just to clarify to all people, the suspension settles as fast as you lower the car to the ground and drive it down your driveway. And it never really gets any lower its only allt the buchings and springs that hit all the right places. but the springs never changes or gets bad if it doesnt brakes in one spot
Small tip for any bolt you are about to hammer. Put the nut back on just a little bit so it covers the threads, then you go as wild on it as you want without any worries of damaging it 🙂
Currently doing the same, had to re check your vid on how to do the rears. Thanks! Loving the b8s up front so far! The rears are getting 60,000 mile konis for now 😂
Those rear spring rubber isolators tend to wear thru and then you get to enjoy the squeak squeak squeak of the coil grinding against aluminum with every big bump. I ended up ordering new ones and she is nice and quiet again. Love upgrading my little linear.
Curious to know how they're doing 1 year later? Still good? I heard the B6s are usually with regular springs while the B8s are just shortened versions of the B6 for lowering springs.
Just had suspension work done a couple years ago (badly needed struts). So not doing this again, but it's still interesting to see in detail from start-to-finish. Also, great camera work here!
Michigan winter, Michigan roads... literally sitting in the garage put the '07 9-3 in reverse and heard that familiar BANG! and the $1,000 repair bill that comes with it. 180k miles and this will be my 4th set of front springs. Factory springs got me to 80k. 'OEM' replacements every 25k since like clockwork.
I have the Eibach lowering springs and Bilstein shocks on my 02 9-3 SE. One thing to watch out for with lower stiffer springs is that the front sway bar may be too stiff and you can lose grip around corners because it impairs the front suspension from acting independently. I had this problem until I switched to the thinner front sway bar from the Viggen.
My 9-3 had a stiff ride from day one. It still has a stiff ride at 49k miles so I may be ok. Great to know options. Thanks for posting👍 Hope progress is being made on your Audi
Good content! I have to do my suspension and not sure I want sport or stick with a touring option. Thanks for the tip on eSaabparts. I usually use eeuroparts but saabparts seems to have a better option in terms of suspension 'kits' so you don't have ti figure out all the parts. FYI, maptun is out of stock in the kit you installed.
I'm confident that I've built more 9-3 suspension kits than anyone other than someone who worked on the assembly line. If you want a suspension kit built to perfection, try an esaabparts kit :) If you like B6s, try the Koni Special Actives! Very comparable, although I do prefer Konis across the board. If you want comfort -- Bilstein B4 + Standard Chassis. It you want sporty -- Koni Special Active + Sport Chassis. I really don't see a reason to ever use B6s to be honest. They are more expensive and ride worse than Konis. B8s work if you are doing lowering springs, but if that is the case you don't care about comfort anyways! Bilstein B4 or Koni Special Active are really the only 2 options in my mind.
@@esaabparts6127 Just rebuilt my aero 2005 convertibles suspension with B4s. Replacing 2nd hand B6s and much prefer the ride comfort. Maybe not as tight in the bends but UK roads are poor so the B4s are far superior 👍🏻
Those rear shock mounts tend to corrode and fracture in the salt belt states. Every 9-3 I have owned has had that problem, so it is best to just order new ones when it is shock time.
I’m kind of thinking about putting Bilstein (“sport”) dampers on my S60, not quite sure when or which set I’m going to go for. I put regular, none sport Bilstein dampers in the back of my V50, after one of the upper rear damper mounts failed on a road trip 3-4 hours away from home, we limped it around and then back home. I ordered the mounts started to take it a part, spent an hour on the lower bolt, finally got it out, but it was stuck in the dampers bushing. So i tried to separate them and ended up separating the bushing from the damper, so new dampers it was. I probably should do something about the brakes on my S60 first though, took the car for a “spirited drive” with Studded winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 in the front and 9 in the back), which definitely has a negative effect on braking, so I probably should take a similarly “spirited drive” with the summer set before I decide, not really sure if I should start with a new set of front disks and performance brake pads or if I should hunt down a set for a R or get a “BBK”.
I like the stance on it. Coilovers aren't always the answer for infinite adjustability. I put them on my Mazda3 hatch, and the rear - at the highest setting - leaves almost no "gap", so I'm forced to put the front down equally (they could be set a full inch higher than the rear, for some reason) and the ride is pretty rough.
Oh great job. Very interesting! It's good that you continue to make videos about the Saab. Thank you!! Did the suspension become stiff after the replacement?
Good video very informative 👍 just wondering wouldn't it be possible to just remove the old bracket and put the brake line to the bracket that comes on the new strut instead of cutting that bracket off
@@Frosty05 That's when you don't live in a rust belt. In that case you are wrestling one of the three bolts of whatever you are undoing for half an hour and then it falls down.
I have a question about ordering parts from MapTunParts. I want to order Bilstein B6 Absorbers for my generation 1 2001 9-3 SE, On the website it doesn’t say if it’s just 1 shock absorber. I wanna make sure if it’s a pair for $104 or just 1.
A honest question Jacob, if I ship my car to Arizona from Gothenburg Sweden and I take in on a hotel we can fix my cars suspension and springs? I will pay you for the problem. :) Edit: "It's the Army SAAB Viggelin."
I had to replace the swaybar links on my 40k mile Aero! Thank God they're cheap, they should be considered a 40k-60k mile service item, seriously. I swear, if you have a 9-3 NG check them, unless you just changed them I bet they're bad 😐🤣😑
The Audi is dope af but most of us are here for Saab content with that being said just keep producing content we’ll keep watching
👍🏼🙌🏼
just to clarify to all people, the suspension settles as fast as you lower the car to the ground and drive it down your driveway. And it never really gets any lower its only allt the buchings and springs that hit all the right places. but the springs never changes or gets bad if it doesnt brakes in one spot
Small tip for any bolt you are about to hammer. Put the nut back on just a little bit so it covers the threads, then you go as wild on it as you want without any worries of damaging it 🙂
Thanks for the tip
Nice job, i considering this suspension but for polish roads is too hard 😞 to much bumbs
Darn :(
Święta prawda Marek
Same in the UK, our roads are shocking.
I think the mix up in content is gonna be awesome, a mix of modern cars with the Saab content is going to be good for the channel.
Thank you! I hope so too
Currently doing the same, had to re check your vid on how to do the rears. Thanks! Loving the b8s up front so far! The rears are getting 60,000 mile konis for now 😂
Awesome 😎
Those rear spring rubber isolators tend to wear thru and then you get to enjoy the squeak squeak squeak of the coil grinding against aluminum with every big bump. I ended up ordering new ones and she is nice and quiet again. Love upgrading my little linear.
😁👍🏼
I do like the longer videos, I was hoping to learn what the rental car is and how much the diminished value of the new car was in today's video....
I still haven’t gotten that figured out yet :(
Tip: x-wheel drive mounts in the rear are built with more support than fwd, so if replacing consider that if avalaible
Rocking b6’s on my 04 9-3 with H and R lowering springs with some other stuff. Great upgrade.
Awesome!
Curious to know how they're doing 1 year later? Still good?
I heard the B6s are usually with regular springs while the B8s are just shortened versions of the B6 for lowering springs.
Just had suspension work done a couple years ago (badly needed struts). So not doing this again, but it's still interesting to see in detail from start-to-finish. Also, great camera work here!
Thanks!
I'll probably never do this myself but it was interesting seeing how it's done. Didn't expect to watch the whole thing, nice job.
Thanks! Glad you enjoyed man
Michigan winter, Michigan roads... literally sitting in the garage put the '07 9-3 in reverse and heard that familiar BANG! and the $1,000 repair bill that comes with it. 180k miles and this will be my 4th set of front springs. Factory springs got me to 80k. 'OEM' replacements every 25k since like clockwork.
Jeez! :(
Always put the nut back on the bolt a few threads before tapping with a hammer!! Prevents the thread damage
Great idea, wish I had thought of that!
Nice video! I have a feeling I'll need new suspension in a year or so on mine, so this is good food for thought
It definitely is! A fantastic option for sure
Hi. Could you make a video showing how to access the windshield wipers motor for when it detaches, please.
You just have to pull up the plastic covering. There should be a bolt that holds the wiper on, and then like 3 bolts that hold the motor on
I have the Eibach lowering springs and Bilstein shocks on my 02 9-3 SE. One thing to watch out for with lower stiffer springs is that the front sway bar may be too stiff and you can lose grip around corners because it impairs the front suspension from acting independently. I had this problem until I switched to the thinner front sway bar from the Viggen.
interesting. i don't believe the NG 9-3's have that issue
Perfect timing! Mine need replacing for the first time since getting the car 👍🏼
Nice!
Great job Jacob, probably the best set up for a road car in my opinion 👍
Thanks!
Love those wheels 😍
Thank you!
My 9-3 sits pretty high off the ground so when I can afford this, it will probably look great
Nice 👍🏼 😁
My 9-3 had a stiff ride from day one. It still has a stiff ride at 49k miles so I may be ok. Great to know options. Thanks for posting👍 Hope progress is being made on your Audi
Thanks! Looks like it won’t be going into the shop until mid April :(
Other than Maserati or Alfa, Saab's have the best factory wheels of all time. I really like this 9-3.
Yeah they’re great! These aren’t OEM wheels though :)
Good content! I have to do my suspension and not sure I want sport or stick with a touring option. Thanks for the tip on eSaabparts. I usually use eeuroparts but saabparts seems to have a better option in terms of suspension 'kits' so you don't have ti figure out all the parts. FYI, maptun is out of stock in the kit you installed.
Thanks! My next video I’m going to be talking about first impressions, so that might help you decide
I'm confident that I've built more 9-3 suspension kits than anyone other than someone who worked on the assembly line. If you want a suspension kit built to perfection, try an esaabparts kit :) If you like B6s, try the Koni Special Actives! Very comparable, although I do prefer Konis across the board. If you want comfort -- Bilstein B4 + Standard Chassis. It you want sporty -- Koni Special Active + Sport Chassis. I really don't see a reason to ever use B6s to be honest. They are more expensive and ride worse than Konis. B8s work if you are doing lowering springs, but if that is the case you don't care about comfort anyways! Bilstein B4 or Koni Special Active are really the only 2 options in my mind.
@@esaabparts6127 Just rebuilt my aero 2005 convertibles suspension with B4s. Replacing 2nd hand B6s and much prefer the ride comfort. Maybe not as tight in the bends but UK roads are poor so the B4s are far superior 👍🏻
As always Thank you for ALL the great videos 😃😉 And sad I had to miss your TurboX 😔
:) thanks
Those rear shock mounts tend to corrode and fracture in the salt belt states. Every 9-3 I have owned has had that problem, so it is best to just order new ones when it is shock time.
Agreed!
I’m kind of thinking about putting Bilstein (“sport”) dampers on my S60, not quite sure when or which set I’m going to go for.
I put regular, none sport Bilstein dampers in the back of my V50, after one of the upper rear damper mounts failed on a road trip 3-4 hours away from home, we limped it around and then back home. I ordered the mounts started to take it a part, spent an hour on the lower bolt, finally got it out, but it was stuck in the dampers bushing. So i tried to separate them and ended up separating the bushing from the damper, so new dampers it was.
I probably should do something about the brakes on my S60 first though, took the car for a “spirited drive” with Studded winter tires (Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 in the front and 9 in the back), which definitely has a negative effect on braking, so I probably should take a similarly “spirited drive” with the summer set before I decide, not really sure if I should start with a new set of front disks and performance brake pads or if I should hunt down a set for a R or get a “BBK”.
Decisions!
I like the stance on it. Coilovers aren't always the answer for infinite adjustability. I put them on my Mazda3 hatch, and the rear - at the highest setting - leaves almost no "gap", so I'm forced to put the front down equally (they could be set a full inch higher than the rear, for some reason) and the ride is pretty rough.
Thanks! That’s odd..
This is perfect, considering this is the exact thing i was looking at getting
Great!
Nice job ! Bilsteins are a little Stiff for me ...
They are definitely stiffer than factory, but handle great and aren’t too harsh. Perfect for someone who is looking to get a sport suspension
Oh great job. Very interesting! It's good that you continue to make videos about the Saab. Thank you!! Did the suspension become stiff after the replacement?
It was stiff with the old setup! I will have a video up this weekend discussing how it rides and my first impressions.
Ok. Thank you! 😊
Good video very informative 👍 just wondering wouldn't it be possible to just remove the old bracket and put the brake line to the bracket that comes on the new strut instead of cutting that bracket off
Nah the old bracket is welded to the strut on the older 9-3’s. Sorry, should have clarified that!
Good stuff
Thanks!
You should get some Aero skirts and Aero diffuser! :D
I thought about it before painting the car a year ago but ended up passing. I couldn’t find any locally :(
@@AutoAutopsy Damn :( Would you get some if you had the chance?
You're not working on a Saab if you dont drop a bolt straight back down to Trollhattan
LMAO
Planning to one day move to Trollhättan so I might actually do that 😂
@@Frosty05 That's when you don't live in a rust belt. In that case you are wrestling one of the three bolts of whatever you are undoing for half an hour and then it falls down.
Nice to see how it all comes apart easily out there.
Here in Ohio, the rust makes things more interesting. Lol
It’s actually a New York car. Must’ve just been taken care of!
@@AutoAutopsy Yeah must have, I bet they salt hard out there.
Love this Saab 😍 mostly because its my model too ❤
:)
Where did you get the rotors they look sick
Genuine Saab!
Nice job
Thanks!
Quick question, don’t you need an allignement after doing this kind of job on your car?
It’s definitely recommended!
Not related to this video, but do you still have the Variant wheels? Have you thought about putting them on the arc?
Sold them with the TX 😬 I would definitely do it for shits and giggles if I still had them though
I have a question about ordering parts from MapTunParts. I want to order Bilstein B6 Absorbers for my generation 1 2001 9-3 SE, On the website it doesn’t say if it’s just 1 shock absorber. I wanna make sure if it’s a pair for $104 or just 1.
And does this same thing apply for front Coilovers and rear springs?
Do you know what cars match the saab suspension tower at all? I’m trying to get some bags for mine because Minnesota roads are a no no for coils
I’d post on some Facebook groups. There’s a few people out there with bag setups that could probably help
A honest question Jacob, if I ship my car to Arizona from Gothenburg Sweden and I take in on a hotel we can fix my cars suspension and springs? I will pay you for the problem. :)
Edit: "It's the Army SAAB Viggelin."
Haha, I’m sure that would be quite costly 😅😂
@@AutoAutopsy $1500 :)
I just got this kit B8/maptun springs for my 2003 9-5. So you recommend replacing front bearings and mounts as well ?
If they haven’t been done, I’d do it!
so don't the bottom of the sealing boots need to be attached or do they just hang down loose?
Which boots are you referring to? For the shock? The way they’re installed here is the way to do it
@@AutoAutopsy At 22:18, the bottom of the boot (bellows type sleeve) is loose, not attached to anything. I was wondering if that was how it should be.
Bilstein 😍
😁
Bilstein B6 or B8?
I did this with eibach and Bilstein B4 as I didn’t want it too stiff with yellow Bilsteins
B8!
I had to replace the swaybar links on my 40k mile Aero! Thank God they're cheap, they should be considered a 40k-60k mile service item, seriously. I swear, if you have a 9-3 NG check them, unless you just changed them I bet they're bad 😐🤣😑
Lol oh no!
Want to ask so money wise how much did you spend in usd
It’s about $600-700 for the kit I believe. You can check on their site to be certain of the price!
Did they really sponsor a video that they dont have any parts in stock to sell
Oh man. Must’ve just sold out…it was in stock yesterday when I was putting the finishing touches on this video :(
👍👍👍
:)
Now that you are using Bilstein it is time to pronounce it as Bilstein and not as Bilstien. The ei vocal is about the same as the i in time and Rhine.
Everyone in the US pronounces it the way I did lol
@@AutoAutopsy I'm aware of that, that's why I couldn't let go to not mention it :).