Topics

16

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / All season tyres.

« on: 14 November 2016, 07:01:14 PM »

Does anyone know of a good source for fully fitted 225/45 R17 94 W rated all season tyres for my 9-3 Aero auto sportwagon, I'm looking at Michelin crossclimates, Nokian weatherproof and Vredstein Quatrac but other suggestions welcome.

I don't really need to replace but one of my rear tyres is down to 3mm, the other side is at 4mm and the 2 fronts are at 4.5mm each. I was going to get a full set of the crossclimates from blackcircles the other week when they were £92 each but now they have gone up to £110 each. Only reason I didn't buy then was that I'd checked the tread depth in a rush when cleaning the car so wasn't sure if I should chose to replace, but of course now I made my mind up to replace a bit early I don't want to pay £440 for the set.

17

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Cheap OSRAM XENARC Night Breaker Unlimited D2S Xenon bulbs.

« on: 22 September 2016, 06:48:06 PM »

One of the bulbs on my 9-3 is starting to turn quite pink which is usually a sign that the light output is going to drop off, it's actually noticeable too compared to the other light. So I have been looking for a set of Xenon D2S bulbs for my 9-3. I've found a pair of OSRAM XENARC Night Breaker Unlimited D2S Xenons on Amazon UK for just £57.79 which turned up yesterday, right now they are just £56.30 for a pair but may go even lower.

18

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Replacement 9-3 key case

« on: 17 September 2016, 08:00:59 PM »

Can anyone recommend a 9-3 key case that doesn't have the plastic buttons and is a functional equivalent of the original Saab case? Our spare key is going very very sticky and is going to start falling apart soon, I'd prefer to be buying a good case so if someone can suggest one they've actually purchased and used that would be great.

19

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / MOVED: Loss of power, misfiring white smoke, NO code

« on: 11 May 2016, 04:20:19 PM »

This topic has been moved to Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on).

http://www.saabtechtalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=3127.0

20

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Damper choices.

« on: 06 May 2016, 04:14:04 PM »

I'm thinking about putting a set of Eibach springs on my 9-3, trouble is that I want to replace the dampers at the same time but do not want to use Bilstein B8 as they are a silly colour  and I do not want to buy them and then have to paint them a different colour with the problems that would give with regard to warranty if there was a problem.

I've also considered some sachs dampers from carparts4less but wondered if anyone else had any good ideas about what else to use, I'd be looking for dampers suitable for use with lowered springs obviously.

21

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Found out that the tail gate on the 9-3 isn't very metal today!

« on: 13 March 2016, 07:30:09 PM »

My partner has just decided she wants to start driving again, she originally learned to drive when she was living in South Africa but when she moved to Sweden she took a couple of lessons to get used to a LHD car but living in cities meant she never needed a car. After she spent 8 years in Sweden she moved back to the UK and spent the past 10 years saying she should start driving again but never gained the confidence until a couple of weeks ago when we had to cancel a family outing as I was not well enough to drive when she said it was time to get back behind the wheel.

Typically this is just after I got the new 9-3 as I'd have preferred her to drive the old 9-5 as at least I wouldn't have cared if it got scraped or damaged! Anyway she's getting lessons with an instructor and driving around locally with me but she asked about getting some P plates for our car as she's hesitant on roundabouts (they never had them in South Africa!), so I ordered some of the magnetic P plates on-line which when we went to put them on the boot lid today they just fell off! They stick fine to the bonnet and doors/sides of the car, just the boot lid isn't as magnetic! 

22

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Does anyone have the boot cargo net for the estate models?

« on: 13 March 2016, 07:16:56 PM »

Does anyone here have the boot cargo net? http://www.partsforsaabs.com/product_info.php?products_id=3009

I want to know if it can be fitted with the rear load cover in place (I think it does but I'm not 100%) as we will want one when going on holiday with the kids as we'll pile the car up but don't want to have to leave the load cover behind. The accessories catalogue for the metal dog guard says that you must remove the load cover if you have it fitted but there are no comments or instructions for the fabric load cover.

23

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Tow bar options for the 9-3

« on: 08 February 2016, 11:19:35 AM »

Hi all, as like Jim I live 35 minutes drive away from high lodge in Thetford forest I need to get a towbar for my 9-3 to carry my bike carrier (Atera Strada DL3 with the 4 bike option).

I just wondered if anyone can suggest any detachable (or fixed) tow bars for the 9-3?

I've been taking a look and after getting quotes of over £550 for getting a detachable tow bar fitted I think I can do better than this. I can get a dedicated wiring kit for the 9-3 from PF Jones for about £70 delivered but that just leaves me a choice of tow bar. PF Jones also do a fixed westfalia bar for £100 and their own detachable bar for £145 and a Witter bar for £165. There are other options available on ebay but as the genuine Saab bar appears to be NLS I don't want to buy something rubbish.

Any suggestions?

24

Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on) / Phone mount for 9-3

« on: 31 January 2016, 10:47:08 AM »

So, got my 9-3 yesterday and was going to get a brodit mount but today on their site I see it says "not for models with factory navigation" http://www.brodit.com/product.html?id=653901&pn=prod&brand=Saab&model=9-3&year=2007 this is rather annoying as I really want the phone exactly where that kit would put it. 

Does anyone know of any other mounts that will let me mount a brodit cradle on it in that position or do I just order the brodit and try it even if it needs modification.

25

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / SAAB pdf model brochures

« on: 26 January 2016, 08:16:54 PM »

Hi all,

Don't suppose anyone has a pdf copy of the MY2007 Saab 9-3 brochure do they? I'm slightly tempted to set-up a site with as much Saab documentation as possible as finding the sales brochures is not easy!

26

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / What would you do with an elderly 9-5 that needs work or retiring?

« on: 14 January 2016, 07:48:31 PM »

It is getting to that point with my 9-5 estate that I need to do something with it, it's a 2002 on an 03 plate with just under 170k on the clock, it has a bit of a knock from the front suspension and an oil leak which is getting bad to the point it will have to be a pretty major repair to fix it as it's the join between the timing cover and head, if I have that done I should get timing chains replaced and head gasket too, there's also a slight leak when cold from the exhaust manifold and the headlights need some attention to clean them up again and the exhaust is looking really really tatty now. I figure having all those bits sorted is going to cost me over £1000 which is a lot to put into an older car given that I don't feel incredibly attached to it.

So, my idea was that I could replace it with another 9-5 (or 9-3) with half the mileage and around 5 years younger. Trouble is that I'm finding it hard to get a suitable replacement as I want something Aero, petrol and auto but it seems that there are very few 08 and 09 cars out there (I suspect due to the recession not many were sold) and the 2010 models are very expensive. All I can see is higher mileage cars that I would have to travel hundreds of miles for. Of course I could just carry on with the current car and hope and keep an eye out.

...which brings me to my last option, I noticed that Mercedes E Class estates can be had for not massive amounts of money and you can have a choice of good engines, decent automatics and lots of toys and (dare I say it!) they will drive better than a Saab. There's also many specialists around for Merc which mean maintenance and repairs are not that expensive, also there are loads of them available!

What would you do!

27

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Petrol turbo engines performance.

« on: 10 November 2015, 08:46:46 AM »

"A two-litre turbo-charged four cylinder petrol engine can match the output of a three-litre naturally aspirated V6 petrol engine, he says, so "the technology we have is really a no-compromise solution"."

from:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-34731463

I thought news was supposed to be up to date and relevant! 

28

Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues / Getting tracking done around North Herts/Royston

« on: 14 July 2015, 06:49:12 PM »

Don't suppose anyone can suggest a garage in North Herts/Bedfordshire/Cambridgeshire who can do two things for me:

1. Adjust the tracking correctly.
2. Make sure the steering wheel is level after doing 1.

I've now found 2 places that have both managed to do 1, both have failed to do 2. with an excuse of "we can't get the wheel straight, something must be bent". One time the steering wheel was to the leaning to the left and the other time right and it feels like it's tracking OK both times, so all it really needs is a bit wound off one track rod and put onto the other but nobody around here seems capable of understanding that and I don't want to be trying to do the adjustment on my driveway as that's a real pain.

At times like this I can really understand why so many people have an utter distrust of the motor trade, it makes me consider starting up my own place.

29

Classic Saab 9-3 & GM900 (MY 1994-2002/03CV) / MOVED: Convertible Boot Space

« on: 14 June 2015, 02:40:33 PM »

This topic has been moved to Saab 9-3 Sport Saloon / Convertible / Combi (Wagon/Estate) / Turbo X / AWD (2003 on).

http://www.saabtechtalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=2913.0

30

Classic Saab 9-5 (MY 1998-2010) / MOVED: LEELAC SAAB - EXCELLENT CUSTOMER SERVICE WORTH SHOUTING ABOUT

« on: 05 June 2015, 10:34:59 AM »

This topic has been moved to Off-topic chat, Help, Advice, General motoring issues.

http://www.saabtechtalk.com/forum/index.php?topic=2908.0