Stiffer front suspension question - tires rubbing with drop spindles (Page 1/4)
ragoldsmith DEC 02, 01:37 PM
Hey everyone, I just purchased an 86 GT. It has aftermarket 18" rims with low profile tires, Street Dreams lowered spindles in the front with stock suspension and cut springs in the rear. I'm a pretty big guy (230 lbs) so I'm sure that makes the rubbing worse than it was for the previous owner. However, I think it was setup more for show than for driving. I would like to put some stiffer springs in the front and maybe gain back an inch or so height. The front has about an inch less clearance than the rear, so this would even things up. Pretty much all of the aftermarket springs I've seen are lowering springs, which I can't use. Does anyone have a recommendation? Am I going to have to ditch the spindles? That would come with its own issues because the spindles have the correct bolt pattern for the Scion TC rims. The rear has adapters. Stiffer springs seem like the simplest solution to me, but I'm also brand new to Fieros so I would love to hear what you guys recommend. Thanks!
Blacktree DEC 02, 01:51 PM
That's a tough call. I'm not sure if there are any stiffer springs that aren't lowering springs.

Just out curiosity, how bad is it rubbing? If it's just a slight rub, then maybe you can put shims under your springs to raise it up a bit. You could also put shims under aftermarket springs, if it comes to that.

Also, what shocks are you using? A soft shock absorber will let the wheel bounce up (and hit the wheel well) when you hit a bump. So if your shocks are too soft, stiffer ones may help with that.
Patrick DEC 02, 02:00 PM

quote
Originally posted by ragoldsmith:

I would like to put some stiffer springs in the front and maybe gain back an inch or so height.



There were various "stock" front springs offered by Pontiac for the Fiero over the years. Some are longer and/or stiffer than others. The '84-'87 springs are all interchangeable. (88's are a bit different, although I installed cut '84 front springs in my '88 Formula.) If your front springs still have the factory ID tags attached to them, you can compare their specs to the others. These various springs have been listed here many times. A search for spring rates will reveal plenty of threads on the topic.

[This message has been edited by Patrick (edited 12-02-2020).]

cvxjet DEC 02, 02:47 PM
I have an 85 SE V6...heavily modified; 3.4 F-body long block, 5spd, 88 rear with 88 brakes all around, etc....

I had some (slightly) lower springs up front....When I rebuilt the front suspension, I picked up a whole crossmember from the JY and shortened the bump-stops with the plan of getting the rebuild done, and then simply swapping in the completely rebuilt crossmember (Car down maybe 2 days) Lets not talk about the last crossmember bolt I was removing on my car snapping and the THREE WEEKS it took to fish a plate with carriage bolt into the frame (Best laid plans of mice and....)

The tires were hitting the fenders up front and on Redwood road the humps would throw the car all over the place....First, I put a couple of washers on the bump-stop bushings (Converted to bolt-on) but still bottoming out so I made wood spacers for the springs...1/2" so raised the front approx 7/8'...Made all the difference- now the suspension does not bottom and the tires don't rub on the fenders....(I sealed the plywood spacers with FG resin)

Too many people lower their cars too much for the suspension to properly work....

Either swap in some taller springs or make some spacers.
fieroguru DEC 02, 05:45 PM
You would be best to ask for some stock front springs in the mall and start with the stock spring and the dropped spindles.
ragoldsmith DEC 02, 05:53 PM
Thanks for all the input everyone!


quote
Originally posted by fieroguru:

You would be best to ask for some stock front springs in the mall and start with the stock spring and the dropped spindles.



It's my understanding that it has completely stock springs in the front, but I'll definitely check and see if the springs still have the ID tags so I can compare with other stock springs. Thanks!
fieroguru DEC 02, 06:12 PM
Post a picture of the current stance.
My guess is you have trimmed springs & lowering spindles up front, which is giving you a 3"+ drop and causing issues.
fierosound DEC 02, 07:08 PM

quote
Originally posted by Patrick:

There were various "stock" front springs offered by Pontiac for the Fiero over the years. Some are longer and/or stiffer than others. The '84-'87 springs are all interchangeable. (88's are a bit different, although I installed cut '84 front springs in my '88 Formula.) If your front springs still have the factory ID tags attached to them, you can compare their specs to the others. These various springs have been listed here many times.




You need to take one out and measure what you have and find longer ones.

Stock springs
http://www.fiero.nl/forum/A...120111-2-110727.html

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[This message has been edited by fierosound (edited 12-02-2020).]

ragoldsmith DEC 02, 08:41 PM
I’ll be pulling a front tire off tomorrow and checking out what’s in there. I’ll take photos and post what I find.

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1986 Fiero GT

theogre DEC 03, 04:54 PM
Having many mod's done to a car may not help you finding the "problem(s)" and sorry but yes, 230lb driver can add to suspension issues.

OE spring code are in RPO list on inner left fender near MC.
See my Cave, RPO List GM never publish rates etc.

Big tires can hit frame and more even w/o lowering. Easier w/ wrong offset and other specs of the rims. Worse if a car is lowered because inner fender etc are made to clear OE tires w/ normal ride height.
Run OE vs New tire size on some tire calc like https://www.miata.net/garage/ to see roughly how different sizes.

Most Fiero Brake mod's can/will affect the suspension too because most use Fiero front hub rotor w/ rotor cut off. Including many rework for different lug spacing.
Most add whatever rotors to the cut hub and use same offset and back set of OE rims can make wheel hit body, frame, etc and change other things.
See my Cave, Brake Upgrade as likely some still applies to you.

Fiero GVWR/GVW is X lb including 2 people ~ 175lb each (Why? Is 2 industry standard male crash dummies) and ~ 100lb cargo. Or ~ 400 - 450lb total to play with a load spread thru a Fiero. (Exact GVWR depends on year, trim level, etc. Is on D-side door or jam. Fiero is on door but often hard to impossible to read.)
If mod's add weight to a car, you loose or eliminate total cargo allowance, the 450lb. (Note that While cars mostly don't get stopped for overweight/overloading violations like Trucks can, if you wreck significantly over GVWR can bite you in many ways.)
A heavy person in one seat can upset suspension balance and may make steering pull to one side, one side tire(s) hitting frame, etc. Mod'ing the suspension may seem to help but uneven loading of people/cargo can still cause problems. More so if one or more mods are at the edge of same problems.

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