Date: Mon, 20 Sep 1999 23:29:56 GMT From: strat0XXXXnopsam.com (Scott A. Stratmoen) Subject: Is the 9-5 2.3L LPT just a bath tub on wheels?
Am I the only person who thinks the 2.3L 9-5 with a manual is slow? What I am finding is that when the air temperature goes up (>70F to 75F) the performance of the LPT based engine in the 9-5 is abysmal. Yes I know this is normal for a Turbo'ed car. The issue is that this big Saab is getting pushed off the road in daily commuting. At times I have to just hit the brake and block traffic waiting for an opening where in my old 900T I could have just sped up to merge. (Note that I only found the 9-5 at a city dealer where there is endless traffic and no room to really test out the performance. No kidding! Bad mistake.) I have looked into Hirsh Performance (and Abbott) for the last month. While I believe that they deliver on power I question two questions about reliability. Can the drive train (transmission and half shafts) stand up to an additional 150 ft-lbs of torque? In addition can the valves and pistons can handle the additional heat generated? My guess is that in the 9-5 Aero these parts are upgraded, much like what Saab claims for the 9-3 Viggen. Thus I suspect that while not only voiding the engine / drive train warrantee there is a realistic negative impact to long term reliability. Remember that these are not race cars but for most of us daily drivers. We can't afford the cost and down time to rebuild if something fails. (I recall a fellow worker who dropped a drive shaft with added torque and cracked up the car in the process.) Am I out of my mind on the 9-5's performance? Am I too conservative on an after market performance upgrade?
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