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Tire and Rim info, please help with this FAQ
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Posted by KeithG [Email] (more from KeithG) on Fri, 5 Jan 2001 12:10:19 Share Post by Email
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Group,

I feel that there is a need for a Tire/Rim FAQ on Saabnet as there are tons of questions. The following is what I have figured out from sources such as owner's manual, literature, TireRack, Justin's Saab Web 2000 site ,etc. Please add other pertinent information as this comes up a lot. I really have no more information of the 99/900 (up to 1987) wheels, for example. There are not a lot of aftermarket rims for these 900's and many opt for the other Saab rims which are available used or refurbished. I will compile all of this to submit the FAQ.

Saab Wheel FAQ

This short FAQ is to address the wheel questions on the C900 and 9000. There is a British web page which lists the types of Saab wheels which were produced. I do not know if it is complete, but it lists quite a few. http://www.paston.co.uk/users/wright/saabally.htm

Rim Information:

The 99 and 900 up to 1987 had the parking brake that operated on the front wheels. The bolt circle for this wheel was 4 holes on 114.3mm bolt circle. The ‘88-‘93 900 had the parking brake that operated on the rear wheels and had the same bolt circle as the 900 at 4 holes on 108mm bolt circle The offset of the later style wheels is 38mm. I do not know what the offset of the earlier style wheels is, but it is probably the same. The offset is how far removed the wheel mount face is from the centerline of the tire. This is the same for all widths of wheels as it references the centerline of the tire. I feel that this should not be deviated from as it will change the scrub radius and give different steering inputs and can affect the car’s tracking ability. Some people refer to ‘backset’ which is the distance from the inside rim to the mount face. This is not as universal as it is different for each wheel width. Example the 5.5” rim with the 38mm offset would be 5.5/2+38/25.4 = 4.25” from the inner rim to the wheel mount face. If the backset and width are measured, the offset can be calculated similarly.

The classic 900’s had 5.5” wheel widths as standard, though the SPG’s may have been different. The 9000’s had 6, 6.5, and 7” width rims. I have used 5.5” and 6.5” width Saab rims with no interference problems on the 88+ hubs.

Tire Sizes:

The classic 900 had 195/60-15 tires as stock on alloy wheels. The steel wheels had 185/65-15 tires. The C900 does not have a tremendous amount of room in the wheel wells for really wide tires. I have a ’92 with the Saab CrossSpoke 6.5” rims and 205/50-16 tires and do not experience any rubbing on the wheel wells or suspension members. Lowering the car will tighten the clearances even more. It is my experience that the 5.5” rims with stock tires give a great ride and good steering input. Wider tires and rims will give a little less stability and more steering feedback and significantly greater lateral grip. The decision is yours as to what to buy.

The 9000 had 205/50-16, 205/55-16 on the 16” rims and 205/55-15, 205/60-15, 195/60-15, and 195/65-15 on the 15” rims (depending on year, look at the owners manual or Tirerack.com to get the OE size and alt size). The height of the tire (circumference) should be maintained to keep an accurate speedometer. This can be calculated at many places on the web including Turbo!. A set of standard 9000 rims can be fitted to the classic 900 from 88+ with no modifications as the offset is maintained
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