JZW Tuning - Saab T5+T7+T8 Software

Got the ecu today and put it in. Started up like stock and sounded stock. Got going and all I have to say is wow. That is exactly what I wanted from the car and that is how they should have been stock. I was a bit skeptical at first when I heard about sending the ecu out to be tuned. I have tuned 5 vehicles from greddy piggybacks to full PFC standalones but I am very impressed the way the car responds. Anyone who is thinking about getting the tuning done will love it and be so glad they had it done. Thank you so much John, if/when I decided to go stage 3, you will be the first person I turn to. I want to say thanks again, you made the car exactly what I wanted!-Gerry Turner

JZW and I worked together on a tune for my GT3071r.64 setup, and I could not be happier. My 9-3 makes more power, runs safer in many ways, and idles better that my previous high dollar "custom" tune. In addition to all that, the new tune actually manages to get the power to the ground in an effective manner!

The massive boost hit low in the RPM’s that does nothing but spin the wheels, and strain transmissions is gone, and it’s been replaced by a car that I can 100% control with my right foot. I even send my wife out to run errands in it, it’s that tame around town. I am very happy with my power, and the way my car runs.-Andy Palmer

Well, finally finished my Stage 3 install! I decided to go stage 3 using John’s (JZW) tuning versus some of the others. Despite T7 suite, I was more inclined to let someone who knows what he’s doing sell me a modified ECU. That it was much cheaper than the "Big Boys" was a bonus. I already had the GS DP2 installed and a free flow intake.

I purchased a Stage 3 ECU and an ETS FMIC from John. The price for the ETS was very competitive. John also turned around my ECU’s quick (I kept my Stock ECU and flashed another) which I truly appreciated. I also got the FPR from GS and 10 feet of silicone vacuum hose.

Its been cold here (central PA) but I couldn’t wait any longer so I installed it all this weekend. Did I say it was cold. Damn! The ETS install forced me to lower the trans cooler (I think that’s what it was) by an inch and I had to modify the undertray a bit. All in all, it was fairly straight forward and the fit is good.

Added power is great! But I am more psyched its finally done so I can thaw out.

Thanks to John for being patient with my questions and prompt with my orders.-Andrew

I e-mailed John a few months ago wondering what I should do about my blown turbo, he was quick at responding to all my questions and I had a lot of them, I then asked some friends if they new John and they said yes, and that they had heard he was custom tuning t-5 and t-7 cars. I then asked John about tuning options for my 98 saab 9000 and he had a bunch of different options, well after about a month of thinking about it I got the itch on a Sunday and e-mailed him asking how soon I could meet him to get the tune, he replied "I’m home today, so on I went for a 115 mile drive to his home where he was ready and waiting with tools to change my plugs and vacuum line to make sure everything was ok, he then went on with going over weak points I should consider fixing soon and then tuned my ECU in about 15 minutes he and I were off for the adaptation run which I thought felt great but John knowing his tune thought there was undiscoverd power, and we went home and found some boost leaks and he even set my base boost... next test drive it was a whole new car! All and all I can’t wait to get the rest of my hardware as I will not go anywhere else to get my programming done. Thanks John, good work.-Mike Cummings

I am currently running a custom Stage 3+ in my NG900 with a 2.3L engine swap and the ECU program is fantastic. Power is smooth and strong. John took the time to custom road tune my ECU to minimize the low rpm boost spike that my small TD04 can easily produced. He also modified the nock maps for increased safety to make sure the engine would not be damaged in the event of pre-detonation.

I have used two different ECU tuners in the past and I have found that the JZW tune has been the best. I highly recommend John’s ECU tunes for anyone with a T5 or T7 Saab.-Eric Pilarczyk

John (JZW) has done some tuning work for me, most notably for my 9000 Aero which has been used primarily as a race/track car for the last few years, but still sees trips to the lake and into the back woods when not on the track. I had some special requests as to how I wanted the engine to perform since the the handeling and power delivery of the car have evolved quite nicely over the last years.

I chose John to work with on this project and he has been instrumental in taking the care to the next level. Things affecting power delivery, throttle response and overall feel had to balance with the $2500 car and its modified gear box.

Not only did he acheive these goals but the car is rediculuosly fast. It still is one of the most drivable cars you will ever get in.

John is now working on finishing up a tune for my Viggen. Johns T-7 tuning skills are really evolving rapidly and I certainly couldn’t ask for more in this area.-Dr. Gary A. Wolf

Having read a lot about JZW tuning and his expertise, I decided to try one of his tunes. I was currently running a Stage 3 tune from a well known tuner. After John asked me what I wanted out of the car, we decided on his Stage 3+ "torque monster" tune. The car is just that, a torque monster! Recently I upgraded to an Aero 9000 td-04 6 with lots of tech/tips from John. This same tune adapted to the turbo upgrade, and runs perfect. I hesitate to mash the gas as I wish not to break pieces. It has "Gobs" of power that is more than adequate for the "street performance" enthusiast. He responds quickly to his e-mails and vm’s. The turn around around time on my ECU tune was super quick. John definitely took care of me, and I am completely satisfied with his product.

Ok, so I recently was able to make my 1996 900SE auto convertible into a stage 5 rocket! Before I went to this point, I had gone from another tuners Stage 3 setup. I added a td04 and had the other tuner send me a Stage 4 ECU. I was happy with the way the car ran. There were a few things I didn’t like, but overall it felt stock in terms of driveability and nice and quick when I laid into it.

However, I decided to go with JZW Tuning for my Stage 5 tune because I wanted a custom tune. I sent him some emails about my interest and he prompty responded, answering all my questions and taking into account my specific requests for boost, timing, engine response and emissions legal maps. I felt comfortable and never found a negative review on his tunes. I am one of those people who asks a lot of questions and does a lot of research into stuff before I buy to make sure I know as much about it as possible.

My impressions of the car are great now. Previously, I found out that my other tuner’s ECU was causing a pesky CEL saying that the upstream o2 sensor was faulty. With the JZW tune, no more CEL which finally freed up my mpg (crummy before). Some of the things I noticed immediately was when I would start it up: Before, the other tuner’s tune would let the engine drop to idle, even when cold which would cause the car to kind of bog for a second if I was shifting gears (shifting between P, N, and D). Not so with JZW’s tune. The car idles higher on warm up (just like my mom’s Lexus, my dad"s Pontiac and when my car was stock), and settles down to the normal idle level when it is warm. Apart from the slightly rougher cold idle from the injectors, it feels much better and doesn’t bog between shifting any more.

Another thing is that when the car is warmed up, it is considerably smoother than before, with less in cabin vibrations and a nice steady idle. It made me realize what I was missing because of the other company’s generic mail order tune. While driving, low end pick up at partial throttle is much better, even though JZW worked in an emissions compliant map. Acceleration is very smooth and linear, having a slight surging effect because he programmed the boost to come in a little later (a little courtesy to the automatic tranny). And let me tell you, boy does that thing move! It was far more responsive and linear when the revs climb up. It loves to go, and when the car feels eager then I feel better. There’s nothing like the tires breaking up at 60mph, it puts a big smile on my face.

So I might add some stuff that I notice along the way but I felt I should share my opinion and experience that I wish I could’ve seen before I went to Stage 5.

Thanks to everyone who helped with the injectors and turbo up at the shop day in Niantic! and note to JZW I sent the ECU to you so you should be getting it soon.-christian900se

I just yesterday received my computer back from JZW. He told me upon his initial exam the stage III tunes from another tuner relied more on timing and not that much boost to get the desired results. He felt it was run a bit lean as well. John please feel free to jump in here as you know so much more than me on tuning.

So, we installed it yesterday after unplugging the apc and checking to make sure I was boosting at the normal up to .5 bar level. It all checked out, so we swapped out my OEM one for the freshly tweaked one that John turned into a "torque monster" to quote him.

Ran her down the highway and did a few really hard pulls in 3rd and 4th gear. I can now boost 1.25 to 1.4 bars consistently in 4th gear and 1.25 in 3rd. Plus my A/F ratio is not too lean. John tells me to keep at it and that as of yet she is not fully adapted. There is a huge difference between Johns 3+ the other tuner’s standard stage III tune.

For those of you who are sitting on the fence waiting to decide if the $200 is worth it, it is. Remember, I already had the other tuner’s stage III with supporting mods, was not satisfied, now I am very satisfied. The good news is that this spring when I find a great deal on a TD04 turbo, John will tweak it for free.-Dan

So in case any of you are on the fence or whatnot, I just recently got my car tuned by JZW (local to me). I literally called him up and an hour later we were tuning and such.

We put some colder plugs in he had in stock (as recommended by him and I completely agreed upon seeing my old plugs lol) and tuned the ECU for a stage 1 setup as I am pretty much stock. I just got an GS intake on it a couple days after the tune, but it doesn’t really matter anyway. After the tune we went for a drive.

Even though the ecu was still adapting, the car pulled like a bat out of hell. Keep in mind this is a bone stock 1999 9-3 5 door. While the T25 can’t really hold boost well over 4500-5000rpms, the car feels very very noticeably faster. I couldn’t believe this was just a stage 1! According do JZW I gained maybe 40-45hp and it definitely feels like it. I don’t remember off the top of my head, but I believe John said I was running about 16psi-ish. I am extremely happy with the tune and I’m chopping at the bit for his FMIC setup and to get a 3" turbo-back...

Let me know if anyone has any questions about it and I’ll do my best to answer! I’m still pretty excited about it all lol. It’s fun to actually have a quick 4 door daily driver rather than a stripped-out, no-frills fast car for a change.

PS: I would also like to add that he gave me a ride in his 500+whp 900SE vert and I about defecated myself.-Dave

Wow, it runs like a rocket. It hits over 30psi then falls back down to around 22 or so. Did I mention it runs like a rocket? I did not think one could have such an exhilarating ride from 40-110. As soon as I hooked the battery back up, the cel was gone!!! Great job John. Look forward to more business in the future. Take Care.-Chris Mealy