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Upgraded Sonett Suspension, Brakes, Weight Dist, Etc
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Posted by miscrms [Email] (more from miscrms) on Thu, 16 Apr 2015 21:40:32 Share Post by Email
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Hi all! After about a 10yr dry spell, I'm once again a Saab owner. I've got a bit of a strange project going, and I'm hoping some of you might be willing to share some of your insights and experience.

I recently purchased a '73 Sonett that seems to have a bit of a unique history. I had been looking to get back into a Sonett after many years and have been interested in electric conversions for quite a few years, so when this car popped up for sale a few miles away I pretty much had to buy it! From what I've gathered it was originally converted to a fairly modest 96V DC electric system in the early 90s by Bud Clark under the guidance of Walter Kern. It appears that Walter helped Bud build a twin of his personal electric Sonett, and Bud built Walter a twin to his personal Turbo Sonett :) In the late 2000s it seems it was owned by Jack Ashcraft, who dubbed it the Electric Norseman.

What I'd really like to do with this car is honor its past by creating a Sonett that combines the sustainability of Walter Kern's original vision, with the performance of its evil turbo twin. Preferably with going bankrupt ;)

The good news is it seems to be in pretty good shape, having had quite a bit of work put into it by some experienced hands over the years. If nothing else it seems like a pretty solid rolling chassis. The old electric system is still working, but is pretty woefully underpowered and not very efficient by modern standards. Dragging around 800 lbs of aging lead with an 11hp forklift motor will do that I guess.

You can buy much better parts now retail as fast as your wallet is deep, but my plan currently is to try something a bit more unorthodox with a decent chance of high performance / $ payoff. I'm currently looking for a wrecked Nissan Leaf to harvest the drive system from, with the idea of transplanting it into the Sonett. While a Leaf is not exactly sporty, it also weighs ~3600 lbs, while the drive system should be <600lbs. Measured at the wheels on a dyno, its single speed drive puts out about 200ftlbs of torque from 0-25mph, then a roughly constant 100hp from there to about 80mph. I'm thinking in a Sonett, that could be pretty fun. :) Not to mention that even in the porky Leaf it can cruise at >4mi/kWh or >135 MPGe. Though probably not both at the same time. ;) A snapshot of the measured wheel torque entered into the "Excel Dyno" with the Sonett chassis setup is attached, with the original Leaf chasis number in the far right column / scratch space.

While I'm pretty confident about getting the electric part sorted, I really don't know squat about performance suspensions, brakes, tires etc. Other than to know enough to be a bit concerned about the existing aging parts ability to keep that torque (and more importantly me) on the road ;)

If anyone has any advice on setup I would be most grateful. I'll have some latitude in terms of weight distribution, not sure whether to aim for 50/50 or push it toward the front a bit to help with traction. I'm also wondering whether it makes more sense to stick with the stock knuckles and brakes and adapt the Leaf drive shafts to the stick hubs, or if it would make more sense to try and adapt the Leaf knuckles to the Sonett A-arms / steering arm. Oddly enough the Leaf uses pretty beefy 2-piston calipers that are based on the mid 2000s 350Z/G35 calipers, so there are lots of performance rotor / pad options. I suppose it would open up a lot more wheel/tire choices too. I'm also wondering about shocks / springs, and not sure how many options are still available. I'm guessing something adjustable might be smart, given the unknowns?

Many thanks for any help you can offer!

Rob Smith
Phoenix, AZ
'73 Sonett III - my first car, long gone
'89 900 Turbo Conv - my SoCal Commuter, long gone
'05 92-X Aero 5sp - heretical fun, long gone
'73 Sonett III electric

posted by 72.201.48...


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