Stage one tuning, comments ?

[Kim]

Hello, Im new to this forum. Going on my third Saab, my last one a 9-3 2004 1.8t automatic is by far the nicest one. It has only 120 000 km on it, so i decided to have it chipped. but after upgrading the ECU there was no noticeable difference, I cleaned the mass airflow sensor and there was improvement. But thinking of changing the sensor if further improvement is possible

here are the stats i have now
all values in km/h

0-40 2,27 sec
0-60 4,03 sec
0-80 5,95 sec
0-100 8,40 sec (60 mph)
0-120 11,38 sec

does this sound like alright numbers supposedly it should have closer to 200 bhp

thanks in advance Kim

[nordwulf]

Hello and welcome.

These are the performance numbers from the 2005 Saab 9-3 brochure you can find in the Downloads. The 210hp 2.0T engine shows 8.8 seconds from 0-100km/h so yours is actually a bit quicker than that. I imagine you should feel a difference between 150 and 200hp but maybe not as much with an automatic transmission. Perhaps the previous owner had some tuning done as well?

[Kim]

Thanks for the info nordwulf, I dont think the previous owner did much tuning to it.I was lucky to buy a one owner car, from the widow of an old man. It's like driving a new car. I was really doubtful of doing anything to it, but this is my first automatic, so I wanted some extra power. The only thing I have to troubleshoot is the heating pads in the seat. I checked fuse 15 and 16 ? which should be to the seat heaters, but I didn't know it was a seperate fuse for the relay.

It has a small rust spot on the rear fender, I'll try to sort it out when the summer arrives

Have a nice weekend all you saab owners

[100%Saab]

Untuned 9-3s can run on regular gas (US octane 87), but stage 1 tuned 9-3s need premium gas (US octane 93). Lower octane gasoline will limit the horsepower of a stage 1 tune. So, first make sure you are using a higher octane gasoline. Make sure your service is up to date and your air filter is clean also. Make sure you have the latest software for your tune and that you do not need your software updated. Maptun and BSR both download updates to their software but it is possible to reinstall the original Saab software by mistake, if one does not pay close attention. Good luck.