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'06+ Saab KING COBRA installed!

22K views 24 replies 12 participants last post by  G96nt 
#1 ·
Well, I finally got around to installing the '06+ Saab KING COBRA pipe and machined TD04HL-15T compressor housing that I have Nick at GS machine for me. I received my GS downpipe this past week, so I figured I'd finally give it a go. As you will see from the pics, the KING COBRA fits beautifully with the needed machining on the compressor house. The only other fabrication I needed to do was to cut down the crank case vent hardline and add an in-line rubber 135 degree bend hose since the crank case inlet on the KING COBRA is in a slightly different location. Have a look at he full set of pics here:
http://www.cardomain.com/ride/862755/6





 
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#3 · (Edited)
#6 ·
saabkid37 said:
i beleive that is the new gs pipe.
Nope its a 2006+ OEM Saab Intake Pipe.....they redesigned the intake pipe for the 265 hp motor in the new 9-5s. GS just machined my compressor side housing and added the thread to the crank case insert for the bango bolt.

IMS said:
Why didn't you just go with the SS GS Cobra pipe? Is this pipe that much better to justify all that extra work?
Thanks
Talking with Hirsch and DrBoost, this was the Cobra pipe to go with. Sure it was some extra work, but no pain no gain ;)
 
#8 ·
RBatsch said:
Nice install with what appears to be a new DP.

So what are your impressions of the new pipe? Was it worth the effort?
Robert
Yep, that is the GS downpipe that I installed at the same time.

The larger intake pipes really only make the turbo more efficient, i.e. it won't have to work as hard to make the power. I'm still on stock software, so it should reduce the required boost to meet the stock torque numbers of the factory T7....remember T7 are torque requesting system, so I won't see more HP until I get new SW.
 
#11 ·
lms said:
And why is that? Does the end really justify the means? Does anyone have any data supporting this or are we just going by what you and others "say"?
Why? Because it flows more than any other cobra I've seen, thus reducing backpressure before the turbine.

My car dynoed 309,9 whp w/ a MapTun cobra (reasonably large) and 327,6 whp w/ the King Cobra. Sure, not all that power increase is perhaps attributable to the cobra, but it sure does make a difference.

The improvement in spool-up is also very noticeable, especially when running a slightly larger turbo (MHI TD04HL-19T in my case).

Best regards,

KK
 
#12 ·
I made the decision after chatting with DrBoost (Saab engineer) and the folks at Hirsch. To be honest, taking the turbo out to swap the compressor housing wasn't that bad....2-3 hours of time.

Another thing to note is prior to the 2006+ King Cobra, Hirsch cast their own larger cobra pipe because of the superior flow properies of a cast piece over the 'step-down', welded SS pipes:



it would be great to flow bench the King Cobra vs the GS Pipe to see how big of a difference there is.
 
#13 ·
IMHO the bottleck part of the cobra is the bend just before the compressor and if you look at all the aftermarket choices (besides the king) the improvement to that area is relative minor, i.e make the first part of cobra large in diameter and just prior to last bend reduce it with a cone. I would not be surprised if the larger diameter part makes more harm to flow than good, when compared to a design where the pipe diameter remains the same through out the pipe.
Far to ofter people look for plug&play solution thus the compromises they have, when with a little more effort and sweat the same can be done much better.
This same philosopy in the world of plug and play items is every day business in tuning and I honestly feel people should focus more on the outcome rather than on the easiness of installation.
 
#16 ·
RBatsch said:
So I could fit a KC on my Viggen?

When you say taking the turbo out wasn't that bad....do you have to disassemble the turbine, or just the housing?

Are you running staged software and I assume you have a Viggen?
Robert
Hi,

Remove the turbo from the engine, remove the compressor housing, have it machined (or replace it with a machined one), then bolt it all back.

Best regards,

KK
 
#17 · (Edited)
RBatsch said:
So I could fit a KC on my Viggen?
Yes. You will need either a 2006+ 9-5 TD04HL-15T (with the 15mm short intake neck) or have your pre-2006 TD04HL-15T intake neck machined down by 15mm. I purchased a used TD04HL-15T from ebay for $65, removed the compressor housing, and sent it to Nick at GS to have machined down. You can see the intake neck difference here:


You will then need a 2006+ "KING" Cobra pipe of course. You will need to have some threads pressed into the crank case inlet for the crank case vent banjo bolt.

Finally, you will need to shorten the crank case inlet hard line as the crank case inlet is a few mm off. I did this by removing the 90 bend before the banjo fitting and added a 130 degree bend rubber hose (Saab part #: 91-89-465 - $6) inline to line things up correctly, as seen here:


You can purchase a pre-machined housing and KC with pressed in threaded crank case inlet from GS here:
http://www.genuinesaab.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=47_53&products_id=471


RBatsch said:
When you say taking the turbo out wasn't that bad....do you have to disassemble the turbine, or just the housing?
You actually have to remove both the exhaust and intake housings. You must remove the exhaust housing first to be able to get to the 3+" snap ring holding the compressor housing in. The exhaust housing is easy to take off, just removed the clamp and then a couple whacks with a rubber mallot and it comes apart. The intake housing is easy as well, however you need a snap ring tool capable to taking off a 3+" snap ring. I purchased a Snap-On Tools snap ring plier for $24 shipped:
http://buy1.snapon.com/catalog/item.asp?search=true&item_ID=70072&PartNo=SRPC9090A&group_id=771&supersede=&store=snapon-store&tool=all


Steps required:
1. Drain coolant
2. Drain oil and remove oil filter.
3. Remove old cobra pipe
4. Remove downpipe (don't forget to unplug the O2 sensors!)
5. Remove the oil hard line from turbo*
6. Remove both coolant hard lines from Turbo*. Don't get freaked out by the banjo bolt going into the waterpump....it will come out with a slight wiggle.
7. Remove the oil drain neck from the turbo (2 bolts)
8. Remove the turbo from the exhaust manifold
9. Remove exhaust housing from Turbo (see above)
10. Remove snap ring holding compressor housing on (WEAR SAFETY GLASSES!!!!!) and seperate the housing.

* with the limited room to get those banjo bolts on the hard lines out, I suggest getting a 12mm thin & stubby/shorty open end wrench. I picked up this one from Napa which worked very well:
http://www.napaonline.com/NOLViewer/Pages/Detail.aspx?R=99024&ShowPics=1

(this guy would work as well: http://www.napaonline.com/NOLViewer/Pages/Detail.aspx?R=96615&ShowPics=1)

To make the install complete you will need:
1. New Turbo to exhaust manifold gasket
2. New rubber seal (black) from KC outlet to Turbo inlet.
3. New rubber seal (teal) for the dump valve air inlet to the KC
4. All new copper washers for all banjo bolts. I suggest getting these from GS as they are 1/10th the price as getting them from saab.
5. New exhaust lock nuts for the DP and turbo-to-exhaust manifold. I used very nice VW copper exhaust lock nuts (VW Part #: N-902-002-01), At only $1.50 each from VW, they are 1/5th the price as getting from Saab and much nicer as you will see. You will need 7 of these. If you end up needing new Studs, you can use VW part number N-044-411-5 (M8x1.25x35), again 1/5th the price than getting from Saab.
6. 1 new oil filter, 1 drain plug washer, and new oil
7. 1 gallon of Saab coolant and 1 gallon of distilled water.
8. New oil drain neck-to-Turbo gasket (Saab Part #: 90-490-305 - $2.19)

RBatsch said:
Are you running staged software and I assume you have a Viggen?
Robert
No software yet, I wanted to get all my HW first. I plan on going with the Nordic Stage 4. Yes, I have a Viggen...2000 Silver 5-door.
 
#19 · (Edited)
I didn't have to machine anything, just fitted the pipe to my TD04.....
 
#22 · (Edited)
Well, I didn't I just fitted the turbo and the pipe...It was a tight fit with the A/C pipe but got it on well enough..


 
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