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Hi, Alain!
Someone told me you were asking about me here.
I started out talking about my mods on the C900 board before this performance board spun off. Then I was going to use this performance board for the performance-related issues, but as Scott and others have noted in this thread, the performance board rapidly degenerated into a lot of trash-talk, stereo discussions, Viggen questions, and things that didn't interest me. I don't spend hours and hours on my computer, so I had to make a choice to limit my surfing, and I decided I liked the C900 board better. That's part of the reason I'm not here.
Looking at it closer, I didn't have the temperament to be here, and that's why I gave it up. I don't fit in with the boy-racer types who were posting the "kill stories." I've had a pretty cool life, being a retired Naval Aviator and test pilot and all. I've been catapulted from zero to 150 in one second a few hundred times, have approached Mach 2, and have busted the sound barrier more times than I remember, including one day at 75 feet flying an F-111 in the desert over Utah, Nevada, and Wyoming. (Now THAT's speed!) When your body knows what it's like to pull over 10g's, car thrills dim in significance. So while I enjoy my Saab turbo (Beastie), it doesn't really have the power to water my eyes with acceleration or speed no matter what I do to it. But the people who post on here seem to want to talk mostly about that (*yawn*) thrill. I don't really fit in.
Here's an example of my own "non-kill" story.... Last year when I was doing the SPG9 mods to the Beastie, I was fiddling with the AID timing or the wastegate setting or some other such thing. Anyway, I took the Beastie out onto a highway near here for some sustained high-boost accels to look at power, knock, max boost level, etc. I had a nice stretch of dry straight pavement ahead, no traffic. Perfect. A white car was coming up behind me, but nothing was ahead.
So, 5th gear, slow to about 60, then floor it, monitoring boost. About 7/8 redzone, car whooshes up to 110 mph, and I lift the throttle to slow back down. A little white ricey Nissan with wings, decals, coffee can exhaust, and huge wheels with 30series tires is suddenly gaining on me. I slowed back to 60, and as he drew near in the other lane, began my second run up to 110 while the intercooler was still warm, looking for knock. The Nissan fades behind. Tests then complete, no sign of boost twitch or knock. I signaled, and got off at the next exit to turn around.
Well, riceboy comes screaming down the offramp and closes to inches on my six. He suddenly darts to the side, passes me on the right and turns right at the base of the offramp, tires screeching. I stopped and then turned left. He makes a U-turn, passes me on the shoulder, and cuts in front. I turned left again, getting back on the highway, and laughing... I guess I somehow must have insulted him or angered him. But I guess he really "showed me," huh?
All I was doing was testing my car with a couple of highway accel runs, and not racing anyone, but this guy must've thought I was measuring his machismo or something. No doubt it appeared to him I was toying with him as he twice saw me dart away under hard accel as he came from behind me. Obviously, he didn't know I was doing a series of post-mod boost run performance tests to look at knock sensitivity and stability at maximum boost! Anyway, it never occurred to me that this was funny enough to post, and I certainly wouldn't brag about it.
But I see stories of highway conquest such as this told too often here, which is why I don't really bother reading or posting to this board. I don't race my car at all; I'd like it to last another dozen years or so at least. I didn't modify my car to beat other cars in illegal races. I did it because it was a fun mechanical project and it makes the car run better. I actually get better fuel economy now than I did before the mods. THAT's the aspect of "performance" I find exciting. I may drive for weeks without ever finding the need to engage turbo boost, and then it's only for something like a short accel to merging speed on an onramp.
Maybe with the moderation changes Scott is implementing, things will improve here on the performance BB, so I'll check back every once in awhile. But if you need me, I'll be watching the C900 board regularly, and you can post to me there.
Happy Saabing, everyone!
- = M = -
'87 900T 167K
posted by 208.63.2...
, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 12:21:12, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 16:42:21, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 20:21:06, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 16:40:54, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 16:44:01, Wed, 1 Aug 2001 14:13:06
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