88 9000 upgrade options

1014 Views 8 Replies 3 Participants Last post by mr.rogers, Jul 14, 2010

mr.rogers

Discussion Starter · Jul 10, 2010

Hey i just found this forum and am looking for some advice as to what my choices for upgrading are. i found the apc modification how to and tinkered with that for a while and adjusted the fuel cutoff to the max, but my car is getting quite lean i believe during wot pulls and must be knocking because the boost is retarding from 9 psi. i would like to have it reliably drive at about 13 psi. is there support for a chip tune or do i have to go stand alone?

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BurnsSide42

· #2 · Jul 10, 2010

88 9000 - I had an 87 9000 as my first Saab. I had ONLY a modded APC box from DeLorean (EPL Performance now) who you can find here on the link. I was running 18PSI through the stock T3 turbo with over 300,xxx miles on the original motor and trans. Turbo's however I replaced every 10K with another used junk yard unit and aside from that the car was a freaking beast.
These also was a 3" JT exhaust system with an 85' turbo exhaust cam

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mike d

· #3 · Jul 11, 2010

there are a ton of options, anything from a T5 conversion, to a modded APC box, ect ect

with the old 9000s you may be better off looking in the c900 section than tha 9000 one, C900s have more in common performance wise

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mr.rogers

Discussion Starter · #4 · Jul 12, 2010

how did the stock injectors support 18 psi? i have had it up to 15psi or so but it knocks like crazy so i have to retard the timing a bunch. and that makes the hesitation between gears and starting even worse

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BurnsSide42

· #5 · Jul 12, 2010

mr.rogers said:
how did the stock injectors support 18 psi? i have had it up to 15psi or so but it knocks like crazy so i have to retard the timing a bunch. and that makes the hesitation between gears and starting even worse

The hell if I know - the car was a freak. lol I was able to hold 18PSI in 4th and 5th 15PSI in lower gears. It would spike 20ISH PSI often when it was cold out before tappering down.

The APC box when installed into any other car would hit fuel cut - but not in my old 87' - There was something not normal/right about that car - but it went like a bat out of hell.

Parts you want to source for your 9000;

3" Exhaust
Cold Air Intake
1985 c900 Turbo Exhaust Cam
Tuned APC box with resistor upgrades
Suspension - Aero Springs/Bilstien
Good tires - either 15" or 16" IMHO (I always had 15" on my 87')
Good Boost gauge - cheap ones work too.

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mr.rogers

Discussion Starter · #6 · Jul 13, 2010 (Edited)

i have the boost guage and i was thinking of routing the exaust out the side behind the front tire, no cat of course. what is special about the 85 cam? oh and any idea why my idle rpm is searching around from 300 to 2k on cold starts or why there is a bog/hesitation when switching gears on hard pulls. today i was driving in the rain and it held 10 psi solid and ran great but in the warm weather its really boggy

Also is there something i can do about the fuel problem? like a better fpr or chip that can solve my lean/knock problems?

oh and i get a cel once in a while when switching gears after a hard pull

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BurnsSide42

· #7 · Jul 13, 2010

mr.rogers said:
i have the boost guage and i was thinking of routing the exaust out the side behind the front tire, no cat of course. what is special about the 85 cam? oh and any idea why my idle rpm is searching around from 300 to 2k on cold starts or why there is a bog/hesitation when switching gears on hard pulls. today i was driving in the rain and it held 10 psi solid and ran great but in the warm weather its really boggy

Also is there something i can do about the fuel problem? like a better fpr or chip that can solve my lean/knock problems?

oh and i get a cel once in a while when switching gears after a hard pull

85' Exhaust Cam = Longer Exhaust Duration/Sounds Bad Ass over 4500RPM too - really opens it up at higher RPM's

Sounds like VAC leaks on the idle surge - or a dirty/bad IAC (Idle Control Valve)
Could also be the reason for bog

Does the CEL come on and stay on? CEL in an older Saab means you got issues you should be able to see.... or find with out too much trouble anyways.

Cover the basics - get it running right before going for more fuel. You could also be somehow running out of fuel - but not at 10PSI. Fuel Filter/Clogged Injectors perhaps. How fresh are the plugs and wires? Are they OEM correct?

I think you could fit newer generation 9000 injectors for more fuel flow and then get the ECU chipped. I know Jack of JSP used to sell those chips for a decent price - not sure if he still sells them or anyone else who would.

Get it running right first however - then improve!

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mr.rogers

Discussion Starter · #8 · Jul 13, 2010

cel only stays lit for maybe 2 seconds, i could redo the vacuum lines, is there a schematic on here? i just swapped the fuel filter maybe 6 months ago, 10k km at the most. and the plugs are new with old wires that i checked the resistances on and seem fine.

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mr.rogers

Discussion Starter · #9 · Jul 14, 2010

so im starting to think i should get into a newer 9000 i found a 93 cse with a blown trans for about 500 bucks that looks good. would a 87 tranny work in there? 5 spd of course. is there a lot more support or tuning options for these cars?

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