Although brakes don’t have a direct impact on speed and acceleration, they’re one of the most crucial parts of any performance car. A good braking system is invaluable both from a safety standpoint, but also from a performance standpoint as well.

Saab has always been ahead of its time regarding braking systems. This brand had brake rotors as a standard feature on their cars since 1968. Many other car manufacturers caught up to this technology almost 20 years later.

The biggest advancement happened in 1986 when the U.S. Turbo 900 got an upgrade in the form of vented disk brake rotors. Just one year later, the vented brake disk rotors became standard for all Turbo and “S” Saab models.

Article updated on 12/08/21. Original publishing date 03/08/16. 

Benefits of Vented Brake Rotors

When we’re talking about brake discs, there are two types modern cars use – solid and vented brake discs. When comparing the two types of identical size, both types will usually have outstanding braking power, especially if it’s a quality manufacturer in question such as ATE or Brembo.

The biggest benefit of vented brake rotors isn’t in how much braking power you’ll get, but for how long the vented discs will last.

Regarding the physical difference between solid and vented brake rotors, the vented one is features built-in cooling vanes that create an aerodynamic cavity between the two braking surfaces. This is an important thing, especially if you’re using your car on the track and as a daily driver.

This improved ventilation allows the disc to be more durable than a solid disc that has no ventilation. In other words, you’ll need to replace the brake discs less often than you would if you had solid brake discs.

Because there’s less heat, the discs are less likely to crack, and the pads will bite in much more efficiently. By having vented discs, you also increase safety.

Three Ways To Upgrade Your Saab 900 To Vented discs

As you can see, there are more than enough reasons to upgrade to vented rotors. However, if you own a pre ‘88 Saab 900, you’ll need to lay down the grounds works that come in the form of a Saab 900 vented hub.
If you have a pre 88 Saab 900, the smartest move would be to get an entire parts car. You’ll save money, and you’ll get a whole lot of other spare parts that could come in handy down the road. As it turns out, it’s much more affordable to get a parts car than finding specific parts one by one.

It should be a post 88 Saab 900 and make sure to have new wheels that will fit the new bolt pattern.

Alternatively, you can also try finding a donor car for the Saab 900 vented hub conversion. You should look for an 86-87 Turbo, and even though the upgrade process is pretty simple and straightforward, you’ll surely have issues finding one that’s in good condition and has all the parts you need for the Saab 900 vented hub conversion.

The thing that makes this swap easier is that there’s less work to be done, but the challenge is finding the parts or donor car that’s in good condition.

The simplest and fastest way to upgrade the Saab 900 vented hub is to use a spacer kit we used to make for this purpose. The kit included all the parts you need to upgrade your Saab 900 to vented discs. However, we’ve since discontinued this product. Even so, if you’ve managed to get your hands on one, here’s how to install it!

Adapt The Current Hubs With Our Spacer Kit

The spacer kit includes vented brake discs, wheel bearings, and spacers. By using this kit, not only will you do the Saab 900 vented hub conversion, but you’ll be able to fit performance pads, maximizing braking power.

The process of converting your Saab 900 to vented discs includes the following steps.

Step 1 — Separate The Steering Knuckle and Hub

Fitting the new wheel bearing is the first step in the conversion and to do this, you’ll need to separate the steering knuckle and hub. The new wheel bearing needs to be pressed in, so if you don’t own a press and don’t want to buy it, you can do this step at your local mechanic. Because a special tool is used, don’t expect it to be free.

Before the new hub is pressed in, the spacer is fit over the hub bearing surface and needs to be in between the bearing and hub.

Step 2 — Press The Hub And Spacer Together

By pressing the hub and spacer together, the assembly will be finished. You’ll need to place the small adapter ring between the wheel bearing and CV joint, so the bearing will be fully supported. These steps were done to get enough clearance to run a vented disc setup on your Saab 900.

Why You Need OEM Parts If You’re Upgrading Your Braking System

You’ll agree that safety should be the number one priority, no matter if you’re working on your track car, or you want to do a full car restoration.

We at eEuroparts.com take pride in offering a wide variety of high-quality Genuine, OEM and aftermarket parts for a variety of European cars. You’ll be able to find different upgrade kits, parts, discs, rotors, even bushings you’ll need to restore or upgrade your car.

We’ve made finding parts a simple process by narrowing down the search results to a specific make and model. By including this information, you’ll get a list of OEM parts that fit your car perfectly. You can further choose to search for a specific part or a group of parts if you’re not sure what it is exactly that you need.