OK,
I have my 1985 GT 4sp now, and I'm in the planning stages of what to do for next season's autocross...

We have a local guy who used to run an 85 GT (and was unstoppable!), but he hasn't been there in quite a while, so I can't ask him...

If anyone here competes with their car, could you post what setup you're using and what you like/dislike about it?

Thanks!

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TRiAD Motorsports \\\\ triadtuning@hotmail.com //// Michael ~ 85 GT 4sp

Eibach Sportlines, Koni adjustables. Poly everything except the engine cradle. Hard mount that if it can be done. One of the guys in our SCCA region ran a fiero with like 4* negitive camber and 0 toe. If you are running 50 series +, run as hard a spring as you can tolerate. Below that, you might want to go with a slightly softer spring to help your car plant a little better.

This is the best I can remember from what he had. Hope this helps...

Koni's
Modified Ground control coil overs
325lbs rear springs
1" front bar
1.25" rear bar
Coilovers up front (I forget the rate)
Good alignment with 1.5 negative camber up front...again forget the rear settings
No steering damper
235/45/17 rear
215/40/17 front
Lotsa poly
very neutral handling , ie nothing like a Fiero.

Join the Fieroracing list on yahoogroups //230 or so people so far. Lots of autocrossers.

when I do an engine swap I'm going to convert to an 88 cradle. Apperently the best setup is an 88 cradle on an 84 to 87 car. Better than the tubular suspensions..ect..ect.

Cadaero2Dmax will post soon , he is an authority on the subject.

JM

My 85 gt rally car was set up for rally races, it has the following things done to it
Full roll cage, skid plates light bar in front 5 point harness,koni racing suspension the whole body is reinforced with 2" inch metal piping around the whole car, its quite heavy but is a blast to drive. It placed first in three different races across the us before the guy retired. it only has 68000 miles on it. and has a rebuilt tranny new clutch, and new engine.

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RALLY CAR, FULL ROLL CAGE, SKID PLATES AND SOON TO BE BRIGHT YELLOW

Sorta depends on a number of things.

The absolute first thing to consider before even washing your windshield is to determine what class you will be playing in.

Stock? Well, your options are limited, but you can make a pretty good handling Fiero with a set of Koni's, the right alignment. and some "R" tires. For stock, I would go with the 4 to 41/2 degrees caster already mentioned, I would go to 1/8" toe OUT
front, 1/8" toe IN rear. Try about 1.3 to 1.5
degrees negative camber(the same camber on all 4 corners). These settings would be a good place to start.

Street Prepared, Street Touring? NOW you can do the poly, delrin, or UMHW bushings(I can give you a contact if you need one, for these). Something a lot of autocrossers forget is that heavier springs really help tune a suspension. Of course, bigger swaybars (I like a 1" front on a daily driver) and add a rear swaybar (I just use the stock front bar here). Don't forget to improve your brakes - GA fronts are a good compromise (they add about 6lbs unsprung weight to the corner - I developed a set of racing pads for stock/street prepared cars last year, but they are no longer available to the public for "political" reasons). And here is where you can add a chip, work the ignition, install a header, etc. to eke some more power.

Street Mod 2 (if it becomes a National class) - here is where the lightweight Cad 4.9 should do well, with all the things shown in SP/ST above. Except I would recommend an '88 cradle here to improve handling even more.

But before I even got out of the chair, I would join
FieroRacingList@yahoogroups.com
where about 230 other competitors are there just waiting to help you through your season.

Hope this helps

G

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G
Daily Driver -
85 SE
4.9 Cad
Isuzu 5 speed
'88 cradle
lowered 2 1/2"
Mr. Mikes interior

GRM $2002 Challenge Fiero
86 coupe
4.9 (carburated)
2.86:1 TH-125 w/shift kit

Thanks all!
The SCCA is once again changing many of the classes and the new handbook will be out around New Years. As soon as I get that, I'll be deciding on a class. I know I won't run stock, so it's a matter of which SP or ST class I'll be in.

Thanks!

quote Originally posted by TRiAD: Thanks all! The SCCA is once again changing many of the classes and the new handbook will be out around New Years. As soon as I get that, I'll be deciding on a class. I know I won't run stock, so it's a matter of which SP or ST class I'll be in. Thanks!

Hi guys. I did a lot of autocrossing in the 1960's and 70's when MG's and Triumph's, along with Lotus and Porsche. My first racecar was an MG Midget that went from showroom to full modified in about six years. I owned and raced a lot of others, a monster Mini Cooper S with about 150 HP and weighed less than 1300 lbs. In those days it was a lot of trial and error because it was new and technology wasn't anything compared to today. With all the horsepower and suspension mods, you still didn't have the tires to go with it. Firestone Indy's were my choice...all out racing slicks that were made for oval sprintcars.

Anyway, after about thirty years of being away from it, I started watching some local club racing at LimeRockPark and parking lot autocrosses, along with some airports. At first glance, it seems the same, but I know it's not. My son will be preparing an 88 GT for me so I can race it in the spring. Even though it still looks easy, the stock class will be my starting point and I'm ready to learn it all over again.

Modern technology has changed the auto so that most cars on todays streets would have only been dreams back i the 60's.

I was looking at the pic below and wondered if anyone I ever competed against would have let this guy on the track.

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tomcat...Thanks for the help!

That X-19 ROCKS!

Thanks!

After watching this past season in CT, MASS, NY...it seemed that on most courses the Fiero's did very well, especially the 88 Formula's, but there is a guy with a GT that is always racing for best time of the day. His car is lowered, with coil over adjustable shocks. It seemed when he got it too stiff in the front it would tend to bounce...you couldn't see it from a distance but the stiffness made it bounce and understeer. When he got the back suspension too stiff, the car oversteered...very tail happy. I'm pretty sure he had Koni adjustables because he would get under it (jacked up, of course) and make adjustments to the sway bars and shocks. He used Khumo rubber that was pretty sticky.

I run a 87 SE with stock 4 cyl engine, totally gutless, but with nothing more than Bilstein shocks, solid offset UHMW Polyethylene bushings, solid pillow blocks and end links on the front bar, 14" by 6" rims with 255 Kumhos, (helps lower the car and keeps wheel weight down) 6 degreees caster on the front, 1.5 degrees camber front and 2.25 degrees rear, zero toe on front, 1/8 toe-in on rear, it is starting to beat nearly all the other street prepared cars on most courses that don't have long straights. We also took off the steering stabilizer, feels like we added power steering!!! Handling with this settings is almost perfectly neutral, under all conditions.

You can see the test car and read more info about it and the UHMW bushings on my web site.

Gerald Storvik (8shark.com)

Can you explain why the steering is easier with the stabilizer taken out and why the 255 profile Khumo tires. I can understand going to the 14 inch rims, but from what I've read and heard, this is best for pre-88 suspensions.

I would post photos of my Quad4 powered all out race "Prepared" Fiero if I could figure how photos are put on this forum.

Anyway, that yellow (currently) E-Mod car shown in the one post is 5 time National Champion Steve Tamandli. The Tamandli brothers are from the Midwest, Indiana, I believe. Steve was actually my instructor in the old McKamey's Driving School.

This car is powered by a racing aluminum Rover V*. It actually is a tube framed Formula chassis (I believe it is a Formula Atlantic, but it may be a Continental) with a Fiero body.

It is pure awesome!!

G

Oooops, (brain fart) The tires are 195/55 series Kumho v700s.

22" diameter, about 7.5 " tread width. The reason is to lower the car about 1.5 to 2 inches without having to cut springs etc.

The steering is much easier, because the stabilizer is a VERY stiff shock absorber, which drags on the steering a LOT. The car can be a little freaky to drive on the street that way though, because every little bump feeds back a little through the steering wheel, so you have to keep your hands and attention on your driving. But it is a VERY nice improvement in ease and feel of what the car is doing.

Gerald Storvik (9Shark.com)

Here you go George!

And I thought I was serious about autocrossing! I would give my left.....To Drive that!

JM

[This message has been edited by Slammed Fiero (edited 11-10-2001).]

Thanks, SlammedFiero.

Below is a link to my Photopoint page with lots more, with the car on the banked oval at Texas Motor Speedway (I will BET it is the only Fiero on THAT track!!), Pro Solo, Drag Strip,etc:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=142520&a=1342821

Another showing the suspension, and some of the mods:
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=142520&a=1044072

Now, e-mail me off list with a trainer how to publish photos :-)

quote Originally posted by Slammed Fiero: One last engine shot 232hp , 1900lbs ...Giddy Up! JM [This message has been edited by Slammed Fiero (edited 11-10-2001).]

There was a line break in the name of the picture that shouldn't have been there.

quote 232hp , 1900lbs ...Giddy Up! JM [This message has been edited by Slammed Fiero (edited 11-10-2001).][/B]

Giddy up is right! Don't let Cosmo Cramer in that baby. Shark...Thanks for explaining about the steering damper/stabilizer. Those pics I posted..the Fiat and the Fiero...were from a national solo event from the Hoosier Tire website. I didn't kow anything about either, except they were national champs from the mid-west.

I'm getting back into autocrossing after a thirty year forced layoff. Being in a wheelchair, plan to drive with handcontrols and auto tranny. I'd like to think it will be like getting back on a bicycle again, but I know it won't. In the 60's my cars were 1400 lbs tops and being a fit young man on my two feet with half a brain helped. Anyway, my GT will be twice the weight of what I was used to scootin' around. I've been driving with handcontrols for thirty years and most of my vehicles have had power steering, power brakes and very heavy.

I'll take any advice given because the only thing I really know about Fiero's is that they're good looking and mid-engine cars that will tend to understeer. Thanks in advance for any advice, any help...I figure you're never too old to learn.

quote Originally posted by tomcat06085: I'll take any advice given because the only thing I really know about Fiero's is that they're good looking and mid-engine cars that will tend to understeer. Thanks in advance for any advice, any help...I figure you're never too old to learn.[/B]

I have been autocrossing a fiero in stock class for 3 years now. I started with an 85 GT and now have a Formula. I am far from an expert but I would like to share a couple of things I learned.

First, the 88 is way better for autocross than the 85 was. The solid mounted cradle and the rear sway bar make the car feel much more stable. I can actual get the 88 to understeer or oversteer at will by using the throttle.

Make sure you get racing tires first and Koni shocks second.

I use the little metal clips for the seatbelt. The ones that people use for child carseats. I put them on my seatbelts to keep them tight and to keep me from sliding around. It is a small thing but it helps.

Don't you have to remove the Konis to adjust them?

Are there any adjustable shocks for the Fiero that don't need to be removed?

Thanks!

You can adjust the rears while on the car. Just set the fronts to full soft and leave them, then stiffen the rears till you get the results you like (about half way).

quote The tires are 195/55 series Kumho v700s. 22" diameter, about 7.5 " tread width. The reason is to lower the car about 1.5 to 2 inches without having to cut springs etc. The steering is much easier, because the stabilizer is a VERY stiff shock absorber, which drags on the steering a LOT. The car can be a little freaky to drive on the street that way though, because every little bump feeds back a little through the steering wheel, so you have to keep your hands and attention on your driving. But it is a VERY nice improvement in ease and feel of what the car is doing. Gerald Storvik (9Shark.com)[/B]

Shark...can you give me an idea how difficult it is to remove the dampener/stabilizer and do you (or anyone else) know if your can fit the 14" rims front and back?

BTW...I do plan to run as stock as possible with DOT Khumo or Hoosier solo tires. What do you recommend? I've heard the Hoosier tire is sticky right from the get-go...where the Khumo tends to need warm weather or a long run to warm up.

14" rims should fit all of the 84-87 Fieros, you can even get 13" rims on the 84s, but it would be wise to measure the distance from the center of the spindle to the outer edge of your brake calipers to be sure.

The steering stabilizer is held on by a couple of 15 mm. nuts, if I remember correctly, and is quite easy to get off, once you jack the car up high enough to get under there.

I have been very happy with the kumho v700s, they are not quite as soft as the hoosiers, but they last longer, and cost a lot less. The Hoosiers will probably be a little faster though, so if price and life are not an issue, the Hoosiers would be better.

BTW, the cheap 14" BFG tires that tire rack has on sale - they call them rain tires - are the old 206 compounds that were so fast, but wore the "groove of doom" in the mid to late 90's. I think they are faster (albeit faster wearing) than the current Kumho's and Hoosiers, and at $47 per tire, you can afford to change them a little more often.

SSSSHHHhhhh - - don't tell anybody. I don't want Tire Rack to run out!!

G

------------------
G
Daily Driver -
85 SE
4.9 Cad
Isuzu 5 speed
'88 cradle
lowered 2 1/2"
Mr. Mikes interior

GRM $2002 Challenge Fiero
86 coupe
4.9 (carburated)
2.86:1 TH-125 w/shift kit