POV Time Attack in 300HP+ Modded Turbo Saab 900

POV wild ride in the torque-steering beast that is the "big red" "papa SMurF" turbo Saab 900 at the 2020 Pennsylvania Hillclimb Association (PHA) SCCA Time Trial event at Summit Point Jefferson Circuit.
Let me start off by offering a big thanks to Gary for the opportunity to co-drive this beast and a hats-off for building the car. This thing is a real handful, between the torque steer and relatively soft suspension and no modern driving aids. The car does have unexpected neutral handling, a nice bonus. I ran into a few issues under braking that can be addressed in the future. The 4-speed racing dogbox takes some times to get used to as well... you have to shift like you're angry. This thing is much more involving than my RX-8 to push hard. The RX-8 almost telepathically does what you want; this car needs to be man-handled to really hustle. But it was a blast to drive and a nice change of pace from the RX-8.
There are two very big moments under braking where the car suddenly yaws left. I think this can be addressed in the future by checking over all of the brakes to ensure equal pressure and with slightly less rear brake bias, either with a proportioning valve or more aggressive front pads or less aggressive rear pads.
QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS? LEAVE THEM BELOW.
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/ mchuffman

[@WilliamFiler]

front drive squirrels, I loved it!

[@TheLadeef]

awesome short shifter, gotta love saabs, impossible to crash with all that understeer.

[@cardinal528]

That looks scary to drive, so sick!

[@drlarcey]

Well done great rig

[@GRPE696]

What a whinny car! haha. Really like the dogbox sound.

[@pilgrum0]

my fav car 1990 900 turbo 250hp

[@claudiomatricciano3284]

Amazing! Who build the gearbox?

[@emanuelsaad8575]

love those retro saabs #saab enthusiast

[@rx8matt]

I gained appreciation after having driven this one. 👍

[@christopherklene1411]

Nice driving!

[@rx8matt]

Thanks Christopher. The car is a real handful compared to my car. But that made it challenging and fun.

[@christopherklene1411]

@@rx8matt yep I have been driving classic 900’s for a long time. Bombing back roads in them are a favorite past time. Have lost the ass end only a couple times…. 😂

[@joshlee9198]

Can you tell us anything more about this Saab? Maybe a walk around? Awesome video!

[@rx8matt]

Well, it's on stock springs with maybe bilstein shocks? Most of the development is in the engine. Built head, custom pistons, maybe a hotter cam. Boost hits hard down low and never looks back. Gearbox is a 4 speed dogbox, quaife lsd i believe. Basically just a super powerful FWD brick, lol.

[@rx8matt]

This is someone else's car and he lives pretty far away, lol. Next time i drive someone else's car I'll do a walk around and ask them for more information.

[@dustinmichael9751]

Nice! I was going to ask how in the world you got the glass trans to hold up to 300 hp! Do you know what transmission gar is using? Also, I'm assuming there's not sway bar up front, but a big one out back? Thanks for sharing!

[@rx8matt]

Not sure on gearing but it appears to top out around 130-140mph. The car actually has good mid corner balance and soft springs so it's compliant. But I'm not sure what swaybar setup is used

[@of_lion22]

Was the snap over-steer coming from rear lock-up?

[@rx8matt]

Yep, exactly. They saw a cloud of smoke coming from the left rear when it happened.

[@DesertSessions93]

How is it driving the dogbox?

[@rx8matt]

Violent! It's clunky and loud and high effort. You can't finesse it - you've got to be aggressive, assertive. But when you shift like you mean it, it works great!

[@mikkelnielsen9200]

Any spec on engine and transmission??

[@rx8matt]

4 speed dogbox, engine is 2.5L with big turbo and cams. Plenty of other custom work under the hood

[@DesertSessions93]

​@@rx8mattdoes this car belong to Erik?

[@rx8matt]

@@DesertSessions93 Gary Reider

[@wolfie3153]

Its V6 or I5 ?:)

[@of_lion22]

Neither. Turbo I4.

[@busterhymen6224]

Lol

[@harrymurphey2634]

... from the looks of the interior ... that car started life as a SAAB900 "NON- Turbo" ... by the fact the dash does not have a included Turbo Boost Gauge and the manual roll-up windows ... 16v ??? You can not tell unless we can see the engine ... a 16V could have been installed w/ the turbo and intercooler ... as that is not a hard swap ...

[@rx8matt]

This vehicle is highly custom so i would not be surprised if that's the case. it's owned and built by a Saab mechanic / enthustiast.