Anyone building/running a 2003 or newer 9-3/9-5 rally car...

[NBS2005]

Who's name isn't Ekuland?

Thinking about building one. Plus side, cheap, plentiful, and good power with a simple tune.
Downside, not sure what might be available for suspension, gearing, and LSD.

Thoughts, links, build ideas and info greatly appreciated.

Cheers,

Jeff

Fortune Favour the Foolish RallySport

Toronto, ON Canada

rallyfools@gmail.com

[DeLorean]

There isn't a whole lot of precedent for them in rally that I am aware of, am I wrong? Not saying that they would not be competitive against other FWD cars in their class, they probably would be. With 9000's NG-900 9-3 9-5's I would think at minimum they would probably need custom springs, probably a re-enforced sub frame, and a giant skid plate. That alone might be a bit of a complex task because I'm not sure if there is anything down there that is strong enough to mount a big burly skid plate to. With normal road use, these cars frequently end up with cracked oil pans. My 1999 9-5 has streaks in them from the sub frame & oil pan scraping along the ground over jumps. No cracks yet though!

[Geoff]

I don't think I've seen one...
The 9-5 would be a pretty big car. The 9-3 is a fairly large car too. The NG900/OG9-3 would be a bad choice.
I'm not that familiar with the '03+ 9-3 but I took a look at the suspension and the general components are a step up from the NG900/OG9-3. For springs/shocks you could probably get any one of a few different companies to do a custom McPhearson front strut. Or do what some other people have done and get some used Subaru rally struts, cut the ears off, and weld ears on that will fit their application. I don't know how strong the rest of the suspension is but SAAB standards were typically higher than other manufacturers...

The transmission was used by GM in other applications, wasn't it? I think transmission stuff is available or fits with very little modification so you should be able to get a diff, gear set, etc.

[Sam]

The 9-5 is a fairly lightweight car with a lot of heavy stuff in it. Some tips from me:

Base weight was 3490 with the moonroof, but there are some 99-00 cars without the sunroof that were special orders.
The rear control arms aren't the strongest.
Rear subframe axle is fairly strong but the shock carriers are basically reinforced sheet metal.
The front control arms are beastly strong.
The front seats weigh about 60lbs each. Thats over 100lbs shaved off right from the get-go.
The rear seats are backed by steel and should obviously be removed.
Heavy braking in a 9-5 is scary because of the weight distribution, so consider the chaos monkey factor when removing weight from the back.
The engine mountings are complex, making service difficult.
Without an lsd traction for acceleration is not great.
The oil cooler needs to be moved.
The factory strut mounts are horrible, so you'll need to fabricate those before you do any suspension work.
there are some carbon fiber hoods available from asia, that might help remove that front weight.
Battery can easily be relocated to the rear.
The stock mounting for the exhaust is too low because of the oil pan being in the way.

I'll keep thinking about it, but i doubt its a good idea from a cost perspective.

[Sam]

I don't think I've seen one...
The 9-5 would be a pretty big car. The 9-3 is a fairly large car too. The NG900/OG9-3 would be a bad choice.
I'm not that familiar with the '03+ 9-3 but I took a look at the suspension and the general components are a step up from the NG900/OG9-3. For springs/shocks you could probably get any one of a few different companies to do a custom McPhearson front strut. Or do what some other people have done and get some used Subaru rally struts, cut the ears off, and weld ears on that will fit their application. I don't know how strong the rest of the suspension is but SAAB standards were typically higher than other manufacturers...

The transmission was used by GM in other applications, wasn't it? I think transmission stuff is available or fits with very little modification so you should be able to get a diff, gear set, etc.

There's a cobalt SS and saturn redline variant of that transmission that comes with an LSD. There's also a quaife unit for it. The main different between it is that its activated by a lever mechanism in the 9-3SS while in a 9-5 or og9-3 its a rod shifter. Also there was a 6th gear for all of the factory LSD applications.

[NBS2005]

Thanks for the feedback so far. I'm leaning against as I dig in more.

[Sam]

The 9-5 marked full commitment to the sport sedan segment. With a modified suspension, they actually handle very well and the center of gravity is low in the car. I spent years getting the suspension to the perfect height and balance. With the right configuration, and a slightly lower front end you can actually have some oversteer to play with in corners. I still think someone could build one that was competitive at track events outside of autox where the course is just too small. But i think it might be possible to embarrass some corvette owners at lime rock with the right setup.

The ethos of the 9-5 is just completely different from the old saabs. The goal was to pack in as much as possible in a small space, and its pretty amazing how many radiators and coolers are crammed into a small footprint. I take them for what they are, over-engineered road cars. I think the 99 really marked the departure away from off road use. The 99 has the sloped underside which helps the ground clearance. The 900 lost this feature in favor of serviceability. The low slung front also gave it a look that was popular at that time. With the 9-5 they had to stick to a boxed subframe, so the options were limited.

[Geoff]

I think a Turbo X would make an awesome Open Class or completely dominating SP car


And they attract cute Russian women: win-win!

[Sam]

Random mention here. As i live in queens i see a lot of random modified Japanese cars. One that i have seen quite a few of lately are early 2000's cr-v that have been lowered to car height. One of these might be a valid rally contender with the right setup. Certainly price and parts availability are in your favor.