Prepping the wife's Saab for autocross CHEAPLY!

So, like 11 days ago my gave birth to our first child, Jackson. He is totally awesome! However, this has me considering ways to give my wife and I "us time" with some regularity. In other words, scheduled time together once a month or so.

Anyway, this thought just came to me to try and get her into autocross. She loves to drive fast and enjoys her Saab. I think it is a floppy pile currently. So, what is a DD recipe for a 2010 Saab 9-3 Sportcombi that will make it a little more tossable. I don't feel the need to be competitive so I am already thinking chassis brace ($100), Shifter improvements, and better tires (probably limited to all seasons though so what say the hive?) What other stuff should I look at? Upgraded struts and springs would be nice but that is a grand.

Sounds like you've already got the score. I presume this generation has the same issues solved by the steering rack/chassis brace that the NG900/9-3 did?

Start there, then tires. Then suspension. Or just drive it and work on your (and your wife's) skills.

Just take it out first as is and see what it needs.

I have driven it spiritedly and I am sure that the chassis brace (only a 3 point available) will make me happier. It needs new tires anyway.

What all seasons don't completely suck in 215/55/16? I am completely out of loop on these things. Unfortunately, summer tires are off the table as we aren't able to budget for two sets of tires for this car. I would like to keep the installed cost under $150 per tire.

The Kumho 4X II has some pretty good reviews and a $100 rebate right now. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Ecsta+4X+II&sidewall=Blackwall&partnum=155WR6E4X2&tab=Sizes

In reply to singleslammer:

Honestly, I'd just buy 2 sets of the cheapo Kumho Ecsta all seasons. They're soft enough they should do OK autoxing, they'll last about half as long, but they're also like half the price of the nicer all seasons.

Prepping it will all seasons is a tall order.

Ignoring the tire problem, to prep on an extreme budget, I'd probably throw the idea of a chassis brace out the window as its just wasted $ Look at what Lemons guys do...

• Get a good autox alignment, by whatever means necessary. Slot the struts, slot the towers, camber bolts, etc.
• Probably add some rear bar. Weld a piece of angle iron to the stock bar.
• If you want to just go fast but don't care about classing, start looking into what springs you can get $cheap. That's the GM based SAAB, right? Will the stiffest Cobalt springs work? Perhaps you can snag a used set cheap and cut a coil off of them. May find bigger bar(s) there that could help as well.

Driver first, tire pressure second, tire selection third.

After that, you can spend lots of money on hardware to get a wee bit faster.

Rear bar gets my vote.

i;m with prodarwin

Biggest problem with my saab was understeer. anything you can do to stiffen the rear of the car will make a world of difference.

What is your real intention?

Do you really want a chassis brace? I would be really stunned if you could actually detect that it's there or not, given all season tires and a stock suspension. If you want it, get it.

But if you really are on a budget- don't bother.

If you HAVE to buy something, the cheapest thing you can do is get a bin to speed up emptying your car at events.

Then some tires- not all seasons, but actual sport tires.

Once you have those- you'll get a realistic idea what the chassis needs.

Otherwise you are just throwing parts at it, when what needs to be worked on is the driver- as fox already posted.

Changing the dynamics can be as easy as playing withe tire pressures. Lower the rear until you get some decent oversteer (after raising the front to get the max grip out of them). MAYBE play with disconnecting the rear sway bar. But again- you'll only know that when you get decent tires.

I would run the car as is for at least one season. Have fun. Make sure both of you are having fun. If you are not- then you are only out a few weekends and a little gas.

Maybe buy a really nice to use and easy to read tire pressure set up- one that you can bleed without taking it off.

First, clean out all the junk that females tend to accumulate in their cars.

No offense intended.

Congrats on the baby!!

Just keep it simple. I wouldn't do anything you wouldn't do for street driving, just tires once you burn through the current set, and shocks later on. Just go out there and have fun with it.

When I was running a ridiculously heavy front drive car somebody suggested setting higher tire pressures in the back to bump up the effective spring rate.

And yes, iceracer speaks the truth. When we used the wife's car/dumpster for my son's Street Survival, we had two tubs full of crap that she had accumulated everywhere.

In reply to Mezzanine:

I think the 04+ are completely different DNA than the 94-03 (?)

Yeah, it is a new platform vs the first gen cars. Still a torque steering SOB.

I am thinking Conti Extreme contact DWS (maybe 06) as they seem like a good combo of ride and grip. Decent in the winter too. The Potenza pole position all seasons have better summer grip but tire rack says that they are not great when it gets cold.

There is a bunch of "advice" here from people who know nothing about these cars...AlfaDriver's advice is solid but there are indeed some known areas for improvement on the 9-3SS.

First of all, nobody manufactures sway bars for the 9-3SS platform. People have clamored for them for ages but there is no such thing, so give up on that idea unless you want to go to down modifying the stock one. The front subframe brace, which DOES make a difference, is currently on sale for $100 at GenuineSaab. Well worth it, the car will track straighter and have less torque steer. Another $60 on the shifter cable reinforcement and solid shift bushings to clean up the whole assembly is also money well spent. Go with the DWS 06, about the best you can hope for from an all season. Then throw some good brake pads on and call it a day. If you can find a used set of springs from an Aero, possibly from someone upgrading to aftermarket springs, those would be icing on the cake.

pointofdeparture wrote: The front subframe brace, which DOES make a difference, is currently on sale for $100 at GenuineSaab. Well worth it. Another $60 on the shifter cable reinforcement and solid shift bushings to clean up the whole assembly is also money well spent.

Do you race one of these? What kind of time improvements can be expected from these two mods?

In reply to ProDarwin:

I'd imagine the drastic reduction in torque steer from the subframe brace would make it easier to get the car around some cones without it fighting you every time you get on the throttle. And the 9-3SS is frequently maligned for its crappy shifting.

These mods are typically regarded as "must do" by Saab owners (I've had three, BTW) and the combination of both is under $200. Why so hostile? Why do I need to list a time to justify saying "hey, here are some cheap parts that fix known issues with the chassis?" Calm the eff down, man.

Your advice was also good, but when I saw almost every person in this thread telling OP to get a big rear bar, it became pretty clear people don't know much about the 9-3SS platform, as there are literally zero bolt-on sway bar options for one. Any performance build is best started by fixing what is known to be BAD out of the box IMO, and the flabby-ass subframe mounting setup and slop-tastic shifter are serious problems with the 9-3SS from the get-go...plus upgrading them makes a tangible difference on the street too, so it's a win/win really.

The subframe brace made a noticeable difference on my GF's 9-3 aero. I haven't had any experience with the shifter upgrades, but I would like to as the shifter feel isn't that great in it.

I have the BFG g-Force COMP-2 A/S on my civic in 205/45/16, I love them, they are way better than the old BGA all seasons I had. If you see a lot of ice and snow they are less than ideal. Apparently the consensus is that they are more like an in-between for a summer tire and an all season.

Thanks for the input point of departure. I have read a little about these cars but not enough to know the "it" mods.

My real intention is to find something inexpensive that my wife and I can do together outside of being parents. To keep our relationship strong. Not interested in a title...

In reply to AntiArrhythmic:

Thanks, I will take a look at those.

In reply to singleslammer: You should honestly just race the car as is for the first season to see if both of you like autocrossing. If both of you like it enough to keep going for multiple seasons, then do the Saab fixes and a second set of wheels with summer tires on it the second season you two compete.

singleslammer wrote: Thanks for the input point of departure. I have read a little about these cars but not enough to know the "it" mods. My real intention is to find something inexpensive that my wife and I can do together outside of being parents. To keep our relationship strong. Not interested in a title...

I'll repeat my suggestion, other than tires that wear out, don't do anything for at least one season. Just drive.

There's a solid thread here about getting a car, modifying it, which basically ruins it for normal use. Don't do that.