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The suspension upgrades are not that difficult to do, and are fairly cost effective. You can decide if you want to go further than oem w/eibach, etc. The ecu's are practically plug & play. You do lose the "aero" badging and some of the aero specific items which vary thru the years, but after comparing the depreciation, it was worth going aftermarket for me. If you like your car/color/maintenance history, etc, it may well be worth just upgradeing. If you want the new xenon's, etc, it may be worth taking the hit on a new one!
On my '99, I did oem aero springs and '02 aero sway bars w/no problem w/Bilsteins, and the improvement was better than any stock MY '00 or '01 aero I've driven. The '02 and up aero's are a bit firmer than that, so if you want that route, you'll have to go w/eibach. Drive an earlier aero and compare to a new one. I think mine falls somewhere in the middle.
I also replaced my exhaust (which was due) w/Remus. Its a bit louder, which I notice w/windows down, but it's not bad with them up.
I haven't done the ecu, which was on the original list due to cash flow and new house; I'm also in the "is it worth it" consideration for upgrading the transmission synchro's. We'll see, but I'm living with both for now.
The honey really needs one automatic option b/c her knees have trouble in heavy traffic w/the stick (7surgeries down the line), and I'd rather have a wagon, so I'm trying to decide where we go w/it, before spending more $$$ on it.
I didn't feel comfortable loosing more clearance w/the eibach. Contrary to common speculation, I don't believe that the eibach kit is the same as the oem aero setup; but eibach does make the springs for saab 9-5's and I believe they have made them for several years after the early 9-5's had some undersprung problems (like mine!). I believe the spring rates / heights may be slightly different.
The changes in the suspension made a HUGE improvement to the car, even if it doesn't have the ooomph of the aero, and you've got better output w/the '01 than I do.
You won't void the warranty w/the suspension upgrades; and you'd probably be fine w/a stage 1 or 2 ecu. I'd go 2 w/the exhaust just to reduce the back pressure and reduce heat w/increased boost, which is why I put in the remus (plus the lifetime warranty)
good luck w/whatever you decide
posted by 68.163.19...
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