Joel Artursson Built the World’s First 3D-Printed Saab B2x4/B2x5 Manifold – Solving a Problem Dynos Don’t Show

For more than a decade, Joel Artursson has been the kind of name that surfaces whenever Saab tuning conversations drift into uncomfortable territory: power levels that shouldn’t exist, Trionic limits that were never supposed to be crossed, front-wheel-drive traction that defies basic physics. On SaabPlanet, we have followed his journey closely – from a young Swede building a 600-horsepower Saab 9-3 Aero, through the infamous 700 hp Trionic 7 milestone, and all the way to his serious attempts at breaking the FWD standing mile barrier.

This time, however, the breakthrough is not measured in dyno graphs or quarter-mile times. It sits quietly on a wooden floor, bolted to a bare Saab cylinder head. No welds. No casting seams. No compromises forced by tooling. The world’s first fully 3D-printed exhaust manifold for Saab B2x4 and B2x5 engines, designed from scratch, printed in metal, and installed like an OEM part.

And perhaps most importantly: it works.

Even in a world where 600–700 hp Saabs exist, some limitations don’t announce themselves with broken parts – they show up as repeatable, data-backed weirdness. In Joel’s case, the “problem” wasn’t peak power; it was what happened specifically in 2nd gear and the 2-3 shift when RPM climbed so aggressively that the exhaust system simply couldn’t evacuate fast enough. That’s the moment where this story stops being about a printed novelty and becomes about pulse behavior, cylinder balance, and combustion stability.

From Power Chasing to Problem Solving

If you look back at Joel’s earlier builds, a pattern emerges. The numbers were always extreme, but the thinking behind them was methodical. The 600 hp Saab 9-3 Aero wasn’t a dyno queen; it was engineered for sustained load, high RPM stability, and realistic competition use. When that car climbed to 700 hp on stock T5 pistons with Trionic 7, it wasn’t because of luck – it was because every restriction had been interrogated and either optimized or eliminated.

By the time Joel moved toward the B234R platform and the 900 hp discussion, one limitation became unavoidable: traditional exhaust manifolds. Even the best Sweden Exhaust or custom welded solutions are, by definition, constrained by bending radii, weld angles, collector geometry, and material compromises. At power levels north of 600 hp, those constraints don’t just limit peak output – they directly affect spool behavior, pulse energy, heat retention, and cylinder balance.

Joel’s response was not to search for a better off-the-shelf solution. It was to remove the shelf entirely.

Why 3D Printing Changes Everything for Saab Engines

Exhaust manifolds have always been a compromise, especially on transverse turbo Saab engines. Packaging is tight. Runner lengths are unequal. Heat management is an afterthought once power targets rise. With Selective Laser Melting (SLM / DMLS) metal printing, those limitations disappear.

Joel designed this manifold entirely himself, then had it printed in 316L acid-resistant stainless steel, a material choice that already signals long-term intent rather than experimental curiosity. This isn’t a prototype meant to survive a dyno session. It’s a component designed to live on a running car.

Key technical decisions matter here:

• 40 mm internal runner diameter
• 4 mm wall thickness
• Fully integrated 4-into-1 merge collector
• Pulse-optimized runner lengths closely matched to Saab firing order
• Thermal mass intentionally used to preserve exhaust energy

Unlike tubular manifolds that bleed heat into the engine bay, this design retains thermal energy inside the runners, increasing exhaust gas velocity and improving turbine efficiency. That is not theoretical – Joel confirms immediate improvements in throttle response and spool characteristics, even with a large turbine housing.

Pulse Energy, Not Just Flow Numbers

One of the most revealing moments in Joel’s video is not when the manifold is shown, but when he explains why one runner is intentionally shorter than the others. Cylinder three receives the highest exhaust pulse energy in this configuration, with the second strongest pulses allocated to cylinders one and two, and the weakest to cylinder four.

That sounds counterintuitive until you understand the goal: balancing turbine drive energy rather than equalizing geometry for its own sake. By merging runners in pairs and allowing controlled heat transfer between adjacent runners, Joel aims to even out pulse energy before it reaches the collector.

The result is reduced reversion, improved scavenging during cam overlap, and a noticeably sharper response off-boost. On engines with aggressive cam profiles – like Joel’s – this becomes critical. He notes increased backfiring on the limiter and more pronounced burble on deceleration, both indicators of more efficient scavenging rather than tuning instability.

This is not about chasing peak horsepower. This is about making large turbos behave like smaller ones – without sacrificing top-end flow.

The moment the manifold stopped behaving

The most important detail in Joel’s update isn’t the printing process – it’s the reason he decided his current manifold and turbine housing combination had to go. On track, the car’s RPM ramp rate in second gear is so violent that the exhaust stream doesn’t clear the system quickly enough during the transition into third. Instead of clean pulse delivery to the turbine, pressure begins to stack up and the engine starts seeing the ugly side of a high-output four-cylinder: exhaust reversion where you really don’t want it.

Joel describes the failure mode with a clarity that instantly makes sense to anyone who has logged cylinder behavior under repeated load. The pulses begin backing up into cylinder one, right when the engine needs the cleanest possible scavenging to keep combustion stable. The result is a pattern that doesn’t look like random knock or “bad fuel” drama – it’s repeatable. On track days, in that exact usage window, cylinder one begins showing knock indications on and off, because it can’t vent gases properly and the combustion event loses consistency.

What makes this diagnosis more convincing is the temperature story. While the other runners stay tightly grouped – within roughly 10 degrees Celsius – cylinder one sits roughly 70°C colder on exhaust gas temperature. That’s not a cosmetic difference, and it’s not something you ignore at this level. It points to a cylinder that’s not doing the same work as the others under that specific condition, because the flow path is compromised and the gas exchange process is no longer even across the engine.

That’s also why Joel believes the current setup capped out where it did. He notes that the combination hit a ceiling around 1700 mg/c of airmass in the midrange, not because the turbo “ran out,” but because the engine could not breathe cleanly through the manifold/turbine pairing during the most demanding ramp. In plain terms: the system wasn’t cooperating, and the ECU was reading the consequences. With pulse control and evacuation restored, Joel’s expectation is blunt and tantalizing – there may be another 100 bhp sitting there, waiting for the engine to stop fighting itself.

And that’s where the new manifold concept enters the story with purpose rather than spectacle. The design direction shifts toward a compact 4-2-1 layout with 48 mm runner tubes, feeding a 2.5-inch collector into a 0.92 A/R turbine housing this time – a combination aimed at flow capacity and stable cylinder behavior during violent RPM ramps. The clever Saab-friendly touch remains: the original heat shield is still intended to fit, so the solution stays incognito even as the engineering becomes far more aggressive than anything Saab ever released. Even the fabrication philosophy is practical: Joel is designing around commercially available bends, so welding becomes achievable without turning every transition into a hand-cut geometry exercise.

He also admits the CAD you’re seeing is a mock-up – not a polished final sculpture – because at this stage it’s about locking the lengths and placement before perfecting the transitions. That honesty matters. It reinforces that this isn’t an “internet manifold,” built to look good on a screen. It’s a component being shaped by a problem that only appears under real load, in real gears, repeated like clockwork.

OEM Fitment, Incognito Appearance

Perhaps the most Saab-appropriate detail of all: the original heat shield fits perfectly.

Joel designed the manifold so it hides completely under factory shielding, leaving only the fourth runner partially visible. With the lights off, it disappears. That matters, not just for stealth, but for heat management, reliability, and road legality. In his own words, this is “full incognito mode” with potential well beyond 650 horsepower – and possibly enough capacity to support extreme turbochargers like the G39-series with minimal compromise.

This detail alone separates the project from typical show-piece fabrication. It reflects Saab’s original engineering ethos: advanced solutions that don’t need to announce themselves.

Printed by Industry, Designed by One Saab Mind

The manifold was not printed on a hobby machine, nor could it be. Joel openly acknowledges that industrial metal printers start around five million euros, placing them well beyond private ownership. Instead, he used Craftcloud3D, a service platform connecting designers with specialized industrial printers capable of SLM/DMLS production.

What matters is not who pressed the start button, but who made the design printable. Metal additive manufacturing imposes its own constraints – overhang angles, internal support structures, thermal distortion during printing. Joel accounted for all of it before submitting the file.

The result bolted directly to the engine without major form corrections, something anyone who has ever installed a custom manifold will immediately appreciate. No slotting holes. No persuasion. No grinder.

Saab History, Revisited with New Tools

Saab has always lived in the space between tradition and innovation. From the early turbo experiments on the B202, through the durability legend of the B234, to the misunderstood brilliance of Trionic engine management – progress was never about fashion. It was about solving problems differently.

Joel Artursson’s printed manifold feels like a natural continuation of that mindset. It respects the Saab firing order. It works within the transverse layout. It doesn’t chase symmetry for visual appeal. Instead, it prioritizes function, thermal efficiency, and real-world behavior.

That is why this project resonates so strongly with experienced Saab builders around the world. It is not flashy. It is precise.

Beyond Saab: A Glimpse of What Comes Next

When asked whether similar designs could be created for other brands, Joel answered with characteristic understatement: “Yes, who knows, maybe I can offer service in designing branch tubes in the future for 3D printing.” He confirmed the design could also be printed in Inconel, opening doors for extreme heat applications far beyond what cast manifolds can tolerate.

Pricing remains dependent on volume and dimensions, with dramatic jumps once certain size thresholds are crossed. But the trajectory is clear. What was unthinkable a few years ago is now becoming accessible to “mortals,” as Joel puts it.

This is how real technological shifts begin – quietly, in garages, driven by people who are tired of being told what cannot be done.

Why This Manifold Matters More Than Any Dyno Result

Saab tuning has never lacked horsepower. What it has lacked is new infrastructure. For years, enthusiasts have recycled the same solutions, refined but fundamentally unchanged. Joel Artursson has now introduced something genuinely new: a manufacturing method that removes decades-old constraints.

This manifold is not just a part. It is a statement that Saab engineering is not finished – it has simply been waiting for the right tools, and people.