How to make a fiero handle?

I_wear_pants · Post by **I_wear_pants** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:15 am

Well I found some pretty sweet driver's roads around here today and really had a good time. So now I've got my suspension on my mind instead of hp. So what kind aftermarket is out there for the 84-87 suspension? I know upgrading the sway bar and adding one in the rear is supposed to make a big difference, but what size bars would be the best to go with? Anyway all comments and info is welcome.

donk_316 · Post by **donk_316** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:22 am

Srock 23mm front and back

Held Coil over rear w/ bump steer correction

RCC Front coil over and tubular a arms

Poly everywhere

Aluminum cradle bushings

Thats as good as a stock 84-87 can get. Dont forget to upgrade your brakes too.

product1620 · Post by **product1620** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 12:22 am

Check out http://www.heldmotorsports.com/

A more direct link to what ur looking for http://www.heldmotorsports.com/Fiero/Fiero-Poly.htm

Pyrthian · Post by **Pyrthian** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:37 am

yes, rear sway bar does alot. the size depends on how you like to drive. the stock front in back is OK, but it really cuts down on jacking points.

lowering springs is good. drops the center of gravity + stiffer springs + some new shocks/struts

anythign you can do to tighten rear. cradle bushings & a-arm bushings - no rubber.

braking is a HUGE part of handling.

the bumpsteer is nothing to worry about. once you get the rear tightened up, you'll see its nothing to waste $$$ on.

dont get to wrapped up in throwing money at the suspension. while its fun to brag about the super cool this's & that's, handling is mostly tires & driver.

Kohburn · Post by **Kohburn** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 8:56 am

swaybar size also depends on tires and weight distribution from to rear.

The Dark Side of Will · Wed Aug 02, 2006 11:47 am

The BEST thing you can do for your car's handling is go WIDE on the rear wheels and tires. This will improve both controlability and limts.

Beyond that, improve controllability first before you do anything else to improve limits. Poly or aluminum cradle bushings are a necessity, as are poly or UHMW rear control arm bushings.

Change one thing at a time and evaluate the change before you go into other things.

I_wear_pants · Post by **I_wear_pants** » Wed Aug 02, 2006 10:25 pm

Thanks for the advice guys. I know its hard to admit for some of us, but one thing I definitly need to improve is my driving skill. Thats the fun part though. I was planning to put some fresh tires, and maybe wheels too on my fiero soon so I'll keep cornering in mind. I know that light wheels can help alot with having less unsprung weight, which is one reason I am kinda hesitant to put big brakes on it even though it definitly needs something in the brake department. I am definitly planing to atleast add a rear sway bar, and maybe upgrade the front too. I also what to kit a full poly front end kit.

Jinxmutt · Post by **Jinxmutt** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 12:27 am

I put the beefed up 87GT suspension in the front of my 84, along with the swaybar and springs cut 1 coil. For the rear I have the held coilovers, 88 cradle, stock 88 rear bar, and konis all around. I put poly where I could and I have the lebaron/S10 brakes up front, stock 88 rears.

The car is VERY nice handling wise. Much more solid and predictable than the 86

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 1:34 am

The Dark Side of Will wrote:The BEST thing you can do for your car's handling is go WIDE on the rear wheels and tires. This will improve both controlability and limts.

Listen to this man. He speaks the truth. Do not bother buying new rims and tires if you are not going to go xtra wide on the rear. We're talking 255 rear 205 front for starters.

I_wear_pants · Post by **I_wear_pants** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:33 pm

I had not really though about swaping to an 88 cradle. I know there are kits for that, but what are the advantages to it? Another problem for that would be finding the 88 cradle since I don't know of any junkyards around here with 88 fieros, and it would be hella exspinsive to ship. Oh, and how wide of tires will fit under a stock fiero without rubbing and sticking out to far?

product1620 · Post by **product1620** » Thu Aug 03, 2006 10:36 pm

Where do u go to get the four corner weights??? Im not cheap enough for truck stops, just kidding aaron. :la:

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Fri Aug 04, 2006 2:11 am

product1620 wrote:Where do u go to get the four corner weights??? Im not cheap enough for truck stops, just kidding aaron. :la:

Ask around at performance shops (the ones that actually work on cars not just sell parts). They'll have a set of corner weight scales or know someone who does.

The Dark Side of Will · Fri Aug 04, 2006 11:20 am

There's a setup out there that uses lever pads and allows you to corner weight your car on four 300# bathroom scales.

The Dark Side of Will · Fri Aug 04, 2006 11:21 am

I_wear_pants wrote:I had not really though about swaping to an 88 cradle. I know there are kits for that, but what are the advantages to it? Another problem for that would be finding the 88 cradle since I don't know of any junkyards around here with 88 fieros, and it would be hella exspinsive to ship. Oh, and how wide of tires will fit under a stock fiero without rubbing and sticking out to far?

The '88 cradle gets rid of the bad behaviours of the rear suspension and gets rid of the nervousness that the early rear feels, even when built.

WCF claims that 17x9-45 wheels will fit with coil overs. They ran 255 tires, but you might be able to go wider. Artherd on the other forum ran 265's on 18x8.5's on his '88. Because the '88's have greater strut angles than the early cars, they can take slightly wider wheels.

I've found that 16x8-25 wheels fit under the stock bodywork. If you compare this to the front/backspacing of the 17x9-45, you find that you might be able to squeeze another 1/4-1/2" off wheel width under the stock bodywork, if you're careful.

Dough19 · Post by **Dough19** » Sat Aug 12, 2006 1:45 am

The Dark Side of Will wrote:There's a setup out there that uses lever pads and allows you to corner weight your car on four 300# bathroom scales.

Do you have any more info on this??

Do you think a 265/45/16 tire would fit on an 88 rear with coilovers?

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Aug 15, 2006 2:55 pm

I've seen them before, but a brief google didn't turn up anything obvious.

Chase Race · Post by **Chase Race** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 3:07 am

http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/produc ... ?RecID=851

The Dark Side of Will · Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:49 pm

Dough19 wrote:Do you think a 265/45/16 tire would fit on an 88 rear with coilovers?

What width and offset wheel?

I'm running 16x8-25 wheels with 255/50-16 tires. That's as much backspacing as the early suspension can run and the tires are out far enough to look beastly, but not out too far.

265's would fit, but I'm not sure I'd want to run them on 8" wheels.

You could probably fit 16x8.5-30 wheels on the rear of an '88, but don't take that as a guarantee.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Wed Sep 13, 2006 7:55 pm

I'm wearing 17x8.5-50mm on the rear of my 88 with coilovers. I had to grind the top edge of the strut mounting flange slightly. With 16" rims (and the same offset) you're going to hit it and never grind enough to make it work. Will's estimate of 30mm offset for a 16x8.5 sounds about right.

Dough19 · Post by **Dough19** » Thu Sep 14, 2006 1:48 pm

Chase Race wrote:http://www.pegasusautoracing.com/produc ... ?RecID=851

I was hoping they would be a little cheaper than that. Oh well.