We’ve got a few months to kill before the 2007 MINIs are out (and Per and Kim can get their 2007 autocross ride), so we’re going to bolt on a few cool parts and make our Saab 9-2x a little more capable for street and track use. We’ve got a pretty healthy STS class at local events, so with the help of some suspension parts, the Saab will fit right in.
We’ve got the following parts on the way:
To make the KYB shocks for a 2002-2003 Impreza work on our 2005 Saabaru, we’ll need to use aftermarket eccentric bolts for the lower mounting points and add a spacer (actually 5mm worth of washers) to the rear shock shaft.
We’ll be using our newly-modified Saabaru as the vehicle for Street Touring tire testing, so we’ve got some newer, wider wheels on the way as well: Rota Wheels SDR in a 17x7.5-inch size.
Look for the results of that tire test early in 2007.
For everyday use, we’re replacing the much-loved but much-abused Nitto Neo-Gens with a set of Continental ExtremeContacts. These will be mounted on our Team Dynamic‘s ProRace 1.2s. We’ll be testing these all-season tires on a long and possibly snowy trip to Cleveland over the Christmas holiday.
On a whim, Per ordered an HID conversion kit off the internet. The HID-equipped Saabarus use the same reflector housing as the non-HID cars, so theoretically, just adding the HID bulbs, ballasts and whatnot will improve the lighting quality. We’re not too confident in $130 HID conversions, but we’ll see how they perform and get back to you. We may wish we just went with some high quality Hella bulbs.
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