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| Optimal Suspension for Comfort & Handling (Page 3/4) |
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theogre
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FEB 07, 03:29 PM
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The RPO label can be wrong. More so if was entered manually.
GM had stickers w/ code on the springs but fall off after years rarely to see after 30+ years.
mark 1 or both so you know where live then very carefully look side by side to see if any dif.
Strut springs & some others are Progressive Springs.
Standard Spring Rates Do Not apply to them. IOW Throw out measure spring rate using a scale & ruler.
You can have 2 or more Springs that have Same Basic Rate but behave way different because how they are made.
Because Distance between turns & diameter of each turn of coil matters.
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82-T/A [At Work]
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FEB 07, 09:49 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 1985 Fiero GT:
Yeah, no problem, I'm not sure, but somewhere I recall reading or hearing that the springs are color coded somehow, like maybe a stripe of paint somewhere on them that corresponds to the spring code, I don't have any more information, but if both springs have a spot of paint that is the same, then it would probably just be a typo. |
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The "new" (used) replacement springs came in today, so I'll just use those since they so low mileage and in such great shape. They still have the paper tag on them too... though I didn't check if it said NYM, but that's effectively what I bought (auction said for a pair of NYM springs from a WS6 Fiero). I'll check it tomorrow, they were just a little dusty so I didn't take them out of the box.
| quote | Originally posted by theogre:
The RPO label can be wrong. More so if was entered manually.
GM had stickers w/ code on the springs but fall off after years rarely to see after 30+ years.
mark 1 or both so you know where live then very carefully look side by side to see if any dif.
Strut springs & some others are Progressive Springs.
Standard Spring Rates Do Not apply to them. IOW Throw out measure spring rate using a scale & ruler.
You can have 2 or more Springs that have Same Basic Rate but behave way different because how they are made.
Because Distance between turns & diameter of each turn of coil matters. |
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I think it's actually kind of cool. It's rare (at least for me) to see a screw-up like this from GM!
I'll probably have my daughter make a whole section of one of her videos on this, because it's super interesting...
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1985 Fiero GT
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FEB 08, 01:26 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
I think it's actually kind of cool. It's rare (at least for me) to see a screw-up like this from GM!
I'll probably have my daughter make a whole section of one of her videos on this, because it's super interesting...
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Another thing that she could do, maybe along with the spring typo as an episode of its own, is fix the temperature gauge wiring, gm wired the gauge into the bulb test wiring and the warning bulb into the gauge wiring, so when you turn the key to start, the gauge pegs all the way over, which can damage it, and the point of the test is to show that the warning bulb works, which it doesn't. It is easy to fix, swap the 2 wires on the temp sender, and swap 2 wires in the dash, and the bulb gets lit up, but the gauge and bulb continue working as they are supposed to.
Also, will your daughter be keeping the stock shifter, I upgraded to the shorter 1984 shifter, it looks good, better then the 85-88 longer shifters, increases effort a little bit, but not as much as the old cables (shorter shifter+new cables has the same effort as long shifter and old cables) and it is more precise, feels less sloppy, and Rodney sells a real leather boot with a metal base plate that is really secure.
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Vintage-Nut
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FEB 08, 09:32 AM
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| quote | 1985 Fiero GT:
Rodney sells a real leather boot with a metal base plate that is really secure. |
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FYI From Rodney's Site:
| quote | 1985-1988 4 and 5 speed boots are OUT OF STOCK.
I will not be making anymore.
Only the 84 is available: The 84 is a 1" shorter boot (because the 1984 had a 1" shorter shifter than the 85-88's) |
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------------------
Original Owner of a Silver '88 GT
Under 'Production Refurbishment' @ 136k Miles
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1985 Fiero GT
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FEB 08, 10:39 AM
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| quote | Originally posted by Vintage-Nut:
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Precisely, I was talking about then potentially changing their shifter to the 84 shorter shifter, which has several benefits including Rodney's real leather shift boot with metal retaining base.
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olejoedad
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FEB 08, 06:10 PM
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It would be easier to achieve better handling and more comfortable ride by buying her a used Honda.....🤣🤣
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1985 Fiero GT
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FEB 08, 06:51 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by olejoedad:
It would be easier to achieve better handling and more comfortable ride by buying her a used Honda.....🤣🤣 |
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Where would the fun be in that!
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pmbrunelle
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FEB 08, 10:02 PM
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| quote | Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]:
She doesn't know what she wants, because she's never driven a car.
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Rebuild everything to stock rubber specification.
Once your daughter has driven the car, she will be able to form her own opinion.
If the car is pre-modified by the time she drives it, then she is deprived of the chance to identify weaknesses of the stock car, and then to make the car into her own using her own judgement.
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Frenchrafe
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FEB 09, 02:42 AM
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For someone that has gone 100% polyurethane on his own car: DON'T DO IT !!
Keep the suspension as stock as possible with just replacing the tired old bushings with new ones, and put in new shock absorbers as well.
One person above mentioned engine mounts and the dogbone. Rubber as well, unless you want your teeth to rattle!
(Poly isn't necessary below 400HP!)------------------
"Turbo Slug" - '87 Fiero GT. 3800 turbo. - The fastest Fiero in France! @turboslugfiero
https://youtu.be/hUzOAeyWLfM
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fieroguru
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FEB 09, 08:02 PM
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Poly bushings have been around a long time and pre-date low profile tires (50 series and lower). At that time, the only way to tighten up the suspension and get less deflection was with bushings. Now we have options of 50, 40, and 30 series tires and using these will provide less overall deflection than poly bushings do.
In the next few weeks, I will be removing the poly from the lower front control arm of my 88 and going back to rubber.
The 84-87 front lower control arm sends the vast majority of lateral loads through a single bushing (the front one) and the rear bushing handles braking and road irregularity impacts.
This is very similar to the way most current cars have their front lower a-arms configured. Here is an example from a Grand Am:
Here is another from a Maxima:
BMW took the concept even further with replacing the lateral load bushing with a ball joint for zero deflection and left the rear bushing rubber. In this one, the rear of the control arm just sits in a rubber bushing cup.
If I was building an 84-87 car and wanted to maximize handling while maintaining good ride quality in the front, I would run a spherical bearing (like the ones Will offered) in the front bushing location and look at adapting a larger rubber bushing in the rear location.
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