 
     |
| 84 Suspension Ideas (Page 2/2) |
|
jelly2m8
|
OCT 07, 04:40 AM
|
|
|
But then, what do I know? I worked at these since they were still under factory warranty, I drove them to hell and back, I did loopties adn ended up in ditches. I made a good living working at them, I didn't just drive less than half a dozen, I probably drove well over 100 different Fiero's.... Keep telling yourself the 88's aren't noticeably better than 87<
|
|
|
Patrick
|
OCT 07, 05:12 AM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by jelly2m8:
can you imagine if the 88 was fixed? ^^
|
|
What makes you think my Formula was broken? I was comparing it to an '84 with modified suspension and sticky tires, not to an off the shelf '84 with skinny street tires on narrow rims.
When both cars were factory, the Formula had a noticeably smoother ride... and it's obviously faster. However, I stand by what I earlier stated...
| quote | Originally posted by Patrick:
I mounted a Fiero front sway bar in the back of my '84 (along with cut/lowered springs)... and IMO, my '84 handled just as well (if not better) than my '88 Formula (with lowering springs) at autocross.
|
|
|
|
|
|
82-T/A [At Work]
|
OCT 07, 03:32 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by jelly2m8:
But then, what do I know? I worked at these since they were still under factory warranty, I drove them to hell and back, I did loopties adn ended up in ditches. I made a good living working at them, I didn't just drive less than half a dozen, I probably drove well over 100 different Fiero's.... Keep telling yourself the 88's aren't noticeably better than 87< |
|
Respectfully, both cars handle quite well. It's not like we're comparing a Dodge Omni (1984 Fiero) to a Lamborghini Diablo (1988 Fiero). The handling is marginally better, and there's a few handling characteristics that were improved-upon, like bump steer, etc. But the cornering limits and such are not dramatically different.
Again, this isn't like... my car is better than your car. Which I get... I'm on a bunch of car forums and I get this all the time. On the VW Bus forums, the Split-window Bus people think they're better than the 1968-1979 Bay window Bus people, and the 1968-1979 Bay window Bus people think they're better than the Vanagan people... who think they're better than the Euro/Transit Van people. And on the Porsche forums, as a 944 owner, we always got **** from people who owned the 968s, or the 944 Turbos, who then got **** on by the people who owned the 928s... who then got **** on by the 911 people who didn't think they were real Porsches, and everyone **** on the 924s and the 914s.
But this isn't even like that... so respectfully... the 88 suspension is just different. It's a great suspension, and it's modernized. But it's like comparing the 2002 Crown Victoria to the 2003 Crown Victoria suspension changes. Seriously... it's literally like that. They're both the same chassis and frame, just got an updated suspension.
Me personally, I would rather have an 85-87 because of the availability of parts. And honestly, the 1-year only 84 control arms... they are different, but not totally different from the 85-87. One of the best handling cars I've ever owned was a 1984 Fiero 2m4 SE w/ WS6 suspension. It handled better than literally every other Fiero I've ever owned.
|
|
|
|
BruhMans06
|
OCT 07, 10:39 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by Patrick:
On the '84... yes, I cut both the front and back springs. The front ones are fairly straightforward to remove to cut. The rear struts need to be disassembled, which requires spring compressors...
...and an impact gun to remove the large nut at the top of the struts. When the struts are disassembled, it's a good time to see if they're still functional. If you have the factory originals, toss 'em and get new ones. The top hat of the strut also needs to be flipped. Otherwise, when the rear springs have been shortened, at full suspension drop, the springs won't stay in place in the struts.
And by the way, don't even consider lowering the front suspension unless you also plan the shorten the metal "cone" that the rubber bump stop is attached to.
If you're now getting the impression that there's more to lowering the suspension that just shortening the springs, you'd be right. 
|
|
I'm terrified of using spring compressors. I've seen too many videos of people screwing up their hands using compressors. But if I did shortened them, should I buy stiffer springs? I have the 2m4 which I believe already has stiffer springs than the base trim model, but I might be wrong.
|
|
|
|
Patrick
|
OCT 07, 10:45 PM
|
|
| quote | Originally posted by BruhMans06:
if I did shortened them, should I buy stiffer springs?
|
|
No need to. Shortening springs (by removing a coil or two) effectively stiffens them.
I removed two coils front and back... but I started with the longest, stiffest factory coil springs that were ever made available for a Fiero.
When removing coils, less is better. More can always be cut off, but it doesn't work the other way around.[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 10-07-2023).]
|
|
|
|