Unique Motorsports

SAAB 900 Intercooler

SAAB 900 intercooler: Can be found on eBay or a pick a part style junkyard.

Tools Needed: Flathead Screwdriver, #10 wrench or socket, Drill, 2 bolts, washers and nuts, small piece of straight metal.

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First step is cutting off the muffler and replacing it with a straight pipe. The noise is MUCH more than what I was hoping for, but the power is definitely increased. As an added bonus the car pulls all the way to about 5200 RPM now, up from about 4700. This means there is still some exhaust restriction or a flow restriction in the heads, intake or intake manifold. The next step will be improving the down pipe, I suspect that is where most, if not all of the flow restriction currently lies. Here are the actual results.

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This article was written in 2004 I believe.

So at this point the Impreza is lowered with .75 lowering Eibachs, turbo‘d with a TD04L, Engine management is taken care of with a Greddy E-Manage, 17″ wheels, MP3 player, etc… What else could I want? Well, more power, better handling and better braking. Now that the car has 215,000 miles, the shocks are due for replacement, and the bushings are becoming more worn. In addition, with the additional power on tap the stock brakes are way inadequate.

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This is a quick guide to help when replacing head gaskets on a Subaru. The torque specifications for the heads along with the sequence is a bit involved.

1) Tighten all bolts to 29 N-m (3.0 kgf-m, 22 ft-lbs) in alphabetical sequence.
2) Then tighten all bolts to 69 N.m (7.0 kgf-m, 51 ft-lbs) in alphabetical sequence.
3) Back off all bolts by 180″ first; back them off by 180″ again.
4) Tighten the bolts (a) and (b) to 34 N-m (3.5kgf-m, 25 ft-lb).
5) Tighten the bolts (c), (d), (e) and (f) to 15 N.m (1.5 kgf-m, 11 ft-lb).
6) Tighten all bolts by 80 to 90″ in alphabetical sequence.
CAUTION: Do not tighten the bolts more than 90″.
7) Further tighten all bolts by 80 to 90″ in alphabetical sequence.
CAUTION: Ensure the total “re-tightening angle” [in the former two steps], do not exceed 180″.

A month prior to this, we removed a turbo from a Mazdaspeed 3 so it could be sent in for a rebuild. Well the turbo came back a few weeks later all cleaned up, freshened up and a Corksport downpipe as well. The turbo looks and feels new with no shaft play and some decent looking ports. The downpipe by Corksport looks well made, is much lighter than stock, fit’s perfect and appears to be a high quality piece. I can easily recommend the Corksport downpipe.

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