The 2008 / 2009 9-3 Tuning questions

[boon94]

So i have some questions, say i were to purchase an XWD 9-3 of the 08 or 09 model year. I have the option of the 2.0T and the 2.8L V6.... Now if i was planning on tuning the car, would be better to stay with the 2.0T, or has the 2.8L V6 become more tunable? I see all the 09 AERO's are up to 280HP... Its probably easier to get that up to 350 than the 2.0T would be eh?

[cavedudejeff]

Originally Posted by boon94

So i have some questions, say i were to purchase an XWD 9-3 of the 08 or 09 model year. I have the option of the 2.0T and the 2.8L V6.... Now if i was planning on tuning the car, would be better to stay with the 2.0T, or has the 2.8L V6 become more tunable? I see all the 09 AERO's are up to 280HP... Its probably easier to get that up to 350 than the 2.0T would be eh?

The 2.0T can be tuned to 500+hp...

There's a few cars ripping around sweden that are in that range. Will it be street drivable as a daily driver is a whole different story. Either way you are going to spend about the same amount of dough getting to the same numbers. Either less up front for the 2.0T and more later on for upgrades or more upfront for the 2.8 and less later on for upgrades.

The question is are you REALLY going to do those upgrades or are you just musing about it.

[saab19]

to get the 2.0T up to that range you're going to have to drop a huge amt of money, much more than with the 2.8

[cavedudejeff]

Originally Posted by saab19

to get the 2.0T up to that range you're going to have to drop a huge amt of money, much more than with the 2.8

Pfft! Thats a load! After you do all the math including the rather large chunk of dough that the 2.8 costs it isn't that big as you make it out to be. This isn't a WRX where you have to replace the engine block to start pushing some really obscene numbers.

You have to remember that the 2.8 is a cool 7k more than the 2.0.

And that 7k when dropped on the engine will put you into some ridiculous HP territory.

[Ferms_93_2.8T]

I believe the Vtuner stage 0 is putting out 320hp on the stock 2.8 motor with 400lb-ft torque. I'd like to see how much that would cost to get out of the 2.0T. I also believe with complete stock internals that stage 0 is capable of 350hp, but then again I am not making that tune. I am sure Vtuner will chime in at some point. However, I think the 320hp his tune currently produces is pretty nice for the XWD setup.

[ak1551]

It depends on what you want to do with the power, if you're gonna take it to the drag strip then the 2.8 would get you the most power for the least cash. but if you're planning to drag, you could get a pontiac G8 GXP for similar money and it will take any mildly tuned Saab.

If you want to auto-cross or road courses, the 2.0T is the better choice. That's mainly because its less nose heavy and tends to understeer less. with some good suspension tuning and a few engine mods (intake, turbo-back exhaust, intercooler, software and bigger boost hoses). You should be somewhere around 300 hp and still daily driveable.

It all comes down to what you want to do with the car and how much driveability you're willing to sacrifice.

[boon94]

Originally Posted by cavedudejeff

The question is are you REALLY going to do those upgrades or are you just musing about it.

Well im hoping to be able to afford to purchase my first car (all by myself lol ) by the end of the summer, or early fall, and i want a 2008+ 9-3 convertible... (should be some incredible deals on them by then)... And while i probably wont end up doing more than a stage 1 or 2 tune, i was mostly wondering if the 2.8 was as tunable as the 2.0.

But i guess im just musing for the time being.

Originally Posted by ak1551

It depends on what you want to do with the power, if you're gonna take it to the drag strip then the 2.8 would get you the most power for the least cash.

no i wont be taking it to the drag strip, im not even sure why i mentioned XWD in my first post as i want a convertible....

I just want a convertible with amazing passing power lol