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1999 Saab 9-5 Dyno

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dyno
2K views 8 replies 6 participants last post by  Raven18940 
#1 ·
Hey there guys,

I was hoping that someone out there might be able to help me with something... I have searched the whole wide interweb for a dyno chart of a stock 1999 Saab 9-5 4cyl. I can't find anything even close to that. Any chance that someone out there might have a copy of something similar to what I'm looking for? It doesn't have to be exact, in fact, now I would settle for anything that would even resemble it.

The reason I ask is becuase with the peak stock torque of 207ftlb occurs at 1,800rpms. When I drive for speed, it seems like the optimal shift times are close to 3,800rpms or so... Which I find odd since the peek horsepower is 170 horsepower at 5,500rpms... Any advice or tips on "driving fast" that you may have personally found would be greatly appretative... (this car obviously has slight turbo lag that needs to be overcome as well)

Thanks in advance
 
#6 ·
Thanks so much for the advice, I really appreciate it. It sounds like you are all confirming my suspicion that I should be shifting at or around 3,800. I'm still open to any tips for getting more "meat" higher in the rpm curve, that being said, I don't think I'm gonna invest much money into this particular beast.

I feel like I can get an amazing takeoff in 1st gear, particularly after the turbo spools up as I pass 1,800rpm. When I then shift into second, I run into my trouble. If I short shift to much to get down to 1,800rpm, its not good enough cuz the turbo isn't spooled up till I pass my peak torque. If I shift around 5,500(peak hp), I don't feel that I get into my power band. Hence why I thought a dyno chart would be nice. This all leads me to believe the best shift point is at 3,800.

Thanks again, much appreciated,
 
#8 ·
Are we talking about daily driving shift points or if you were racing?

If you are racing, you shift based on the power curve you see on the dyno. You shift a tad HIGHER than when the peak power hits to put you in the meat of it in the next gear.

So in a past car that dyno'd to make peak power at 5500, I would shift at 5600 at the strip which would put me at the sweet spot for the next gear.

Now day to day driving is completely different.
 
#9 ·
This is a good lesson in "what feels faster isn't always best." You're car feels fastest in the 2500-4000 range. This is because the engine develops a flat torque curve here. A flat torque curve begets a raising HP curve. Remember this, a car will accelerate at a rate directly proportional to it's HP curve. The rising rate of acceleration in the 2.5-4 range is what "feels" fast. After about 4-4.5 the hp curve levels off and is no longer increasing. This is where the car will develop peak power, and does so around 5.5. Now, the area under the HP curve is greater in the 4.5-6 range than the 2.5-4 range. So the faster you wanna go, the further you wanna rev it out.
 
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