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Photos of my Saab 9000s

While saab9000.com has become well-known for its technical information, some people have asked to see photographs of my cars intact, rather than tiny bits at a time as I dismantle and (hopefully) re-assemble them. Here are some photos, along with descriptions of each car. Click on an image to see a larger version.

My current 9000s

I currently own three 9000s, seen below. Left to right, they are:

• 1994 ('95 model) 9000 CSE 2.0LPT (manual) - 138K miles (I call this one CiSsiE, because she drives a bit like a giggly girl).
• 1996 9000 Aero (manual) - 170K miles (too "butch" to have a name)
• 1996 9000 CSE 2.0LPT (automatic) - 100K miles (no name, as I don't usually drive this one)

There is a plausible explanation (honest!) for the glaring fact that they are all the same colour. Having owned the Aero for a few years, I set out to buy an automatic for my father to drive. He liked the Aero in silver, but would have had a preference for that colour anyway. While searching for a silver 9000 automatic (which culminated in the purchase of the car on the right), I came across the car on the left at an unmissable price. On enquiring about it, I found it was not an auto, but was interested enough to look at it as a backup car for the Aero and after driving it, bought it. It needs a little cosmetic attention, but appears to be a very sound car.

There is a lot to be said for being able to swap body parts between the three cars and for only needing to buy a single paint colour.

Note the absence of the turbo badge from the two LPT-engined cars. These cars don't have a boost gauge either, leaving no outward sign that they are turbocharged. Much less temptation for thieves, I think.

The day I took the photos of the three cars together, the security staff at my workplace where the photos were taken must have thought I was more than a little weird...

The only cosmetic modification to each of the cars is the replacement of the original orange indicator side-repeaters with the clear/smoked (pick your preferred description) repeaters from the latest Saab range. The cheapest source I have found for these, believe it or not, is a Saab dealer. They are mechanically identical to the original units, and take seconds to fit. The Saab part number for the pair is 400126256.

The 9000 CSE 2.0LPTs

I don't have any individual photos of the CSEs at the moment, so will conclude their description here before moving on to the Aero.

Performance specifications of the 2.0LPTs are modest compared to the Aero (below), but these are not sluggish cars by any means. While these cars weigh between 1.4 and 1.5 tonnes each, the horsepower rating does not do justice to their actual performance, which benefits from the generous torque produced from the turbocharged engines. Cissie (the manual CSE) is especially fun to drive in town with her fairly low gearing and light clutch and accelerator (I never liked autos much anyway) and is capable of some pretty quick getaways. The torque is just where it is needed under most driving conditions and the lack of turbo lag compared to the Aero makes her at least as quick off the line in some situations. The 1996 model had an intercooler, which was lacking in the 1995 model, and the boost pressure in the '96 was lowered to maintain the same power output. I believe this accounts for the slight difference in maximum torque.

The 9000 Aero

Standard performance

The Aero is fitted with a variation on the Saab B234 2.3L turbocharged inline 4-cylinder engine and the performance specification for the manual version (as standard) is as follows:

Modifications

Drivetrain

• Replaced the standard exhaust system with a 3" JT straight-through system from Maptun.
• Fitted a Maptun Aero Stage 3 Trionic upgrade.
• Modified air intake.
• Replaced the engine upper torque arm bushes with SuperFlex polyurethane bushes.
• Replaced transmission mounting with Abbott Racing polyurethane bush.
• Fitted Quaife limited-slip differential.
• Lowered final drive ratio from 3.61:1 to 3.8:1.
• Fitted AP Racing clutch plate.

Suspension

• Replaced the steering rack mounting bushes with SuperFlex polyurethane bushes.
• Replaced the front and rear anti-roll bar mounting bushes with SuperFlex polyurethane bushes.
• Replaced the front lower control arm rear bushes with Abbott Racing polyurethane bushes.
• Fitted the Abbott Racing spring and Koni damper suspension kit.

Braking

• Fitted Goodridge stainless-steel braided brake hoses.
• Flushed and filled braking system with Lucas DOT 5.1 (N.B not DOT 5) brake fluid.
• Fitted Ferodo DS3000 racing pads front and Ferodo DS2500 pads rear, with Brembo discs front and rear.

Electrical

• Replaced headlamp bulbs with Phillips Vision Plus high-performance bulbs.
• Replaced the orange indicator repeaters with clear ones (as fitted to 2001 UK-spec 9-5 & 9-3) - Saab part number 400126256 (pair).

Trim

• Removed the centre armrest (and fitted it to the CSE auto).

Modified performance

With the above modifications, the performance has been measured as shown below: