[Bru85]

Hey everyone, I just picked up my first SAAB....a 2000 9-3SE currently stock.

For now I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for some mods....

I'm not exactly rolling in the money and it is my only daily driver so I need to get the best bang for my buck and keep the car relatively reliable for now.
Just wondering what I should start off with and where/who I should get it from.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

-Chris

 

[Chris 9-5]

Hey Chris welcome aboard!

Have a good read through the threads in this forum, almost every question you can think of will have been asked and answered before.

Then when you have a plan, the guys here will be able to help with some more specific stuff!

Its all here just needs to wade through it!

 

[Bru85]

Thanks!

Ya I just started to read through them all.

 

['97 Saab SE Turbo]

Before you start modding it, I would drive it at least for a month to see if there are any problems - then fix them one at a time. With the temperatures getting warmer, expect a slight loss of power due to the rising temp. Although up in Maine, you might not notice it as much as those down south in Texas and Florida. Keep an eye on the oil level, antifreeze level and brake fluid levels. Watch out for any Oil alarms on the instrument cluster as those indicate low oil pressure, not low oil level.... Ron

 

[Bru85]

I actually picked up the car in January and so far everything is good. It needed brakes and a water pump (that was fun) but I knew about both of those when I got the car. The car was serviced at a dealership it's entire life and the receipts show that the throttle body and DI cassette were both replaced within the last year. So far I have had no reason to doubt this car at all!

 

[saab&engineer]

Just make sure your platform is stable (i.e. severe oil leakage, abnormal idle, ect.). It sounds like the car is mechanically sound from what you are telling us.

As far as upgrades, it depends on how far you really want to go. My theory is if you want like 300hp out of the car, then the first places to start before mods is braking and control. Making the car stop and react quicker will make your car safer. Again this is my opinion. I have spent about $1200 to do this for me.

If you are looking for light mods and that's as far as you want to go, I would recommend a BSR open air intake, bigger intercooler, ecu upgrade or something along those lines. The sky's the limit!

Good places to check out performance parts are:

Genuine Saab (my fav mod site)
Elkparts
Abbott Racing

Hope this helps! These cars are great!

 

[Rennsport1]

I'd keep it a bit understated, one of the reasons SAABs are so cool.

 

[busaboy]

If you don't have a lot of money and you want it reliable, leave it alone!

 

[lowbudgethero]

Good set of tires/wheels one for summer one for winter

 

[motocrosschamp007]

Hi bud , I was in your shoes exactly 3 yes ago and all the money I didn't want to spend I did because there is a lot of work you can do yourself which saves you a lot of money so take a good look into it before you go modifying.

I would begin with a better intake which is very easy to do with about $100 worth of parts from eBay. I would then get a good exhuast cost around 1k in Australia cheaper everywhere else lol and then I would focus on tuning I used a ppc unit cost me 1k aus which was well worth it . So if your smart about it around 2-3k and you will have and awesome street car around anywhere between 250-270 hp .

Then if you wanted you can get slotted and drilled brakes if your in the states for around 120. Springs and shocks for around 4-500 and then you will find yourself driving around in a quick car that handles half decently

Good luck with you ventures