I went up on a scouting run for the RFTH11 today in my 1986 Pontiac Fiero SE (V6, 4-speed). Most of the trip was spent with the motor running at 5000+ rpms... After we got done I filled up, and in the highway-only trip back, I got 29 mpg. With my '88 GT with the automatic my best was like 24 mpg highway, I knew the 4-speed would give a slight mpg increase, but I didn't think this much. So far, that's the best I've gotten in a Fiero. I'm very proud of the little 2.8, 5000+ rpm beating and great mpg in the same day.
Also, for those of you planning on making it to RFTH11 this year, its going to be GREAT. The Dragon was great as usual, and the Cherohala Skyway was fun. Although, with the 4-speed I couldn't really find the right gear for that road. A little too high for 2nd gear, and too low for 3rd. I think the 5-speeds would have the advantage . Pictures to come tomorrow, I'm dead tired right now.
Dawn, this is the first time I've seen the sunrise in a LONG time. Sunrise was at 6:29am, we were ready to leave by then. The car getting "tore up" this time, its maiden voyage in the mountains: My neat little PFF sticker :
We had a few people out, Charles Sewell (fierofool on here) of course in his red '87 GT w/ 5-speed, since he plans the RFTH's, Kevin McFall in his yellow '88 Formula w/ automatic, and me in my '86 SE w/ 2.8 & 4-speed. '86, '87, and '88 all represented, a 3-speed, a 4-speed, and a 5-speed. I doubt we could find a 2-speed or 6-speed Fiero to round it out, lol. Later on a couple from Tennessee joined us (forgotten their names) in a gold '86 GT (4-speed), and Charlie picked up his '85 GT (4-speed, fresh engine swapped in, but clutch issues). So, we maxxed out at 5 cars. Charlie's clutch blew out in his '85 just before the Dragon, I hope he can get it fixed.
Midway through the mountains, these photos were taken on a pitstop off of highway 28:
[This message has been edited by Tinton (edited 05-29-2006).]
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01:04 AM
sonic50 Member
Posts: 3873 From: All over the USA Registered: Aug 2004
Looked like you had a good time. I wish that I was able to go.
Haha, you should have came. It was fun regardless of me only working on about 5 hours of sleep (went to sleep at 1 am, woke up at 5:30 am). I felt sleepy as hell after lunch, but those roads wake you up quick! . I was dead tired last night though, and I was still dead tired this morning and throughout the day. It felt like jet lag. I'll have to remember to go to sleep earlier before trips like that!
I'm being serious here, I don't think I want to own an automatic Fiero ever again. Hell, I don't even want to take my '88 GT up there ever again, better suspension be damned. That 4-speed is FUN! I would shift the TH125 like a manual, but that damned slush box wouldn't go into gear right away and it'd scream out in pain. Nothing like dropping it down into 2nd gear before a turn, hitting 4500 rpms, then accelerating out of it and hitting 3rd at 6000 rpms. The skyway was rough though, to downshift to 2nd before the curve it'd put you at like 6000 or 5500 rpms, then you'd have to shift early coming out of the turn to keep it below redline, and in that thin air it just didn't go as good in 3rd. I actually redlined 3rd gear on the skyway though, that was great!
I was thinking of going back up there in either June or July with a couple of friends to show them what its like. One is the same age as me, but he's never driven before, and he's all into drifting and RX-7's and stuff. Gotta show him what a go-kart handles like . They probably wouldn't want to pay for lodging at the real RFTH11.
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01:21 AM
PFF
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sonic50 Member
Posts: 3873 From: All over the USA Registered: Aug 2004
Getting the '86 up there really revitalized my interest in fixing it up. Before I was very unsure of it, it got bad gas mileage (20 or so in city), it rode like a Cadillac (soft suspension), and the brakes pull to the right when you use them at higher speeds. After getting it up there though, it just feels so natural in the twisties. Expect a build thread of some sort soon, I might get my Camaro sold so I'll have some money to throw at the '86. First up: front swaybar moved to rear, new swaybar for the front, KONI shocks and struts, and some lowering springs all around. Then I'll see about the problem with the brake lines and why it pulls to the right. I already got a Z24 brake upgrade on the front (9 3/4" ventilated instead of 9 3/4" solid stock), they worked great, thanks West Coast Fiero!
Let me know when. If I have the new fiero I may come along.
New Fiero? I heard you might be buying a new one. And my Dad might be interested in the '88 Coupe t-top. After my Camaro is sold we might have more parking. What is wrong with it exactly? It was the "ant-mobile" right? I heard it looks pretty beat up on the outside.
[This message has been edited by Tinton (edited 05-29-2006).]
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01:31 AM
sonic50 Member
Posts: 3873 From: All over the USA Registered: Aug 2004
New Fiero? I heard you might be buying a new one. And my Dad might be interested in the '88 Coupe t-top. After my Camaro is sold we might have more parking. What is wrong with it exactly? It was the "ant-mobile" right? I heard it looks pretty beat up on the outside.
Well the 88 is sold. I think.... The outside of the car looks good.
the 86 is also for sale. I will bring the price down soon. I need to to sale it soon.
that is some breath taking seinery. and PFF members taking a cruse together.. I wish there were more Fiero enthuisast around here. the two that are near by arent really active in fieros anymore. they just collect them and go to a couple shows a year with them.
cool pics!
------------------ 85 GT, bright blue met. fastback, chrome 16"s, 3800 swap, (soon to be SBC) 85.5 Porsche 944 euro *for sale* 73 VW Karmann Ghia convertible (sold to finish SBC swap)
I didn't know ya'll were going this time. But , I probably couldn't have gone anyway with the grandkids visiting and all. Loks like a good time , again ! . One question? How did Charlie drive 2 cars anyhow?? LOL. What happened to his "new" clutch? I got 28 mpg with my old 86GT 4 speed a few years back driving down to Daytona running 80-85 mph ! . I loved driving that 4 speed, one reason I've held onto it hoping to fix it one day , just haven't done it yet.
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09:36 AM
sonic50 Member
Posts: 3873 From: All over the USA Registered: Aug 2004
prove it. i wanna see a gas station receipt and video of the fuel guage and odometer during the trip and...
...huh? oh yeah, this is the new performance standard now with gas being so high. we'll need a best mpg list worked up too
Man, that would be one hell of a long video. Philphine, start the thread on best gas mileage, I've got one for ya that will make your jaw drop. Taking it to Fiero factory next week, I'll take a pic of the odometer and fuel slip coming back and showing the end mileage and fuel slip. I'll just say this, Honda's got nothing on my 88 Coupe.
------------------ Ron Freedom isn't Free, it's paid for with the blood and dreams of those that have gone before us. My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.
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01:22 PM
PFF
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May 30th, 2006
fierofool Member
Posts: 12915 From: Auburn, Georgia USA Registered: Jan 2002
Tinton: If we had been going a little faster on the Cherohala, you probably wouldn't have had the issue with gear selection. That's the scenic portion of the run, though there were a few times we were clipping along pretty good, the speed limit is 45 and the Park Rangers are very tough on speeders.
The guy that went with me was Peter Hoover. He has lots of digital photos, and about 3 hours of digital video. He's in the process of transferring the raw video to a DVD so that we can edit out the portions we don't want. He said he got a lot of good shots of you guys. He got shots of shifting, clutching, steering, braking, and speedo shots. Though it has lots more than you would see with a base mounted camera, being hand held, it's probably a little more shakey. We'll pull some select portions from the video and post them within the next week or so.
Ronnie: Robert Finley had the 85GT I bought up in Tennessee. He was installing the 87 engine I bought from Chris Ackerman. Complete brake system replacement, complete clutch system replacement, and a few other things. He and another member of the East Tennessee Fiero Club brought the car over to me. Peter took my 87GT and I drove the 85GT. My intent was to take it through The Dragon on it's maiden voyage. You see, I bought the car from a wrecking yard, and have never driven it.
We had just turned onto US 129 just North of The Dragon and I was shifting from 3rd to 4th, when the clutch failed. Initially we thought it was a blown hydraulic line. I contacted Robbie and Darrell Finley and sent Peter home with the other guys. I stayed until they came to get the car, about 8:30 PM. Robbie checked and found that the slave cylinder bracket had broken. A new Rodney Dickman replacement bracket is on the way to Robbie.
Peter drives a Honda Civic Hybrid. He had never been through anything like we put him through. There was only two times that I heard him say anything due to what was happening. But we made a convert out of him. He wants to go back with me and finish driving The Dragon. You see, when my 85 broke, I took the 87 back and drove through The Dragon with him as a passenger.
As for gas mileage, my other 85GT with an Isuzu transmission gave me a flat 33 MPG on an overland trip from Athens, Ga, up through Rome, Ga., to The Fiero Factory and back. I had the air conditioner going. The original 4-speed gave me a consistant 28 MPG.
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08:23 AM
BOILERMAKER Member
Posts: 1334 From: Indianapolis, IN, USA Registered: May 99
I saw you all at the smoke house Sat morning, I believe ........ may have been Sunday, but I can't remember. I was on a yellow ZX10R (crotch rocket) and my buddy was on the green Kawasaki 250. I asked the gold GT that showed up whether he was an 87 or 86. Whomever that was should remember me asking.
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01:25 PM
Philphine Member
Posts: 6136 From: louisville,ky. usa Registered: Feb 2000
i guess a gas milage thread would be timely right now. i couldn't help though. seems like all three of my drivers go about 150mls and get down to 1/4 tank even with three different drivetrains (duke and isuzu 5sp, duke and 3sp auto, 2.8 and 4sp).
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03:48 PM
ETFC No longer registered
Report this Post05-30-2006 05:44 PM
ETFC
posts Member since
I was the one in the 86 Gold GT, and yes I do remember you asking. I am with the East Tennessee Fiero Club. Have you heard anything about the person in the accident Saturday night?
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05:44 PM
blackrams Member
Posts: 32153 From: Covington, TN, USA Registered: Feb 2003
Originally posted by Philphine: i guess a gas milage thread would be timely right now. i couldn't help though. seems like all three of my drivers go about 150mls and get down to 1/4 tank even with three different drivetrains (duke and isuzu 5sp, duke and 3sp auto, 2.8 and 4sp).
Philiphine, I'll go ahead and start one, no one is gonna believe the gas mileage I get out of my 88 duke, but I'll gladly prove it. Look for the thread in General topics. I'll post my gas mileage average for combination and highway.
------------------ Ron Freedom isn't Free, it's paid for with the blood and dreams of those that have gone before us. My imagination is the only limiting factor to my Fiero. Well, there is that money issue.
I was the one in the 86 Gold GT, and yes I do remember you asking. I am with the East Tennessee Fiero Club. Have you heard anything about the person in the accident Saturday night?
Yeah, when I was there, I was only aware of 3 wrecks. The one where they were redirecting traffic around the bridge ............... it was a bike going around a car turning right and ran head first into a truck .............. thus the white sheet covering up the carnage. Unfortunately, he didn't survive.
Another wreck later that day, there was a new Honda 600 that somehow got his front end realigned. Thankfully he only broke his back. I believe there were more people involved than this unfortunate individual, but he took the most damage.
The only other wreck I'm aware of was one where a bike somehow ended up down the side of the road and they had to pull him out with a truck.
The signs are right up there .................... Lane Crossing Kills.
Just so y'all know, a couple days after you run the Dragon, go to www.killboy.com and find your pics.
People who want you to pay for those tiny little photos piss me off. I can understand charging for putting it on a poster or whatever. If you want the photos off killboy just disable javascript and you can save them as you please. They still own the hi-res versions. Make sure not to post them online though, they can probably find them.
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11:52 AM
fierofool Member
Posts: 12915 From: Auburn, Georgia USA Registered: Jan 2002
BOILERMAKER; I didn't get a chance to speak to you, but was in the Smoke House. I believe you were one of 2 guys who came in to eat about the time ETFC came in. The wreck we were referring to was sometime around 4PM. One of my cars broke down just south of the US 129/Hwy 72 intersection, and while we were there, 2 Tenn. State Police cars and an Ambulance came by with lights and sirens. Later one State Police came by, then the Ambulance, without lights and siren.
We left the one car and continued on through The Dragon in the others, and found the other State Police car, still with lights going, and a bike sitting in front of it. Everyone was down the embankment, but we couldn't see what was or had happened down there. With the Ambulance being escorted back without any lights or siren, we assumed there might have been a fatality. Hopefully, it was as you said, just an off-road excursion.
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06:24 PM
Jun 1st, 2006
BOILERMAKER Member
Posts: 1334 From: Indianapolis, IN, USA Registered: May 99
BOILERMAKER; I didn't get a chance to speak to you, but was in the Smoke House. I believe you were one of 2 guys who came in to eat about the time ETFC came in. The wreck we were referring to was sometime around 4PM. One of my cars broke down just south of the US 129/Hwy 72 intersection, and while we were there, 2 Tenn. State Police cars and an Ambulance came by with lights and sirens. Later one State Police came by, then the Ambulance, without lights and siren.
We left the one car and continued on through The Dragon in the others, and found the other State Police car, still with lights going, and a bike sitting in front of it. Everyone was down the embankment, but we couldn't see what was or had happened down there. With the Ambulance being escorted back without any lights or siren, we assumed there might have been a fatality. Hopefully, it was as you said, just an off-road excursion.
I actually was one of the four people next to the TV on the other side of the smoke house. Saw y'all there, but didn't want to interrupt your meals.
I believe the wreck you are talking about was the one with the 600 involved. He broke his back, but because of his accident apparently a few other people were either gawking or didn't slow down in time and wrecked as well. No fatalities that I'm aware of.
Reviving this thread! Just came back from the GA Fiero Poker Run. Had a great time, and I got....*drum roll* . . . . . . . . . . 30 mpg on the way back. 117 miles on 3.9 gallons. It is surprising because I didn't expect that much this trip. I got 27 mpg on the way over to Ronnie's house sticking right at about 70-80 mph and flooring it a couple of times, windows down all the way, but with a little city mixed in (45-55'ish and some stopping). Way back was almost all highway. I'm happy with my little car, it seems that the engine is just now getting worn in at 140,000 miles. Almost makes up for my '88 GT getting 17 mpg last fill up. Grrr you can't win with that car, I lay off the throttle and get 17-18 city mpg, with the 4-speed '86 I run around town with my foot planted on the floor and get 22. I don't think I'm going to ever buy an automatic again .
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10:16 PM
Jul 9th, 2006
carnut122 Member
Posts: 9122 From: Waleska, GA, USA Registered: Jan 2004
Can't wait! I love running the Dragon, but I've never driven the Cherohala Skyway. This is gonna be great! Now if I can just get all the mechanicals on my Formula in top shape in time so I don't end up running in the "sight seer" pack. *fingers crossed*
That's one very dirty looking 4.9 (or 4.5 possibly?). I've heard of them getting over 30 mpg with a 5-speed, but 40? That's pushing it a little. I hope to get around 32 mpg going up to Cherokee in September, by then I'll have my A/C fixed so I can have the windows closed, and I'll be able to stick right around 65-70 mph the entire way, instead of having to keep at 75-80 like I was this time to keep up with Don (not on the forum). If I can hit 35 mpg I'd be VERY surprised but it might be possible on the way back since I'll be going downhill the entire way. If I can hit that, I'll have matched the top mpg my Dad's gotten in his Saturn.
. Pictures to come tomorrow, I'm dead tired right now.
. Pics coming in like 5 minutes!
. I was dead tired last night though, and I was still dead tired this morning and throughout the day. It felt like jet lag. I'll have to remember to go to sleep earlier before trips like that!
.
