FIRST: My Fiero is an 85 SE Duke w/auto. I have all the control arms and sway bar done with poly, new ball joints all around as well as replacing a bad front outer tie rod and I have cut the front coil spring one coil (supposedly a one inch drop) and I am using a pair of Suspension Techniques 1.25 inch progressive springs in the rear. New shocks all around. I was driving with the steering damper off for a while and I got 15 inch (7 inch wide) rims up front with 205/60's. The overall diameter is 24.69 inches using this tire calc If I recall the stock tires were 195/70 on 14's that would make that 24.75 inch. The rears are now 225/55's on a 16x7 rim making the overall diameter 25.74. I realize now I shoould have gone with 50 series on the rear, maybe 55's up front. I got the car aligned and had the stering damper reinstalled and while I am getting less kickback throught the wheel, I am getting an odd oscillating action at highway speeds when I hit uneven pavement. I am wondering if I don't have enough toe? Should I doublecheck the steering rack mounts? (I am picking up an occasional noise up front now) Or should I suspect the inner tie rods up front? I'll post as I discover more, but I'm wondering if my basic setup is needing a change in alignment.

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John DuRette
Custom 85 SE/87 Coupe
"Kinda makes you nostalgic for a Members Only jacket"

quote Originally posted by USFiero: I am getting an odd oscillating action at highway speeds when I hit uneven pavement. I am wondering if I don't have enough toe? Should I doublecheck the steering rack mounts? (I am picking up an occasional noise up front now) Or should I suspect the inner tie rods up front? I'll post as I discover more, but I'm wondering if my basic setup is needing a change in alignment.

Oscillating would be a wheel balancing issue if your alignment settings are close and you have no other suspension issues. You didn't mention what your current alignment settings are.
Generally it should be "0"-16th' toe out on the front, and slightly toe in 16th" or so on the back for stability. With a little more negative camber on the back than front; Like -.6 to -1 front and 1.2 to 1.5 or more in the back for sporty street driving. And at least +5 caster. The extra noise could be the tire. Some are noisier than others.

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87'GT 3.4
Westers' programming
Intake & exhaust mods
8shark UHMW solid bushings,
WCF aluminum engine cradle bushings,
Herb Adams heim-joint front bar w/alum. pillow blocks,
Fiero store rear bar, 8shark UHMW A-arm bushings
Higher rate drop springs, Koni adjustables
Barretta brakes, stainless brake lines,
Porterfield heat treated racing pads & rotors,
Bridgestone Pole-position SO-3's,
Rodney Dickman Getrag linkage,
console linkage, short throw shifter.
front battery, Racetech grounding system
Nardi, K & N, Crane,
and on and on

Hey, thanks for the thoughts. Here's where I remind everyone to check the basics... for whatever reason, the tire pressure in the left rear was 46 lbs and the right front was 45 lbs. I usually set them to 36 front 38 rear. Maybe the alignmetn shop did something? But, you can imagine what that can do to handling!
The measurements after alignment: Front camber is .9 deg left .8 right .17 toe both sides; rear -.9 left -1.1 right camber, toe is .15 left .13 right. I'm suspecting the spare hold-down is loose after crawling around in the parking lot looking under the car. I'll check it later...
<EDIT> the bearings up front and one in the rear are new.
And it was the tire hold down. All good, but I'm still wondering if there is any reason to use different alignment specs beacuse of the inch difference in diameter? How 'bout the effects of width?

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 01-12-2006).]

Drove the car home on the highway, still a little twitchy for me. I'll double check the tire pressure again. I was told by someone at a tire shop that I should start with the pressures recommended by the car manufacturer in spite of what type of tires I had. He also told me that a regular shop couldn't align a car with any type of change in wheel sizes. Needless to say I didn't go to that shop for service. I wonder if there is a formula regarding the ratio of tire width/height and changes from the standard Fiero alignment? Oh yeah, I made sure they had the 84-87 Fiero specs which agreed with the info I got on PFF and elsewhere...

Still haven't replaced the cradle bushings, but they aren't that bad. The front (right) engine mount cost like $10 at Autozone. I have re-inspected the suspension since I'm still picking up some noise and the handlin prob hasn't gone away. I believe the driver's side rear outer tie rod is now worn pretty bad, the wheel moves when sitting still. I've ordered replacement parts from our friend Rodney.

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 01-19-2006).]

when you say "oscilation" - do you mean a vibration/shake? or a wavey/uneasy/swaying?
do you feel it in the front, the back, the whole car, the steering wheel?

and, uneven pavement - if you are talking about ashphalt pavement with tire tracks worn in, no Fiero likes that (well, maybe 88's dont mind....) - it makes the bumpsteer really shine with the inconsistant up & down on the left & right

Yeah... how do I describe? oscillate.... Anything that upsets the suspension seems to set off a continuous rocking/twisting motion.... The driver's rear wheel shakes when the car sits, and there is obvious wear on the tire that is not showing on the others. I remember the tech saying he removed some 'clips' he said wasn't needed on the rear... and I had used some adjustable camber bolts. Think he made a mistake. I'm still going to rebuild the rear tie rods, but I have an appointment to have the shop check their work. The car has gotten scary to drive in just a couple days. I gotta park it till then.

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 01-19-2006).]

Well, I went to the shop that did my alignment with righteous anger and in my Sunday best. The tech first suggested that the adjustable bolts were to blame since he had to remove the positioning clips in order to get a proper alignment done... I dunno. So I went home and got him the old bolts since he felt they were better... Then I get a call... The rear hub bearing is shot. I knew the left rear suspension was wobbling when I shook it, but I couldn't get under there to get a close eye to it before. I just felt that it had to be the only other people who touched my precious Fiero who screwed it up! I had puled both the bearings when I rebuilt the rear suspension and they seemed fine, although now that I think of it, the drivers' side had noticeably more surface rust than the passenger side. I just credited that to the fact the Fiero had sat for a couple years outside and had been exposed to the elements on that side more than the passenger side. $70 later at Autozone, I have a replacement Timken brand hub assembly. I will be putting that on myself, thank you, on Wednesday. along with these:

ooh, ahhh... they are from Rodney, although they don't come painted like that. I did that using Duplicolor Hi performance wheel paint. It has a pretty tough finish and a nice amount of reflective quality. I also fitted the chassis side of the links with 6mm 45° grease fittings (optional according to Rodney) You might be able to see- it says 'Rodney Inc' in the the rubber on the boot.

after you get all your miscellaneous things fixed , you probably will notice a slight improvement but you will still have the same problem.my 85 4 cyl did the same thing.it was terrible in snow,and it was just plain spooky on gravel and bumpy roads. i put coilovers in back ,poly cradle and control mounts ,paid 400.00 for an alignment(including new ball joints) and only got a modest improvement .i didnt consider it dangerous , buy it was annoying to have to saw away at the steering wheel whenever i went around a bumpy corner.but one thing i hated was the high steering effort.i figured that it was the big tires (225/60r15 rear ,205/55r15 front) so i tried a set of 185/60r15 's all around.what an improvement ,a difference of night and day.steering effort greatly reduced and the car no longer bounced around on bumpy corners.i think the fiero stock suspension does not like wide tires.they have a tendency to follow every rut in the road .the tires that came on the car originally were 175/85r13.the fiero is not a heavy car ,it really does not need big tires to handle well. another helpful hint i got here on the forum was that the strut to knuckle bolts need to be torqued to 140 lbs.i checked mine and they were 40 lbs. light.my alignment mechanic thought the adjustable strut bolts very helpful.i think your allignment man is just looking for excuses.

whelp, got down to it yesterday.. in the frickin freezin cold. So I bailed out on puttin on the tie rods, I'll do that when it warms back up. In May. So I get the axle nut off, caliper and rotor off and.... the bolts holding the hub assembly have backed out. Coulda swore I locktite/torqued those puppies in good? Started too late and it got too dark to get the brake back on/ the piston back into the caliper...

Have a rattle in the front right of the car been drivin' me nuts. Eliminated everything loose in the front, felt like suspension and in spite of the alignment it darts around. After more PFF surfing, I'm guessing the passenger side steering rack bushing.... this is on an 85, so anyone wanna tell me I may be barking up the rong tree?

Had to replace my alternator, the bad bearings have chewed up another belt and they squeal all the time. Changed the oil, and while I was at it, I changed the front (right) motor mount. Here's the old one, swollen from oil exposure. So much crud under there, I sprayed the undercarriage with some citrus based solvent and trundled down to the local car wash to hose it all down. I notice a little change in city driving already, I'll be driving it on the highway tomorrow... I checked the rear tie rod connections and one has the boot bolted to the frame collapsed. Next Project, get those Rodney Dickman parts on....

[This message has been edited by USFiero (edited 03-02-2006).]