Casio's New Car Thread | Svenska Power!

[YSSMAN]

Not sure? Impressive fuel economy nevertheless, especially at the speeds you were traveling at. Normally I can best my EPA-estimated economy (26 MPG) if I keep the speed under 70 MPH (I regularly am able to get 28-29 MPG with extensive city driving), but that has been more difficult as of late. I have no idea what I could pull at 80+ MPH, all I know is that my fuel gauge likes to nosedive at those rates.

...Back on topic...

Good to hear that its holding up, especially after the "surprise" problems last time. I saw a silver coupe the other day and thought of this one, not having heard about it in a while. Good news indeed!

 

[Casio]

I often wonder how some people manage the mileage they claim. You're claiming 38 mpg, I have a friend here who claims 35 from his Camry at 75 mph, and yet I've never been above 32 even at 60 mph. I wonder if the hills have a whole lot to do with it.

My 5th gear is geared ridiculously high. At 110km/h I'm only doing about 2500rpm. Also my car is designed to be very low drag, like a Saab Jet apparently, so my Cd is only .27 or .28, which may help the fuel economy a bit. Hill's do play a big part too, the advantage of the Australian outback is that it's almost completely flat, but occasionally when I had to go up a hill it does shoot up quite a bit.

Just driving around town, to work and back, etc, I'm getting around 25MPG, though I'm always conscience of fuel usage, if I drove it hard the whole week I'd get well under 15MPG.

 

[Keef]

I often wonder how some people manage the mileage they claim. You're claiming 38 mpg, I have a friend here who claims 35 from his Camry at 75 mph, and yet I've never been above 32 even at 60 mph. I wonder if the hills have a whole lot to do with it.

My car was rated at 31 highway mpg when it was new. A while ago I took a trip with two of my buddies, and when we got back the numbers came out to 37. WTH? Those were the same 55 mph lazy, overrated EPA tests everyone has always hated, too. I don't get it.

 

[JCE]

Great looking Saab!

 

[Casio]

I just passed the 129,000km mark yesterday, so thought I'd give a little write up on how it is doing. And also pictures, cause everyone loves pictures.

It's still running as strong as it every has. I got an oil change with new filter and coolant and all that junk and it's seemed to run a little bit better after that. One thing I'm finding is now we're getting into the cooler weather (had a couple of 0C [32F] nights a few weeks ago) it's really starting to feel in it's comfort zone. Everything seems to work better it feels more powerful and drives a ******** better than when its 30C+ (Or 50C when I broke it for that matter). The seat warmers are nice too...

I purchased a cup holder, as it didn't come with one standard, which I haven't taken a picture of it, but it sits in the little hole between the driver and the passenger seat, and has this cool little coin dispenser, unfortunately, it only fits Euro coins.

Also the other week I went to the petrol station and they were out of 95RON petrol I usually get, so I suckered up and got the 98RON, I've actually been able to feel the difference and have got better fuel economy out of it. So I'll give it a few more goes and see if it makes enough difference to make it a permanent change.

So far my only qualms with the car is that it is quite difficult to park, the way the rear slopes down, I find it impossible to judge where the back of my car is, a lot of the time I think I'm almost touching the car behind, only to get out and see that I've still got 5 feet of space I could go back.

I think in the near future I'll get some Window Tint and some blacked out side indicator doo hickeys. Before I decide between some Sports Suspension or Intake/Exhaust system, cause I can't really afford both. (Gotta hate being a student!)

(I've just realised how crappy my phone camera pics are now._

 

[Philly]

Good to see it's still running well! I think it would look cooler with clear side indicators though.

Oh, and the rear wheels are ridiculous. Fix that. Either a suspension, or bigger wheels, or something. ASAP.

 

[Casio]

Oh, and the rear wheels are ridiculous. Fix that. Either a suspension, or bigger wheels, or something. ASAP.

Yeah. I notice that every time I take a picture, it doesn't seem as bad in reality, but when I upload pics it makes me want to lower this baby tonight. Time to get out there and cut some springs, Civic stylz.

 

[Philly]

You might invest in some 5-spokes. My friend's doesn't look like it's running Hotwheels wheels out back, although there is a pretty bad gap back there. But you may be screwed with the 3-door. The 5-doors seem to be a little better.

 

[Casio]

I've toyed with the idea of new wheels before.

The 9-3 Viggen came with pretty hot 5-Spokes. I've only got 16" Wheels at the moment, but brand new tyres. When it comes time to replace the tyres I'll seriously consider new wheels, maybe step up to 17" or 18", and possibly get some spacers too. The wheels that are on now, are in mint condition, so I'd probably be able to sell them back to some Saab fanboy too, hopefully, cause they're not going to fit on any other car.

That's the other problem I have, is that Saab's have 5 x 110 wheels, which is apparently quite uncommon, though I'm by no means an expert in the field.

 

[Philly]

I think the solution is to move somewhere it snows so you could use the three-spokes with snow tires. Because I think 3-spoke wheels are awesome on Saabs. And you'd have the 5-spoke wheels for summer tires when the car needs to look good.

Or maybe track tires...

 

[Casio]

It's now Saab weather! I know most of you will laugh at the idea that this is cold, but for me, it is the coldest I can remember, and the first time I've got in my car to drive to work and was unable to see due to the layer of ice covering it. Was probably about -4C (25F) overnight out my way.

On the car front everything is still working fine. The only problem is my temperature control knob snapped off, which is apparently a common 9-3 problem, fortunately it is stuck on "fully hot" for the moment so it is not a big deal, but it will have to be fixed by summer.

 

[Keef]

It gets that cold down there? What is typical winter weather for you guys?

 

[TheBook]

It gets that cold down there? What is typical winter weather for you guys?

Lows of 40-45F, highs of about 60. At least, that's what it was when I went down there about this time of year. A true Aussie could give a more exact answer, though.

 

[Casio]

It gets that cold down there? What is typical winter weather for you guys?

I live closer to the the mountains so it gets a few degrees colder at my place than in the city. Generally a few nights a year will drop slightly below 0C (32), but not more than that. During the day however, if it drops below 14C (57F) it is pretty rare, usually it is pretty sunny too, just cold.

 

[Philly]

Sounds like a good Seattle winter, except with a little less rain.

 

[mafia_boy]

It gets that cold down there? What is typical winter weather for you guys?

Lows of 40-45F, highs of about 60. At least, that's what it was when I went down there about this time of year. A true Aussie could give a more exact answer, though.

I live closer to the the mountains so it gets a few degrees colder at my place than in the city. Generally a few nights a year will drop slightly below 0C (32), but not more than that. During the day however, if it drops below 14C (57F) it is pretty rare, usually it is pretty sunny too, just cold.

It also depends on the area you're living in too. In Victoria, Tasmania, ACT and the blue mountains area of Sydney, temperatures can fall well below 0*C. Just last night it was only 5*C (around 40*F) and I live pretty much in the centre of the Sydney metro area.

Casio, is yours the 2.0T version?? If so, the cold (ie. more dense) air will do wonders for the turbocharger (it does with both my turbos! ) and will give you a few extra hp to play with. The Octane change is also a good one, higher octane = better burn & more power, the good side effect of better burn is better fuel economy. 👍

 

[McLaren]

I live closer to the the mountains so it gets a few degrees colder at my place than in the city. Generally a few nights a year will drop slightly below 0C (32), but not more than that. During the day however, if it drops below 14C (57F) it is pretty rare, usually it is pretty sunny too, just cold.

Sounds to me you have experienced the full effect of winter in Texas.

 

[Picc84]

Abousoutly beautiful car mate'! I wish I could afford one!

 

[Giancarlo]

Looks great! Will you be painting the moldings anytime soon? I've really wanted to do that with the black sideskirts and other such panels on my car. Monochromatic is such a classy look.

 

[Casio]

Casio, is yours the 2.0T version?? If so, the cold (ie. more dense) air will do wonders for the turbocharger (it does with both my turbos! ) and will give you a few extra hp to play with. The Octane change is also a good one, higher octane = better burn & more power, the good side effect of better burn is better fuel economy. 👍

Yeah it is. With the cold weather you can definitely feel the difference, not so much in raw power, but it generally feels a lot smoother on power. The car totally feels in its zone in the cooler weather.

Looks great! Will you be painting the moldings anytime soon? I've really wanted to do that with the black sideskirts and other such panels on my car. Monochromatic is such a classy look.

Moldings? I'm not sure exactly which part you're talking about. I'm going to get some blacked out side indicator lights when I get around to importing them.

 

[hemisport15]

Moldings? I'm not sure exactly which part you're talking about.

I think he means all the black trim pieces on the outside of the car.

 

[Giancarlo]

I think he means all the black trim pieces on the outside of the car.

Yeah.

 

[Casio]

Now with Stickers. +25HP.

Ohhh yeaaa.

 

[Strittan]

Nice ride there! 👍

If I'd ever get a Saab though, I'd go for one of these:

 

[Casio]

Saab 99s are pretty rare here. That one you posted of is amazingly awesome times 1000. Their was a wrecked 99 for $600, 200km north of me, I totally would have brought it had it not been so far away and I had room for it at home.

 

[Casio]

I dunno if I want it still now that everyone has one.

 

[YSSMAN]

Oh noes! A doppelganger!

 

[Casio]

Ok update time. So I'm coming up to a rather scary service and in beautiful Saab fashion, it's developed a problem(s). Where the Airbag light comes on, accompanied by a rather annoying chime every time I get in the car.

My (hopeful) theory is, is that a connector between my drivers seat and my car is loose. As my Seat Heater started only intermittently working about the same time the airbag light came on. In a worse case scenario, I'll have to get my airbags replaced, which on a Saab, probably won't come cheap.

Also about 4 months back, the knob which lets you adjust the heat, snapped when I attempted to turn it (How dare I!), so it's been stuck on full-heat for the past 4 months, now it's coming up to summer I'll be looking at getting that fixed.

About once every 3 days, it tells me that I've got a Rear Brake Light Failure, which I checked and I do. But it always magically fixes itself overnight, so I'm thinking another loose connector somewhere.

All and all though, it's been perfect apart from that, so if that's the worst damage in almost a year of ownership then I'm pretty happy.

Next Wednesday is D-Day, and depending on the Damage, I may see if he can set me up with a CAI, cause I'm too lazy to do it myself.

 

[Jim Prower]

I dunno if I want it still now that everyone has one.

In that case, Never, EVER come to the Peoria area. I see at least one Saab (a different one each time, mind you) on a daily basis. ;3

 

[YSSMAN]

Good luck on the repairs. If you feel like it, take a pen and poke out the warning lights. That way, you can never be bothered by them.