Feeding of a Saab Aero

My 92 9000 has gone to Valhalla or wherever noble Saabs go. After almost 200k miles he did yeoman service.

The local Saab dealer knew of me and of "Sven" and his advancing age and called to offer a 2000 9.5 Aero at a price that I could not believe. He took "Sven" but who knows what will happen to him. I know I was offered my "new" vehicle because of their "recent" model certified policy and a 2000 did not fit their paradym.

I have two questions:

(1) The manual gives a range of 87 to 93 AON octane. and then recomends 90 for 2.3t engines and 93 for Aero and V6 engines.

I was sure that all 9.5s were turbos and that there was a hot engine as well as the standard turbo.Please enlighten me.

Further, will this engine only operate correctly on premium fuel. It is a serious up-charge for premium and virtually no cars here in the US require premium fuel, possibly as a result of envbironmental agency compliance.

What "formula" will keep my new child happy and healthy?

(2) The new child has yet to be named and he deserves a good Swedish name. Sven was his predesessor. Gunnar comes to mind. So did Thor or is that Tor? But the unfettered power that Thor implies does not seem to fit a proper Saab.

All suggestions would be gratefully received, especially from those who are familiar with Swedish nomenclature.

Thank you all, as always.

Malcolm

Reply to
Malcolm Mason
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Any of the turbo motors will just adjust for the lower octane as you drive. You will get lower performance but the engine will not be damaged.

Not really. About 10 cents/gallon where I live in the overpriced and fully imported NorthEast. You will get better performance and mileage with premium and the difference in price may be offset by the additional mileage the engine is able to deliver.

First, consider price: 12,000 miles @ 27mpg (guesstimate) = 444 gals of gas per year. At .10 more per gallon, that's $44.4. Not exactly big money. Bump the numbers if you like, premium just does not cost that much more in a year.

Now, let's factor in a guesstimate on the better mileage you get with the premium. This is a guess, since a lot depends on how you drive. Let's say that you get 2mpg more with premium: Redoing the equation above, the gallons drops to 413/year. If you figure that gas is $1.80/gallon, and notice that you used 31 gallons less with premium, you save $55, more than enough to offset the cost of the premium gas. Drop it to 1mpg if you want. It still washes out.

Again, fill in your own numbers. The bottom line is that Premium just does not cost that much more in most cars for most people.

Actually, not at all true. Quite a few cars use Premium these days as performance has come back as a sellable feature. I'd guess that

10% of the cars out there use it, but I'm guessing. I know for sure that Saab, Toyota/Lexus, Nissan/Infiniti, Honda/Acura, use it for some motors. I suspect that BMW, Audi, Volvo, GM, Ford, and CHrysler use it in a host of cars too.
Reply to
Bob

Here are a few more specifics: I have a Ford Taurus that says "Premium Fuel Recommended" right next to the fuel gage. A friend has a supercharged Buick Park Avenue that requires premium.

Walt Kienzle

Reply to
Walt Kienzle

There are a lot of cars that require premium these days, once you get out of the 4 cyl. econobox ranks. I'd gotten tired of paying for premium for the Lincoln and was determined to get a car that would run on regular. It was hard to find. Everything I looked at used premium: Nissan Maxima, Mazda Millenia, any BMW or Mercedes, any six cylndar Honda or Toyota, Lexus, etc. My 1995 9000 is happy on Silver/MidGrade fuel. Gives the best combination of mileage and price. If I'm going on a trip and running Interstate I'll put premium in it. Seems to give it a bit more oomph at passing speeds and better distance mileage.

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LauraK

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