Date: Mon, 11 Jul 2005 18:26:01 GMT From: "Dexter J" <lamealameadingdongnospamlamelame.org> Subject: Re: NG900 owners, what are you opinions of it?
Salutations: On Mon, 11 Jul 2005 17:26:59 GMT, Paul Halliday <pjghnospamyonder.co.uk> wrote: > > in article 42d28e55$0$7809$da0feed9nospam.zen.co.uk, Grunff at > grunffnospam.com wrote on 11/07/2005 16:24: > >> As for the NG900, most disappointing drive of my life. And I've driven >> Triumph Heralds. > > They've got none of the "go" of either the C900 or the 9000, none of the > style of either and certainly none of the luxury of the latter. Very poor > cars, IMO, both for performance and for safety. The Talladega might sound > like a special car, but it just doesn't feel like a SAAB. Given that > fact, > why not go for a fast Vectra or a turbo Astra? <snipped for length - not for spite - see thread> Well, I had a 1994 NA NG900 for about a year and pleased enough with it. But - I uprated a couple of things to improve the way it handled the road. Basically - you are looking at a cable clutch for the early models - this is good and bad in that you avoid the hydraulic slave rebuild when the time comes - but you are putting in new wire every 20,000 or so miles if you don't lube it. The overall handling is *radically* improved by fitting a set of 9000 rear KYB shocks with stock struts in the front. You need to grind back the lobes a little bit on the 9000 shock rings - but they otherwise fit perfectly. I set the toe out about 2 degrees and had the alloy wheel's all press straightened. This removed several incurable vibrations (the 5 bolt SAAB alloy's all seem to be more soft than they should be - but are easily trued in trade). Mostly, setting the toe out *really* made it steer much better around town and on the highway. The steering was a sort of 'twichy' for my tastes at factory settings. The early NA NG900 engine is one of the last 16 valves with a bosch rotor and wires and it is remarkably peppy for what it is - mostly it is relatively cheap to service and *extremely* reliable. Turbo's and DI in the NG900 is pretty much the same game as the 9000 - and all that means. The body shell is prone to door rust in the lowers - but that is cured with annual treatment and careful attention to drains and the sun roofs don't seem to back up and leak as much. The radio is very good as is the general electrical in the NG - but the trade off is the sort of cheapo interior as compared to the 9000 or even the C900. That said - it was always rattle free and pretty quiet at highway speeds. I had the folks at my local shop tighten up the shifter joint, which made it more precise shifting (5 speed is the way to go if you go NG900 NA). On the whole, given they are cheap as the dogs breakfast on the market usually, they are not a wholly bad choice. However, I found the parts over here in Canada slightly more expensive (no ball joints - whole control arms for example) than 9000's. As to 9000 "being too large" - that is simply not correct. The CS 9000 is wider overall than the 900 and thusly not nearly as sporty. However, they are shorter and frankly, I still believe a much better value in the long term. I think that while your missus may find the machine a little large just looking around - she will be very pleasently surprised with a couple of test miles under her skirt. What happened to the fixed up aero on ebay at the end of the day? I think it really was the best option you were looking at in terms of a utility classic. -- Radio Free Dexterdyne Top Tune o'be-do-da-day Stevie Ray Vaughn - Wing http://www.dexterdyne.org/888/056.RAM all tunes - no cookies no subscription no weather no ads no news no phone in - RealAudio 8+ Required - all the Time
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