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What Turbo and What Suspension do I have????? 850 1996

Is there more than one kind of turbo? I see people advertising their 850 and say they have HO (High Output?), T-5, and R. I am pretty sure I don't have teh R model as it's not the right color and doesn't have a spoiler. Is there such a thing as HO or T-5 in a 96 850 Turbo? I do have the "winter package" if that means heated mirrors, seats, and E/S/W mode switch. Does that make any difference?

Also, how can I tell if it has a "sport suspension". I have a real stiff ride, but I always thought all 850s had a stiff ride. I do have the ....sort of twisted point star alloys - does that mean anything?

Is there a site to go to that lists all the standard and optional features for a 96? Is there a place on the car that identifies how it came from the factory?

Thanks in advance!

Calvin
92 940 199K
96 850 Turbo 97K
99 SAAB Sportwagon 104K








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What Turbo and What Suspension do I have????? 850 1996

Calvin,

Sounds like we have the same car. Mine's black, how 'bout yours?

A 96 "Turbo," with that simple designation, should mean you have the H.O. Turbo. This, I'm told, is the same thing as the T-5, i.e., the 2.3L, 222hp 5234 engine.

I'm not 100% sure about the suspension but this car rides so damn hard that I've always thought it *must* be the Volvo sport suspension. If it isn't, I cannot imagine what the sport suspension feels like!

Last, open the hood, look to the right near the fireweall, and you'll see a build plate that indicates where the var was built, the VIN, and so forth.

--Dan L.

'96 855T, 92k
'00 Saab 9-3, 47k








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What Turbo and What Suspension do I have????? 850 1996

Dan,

I'd call my color charcoal gray (too dark to be silver and not as dark as the dark gray variety). It has blue cloth seats and dark blue carpet with grey trim inside. It's a pretty good looking car for 8 years old as are ALL 850s IMO. I've had it for a little more than two years.

I hope you have a light interior. Black cars look good, but after owning a black on black a few years back, I swore I'd never have another. It was an inferno three seasons of the year!

Thanks for the Turbo information. I had figured the engine specs were as you describe, but didn't know if different turbo chargers could be hooked up to it.

I'll agree with you, this has got to be the "sport suspension", anything stiffer and your teeth would all fall out! I'm not very happy with the Michelin MX4 Pilots that came on it though. They are extremely noisey and I suspect add to the harsh ride without an equal contribution to handling - just my un-expert opinion.

Is your 9-3 turbo-charged? I really like our 9-5 wagon with the "light" turbo and it's a GREAT ride, but not nearly as much FUN - even in sport mode - as the gray, growling rocket! Of course, my sentimental favorite is my daily driver, the 940 (we've been through so much over the years).

Regards,

Calvin
92 940 199K
96 850 Turbo 97K
99 SAAB 9-5 Sportwagon 104K








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What Turbo and What Suspension do I have????? 850 1996

Calvin,

My interior is light gray leather, pretty easy to take in the hot weather. Many years ago, living in the south, I owned a VW Rabbit with a black vinyl interior. No a/c of course...man, was that hot.

Yes, our 9-3 is turbocharged. They all are, actually; when Saab replaced the 900 with the 9-3 in 1999, all models came equipped with a turbo. The SE models pump out 20 more hp than the base model (205 vs. 185). It's zippy and it's fun, and it's good on gas, but compared to the 855T...well, it isn't the same. The Volvo roars where the Saab zips.

FYI, you may want to check out saabnet.com for your other Swedish needs. It's good, a lot like Brickboard.

--Dan L.
96 855T, 92k
00 Saab 9-3, 47k








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What Turbo and What Suspension do I have????? 850 1996

Dan, that's a good way to describe it, Roar Versus Zip. Another might be raw versus refined, FUN versus fun, etc. etc. Not that the Saab is bad, but as you say, different.

Yes, I could not survive without Brickboard OR Saabnet. When I bought the wagon a few months ago, the CEL was on and the SID was not readable. Just a few quick posts & searches and a couple of simple, no cost fixes and everything was A-OK.

I find Brickboard more technically helpful, but on Saabnet, all I look at is the 9-5 discussions. Since even the 99 9-5s haven't been out of warranty that long, I bet if I looked at some of the older model discussions it'd be pretty close to Brickboard standards.

And yea, I'm in the south (TN). Ya'll probly figgered that our from my funny accent. I had a black Olds 98 with black vinyl top and black leather interior. (Now THERE was a lot of horsepower! But it was also a TANK. Fuel consumption was measured in gallons per mile instead of miles per gallon.)

Regards,

Calvin







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