Messages

61

Cleaning and Detailing / Re: Soft top - using Renovo over the top of Autoglym proofer?

« on: 10 May 2018, 04:36:30 PM »

Its not so much splashy as runny; until it soaks into the warp/weft of the fabric it tries to bead and run off, so you need to be pretty swift working it in with the brush. But when it does run off, it tends to stain glass and paint. Its not permanent but it does take quite some effort to get it off the glass and paint once dried on...
So always proof the roof BEFORE you do the wash/polish/wax routine 

62

Cleaning and Detailing / Re: Soft top - using Renovo over the top of Autoglym proofer?

« on: 10 May 2018, 11:42:57 AM »

You will need more than Frog-tape! - I needed a huge roll of that brown-paper used to mask off areas for painting such as THIS

63

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Power steering moaning at low speeds

« on: 10 May 2018, 11:37:50 AM »

NO! Not the string-backed gloves! 

Heheh - I had some of those in the early days of driving the MG around. I think they would look right if youre driving an open 1950s car but they never provided much warmth.
I think I only bought them because I remembered my dad had similar gloves in the '60's

I have an outrageous fur balaclava hat a bit like  THIS ONE! but obviously a mans version!

64

Cleaning and Detailing / Re: Soft top - using Renovo over the top of Autoglym proofer?

« on: 10 May 2018, 11:24:26 AM »

I'm surprised.
...And that must have been MANY years ago as I dont ever recall having seen Halfords stock Renovo in the last 30 years or more.
I agree Halfrauds have a huge shelf dedicated to AG products and Meguiars stuff seems to be more freely available these days - even a decent sized Meguiars wash bucket and a grit-guard to fit it has appeared lately!

If the AG stuff is working - why not stick with it?

65

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Power steering moaning at low speeds

« on: 10 May 2018, 11:12:09 AM »

Above link fixed for "my type of gloves" somehow both links were the same 
You might also need a hat - I forgot that - I  certainly need one in the Jimny - having the roof open in winter the cold air skims the top of my head, freezing it

Also if you lower the roof make sure its dry before doing so - I used those big blue fluffy microfiber towels with the red stitching around the edges (I think Halfrauds sell them now) for the sole purpose of drying off the roof before lowering ot to go to / from work 
Im sure there may also be a temperature restriction on operating the roof if OAT is < -4C but you'll need to look in the handbook for that

66

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Best all-year tyres for 9-3 convertible - recommendations

« on: 10 May 2018, 11:05:25 AM »

Not an all-season tyre I had Dunlop WinterSports on mine and they got me home from work (15 miles) in over an inch of virgin snow and up steep Cotswold hills at 4am when my colleagues couldnt even get their cars out of the car-park at work!
The wife's Vauxhall Meriva has GoodYear Vector Four Season tyres (which generally seem to get good reviews)  and while not used in the conditions above to the extent  my winter Dunlops were, seemed quite capable of getting out of our road in snow/ice which is on a hill.

A colleage of mine with a VW Phaeton (4x4 car) uses Nankang winter tyres all year round and when we had that bad lot of snow in February was able to go everywhere. I would not have felt at all comfortable doing this in the SAAB - but he did have the advantage 4 wheel drive

If your tyres are worn-out I have some 17" wheels with very good Continental Conti Sport summer tyres on them for £200. Theyre in super condition except for one that I kerbed badly. (The damage is purely cosmetic and could be repaired at a later date).

67

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Power steering moaning at low speeds

« on: 10 May 2018, 10:52:23 AM »

Off topic for a moment to reply to Dave...

Hi Dave, you seem to have been away from the forum for ages.

I'm very pleased that you are making great use of the draught excluder/wind-break accessory and finding it to be effective.
Hopefully thi s will mean you will be able to enjoy the car during the winter months with the roof open too, and not just be a summer open air motorist. I actually preferred driving it on those wonderful clear-skied sunny winter days as you arent subject to the scorching sun! You just need a good coat with a high collar and some thin but warm leather gloves such as THESE, although I use THIS TYPE as the thin padding on the backs assists in keeping the hands warm.

There may be a way of slightly improving the draught exclusion on that wind/break; I thought of doing something but never got around to it.
If you could somehow reduce or even completely eliminate the gap between the seats/trim and the edges of the frame of the wind-break, I am 90% certain you will significantly get a lot less cold air around your legs.
I thought about using some of that grey foam used for lagging pipes to try and make the gap smaller - I just never did it and I wish I had tried.
If you try it just be careful not to damage the mesh - even foam rubbing on the mesh might wear a hole in it so you could use something like that low-adhesive blue masking tape on the mesh to protect it from the foam. 

Just a thought.

Sorry to go off topic!

68

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Rattling glove box lid

« on: 10 May 2018, 10:32:33 AM »

Also, was there an optimum position for them. I have a couple by the latch, and more elsewhere.....but still it rattles, and it is the most annoying feature in the car....apart from the intermittent radio/indicator sound.......and the road noise with 18" tyres ha ha

Having owned convertibles for most of my life, I cant say I get too frustrated with rattles - most convertibles get scuttle shake and the SAAB is no exception and I just lived with it but fixed the ones that became obvious. But I can understand the frustrations of people with much quieter saloons.

My Suzuki Jimny not only shakes knocks rattles and creaks, but there is the most horrendous wind-noise (at any speed) from the single skinned vinyl roof that is so loud  I sometimes dont even bother having the radio on!
I will however try and address that problem by fitting some suitable rubber extrusion under the leading edge of the folding roof and see if I can improve the situation!

69

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: 18" tyre buying advice

« on: 10 May 2018, 10:24:29 AM »

I've got them advertised in our forum: HERE  ...But they are R17 

70

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: Facebook Saab groups

« on: 10 May 2018, 10:18:58 AM »

Not SAAB but other stuff over the years... I too have got into a bit of a tiz thinking I've been ripped off because of someobodys sudden apparent lack of communication with me and not other people has happened. But in my instance, it was unfounded worry and the stuff just turned up late.
Hopefully it will arrive soon.

On the other hand I have heard of unscrupulous people advertising highly rare and sought after valuable vintage car components - usually for sale in a remote and fairly innaccessible area of say, Scotland.
The one that springs to mind is a rare 1930s MG gearbox that was found advertised for an unbelievably cheap £2500 which turned out to be a scam.
What happened was, the photographs and info on the gearbox type etc had been stolen from a magazine advert that some years earlier had sold (in a genuine sale) a gearbox that fetched £4k.
The scammer thought they could make a quick buck by making a a similar advert for a non-existant, similar, g'box advertised at an unbelievably cheap price of £2500 (but still a lot of money).
Luckily this was flagged up on the MMM forums by a suspicious MG owner that recognised the photos and remembered the origianal advert, and even still had the magazine, and realised  the that this was potentially a fake sale.

This same scam has now happened something like three times in the last five years and is no doubt being set up by the same individual!
Somebody tried to trap the scammer by saying they wanted to inspect the g'box first, but got all manner of excuses saying that he was overseas and blah blah blah etc and that the g'box was already in the process of being bought by another individual in Japan, and that if he wanted it he would have to transfer the money immediately.

Scum like that will hopefully live very long, painful and unhappy lives.


I am sure there will be some explanation of your stuff being a bit late and for the apparent lack of communication, and that your stuff will turn up very soon.

71

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: 18" tyre buying advice

« on: 09 May 2018, 10:31:58 PM »

I liked my Contisports a lot and was always glad to get them back on the car after the winter tyres; they just felt better.
Mine are still for sale for £200. There are four of them altogether, and two have loads of tread.

And of course they come attached to some nice wheels 

72

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Power steering moaning at low speeds

« on: 09 May 2018, 10:28:26 PM »

Intermittent snags are the worst and always take an age to figure out what they are.
I had a horrendous whining noise in my car that was quite intermittent, but I finally figured out that it only ever happened when my wife was in the passenger seat.

73

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Re: Rattling glove box lid

« on: 09 May 2018, 10:24:59 PM »

Which thickness is optimum?

I can't remember 

74

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: New tyres - back to the fitter...

« on: 09 May 2018, 10:23:52 PM »

Clean rims with IPA before giving them to the fitter to glue the weights on. - could be grime dirt or if youre like me with your wheels, polish or wax 

75

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Re: Missed photo opportunity :0

« on: 08 May 2018, 11:43:03 AM »

Alas its not my site, so sorry, its not my call.

I always felt the site looked a bit too understated and needed something else like an eyecatching banner at the top of the front page.
I also thought it needed a little icon logo thing that sits in your favourites/bookmarks to help identify the site (forgot the name of those but I designed several variants of those as well but again, the idea was never taken up and embodied)