[aod]

I keep deliberating on getting a BSR stage 1 PPC for my 2.0T Aero – I’ve checked out the insurance and it’s a few hundred extra - not too bad – but what I really want to do is a try before you buy.

I doubt BSR do it, but it would be good if you could buy a PPC that does the upgrade for say, 1 start-stop cycle, or 1 hour etc and then reverts back to stock.

I’ve also been searching for some comparison videos on youtube but all I can find is one for a 1.8t, some stage 2’s and load of ‘road races’.

Does anyone have any videos comparing a stock 2.0T (210) with the Stage 1 BSR (247)?

 

[lexington01]

Insurance? Do you mean you're telling your insurance company that the vehicle is modified? If you were in a crash, it's highly unlikely that they'd ever know....

 

[DavidMorgan]

With BSR I don't see how you can test for a week ... It's a pre-programmed box that you buy. BUT I promise you .. you will get your money's worth

I am always very prudent as far as insurance is concerned but have never thought about mentioning it. Frankly, now you have asked about it .. you'd better go ahead and declare it .. BUT why oh why? It is even unsure if a Saab machanic can tell the difference. Anyways it's done.
But yes go for the Stage 1 "blindfolded" you will never regret it.
I've had it for 5 years now and excellent value for money.
Cheers,
David

 

[macustoms]

I have insurance story about this kind of stuff, and let me tell you with something like a Saab where parts are extremely expensive sometimes it is smart to mention to your insurance company.

About 5 years ago I had a 1999 Honda Civic Ex turned SI, i had a few JDm parts like the ITR headlights, grille, foglights, type r front lip, rear diffuser, carbon hood, and then engine parts up front like AEM V2 CAI, DC sports header, etc. I had my insurance company (was on the parents still) look at the car and mo dify my insurance to cover all the new parts including stereo and everything, ended up costing like $95 a month extra which was a lot. Now was it worth it, well when I got into a front end collision with a pile of snow that was more ICE, and ruined one headlight, my front lip, both foglights, stock bumper, jdm grille, and my lower half of my cold air intake, the insurance covered it all, it was a hassle finding a body shop willing to order this parts from all the different places I needed to but it all got payed for.

Point of story, if you have a heavily modified Saab with lots of really expensive parts and are accident prone like I it may be a wise Idea to inform you insurance company.

 

[9-3gotboostAERO]

Just a tune in a box is no reason to inform your insurance company lol

You keep the PPC at home so I dont know why this discussion is even happening

 

[Vector-SS]

Just a tune in a box is no reason to inform your insurance company lol

You keep the PPC at home so I dont know why this discussion is even happening

Well if you total the car (like my brother did), then you would have a $1,000 useless "piece of box" sitting home worth a freaking penny :evil:

 

[lexington01]

As a former claims adjuster and current insurance agent, I have to say:
1) There's almost no way the insurance company would know the vehicle has been modified nor would they have any reason to think it had been. We're not talking about a Honda Civic with a wing on it here.
2) If you have aftermarket parts on a car like macustoms, you probably don't need to tell the insurance company since most companies will put you back to pre-accident condition. However, your policy may have an exclusion for aftermarket parts. So this is a 'your mileage may vary' situation.
3) To Vector's point, I can't imagine ANY company paying to replace your BSR unit. It's not part of the car itself so it's not covered (in the same way, your iPod isn't covered by your auto policy because it's not permanently installed in the car). This is just one of the risks involved with buying a BSR PPC. However, if you buy another Saab, I've read that BSR will cut you a break on a new unit for the new car.

 

[aod]

OK, well - regarding the insurance thing, I've asked the question in the past, and the response was mixed, but I've decided to play it safe:

it's obviously your own decision whether to declare such an upgrade or not but what's not in doubt is that your policy could well be invalidated if you don't do so. The "no non-standard components involved" theory/opinion simply doesn't hold water - the real issue insurance-wise is whether the car has been modified in any way versus its standard factory specification when sold new. An increase in the car's original bhp output falls very definitely into this category. If you're still unsure, just try asking a selection of insurers and you'll soon have your answer....!

I realise it's near to impossible to tell if it's been remapped, short of debugging the ECU and reading it's logs and set-up, and it's probably unlikely any insurance company would go to these lengths to check, but there's always the chance it could happen, if I was unlucky enough to be involved in an accident. Then I would seriously regret it.

Anyway, back to the topic - I'd love to see any videos comparing performance between 2.0T stock and Stage 1 BSR if anyone has them! Thanks.

 

[Last_saab_standing]

search on youtube ist about 1 sec faster on the 0-60mph

 

[aod]

search on youtube ist about 1 sec faster on the 0-60mph

Thanks for the info, I've been looking, but can't find any!

I’ve also been searching for some comparison videos on youtube but all I can find is one for a 1.8t, some stage 2’s and load of ‘road races’.

Does anyone have any videos comparing a stock 2.0T (210) with the Stage 1 BSR (247)?

 

[Ferms_93_2.8T]

Try be fore you buy, isn't necessarily a ridiculous thing. APR (I think) does a thing on audi's where you can have a test tune which deletes itself after 3 days. I think it might be 50 dollars or something.

However, a tune like this is programmed by a shop, not by PPC. But their tunes usually come with 3 or more modes which are selected through a sequence of buttons on the cruise contral stalk. One mode is "stock" which, like bsr, makes it virtually invisible to a dealership. To me that is even more convinient than a PPC. You don't even have to carry anything around with you. GENIUS.

 

[mohooba93]

i recall reading on saabsunited that hirsch was doing a trial tune for people in europe.

 

[grett9-3]

i know they do a try before you buy for some VW's. guy i know has a jetta and he went to a car show and the performance company was there and they gave out free ecu flashes that lasted a few days.

it really would be a great idea for companys like BSR to do this

 

[volcomstone2262]

Hirsch did have promotion for try before you buy, I think US is out of luck though.