Saab 9-5, Gearbox Change?

Johnathan · **Postat:** 2009-02-15, 19:22

Hey all ..

I'm weighing up a few cars to buy and I've been offered a Saab 9-5!

The reason is I need something a little more sensible, but I would still like the option to
do some different things with it if I fancy it later on.

The car has an automatic gearbox to start with... how easy is this to swap for a manual?

And secondly, apparently it's only 150hp 2.0T (low pressure turbo?)... if it is, what is the
difference between this and the higher powered models? Is it just the turbo and
mapping? I'd appreciate any advice before I go and get it.

...... it's a Saab 9-5 2.0T 1998

tiX · **Postat:** 2009-02-16, 17:37

I know that there are only a few swedes checking this section out so I would recomend you to post in the "Allmänt" section.
In sweden those cars are known to have some kind of problem with oil-sludge. Thats all I know, oh and also that Saab seems to have the worst gear-boxes. I havnt read that anyone made a swap from a auto to a manual because here those cars grow on tree's.

Sry for the non-good advice but thats all I got.

Johnathan · **Postat:** 2009-02-16, 20:13

ha, no worries thanks for that :-)

I just don't think I'm going to be too comfy with an auto and certainly not with 150hp :-S .. lol

thanks again! :-)

//J

itsme4g63 · **Postat:** 2009-02-28, 01:21

for a sensible car that can be used everyday without hiccups I'd opt for a honda civic of some sort or a toyota camry if anything. Always reliable to the max!

Johnathan · **Postat:** 2009-02-28, 09:31

Hi Damian

Thanks for the advice mate, but I'm not really a 'Jap' fan! A honda civic for me would have been like buying a washer for my kitchen .. white goods, boring and depressing! .. lol Although I will concede on the Jap front a little because I do have a car I like and if the Saab hadn't turned up, I'd have traveled the 580miles to Scotland to pick it up. (Celica GT4 - St185)

I luuuuuurves German And Scandinavian Cars though, the quality is unreal!

The Saab however is now on my drive way..... I'd like to say too, it's fucking lush!! I love it and I'm actually getting used to the Auto box, although...... not THAT used to it, so it's still going to have to go!

The good news is that I posted an identical post in the Swedish General section and got some interesting replies! It turns out that the only difference between a Saab 95 2.0t (150hp) and the Saab 95 2.0T (192hp) is a software upgrade from Saab ... so just a remap, which I'll be looking to do soon as such a big car with 150hp and an Auto box is sluggish to say the least! The Engine and the GT17 turbo are the same apparently... Who better to ask than these guys :-)

So the idea is that if I can get it remapped successfully to 200hp, the next 100 to get it to 300hp, shouldn't be tooooooo hard .. then it will be more fun to drive!

Oh.... and I hate the wheels!!!

itsme4g63 · **Postat:** 2009-02-28, 18:46

nice car, my uncle has a 95 9000 aero, comes with like 230hp stock I believe, hauls arse too, first turbo car I ever drove was that saab, and he's gone and done something to it liek some swedish exhaust and chip and boost controller, so taht facotyr boost gauge is always in the red zone.

But alas, I like european cars bt do not like their complexity. The ass backwards design of jap and american cars baffles me and if something were to go wrong parts are proprietary so mostly dealer$hip availability or scarce aftermarket.

I notice from watching top gear and other U.K. shows that you guys base alot of things on how jsut something looks and not how it actually perform. The hondas nor toyotas may not be best lookers but they sure as hell rarely break down.

Johnathan · **Postat:** 2009-02-28, 19:05

Oh yeah I agree they are reliable as far as I have heard... and I usually hear from people in the know like yourself, so I'm certainly not going to argue. I'm quite sure that they are fantastic little cars, but yeah the looks do definitely come into it a lot. Top gear is good entertainment.. I would never base a car purchase on something that they have recommended to be honest, I'm bright enough to make my own mind up I think, but I agree again they can be very unrealistic with their reviews .. what a laugh though :-)

I admit I had a Saab 900 Turbo before and I loved it, so that also made me biased towards getting this. It's just a nice big car that's comfy on long drives.. that's good for me because I live about 30 miles from my closest family members and then 200 miles minimum from the rest of them. I've had a lot of cars now (about 40 in 12 years of driving), so I just want something quiet, comfy, sensible ......... but fast!!!

The BMW was causing me some serious problems in the 'You have a noisy car so you must be breaking all the traffic laws', department.. Now I can make this quicker and no-one will be any wiser.

I'm not frightened about the complexity of things really, I have a lot of experience with European cars so it's just the norm really. I think they just feel solid, properly build and semi-reliable.... we'll see how reliable it is when we ask it to give me 300hp... Do you think those wheels on the car but black and lowered would make it look any better?

The car below is the 9-5 Aero and apart from the wheels and the power under the hood, it's my car! I would be happy for it to look like this, it's just those fecking wheels .. lol

itsme4g63 · **Postat:** 2009-03-01, 00:28

naw u should leave the wheels stock, if this is just a cruiser. Or maybe give them a lil touch of chrome, if anything, black chrome looks amazing.