If you had $500 for upgrades...

Fast88Fiero · Post by **Fast88Fiero** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 3:00 pm

This is how low my Fiero is:

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 4:17 pm

Wow I bet that car HANDLES!

derangedsheep · Post by **derangedsheep** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 9:39 pm

Ok, so here is what I'm thinking.

-Lower the back with coilovers
-Underdrive pulley
-Ported exhaust manifolds
-Aluminum or poly cradle bushings. Didn't Darrel stop making aluminum ones?
- Refurbish rear suspension. Rubber bushings, poly is too harsh for a daily driver.
-Roller rockers

Depending on how much is left I would consider getting the intake and heads ported.

That sound like a good plan?

Post by **eHoward** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:08 pm

What's your goal?

derangedsheep wrote:
That sound like a good plan?

derangedsheep · Post by **derangedsheep** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:10 pm

eHoward wrote:What's your goal?

derangedsheep wrote:
That sound like a good plan?

The goal is better all around performance (handling and speed) without spending a lot.

Post by **eHoward** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:13 pm

I wouldn't bother trying to hop up the 2.8. You're not going to get much ROI there.

I would put Konis in before replacing the bushings if they're not shot.

derangedsheep wrote:
eHoward wrote:What's your goal?

derangedsheep wrote:
That sound like a good plan?
The goal is better all around performance (handling and speed) without spending a lot.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Mon Sep 05, 2005 10:44 pm

derangedsheep wrote:Ok, so here is what I'm thinking.

-Lower the back with coilovers
-Underdrive pulley
-Ported exhaust manifolds
-Aluminum or poly cradle bushings. Didn't Darrel stop making aluminum ones?
- Refurbish rear suspension. Rubber bushings, poly is too harsh for a daily driver.
-Roller rockers

Depending on how much is left I would consider getting the intake and heads ported.

That sound like a good plan?

You won't have enough for the heads, maybe even the intakes. And also, $500 on heads is going to get you some pretty shitty heads, let alone less than $500.

But that first list, if $500 covers it all, would make for a much better all around car. I still think you'd be better off(suspension wise), going with an 88, but you wouldn't get the engine hop ups.

Also, try to find the parts used, especially the intakes.

Series8217 · Post by **Series8217** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:01 am

I wouldn't say poly bushings are too harsh for a daily driver. The additional fine feedback you get from the road surface is absorbed by your seat cushion and ass anyway.

BTW if Darrel doesnt have solid bushings anymore, you can still get them from WCF and probably others..

Pyrthian · Post by **Pyrthian** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:09 pm

Crane 272 & springs ~ $200
possible machining for spring seats ~ $50
buy a dremel & gasket match intakes, port exhaust manifolds & port the heads ~ $60
poly a-arm bushings ~ $50
bore throttle body ~ $160 daryl morse

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Sep 06, 2005 12:46 pm

derangedsheep wrote:What stiffness would the rear springs have to be? I would want it to be ride similar to stock. Not a whole lot firmer.

Do you want it to handle or not?

Since you've already got wheels and tires, I'd say spend $500 on a set of Konis from www.shox.com
When you can scrape together another $100 or so, get poly control arm and rear cradle bushings.

Gabriels are trash.

KissMySSFiero · Post by **KissMySSFiero** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:51 pm

I'm in a similar situation. Or I would say my car is in similar shape.

Mine is just a driver, so I'm happy with the performance. I have my 88 v8 car to enhance the performance on.

My car is an 85gt 4spd. If I had $500 I would spend it like so.

$150 Poly in the rear and poly/alum cradle bushings.

$100 or so. Coilovers. Not sure on the cost, but I think they can be done for fairly cheap.

You could do Kyb's for about $150. Sell your gabrials on ebay. Someone will give you $$50 for the set of 4. Leave the stock springs on it, (if you convert to coilovers) and you may get a few bucks more.

You said you already lowered the front. So Leave that alone for now.

You could also add a rear sway bar. $50
I have a stock front I'm going to put on the rear of mine. I just want to see how much of a difference it makes.

This puts you under $500. This is also assuming, your suspension is good from the start. No bad ball joints, tie rods, etc. Fix those first.

Having an 88 and 85, I get to drive them side by side. The 88 doesn't handle so much better that I would only drive 88's. Although it is better. I will say my 88, lowered 2 inches with poly and Kyb's rides just as smooth as my stock 85gt with Gabrials and otherwise stock. This is with the same wheels that I pulled off my 88 to put on my 85. I can't compare the handling because the 88 is modified. It is far superior and feels more solid on the road. But this isn't a fair comparison. The next perf. mod for the 88 is Koni's. I want to see how much better they are than kybs.

Aaron's a fucking moron. If it came down to him and a goat being the only life on the planet. I'd want the goat to fuck him.
Seems to be the general consensus here and there.

KissMySSFiero · Post by **KissMySSFiero** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 3:53 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote: Gabriels are trash.

agreed. I have gabrials in the front of my 85gt. They're very bouncy. But they're aren't worn, or at least they shouldn't be. They can't have more than 5k miles.

KissMySSFiero · Post by **KissMySSFiero** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 4:01 pm

How are your brakes? If they're not up to par, upgrade those too. Before anything else. If you can't stop, I don't car how fast or how well your car handles, you'll wreck it without brakes.

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 6:04 pm

KissMySSFiero wrote:Aaron's a fucking moron.

How so?

Becuz I said that if I had $500 to spend, I would honestly upgrade to an 88 car? I would, without a doubt. Not only is its performance better, but its value is also a lot higher, and will always be higher.

I think that $500 put towards an 88 car would be better spent than the $500 put into your current car.

The Dark Side of Will · Tue Sep 06, 2005 8:55 pm

KissMySSFiero wrote:The next perf. mod for the 88 is Koni's. I want to see how much better they are than kybs.

A phuckload.

There really is no comparison.

derangedsheep · Post by **derangedsheep** » Tue Sep 06, 2005 9:47 pm

The Dark Side of Will wrote: Do you want it to handle or not?

Gabriels are trash.

I want it to handle, but I want to keep my teeth in my head. Thats why I don't want poly bushings. I have heard bad things about them. Harsh, squeeks, etc. And I feel that going from 20 year old rubber to brand new rubber is a pretty good improvement. No one has redone a suspension in new rubber, tested it out, and then did it again with poly to see the difference between poly and new rubber. It's all people going from 20 year old rubber to poly and theyre like "Woah! This rocks!"

I didn't know the Gabriels were bad. I figured they were on par with sensatracks. I got the struts from some closeout company on ebay for $80 shipped which is significantly cheeper than buying struts at autozone or advance. So for that reason, I got the Gabriels. My dad used to have Gabriels on his 69 and 74 T/As and he said they were good. But that was 20 years ago and their quality may have gone down the shitter since then.

Anyway, I never thought they were bouncy or anything. They seemed ok to me. But my brothers CV (completly different car, I know) has Gabriels (in the car when bought) and they are very bouncy in his car.

KissMySSFiero - The brakes have a low pedal for some reason. However, they grab well, I can lock them from ~20 MPH. But there is about 1-1.25" of travel before anything happens. I have to bleed them again and see if there is air in the lines. We blead them numerous times and each time they get better. I think it's air hiding in the lines. I might go get them pressure blead.

I have a rear swaybar from Fiero Store, it just isnt on the car yet.

Those Konis are tempting. Spendy, but worth it. KYBs are more in my price range though. But how do Konis perform/ride on their softer settings vs. Gabriels & Monroe & KYB? I don't plan to autocross or anything so I probably would never have them on the harder settings.

Aaron - I have ridden in 88s. I don't think they handle that much better. They ride a little better, but the handling isnt that much better. So please stop preaching your 88 shit because I dont have an 88 and I dont plan to get one.

Pyrthian · Post by **Pyrthian** » Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:05 am

poly bushings are NOT harsh or rough or anything like that. cars do ride on springs, not rubber blocks. poly motor mounts can be kinda teeth rattling, if you have a unbalanced or rough running motor. and while poly bushings may squeek, I have yet to hear it. and I do agree, even having said this - new rubber bushings are great too - just replace them a-arm bushings. sloppy Fiero rear ends are very scary.

The Dark Side of Will · Wed Sep 07, 2005 9:07 am

derangedsheep wrote:I want it to handle, but I want to keep my teeth in my head. Thats why I don't want poly bushings. I have heard bad things about them. Harsh, squeeks, etc. And I feel that going from 20 year old rubber to brand new rubber is a pretty good improvement. No one has redone a suspension in new rubber, tested it out, and then did it again with poly to see the difference between poly and new rubber. It's all people going from 20 year old rubber to poly and theyre like "Woah! This rocks!"

I have UHMW bushings. They're harder and slipprier than polyurethane. I love the way the car feels... not slop whatsoever. However, they do add a distinct "edge" to bumps and impacts.

I didn't know the Gabriels were bad. I figured they were on par with sensatracks. I got the struts from some closeout company on ebay for $80 shipped which is significantly cheeper than buying struts at autozone or advance. So for that reason, I got the Gabriels. My dad used to have Gabriels on his 69 and 74 T/As and he said they were good. But that was 20 years ago and their quality may have gone down the shitter since then.

My first set of coil overs were RCC units built on Gabriel struts. They were all over the place. Night and day improvement when I made my own from Konis.

KissMySSFiero - The brakes have a low pedal for some reason. However, they grab well, I can lock them from ~20 MPH. But there is about 1-1.25" of travel before anything happens. I have to bleed them again and see if there is air in the lines. We blead them numerous times and each time they get better. I think it's air hiding in the lines. I might go get them pressure blead.

Have you flushed the system? As in kept bleeding and pouring in new fluid until you get new fluid out of each and every caliper? That will help a good bit.

I have a rear swaybar from Fiero Store, it just isnt on the car yet.

Those Konis are tempting. Spendy, but worth it. KYBs are more in my price range though. But how do Konis perform/ride on their softer settings vs. Gabriels & Monroe & KYB?

Konis are fine at lower settings. I just installed a pair of Fiero Koni struts on the front of my Pontiac 6000. I'm using minivan springs with 110ppi rate. Konis are fine. It's very well damped and very composed, yet not harsh at all. The improvement in "path accuracy" was enormous.

Fierocious · Post by **Fierocious** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 9:24 am

derangedsheep wrote:
eHoward wrote:Weren't you talking about selling the car recently and buying a Jetta?
Golf GTI.

Shame on you. I'd the the Suspension overhaul. Poly, Struts, that whole deal, save up some more.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Sat Sep 10, 2005 1:05 pm

Aaron wrote:
KissMySSFiero wrote:Aaron's a fucking moron.
How so?

I dunno, maybe your mom smoked crack and drank malt liquor when she was pregnant with you. Maybe she fed you lead paint chips as a baby. Maybe your daddy hammered nails with the soft spot of your head. All I know is that you are indeed a fucking moron.