28 responses so far ↓

• 1 turbin // May 7, 2008 at 8:56 am

  Fantastic stuff, very tidy. First time I’ve seen a good pic of the 2.8T oilpan, my colleagues and I made the first prototypes of that and a few other bits.

• 2 Tedjs // May 7, 2008 at 9:22 am

  Those are awesome shots!!!!

  Very interesting to see how they modified the fuel tank to accommodate the AWD system. And look at the mounting for the rear differential – those are some robust mounts.

  Thanks for taking the time to do that.

• 3 Saabboy1 // May 7, 2008 at 10:12 am

  Wow I like it, I wonder what the life expectancy of that exhaust is? My 2003SS Is still the same one with 70,000 miles so I imagine it will last clost to that?

• 4 1985 Gripen // May 7, 2008 at 10:39 am

  I’m no automotive genius, but isn’t the point of a dual exhaust to transfer the exhaust of each bank of cylinders out the car individually?

  Having one exhaust pipe coming back and teeing-off to two seems to defeat the purpose of a dual-exhaust system. Is this purely aesthetic? Am I wrong (entirely possible)?

• 5 Alex // May 7, 2008 at 10:54 am

  Yeah it’s aesthetic, but it also allows you to use two smaller mufflers which are much easier to package than one large muffler. It’s especially important on an AWD car, where the driveshaft eats up the space that the center resonator would occupy on an FWD car, forcing you to move it back and closer to the mufflers. Look at how the AWD A4’s 2.0T’s exhaust is set up. On the flipside, look at the Acura TL or TSX.

  Google the S60R’s exhaust system to see what I mean about the muffler-age needed by a car like the R or the -X with a single-exit exhaust system.

  The drivetrain definitely looks beefier than the S60R’s though, that’s for sure. The diameter also blows the R’s exhaust out of the water, I can’t wait to hear one.

• 6 Tedjs // May 7, 2008 at 11:52 am

  True dual-exhausts on transverse mounted engine setups are a rare thing. Speaking of exhausts, one of the decidedly unique features of the 2.8L V6 is they bolt a catalytic convertor right on turbo under the hood which still sort of disturbs me, but it seems to be doing fine so far.

  Other than that it ‘looks’ cool to have two exhaust outlets on the back of my SportCombi wagon. It gives the car a decidedly business; don’t even think about messing with me appearance. And to the goof with the fart-can muffler on the Scion coupe that thought he could take me on the freeway earlier tonight - boy were you wrong.

• 7 Alex // May 7, 2008 at 12:14 pm

  I just wish Saab gave the 2.0T’s a more aggressive exhaust setup. Audi gives the A4 2.0T proper exhaust tips, Acura gives the TSX tips, BMW gives the 328i tips, it’s pretty inexcusable that Saab gives the 9-3 2.0T that cheap-looking hidden exhaust tip, especially with that bumper-colored cutout.

  Is it really too hard for Saab to drag the old 2003-2005 2.0T Aero’s single chromed oval exhaust tip out of mothballs?

• 8 Andy Rupert // May 7, 2008 at 12:27 pm

  Tedjs,

  You made me laugh re: the Scion coupe.

  But what’s the deal with the converter connected directly to the turbo. Wouldn’t that unneccessarily build up heat in the engine area?

• 9 RPG // May 7, 2008 at 12:32 pm

  Very cool. Thanks for the pics!

• 10 Beren Erchamion // May 7, 2008 at 12:33 pm

  Those are sweet - and I can SoH aren’t out cruising the back roads of Jersey either

  The Haldex traction site has a great shot of the drivetrain here:

  http://www.haldex-xwd.com/

  Go to the downloads area.

• 11 MarkoA // May 7, 2008 at 2:14 pm

  Very nice pics, thanks for sharing! They really had to use all the space available to get that exhaust and driveshaft to fit there. Beefy mounts for rear diff, but also the exhaust seems to be hanging there really tight.

  To Alex, I agree with you. Saab should have dual exhaust available for 2.0T. At least option for customer to have it if they´d like.

  Once again I´d like to bring out TTiD Vector and the funny exhaust. It has dual system, just like 2.8t Aero, but rear mufflers have downwards bended outlets, so there´s no visible tips! What´s the point of having aesthetic dual exhaust and then keep it hidden?!

  That X´s exhaust seem like a larger diameter, does anyone know if it´s a 2.5″ or more?

• 12 Jeff // May 7, 2008 at 3:32 pm

  Swade, this is your blog, so you can say whatever you want, but still, don’t ever say “baby got back” again.

• 13 greenmatt // May 7, 2008 at 3:41 pm

  The exhaust look pretty good, probably little gains to be had there on anything but the intial ‘downpipe’ and cat area. The dual exhaust allows better flow and silencing from two smaller mufflers which are easier to package especially in an awd car.

• 14 Gunnar // May 7, 2008 at 4:20 pm

  Nice collection of shots. Is the Turbo X riding on Dunlops or Pirellis?

• 15 James // May 7, 2008 at 6:08 pm

  Gunnar - fairly sure, from the tread pattern, they are Pirelli P-Zero Rosso’s. Good UHP A/S tires.

• 16 Beren Erchamion // May 7, 2008 at 8:48 pm

  HI Gunnar - they are PZero Nero tires - “summer performance” UHP.

• 17 Alex // May 7, 2008 at 8:55 pm

  Yeah, again Saab drops the ball in terms of tires. Pzero Nero’s would be a fine tire for the Aero XWD or the 2.0T, but the Turbo X deserves some truly sporty rubber.

• 18 metrognome // May 7, 2008 at 10:27 pm

  So that’s what the bottom of a Saab engine looks like … before the oil leaks start.

• 19 Mats // May 7, 2008 at 10:47 pm

  “one of the decidedly unique features of the 2.8L V6 is they bolt a catalytic convertor right on turbo under the hood”

  Just as an info, VW/Audi have been bolting the cat directly onto the turbo of the 1.8t engine since 1996 or something like that….

• 20 Tedjs // May 7, 2008 at 10:47 pm

  Hey Andy –

  Close coupled catalysts are becoming more common, a Chevy Trailblazer for example has the catalyst integrated right into the exhaust manifold.

  The setup on the Saab 2.8L V6 is a bit unique though, and it has plenty of heat shields to protect components. I agree with you, that is a lot of heat under the hood. I guess time will tell if everything works ok.

• 21 Bernard // May 7, 2008 at 11:32 pm

  Some technical points:
  The trend is for catalysts to be placed as close as possible to the engine in order to improve light-up times and decrease cold start emissions. Many non-turbo cars now have catalysts integrated right into the exhaust manifold.
  Diesel exhausts are pointed down because this minimizes airborne particulate emissions. The particulates basically stick to the road instead of someone’s lungs.
  Don’t assume that the OEM P-Zero’s on the Turbo-X are the same as what you buy at a tire store. OEM’s often make tire batches tuned to a specific car. I know that if you look deep into Bridgestone’s catalog, you will find tires with the same name and size, but specified for different models.
  Even if this is a standard P-Zero, you need to realize that Saab has developed the suspension specifically for this tire, which means that other tires may not provide any improvement.

• 22 Scot@SOH // May 8, 2008 at 3:54 am

  Beren,

  Don’t worry…although everyone here has had the privilidge of sharing in the unveiling of your new ride, you will be the first to put the car to the test. I would suggest however, you pick it up soon, as I can only resist the temptation for so long :).

• 23 DanC // May 8, 2008 at 4:58 am

  Am I the only one wondering where the skid plates are going to be mounted?

  Or are things like diff guards going to be an aftermarket item?

• 24 Andrew H // May 8, 2008 at 5:58 am

  Does anyone the purpose of the black “horse collar” assembly surrounding the engine/trans? And does anyone know the real-world mileage figures for the manual and automatic Turbo X SS? Based on documentation that the V-6 Aero is not frugal, I don’t believe the mileage figures published on SaabUSA.com. Thanks.

• 25 Alex // May 8, 2008 at 6:40 am

  @DanC

  Zing!

  and I thought my comments were harsh

  I’m just miffed that Ford let Volvo spec the S60R with the top-of-the-line Pzero Rosso’s, while GM only let Saab spec the Turbo X with the borderline touring-tire Pzero Nero’s.

  I’ve driven Pzero Rosso’s and I’ve driven cars with Nero’s and there is no comparison in terms of sidewall stiffness and turning response.

• 26 Tedjs // May 8, 2008 at 10:38 am

  Andrew - that is the ’subframe’ which serves as a mounting point for the engine and trans-axle.

  Most unibody cars use this so that powertrain components are not attached to the body of the vehicle itself as this tends to transmit vibration etc. to the vehicle.

• 27 Alex // May 8, 2008 at 11:10 am

  To add on to what Tedjs said,

  Poor subframe-body connections and the questionable (at best) decision to mount the steering rack on the firewall and the control arms on the subframe are to blame for the NG900, OG9-3 and Viggen’s terrible handling.

  So subframe design and steering rack integration are some of the most important aspects of engineering a car. They are what make the difference between a car with crisp, communicative steering and handling and one with squirrelly steering and poor handling response.

• 28 Abs // May 9, 2008 at 4:57 pm

  Alex (#7)

  I too was (very) interested in getting the double tip sport exhaust for my 07 2.0T SS.

  Total cost:
  $313 Hardware
  $220 Labor (~2.5 hrs)
  $_ _ Enter tax here

  Even with a paltry 10% discount, I did not feel the cost warranted a more sporty and unique look. The shop also said that since the A.E. has a body kit (no plastic skirt) they would needed to cut and mold the bumper around the new exhaust.

  Does anybody have pictures of the sport exhaust installed on a 2.0T? I’m curious.

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