I recently got in touch with Nordic Tuning. I asked them a question if they have any future plans concerning performance upgrades for the 9-3SS and their response was rather disappointing.

Dear sirs.
Tank's for your mail .
The information about the "new" enginge for the 9-3 SS is following. This engine is not a Saab engine. It comes from Lotus and in comparing to a stock Saab engine this engine is to week. We have tested and broke engin with 245-260 hp/370 nm Tq.
And it is expensive!!
So. until Saab take a dissition to get back to a Saab engine, no uppgrading for the 9-3 SS with 210Hp engine will come from Nordic.
Best regards

So are they basically saying that the engine cant handle more than 240 hp?

So are they basically saying that the engine cant handle more than 240 hp?

No, basically they're saying we have garbage motors. Great.

Oddly enough, this is the first I've read that it was a "lotus" engine. Most interesting, as everyplace else I've read it's a GM Ecotech (or was that ecotek, who knows), which we all know are capable of putting out well over 1000bhp.

I'd take it w/ a grain of salt.

I think Nordic doesn't have a clue about this engine. Breaking it at 245hp :nono; Doesn't the new 9-3 hatch come with the ecotech engine at 250hp?

Lotus use Rover and Toyota engines. The Elise coming to the US will have the same 2.2l engine as the Camry. Oh what a feeling :cheesy:

What a load of crap. :! They don't know what they were doing or are not familiar with the ECOTEC engine at all. :roll: The engine is NOT from Lotus. :o I know some Vauxhall and Opel tuners getting a lot more hp than what Nordic claimed they broke it at. I thought the Elise uses a Rover engine? No? I don't know where the Rover engine comes from though. :-??

Guys

I think they know a little about SAABs

Nordic (http://nordictuning.biz/specialproducts/)


http://www.nordictuning.biz/img2/93ss1s.jpg

http://www.nordictuning.biz/img2/93ss3s.jpg

http://www.nordictuning.biz/news/pic/93ss3s.jpg

http://www.nordictuning.biz/news/pic/93ss2s.jpg

Are these custom side skirts on the last picture?....and that fron spoiler seems different on the last pic too

Guys

I think they know a little about SAABs



http://www.nordictuning.biz/news/pic/93ss2s.jpg
They can't be that smart. They've tied a big anchor to the back of the car.

Nah, that's Saab's solution to the sticky hand brake :cheesy:

Those wheels looks like the Radius R6 in 18" :o

Something doesn't gel here. They get the engine's heritage wrong, wont be working on the 93SS, yet have a 9-3SS concept car and claim the 210HP is too weak yet the concept car is a 2.0t (175bhp) ??????

My only question is why is there test sled apparently a LPT 2.0t. That's not the 175hp engine, not the 210hp. If I could get 240hp out of my Linear I would be very happy. All that power with no turbo lag would be amazing. But I don't know about the engine being from Lotus. It's most definitely an Ecotech from GM.

It seem unlikely the 2.0T would break with such a modest increase in power.

Abbott Racing has a ECM, turbo, and exhaust, and intake upgrades for this car:

http://www.abbottracing.com/2003/tuning/n9-3/n9-3_engine.htm

I'd guess those items combined bring the HP above the claimed 260-HP breaking point.

I thought our engines were made in germany, tranny's made in Japan. We all know it is of GM origin, but WHO is actually putting them together? I thought I heard OPEL at one point. Something definitely doesnt jive here :-? All I know is it seems very hard to believe that a 20-35 HP boost is enough to cause our engines to go ca-blooey IMHO.

700, 800 1000bhp take your pick from a 2.0 ecotec engine

http://www.saturnfans.com/Cars/Motorsports/saturnboostedecotec.shtml

in response to the lotus elise, the US spec elise will not have a 2.2 camry motor but the sub 2.0L motor which is in the celica GT-S. Lotus reword the ECU a bit to give the car more torque & a little more HP.

ok guys, before we go and jump to conclusions isnt there anyone on this site that actually knows what kind of engine we have. i personally dont think this has an ecotec engine. i work for gm and from what i know saturn is the only ones using the ecotec engine. i dont have any contacts at saab, but someone on here has to have some. I will see what i can do to find out what kind of engine this has. Should the dealers mechanic have at least a clue to what kind of engine this is? The dealer i go to is clueless because they just started selling saabs a month ago. When we find out what kind of engine it is, it shouldn't be hard to figure out what else can be done with it. whether its an ecotec or a lotus engine, lots of people have work on these way before saab thought of putting them in their cars.

OK SS seems to think that its an ecotec engine. this tells me there is alot more potential then 245hp. not knowing the internals of the engine, this may be the weak point.
http://www.saabcentral.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=21151

I met Rolf Uhr from Nordic about a month or so ago. It seems if you put too much power through the 9-3SS engine the engine block piston liners detach themselves from the block!

so it sounds like inorder to put more then 240 into the block the whole engine needs to be rebuilt. is that what the concensus is?

Errr... yes pretty much!

Well inst this all just dandy news.... ehh.. i didnt plan on doing much to her anyway other then exhaust, chip intake, may even jsut scratch the idea of a chip too.

well that blows....maybe i'll reconsider buying one

sounds like if you have a vector and do the chip (at least 20hp) and the exhaust. you better hope the exhaust doesnt give you more then 10hp, if the limit is 240. my next question is since we are saying that 240 is a limit how much will this decrease the engine life? any guesses? im not much of an engine guy.

The engine in the 93ss is most definitely the GM Ecotec. The only Lotus designed engine GM ever used was the ZR-1 Corvette engine.