SAS Sway bars, snow.... and handling - Saab 9000 Bulletin Board - Saabnet.com
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SAS Sway bars, snow.... and handling
Posted by Noel [Email] (more from Noel) on Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:01:13
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A little while back there was a post on SAS bars and one poster noted that aftermarket bars can be dangerous in snow and low traction conditions.
I can see a certain logic to it, but not a lot, since having all wheels well planted would seem to be a good thing in limited traction situations So... with a fresh slippery coating on the roads today I went out in search of limits, handling and transient response. The high school parking lot was a great spot. Here's what I found.
The car is my '96 CSE 5 speed. It has the Sport Chassis kit (Aero suspension) plus SAS bars, all installed 5000 miles ago. It's riding on 15" Saab alloys wearing 205/60x15 Nokian WRs with about 5,000 miles on them. Pressures were about 33F 31R
At speeds ranging from 10 to 35 mph I deliberately got the car out of shape with left foot braking, lift throttle oversteer, violent steering inputs, etc. I did a series of slalom turns to get the pendulum going and it was all easily controlled with steering wheel and throttle.
The car was pretty much neutral no matter what I did. There was still some normal FWD understeer here and there, but skid recovery, even when almost totally sideways, was totally predictable and easy. It never felt as if it was going to get away. Deliberately turning sharply and lifting off (or braking), the back end stepped out as you'd expect, but was controllable with minor correction.
Having done the same skid and slide routine in this car with the stock springs/shocks/bars, I think the car is now vastly more controllable and far more predictable. Could you still get in trouble? Sure, especially if you go off thinking the neutral handling will keep you out of trouble and drive too fast for conditions. I see the suspension changes as totally positive and with the improved handling as a real advantage in winter, as long as one drives responsibly.
Posts in this Thread:
- SAS Sway bars, snow.... and handling, Noel, Sat, 20 Dec 2008 12:01:13 <-- Viewing This Message
- Any bumps or holes in your H.S. parking lot?, sam96CS , Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:18:14
- Re: SAS Sway bars, snow.... and handling, DickT , Sun, 21 Dec 2008 08:42:59
- Interesting...Re: SAS Sway bars, snow.... and handling, PT, Sat, 20 Dec 2008 16:38:12
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