[Shotimes] RE: OT Subarus and turbos and stuff . . .

[Ron Porter]

Good info.....it just confirms that I'm probably not going to do much 1/4
mile work with the Legacy GT!!

Ron Porter (with my project delayed for a week, I will be home to pick it up
tomorrow!)

-----Original Message-----
From: shotimes-admin@autox.team.net [mailto:shotimes-admin@autox.team.net]
On Behalf Of Viggen
Sent: Thursday, September 30, 2004 1:11 PM
To: shotimes@autox.team.net
Subject: [Shotimes] RE: OT Subarus and turbos and stuff . . .


   Hey Kids,

    As a habitual lurker on this list, I usually don't have
much to add - I'm usually too busy absorbing. It's good to
see Ron the Porter-man back here, as I've learned MUCH from
him here, on many subjects. Also muchas gracias to the many
regular posters here (the Fisher's - Ian and Paul, Van Oss,
Don M., Al Fitz, the Dave's - Pillsbury and Sweeney, and
Shylo and Jason H. and Neno and George F. and Bruce M. and,
well, no sense listing ALL of you here as I'm preaching to
the choir, so forgive me for those I neglected to mention),
as I have learned so much here - and usually been
entertained at the same time.

   I'm a Saab guy (and also have an AWD turbo Talon), so I
have some experience with turbos. Most of the advice I've
read here on launching an AWD turbo is right on-the-money,
but I can add a little more. The clutch takes most of the
abuse at launch, which is preferable to the tranny - Big $$
to fix, like most trannies. At launch, even with the rev's
kept up and the turbo spinning, it is not yet producing
power - it needs a load. This helps to save the clutch and
tranny, as not ALL of it's (potential) power is available
and transmitted. But for drags, some guys install something
called a "stutterbox", which puts a load on the engine (I
have no clue as to how) so the turbo is putting out power
at launch. These guys are usually running 12's, and the
best get in the 11's. The AWD Eclipse/Talon is a fun little
V-8-killer : for about $1500 in mod's, one can take almost
all but the most highly-modified (read : > $3K) V-8's. But
the stutterbox comes at a price : one usually has to have
an ACT 2600 clutch, which is a REAL PITA for daily driving.
And even that clutch will be toast if one's a regular at
the drag strip.

   A LOT of the Eclipse/Talon turbo guys are becoming
Subaru dudes since the WRX (although the EVO has it's share
of fans). They are very happy with it's overall reliability
as that was not a strong point of the DSM cars. I guess I
should be a Subie fan, since Saab now has the 9-2X, a
virtual clone of the WRX wagon. We Saab geeks were told (at
last year's Saab Owners' Convention) that it would be
Saab-powered, but that was nixed in order to hurry up the
9-2X's release in the entry-level and AWD markets. If GM
decides to use non-Saab-made power-plants in the future,
Saab will lose it's core supporters - and be done as a
brand.


   Oh yeah, by the way, the Mitsu 3000GT and Dodge Stealth
are the same car, and they have a V-6, hence the need for
twin turbos. Only Saab has tried to turbo-charge a V-6 with
ONE turbo, and I know the engine mgmnt. S/W is REALLY
complicated, since only one bank of cylinders has the added
back-pressure, but the turbo feeds both banks. I'd say the
jury is still out on that motor, but most TRUE Saab guys
want the 2.3 turbo 4-banger anywho. [IMHO, if you want a 4
that drives like a 6, this is a great choice : the engine
has 170 HP WITHOUT the turbo, but 230 HP with it, not to
mention torque at 258 ft-lbs) The V-6 - like the auto
tranny in the SHO - is meant to broaden the brand's appeal
to more folks here in the US. Let me state for the record
that we True Saab Fans are (pick your own past participle)
angered/incensed/PO'ed/depressed/nauseated/outraged that
Saab is now owned by GM. But the alternative was to go down
the sh*t-chute, so we Grin and Bear It. Lots of us won't
even consider the new cars (9-3 and 9-5), because the
hatch-back design was sacrificed for a true 4-wheel
independent suspension - but Saab needed that to compete
(we know 4-wheel is better, but a hatchback is so damn
versatile - I once carried 10 20# bags of blow-in recycled
insulation in my '83 2-door, a feat that could only have
been done with a station wagon). So far GM has mostly let
Saab alone (except for the hurried release of the 9-2X and
the shared Opel-made platform of the new 9-3), and they
know they run the risk of alienating the Saab Faithful if
they stick their nose into too much. Many (most?) of us are
not sure as to how it will all play out, so we're reserving
judgement, although we expect the worst.

   I've rambled on enough.

Todd R.
'01 Saab 9-3 Viggen, 26K
'94 AWD Talon turbo, 74K
'92 SHO, some mods, 73K
'95 SHO, no mods, 53K
[my mid-life crisis manifested itself in a car-buying frenzy]


		
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