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Re: Follow Up: Best year and most reccomended mods? Posted by Chris9k [Email]  (#3127) [Profile/Gallery]
(more from Chris9k) on Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:13:36
In Reply to: Follow Up: Best year and most reccomended mods?, JWorsman, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 08:09:41 Members do not see ads below this line. - Help Keep This Site Online - Signup |
There have been a lot of good recommendations on here already. I would start with a 96-97 Aero or 96-98 CSE. Finding one in good shape that has been taken care of is the first step to have a good performance 9000.
Next I would take care of general maintenance. The more power you put into the car the quicker worn out parts will finish themselves off. Replace all vacuum lines. Check all motor mounts and replace as necessary. I like having two poly up top in the torque mount, but it is too much vibration for some. I have a solid mount and a hydraulic mount in the bottom. Check the trans mount(I used poly here as well, but that is up to personal preference on vibration) and linkage and replace if worn out. Check all the suspension bushings all around, tie rods, axles, and of course any leaks. Any leaks from the valve cover or the head-gasket and I would replace that before continuing. The increased boost will only cause those to fail sooner. NGK spark plugs gapped to .9mm. Change all the fluids. Air filter, pvc check valve, and all the little things that will affect the performance later on.
After that I would move on to suspension. Stock Aero springs or a set of H&R springs would be the best option here. Match those with either stock Aero shocks, Koni yellows, or Bilsteins(those are listed in order of softest to stiffest). SAS sway bars...these are a need to have. Complete transformation of the car on the back roads. The front rear wishbone bushings, I would recommend poly as well. A quaife LSD will of course make the car better, but it is pricy. If you are getting that installed, you might as well go all out and get the 6 speed gear set(have to call around to see who has it, usually John at JZW or Nick at GenuineSaab), but that will be making this a very pricy build, and I have no idea what kind of budget you have.
Brakes will be next. Brembo flat faced brakes are still the best bang for you buck rotor in my opinion. Some people like the cross-drilled and slotted, but most of them probably like it for the looks...until you start getting real expensive ones. Brake pads...there are so many options. I like others like the Ferodo DS2500 for the E30 M3. Just a tiny bit of grinding on the backing and it slides right into the caliper. That will probably be just trial and error to find what pads work best for you and your style of driving.
After all that, then comes the power. :-) If you are planning for Stage 3 or Stage 4, you want to have the Aero TD-04 15HLT turbo. If you buy an Aero or a '98 CSE manual then you already have it. Open air intake...not completely necessary, but it really does sound good. You can also just drill holes in the air-box to let more air in and accomplish the same effect performance wise without the sound. A good forge BOV to hold the higher boost. The stock Bosch is good up to 20psi, maybe a little more, but has a plastic diaphragm that can easily fail. A bigger intercooler will help you to hold the boost on multiple runs. Keeping temperatures down is a good thing. ETS makes a drop in huge intercooler but is expensive. You can also buy a large intercooler on ebay and mount it in the lower spoiler yourself to save some money. 3in exhaust from the turbo back will help keep the high temperatures moving around from the turbo as well. At the very least do a 3 in downpipe and high flow cat and then you can go back to 2.5 if you think it will be too loud. I think 3 in all the way with a high flow car, resonator, and one muffler sounds very good with out having a droning noise on the highway. Once you have all of that, you will be ready for a Stage3/4 tune. I would recommend John at JZW or Nick at GenuineSaab. There are options to do it yourself. Read up at ECUproject.org if that is something that interests you. Lot of information there. If you want to go Stage 5, you will need a 18T or 19T TD-04, bigger injectors, high flow fuel pump(might even start needing this at stage 4). My stock clutch holds fine at Stage 4, but moving to Stage 5, you will need an upgraded clutch. Lots of options out there.
I am sure I left some stuff out. Just do lots of reading and keep asking questions. There is so much knowledge on here and on the Performance Board.
Good Luck!
Chris
This is a link to a video I posted of 3rd gear in Stage 4 Aero. This will be becoming Stage 5 in the next couple weeks and I will post a video of the difference.
, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 19:13:36 <-- Viewing This Message
, Tue, 26 Jul 2011 16:30:06
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