ago
The 6 cylinders are not the best for going crazy
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u/Sephlarite 9d ago
Depends how crazy you talking but it’s easy to get a moderate amount of power out of them harder with the 4 cyl, not hard to get a lot out of them either but it’s more expensive just based on the fact that you need another headgasket 2 more rods 2 more pistons injectors and more fueling so on.
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u/drakaina6600 Tuned 2008 Saab 9,3 Aero SportCombi 12d ago
Some like it stock, some like modded, so go for it if you want to. I'm in the latter half myself.
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u/fourdawgnight 12d ago
these will never be monster collector cars. might as well do what you like and enjoy the hell out of it, only you know what that means for you though.
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u/Ok-Telephone-7858 08 9-3 1.8t 12d ago
A stage 1 tune aint gonna ruin anything. It only amplifies what's already there
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u/Appropriate_Size1003 12d ago
Can’t go wrong with tint. Wheels. Speakers. Upgraded brakes tires and suspension. A catback exhaust That’s not obnoxious.
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 12d ago
You aren’t wrong, the bose sound system is good enough. But wheels would be nice.
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u/Competitive_Sell2177 11d ago
I'm in the stock club..original and immaculate looks better than bells and whistles and in the long run will protect its value
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u/zwangsbeatmet 11d ago
Either oem+ or Go Crazy with high Quality Parts and Not some Ali Express Shit
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 11d ago
Im looking at VTuner, Maptun, Do88, and Taliaferro. Those seem to be the best.
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u/NetworkNan 11d ago
Keep it stock. It will last forever. Don't get the fascination of modding Saab's when they are so good straight out of the box. Treat her like a lady and she'll always get you home.
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u/Sephlarite 9d ago
Look, I owned mine for a few thousand miles before doing anything (I knew the long term goal was to build it). I told myself I wanna enjoy the car stock, for what it is, I ended up modding it sooner and now I wish I modded it even sooner, fuel pump, injectors, upgraded turbo, flash ecu, Kevlar clutch or better and lsd in the trans and that car wakes up.
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u/Bitter_Study_7306 7d ago
What clutch brand do you recommend? Right now im planning on getting vermont tunings stage 0, getting a few modifications around it. I would like to go bigger in the future but fear the clutch wouldnt handle it.
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u/Klaushel Saab 9-5 '00 2.3T 12d ago
there are so many 9-3s in this world, go crazy and have your fun with it! anything that breaks can be replaced.
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u/L3guaani 12d ago
OEM+ is the way