Saab Link Forums banner

Question I know the anwser to already. Please chime in.

4K views 19 replies 6 participants last post by  soviet911 
#1 ·
So. I never thought of upgrading my 1999 9-5 but after looking at specs it seems like it might have space to move up from stock to something slightly more power full. a 1999 9-5 stock pushes 170 hp and 210 Ft.lb, but in 2002 it suddenly jumps up 15 hp? And seemingly as the car is a 2.3 it would make sense that it could handle 200hp...but what about it in reality?
Severl questions I would like answered.

1) What can this engines handle stock with just an intake (how much do those perfomance intakes and a larger snorkle add?) and a boost bump?

2) Maximum Stock boost is 5.8psi, but what if its bumped up to 8psi? or 10psi? how much more power will it develop?

3) With the boost bumped up to make the car be at 200hp and 230ftlb how reliable does it become? How strong is the 5 speed manual transmission and the drive train? At what power point does the become unreliable? (I always remeber c900 post 89 where anything above stock killed the transmissions :( )

4) Finaly is installing a bigger oil cooler a good idea and will it help prevent the dreaded sludge build up (already have PCV update #6) as well help the car be happier?

5) if u had a choice of 3 gages wich ones do u think are most important to have in order to monitor your engine's health? ( I was thinking boost gage, oil pressure gage and oil temp gage three gages 9-5 is missing :roll: )


Thanks all.

P.S The only thing I will probably do to this car is the bigger oilcooler and newer snorkle. What are some good brands for the oil cooler and what size of oil cooler should I get?
 
See less See more
#3 ·
Err. I was looking to just get a solid 200hp and not more as after that I would be concerned with my car starting eating parts faster then my pocket can support, as well as efficiency (I enjoy that 30mpg on freeways =P ) I guess my question is it even worth bumping it up to 200hp with just an ECU tune up or is the 30hp gain not worth it considering the amount of extra wear and tear the car is going to go through? ( i was going to get an extra ECU and tune it so I can have the spare for smog tests.) And if I go for 200hp what would I need to upgrade?
 
#8 ·
For the goals you have, you best bet is an Aero tune with a TD04 turbo and the Aero cobra. I have an Aero, the specs are 230 hp and 258 lb-ft. However, that's on a bad day, most days it has 20-30 more horses than that. You should know that the engine in a base model 9-5 is the same as the higher output Aero model. The only difference is the exhaust valves, the aero has ones made out of a fancy alloy where as the base model has regular steel.

Actually no, there's a tune that's probably exactly what you want. A friend of mine runs it, it's made by Hirsch I believe, about 200 horse and you don't have to change any parts. Well you''ll have to change the pipe that feeds the turbo, the '99 had a tiny pipe there. A larger late model pipe will do the trick. Nice and torquey, but it dies at the top end due to the tiny non-Aero turbo.
 
#4 ·
Adding more power does NOT mean you sacrifice fuel economy. This it the joy of the turbo - the power is there when you need it. Yes, a simple ECU tune will gain you and your GT17 all the power you want - 200hp. HOWEVER - I recommend this tune:
9-5 LPT BioPower E85 Tune 230hp - you can run either fuel you want whenever you want at w/e percentage you want - and the car is 230hp - and it can get out of it's own way. It's effectively a stage 1.5 tune. These can be bought from a number of tuners, but I'll recommend Epartsland www.epartsland.com (DeLorean & PaulH) or Nick @ GS.

Now - with any tune or even just a stock 9-5 I recommend upgrading your intake snorkel from the old style to the new larger style. It's a mod which is under $30 and you can complete in about 15-20 minutes with noticeable spool-up time increase.
Part Number: 12846127 (nick @ GS sell them http://www.genuinesaab.com/catalog/...d=368&osCsid=b0ed1f84c0498dc615518990d61c1942)
In addition to this a good air filter is always a plus - nick also sells those.

Overall - your stock motor can handle much more then you are asking of it - and reliability is NOT effected noticably at all. These cars were built for boost/power - you just need to help it get there sometimes.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Solid 200 HP...cheapest way and the most reliable

1.) Buy a TD04-15t used 250-300 USD
2.) Buy the red injectors 100 USD
3.) Buy ECU from 04 Saab 9-5 75 USD

475 dollars and you have a clean running 220 HP car with room to grow...

2006 Aero ECU-you can use these right ? 260HP
Engine Computer
Saab 9 5 ID 5387204 2.3L,EFI,ATOD,FWD A 080171 $125 A-1 Auto Salvage USA-AR(West-Memphis) Request_Quote 1-800-240-3795 Request_Insurance_Quote
2006
 
#6 ·
Solid 200 HP...cheapest way and the most reliable

1.) Buy a TD04-15t used 250-300 USD
2.) Buy the red injectors 100 USD
3.) Buy ECU from 04 Saab 9-5 75 USD

475 dollars and you have a clean running 220 HP car with room to grow...

2006 Aero ECU-you can use these right ? 260HP
Engine Computer
Saab 9 5 ID 5387204 2.3L,EFI,ATOD,FWD A 080171 $125 A-1 Auto Salvage USA-AR(West-Memphis) Request_Quote 1-800-240-3795 Request_Insurance_Quote
2006
That is by NO way the cheapest or the fastest way.... Tune T7 E85 ECU = $250 tops from epartsland (with a core mind you)
Intake Pipe is about $30...

For under $300 you are at 230HP and it's quick to install everything - less then 2 hours TOTAL time and the rest you can put towards other mods - like wheels and tires and suspension goodies. Or brakes & exhaust.

And NO a 2006 ECU will not work. In fact just replacing any ECU usually requires TECH 2 just to program it to the car (aside with buying a Tuned ECU which is done properly) Stop supplying bad ideas :)
 
#11 ·
When I fist met my wife she had a 1999 BMW 540i we were living in CA at the time...she picked my up to go to Lake Tahoe (first time in the car with her) she enter the freeway I-5 and we were doing 100MPH in the fast lane...I said ummm...dont you think this is a little fast...she looked at me like I was crazy ! Of course 7 years and two kids later she know longer drives like that :)
 
#14 ·
@Burnside42. Thanks I will defenetly plan on getting the snorkle, what does the E85 tune in-clude and how much does it cost? I assume I need to custom order it with those guy's. If its just an ECU tune I know the ECUproject has a E85 map that I could flash on to an ECU but if it more then just an ECU tune then I will buy the kit. Although I would be more comfortuble to start witha 200hp tune. Now just to become a not so broke college student to pick up an extra ECU and bdm. :rolleyes:
 
#15 ·
the fellas @ epartsland use the map from ECUProject - so if you are able to do it yourself then by all means go for it! Yes - it's just a flash and go tune - make sure you pick the one for an automatic with GT17 (LPT) and you will be impressed. It also give you the option for SID controls to view live engine data - which is neat, but two cons are it's Swedish short hand, and you must hit the clear button everytime you start. Otherwise it's worth having (It in ours). Cost to have epartsland make you a tune is something you would have to contact them about - I know they are one of the least expensive routes and their quality it top notch. Customer Service is excellent as well.

I too have spare ECU's and the BDM and a T7 connector - but have not taken ANY time to sit down with my lap top and fiddle with it (especially since I have epartsland @ my back door and are friends)
 
#17 ·
Cost to have epartsland make you a tune is something you would have to contact them about - I know they are one of the least expensive routes and their quality it top notch. Customer Service is excellent as well.
The "friends" I mentioned earlier are the Epartsland guys. Good guys who know what they're doing.
 
#18 · (Edited)
@burnside42. Awesome. Now to read about what kind of data I get on SID. IF i can get my oil pressure and boost I can pick up an ECU and BDM before picking up the gages. (My priority list is to know how my car is doing before I try remap it)

Do you know what power it will out put on 91 octane as there is not many E85 stations around here and I assume its not gonna be 230 ( hopefully around 200) wich will make me happy =) Thanks alot.

looks pretty intresting.


Alot of information provided from it, just not in the format Im comfortable to monitor my engine with. gages first, snorkle and ecu second.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top