2000 Saab 9-5 Aero

[Tim G]

I own a 2000 9-5 V6 and I am considering trading it in for a 2000 Aero. I live in New Hampshire and as you can imagine, get a lot of snow. Will the Aero require snow tires? Does anyone own an Aero in a snow belt? I am a newbie and I apologize if the questions sounds stupid.

Tim

[Simon]

Welcome Tim,

I guess snow tyres are not a legal requirement? Do you use snow tyres on your current V6?

Simon.

[Tim G]

Simon, Thank you for the info. I do not currently use snow tires, but I thought that the Aero tires being high performance, were softer and thus less capable of gripping.

[Simon]

Tim,

Wouldn't have thought the Aero tyres would be a problem in comparison to your current V6 tyres. Your right foot might be though :cheesy:

Simon.

[murphwiz]

You will probably need snows, most people with aeros in very snowy places have a winter set!
As you can't use chains on the 17" wheels

[mr saabman]

This does seem to be a common question among 9-5 0wners.As Leon points out the snow chains cannot be used on 17's but most of the people asking about snow chains are not used to driving on snow eg:us Brits :oops: So all I could suggest is to buy one and try it,if you are used to driving on snow it may be fine for you. :)

[LotusXI]

Tim, I just purchased a '00 Aero with 15,000 miles in Dec. It has the 17" BBS with Michelin Pilot MXM's. They were a disaster waiting to happen in any kind of snow or ice. I live in Rochester, NY. and we had a pretty serious winter this year. I debated whether to get a second set of wheels that were narrower for snow tires. But I decided I liked the design of the BBS wheels too much to settle for anything less. I purchased a second set of BBS wheels I found on SaabNet and put Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50's from the TireRack on the original wheels. They are fantastic! They're good up to 90 - 100 mph in a snow storm and made the recent ice storm we had fun to drive in. They have very soft and deep tread blocks, so they have a bit of typical snow tire sway when changing direction. It's acceptable. I drive them hard and they don't seem to wearing too bad. A great solution for me.
Cheers,
Scott

[NCAlan]

I just purchased 2000 9-5 Aero few weeks ago in Ontario, Canada. And a few days ago (beginning of April!!!) got caught in the snow storm on the highway at night... I got seriously scared on my 17 inch low profile Michelin Pilot tires any time when had to drive over the snow covered sections of the road. Car became almost uncontrollable on the snow. I can tell you for sure that this tire is not for the driving in snow, and I'm buying a new set of 16 inch SAAB alloys with the winter tires fitted on them for the next winter season.

[Finn]

I'm buying a new set of 16 inch SAAB alloys with the winter tires fitted on them for the next winter season.

Hi NCAlan, welcome to Saab Central

Congrats on your purchase of an Aero :D You are correct about the wide tires in the snow, they can can be good fun (not) Why not save a few pennies and get yourself a set of cheap narrow steel rims for winter use.


Finn :)

[ebne0018]

Tim G-
I bought a 2000 Aero in January of this year. We had not had any major snow storms in Minneapolis at the time but sure enough, a week after I bought the car we got something like 12-18 inches. The car came with Fulda w rated summer tires and as you can imagine I was all over the place. I debated getting winter tires, all-season, or a set of 16" steels with winter tires.
In the end I settled on Khumo ACS all season tires for my 17" wheels. I don't get as much traction as my VW passat with 15" rims and Bridgestone Potenza G-009s, but I do alright.
Almost all of my problems are getting going in the snow and those are from the amount of HP the aero has.
If you got the money, get a set of 15" or 16" wheels with an all season or winter tire. There is just not enough room on a 17" tire to get good tread for snow.

[Chris 9-5]

If you got the money, get a set of 15" or 16" wheels with an all season or winter tire. There is just not enough room on a 17" tire to get good tread for snow.

I dont believe the 15" wheel fits over the aero's larger front brakes :confused:

[Raven18940]

Yes, you'll need to snow tires to drive in serious snow. I have Michelin Pilot A/S or something like that and in only half an inch of snow the car was almost unsteerable. Admittedly they are near the end of their life, but this was really bad. Yes the car has traction control, but in the snow with a manual gearbox it's completely useless. Perhaps if you opt for a auto you'll have better luck, but my clutch made it impossible to set off without spinning the wheels.