Interesting review when a Chicago Tribune reporter took an 88 fiero with power steering out for a drive. They quite liked it.

https://www.cars.com/review...-view-1420689086325/

Interesting article....Although it seems strange that being that close to Detroit the writer would make a statement about how the 1988 Fiero >>>>finally<<<< has "fully independent suspension".......New and properly designed suspension yes......but the earlier Fieros all had fully independent suspension!

"Though the suspension overall is an improvement, Pontiac has a job on its hands trying to promote a feature that isn`t visible when passing the showroom.
One official admitted engineering is a harder sell than styling."

Exactly right. My 85 GT was a PITA on some road surfaces. After 3 years, I had learned to dislike it in many ways.
I wasn't even interested in driving an 88, when they came out. (And a GT was as expensive as a Trans Am.)
It was only later...

And I was always annoyed at the lack of power steering.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-21-2018).]

Raydar, does your 4.9 Fiero have power steering?

I've seen a few Fieros with power steering, including some with the factory power steering. I am correct in my factory statement, because it was designed for a Fiero by GM. How it got out of GM, I don't know, but it was not on the Fieros on which I saw it.

At one point, I asked my wife if she'd like to have power steering on the Fiero. She said no.

I have heard that the couple of 1988 Fiero power steering systems that are in Fieros came from the EV1s that GM produced, and then scrapped.....But I may be wrong......

Sure. They've been adapted from the Vue, and from Camaros and Firebirds, also.

I do have one of the few factory EHPS experimental units that somehow escaped from GM. Mine was located on an 88 GT found in the Midwestern area of the country IIRC. I just received the last missing piece a few weeks ago and hope to test at least the pump for functionality in the near future. Someday it will be installed on one of my 88s if it still works or can be repaired. This will be a while because I still need to get one car out of the paint shop, one more nearly finished (first color coat and then wet sanded) in the shop, and then complete the project car interior and body work prior to this happening.

Running 265 x 15 x 50 tries on the front corners makes for some heavy steering at lower speeds when getting the cars out of my basement garage/storage area. The power steering will be really nice if it works.






Nelson

[This message has been edited by hnthomps (edited 04-23-2018).]

quote Originally posted by tshark: Raydar, does your 4.9 Fiero have power steering?

No. It does not. It's also not as difficult to keep pointed in a straight line as my '85 GT was.
I'm guessing that this was due to the difference in scrub radius, and all the other well-documented differences. Although I have driven other, earlier cars, that were not nearly as much of a PITA to handle. May have been something particular to my '85. (Keep in mind, this was long before there were so many online resources, such as this forum.)

With that said... I have a power Trans Am rack that I am going to (at some point) adapt to my white 88 coupe. Once I have it sorted, there, I will also install PS on the 4.9 car, which is also an 88. Just for the quicker ratio.

quote I've seen a few Fieros with power steering, including some with the factory power steering. I am correct in my factory statement, because it was designed for a Fiero by GM. How it got out of GM, I don't know, but it was not on the Fieros on which I saw it.

No doubt. A few of them did escape into the wild, and also escaped GM's recall. (Still don't understand how they removed PS from cars that were already released.)
A guy in Florida managed to acquire at least two of those cars. Still has them AFAIK.

Edit - There was a rumor that the EV1 PS unit was adapted from Fiero pieces. Not saying it's not, but I would be surprised if it were.
I would be even more surprised if any of the EV1 units got loose, and were used on Fieros. GM probably kept those locked down, under armed guard.

[This message has been edited by Raydar (edited 04-22-2018).]

With most mid/rear engine cars, you have to balance the handling between DTO(Drop-throttle oversteer) and normal On-Throttle understeer(Plowing).....the odd/special things I did to my stabilizer mountings allowed me to eliminate most of the DTO but not have slow reaction to steering inputs....The first time I drove it after modding the SBs, it actually felt like the car turned in BEFORE I turned the wheel......

The steering now feels lighter and quicker....(Without my mods the car tuned to have good turn-in would be hazardous to drive because of extreme DTO.....)

I would like to cut down the scrub-radius also, but I would have to change wheels and I like the VOXX Monzas I have, which are light (13 lbs) and were cheap ($75 each)....My 1985 SE V6 has the stockish front suspension but an 88 rear.

quote Originally posted by hnthomps: I do have one of the few factory EHPS experimental units that somehow escaped from GM. Mine was located on an 88 GT found in the Midwestern area of the country IIRC. I just received the last missing piece a few weeks ago and hope to test at least the pump for functionality in the near future. Someday it will be installed on one of my 88s if it still works or can be repaired. This will be a while because I still need to get one car out of the paint shop, one more nearly finished (first color coat and then wet sanded) in the shop, and then complete the project car interior and body work prior to this happening. Running 265 x 15 x 50 tries on the front corners makes for some heavy steering at lower speeds when getting the cars out of my basement garage/storage area. The power steering will be really nice if it works. Nelson

When you put that in your Fiero, make sure to secure the cap on the pump. I'm told it's unique, and that people like to steal them.

[This message has been edited by tshark (edited 04-23-2018).]

quote Originally posted by tshark: When you put that in your Fiero, make sure to secure the cap on the pump. I'm told it's unique, and that people like to steal them.

If I keep my front deck lid closed, it will be somewhat more difficult to steal the pump reservoir cap but thanks for the warning.

Nelson