just an update, I have ran my Fiero again and no "service engine light" and the idle is rock solid at just slightly over 900 rpm, maybe about 915, perhaps inaccuracy of the gauge

it purrs like a kitten

I now have gotten rid of everything in the EGR circuit except the relay, placed a piece of AL flashing on the intake manifold, and a 1/16th" piece of steel over the gasket on the exhaust manifold.
A side benefit, there is now more room to service the clutch, the O2 sensor, the shift cables, check and fill the oil in transmission, ....
IOW, life is better than it was before and the big plus NO servicing the EGR every 30K miles (not that anybody does that, lol)

I too would like a non-inflammatory answer on this.
My wife's 1988 Formula is starting to stink to high-heaven whenever we go on cruises around the mountains and islands in western-Washington. I know she needs a new Catalytic Converter but I also know she has a small exhaust leak.
THUS - I was looking to get some West Coast Fiero headers and Y-pipe to go with them. I've noticed their parts automatically omit the EGR loop and am trying to figure out what negative effects this would have?
I love cars. I also love people (especially my wife who is an asthmatic) and most people have serious health issues with noxious fumes REGARDLESS of what it does to our atmosphere and planet.
I personally would like as clean a running vehicle as possible while maintaining some semblance of performance no matter what my state EPA laws are. I have no problem whatsoever if you want to straight pipe your car, remove EPA bits from it, whatever - to each their own and I don't care (many of my friends daily a straight-piped vehicle) but I personally don't want a car that runs any dirtier than it needs to.

To sum up; does the EGR system have a significant effect on noxious emissions? If I get a new exhaust system that removes it, what are the potential performance issues and does it affect reliability?
Thanks in advance :-)

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"The last 29 days of the month are the hardest" - Nikola Tesla

see Dennis's post on page 1
the mods you do will be determined by your state's rules and your ability to satisfy or get around them
the impact on performance and emissions of the EGR system is pretty small, I can't tell any difference when it was new and working, stopped functioning, and now that it is removed
if you look at the opening in the intake for it you'll understand why, it is very small