How safe is a fiero compared to today's cars? Like would you be screwed if a SUV hit you, compared to being in like a full sized car (ie. Grand Prix)?

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1997 Pontiac Grand Prix GTP -lotsa mods, so little room...

Generally you are screwed if any SUV other than a Suzuki or Rav 4 hit you. The Fiero takes impacts extremely well, but there is nothing you can do if the SUV comes over the top of you.

If you do some seaching on the internet for Fiero Crash test you will learn the Fiero did extremely well and was only topped by the Volvo.

But....... There are limits to anything.

At the same time, I have a 2000 GTP, 1986 Ciera GT/SC and a Trans Sport and I don't feel any safer in them over the Fiero.

If you've seen a wrecked Fiero, it's interesting how they give but still maintain the passenger compartment shape. Very good space-frame.

[This message has been edited by terryk (edited 10-06-2001).]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but I thought I've seen somewhere that the Fiero has a 5 star front crash rating.

[This message has been edited by Tigger (edited 10-07-2001).]

Five star, but is that to '88 standards? I just don't want to end up building a super fast death trap. But it seems that the Fiero is pretty safe...

Bob - welcome to the forum, if your in the area drop by the shop

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Technician, West Coast Fiero
www.cwestco.com
310-305-4111

I think they are pretty safe. Far ahead of their time when they were built. The trick is to use the handling characterists to avoid an accident if possible. Brakes are a little weak on my 84 but not sure if that holds for all years.Saw an accident last winter here in San Angelo where a pickup lost control on an icy overpass and hit a GT squarely in the left rear quarter at about 60mph. (we don't get much ice- people won't slow down) The gt ended up in 2 pieces, split just behind the seats. Eng area was demolished, but the part from the doors forward looked almost untouched. Pickup driver was killed, Fiero driver died of heart attack. I've been meaning to get pics from the newspaper archives to post. Someone posted similar pics on here about 3 mos ago from another accident. It did the same thing. Maybe they will see this & repost. I'd like to see a pic with all the skin removed, showing the space frame, I think it is called. Overall, I think the Fiero is as safe as any car it's size, maybe more so.

Speaking as an unwilling crash tester, I can vouch for the safety of the Fiero hands down.

The first crash was when an old lady in and Oldsmobile ran the red light and hit me on the side right at the wheel. She spun me around and I hit my head on the side of the upper window frame (the plastic part) but I was able to drive away under my own damaged power. I did more damage to the front of her car than she did to mine!
Then I was rear ended by a full size Ford pick up truck doing about 40 and ended up with a chevy pick up on my hood. Still able to drive away the impact barely touched the trunk area.
The Fiero also came with side impact bars on the doors before it was manditory. Sure its a small car and bad things can happen when big things hit it, but as far as safety, its already proven itself to me.

[This message has been edited by WKDFIRO (edited 10-07-2001).]

Here is a nekkid one, MJ. You can see it's pretty solid under the pretty body parts.

Gary
86 SE
86 GT

quote Originally posted by Bob: Five star, but is that to '88 standards? I just don't want to end up building a super fast death trap. But it seems that the Fiero is pretty safe...

fieros are safe, but if you are so concerned about safety, why do you want to build a 'super fast' car? just kinda ironic

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87 fiero gt under semi restoration/modification. progress at http://www.geocities.com/spektrum_87gt/

Nearly all SUV's are built to Truck class FMVSS rules... You're basicaly asking how a car will survive an impact with a truck.... Not bloody well in most cases. How well you will survive depends on exactly where the truck or whatever hits you.

I've seen pictures of a few wrecked. Haven't acutally seen many wrecked. If I remember right,,, there's a forum member that had the door shoved in on him. He lived but had some pretty serious injuries as I recall.

There's a recently posted picture here in antoher thread of one that rolled. It wasn't a very good picture but it looks like the roof stayed up acroos the back. Hard to tell since that area appears to be under water. I've seen some other rollover/things fell on pictures where the front of the roof is down but the rear pretty normal looking.

Fiero is tougher than many of the cars on the road but if you hit a tree at 100mph then the odds are good the tree will win. It takes far more energy to break a live 1-2 foot diameter tree than a wood or metal pole. Metal poles are actually designed to fail in specific controled ways when hit.

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11-Sept-01, The day the world as we knew it ended.

Thanks for the info everyone. Spektrum, I just would like to have a safe base to my ironic death trap. One more question, are there any companies that make roll cages for the fiero?

I got rear ended in my first Fiero, a 1984 SE, by an old lady in a full size Olds. She was doing about 40 and I was stopped at a stop light behind a van.

She pushed me into the van. Totaled her car, it had to be towed away. I drove mine home with broken tail lights and a couple of cracks in tht fiberglass trunk lid.

I could not believe it had that little damage and hers was totaled.

I feel safe driving my 86 GT now. The only big problem I think would be an SUV coming up over the top.

I saw a Fiero that was totaled at a junk yard. The guy said that it rolled over twice and hit a fire hydrant sideways. Needless to say the side that hit the hydrant was folded up like paper, but the drivers side was intact, the driver survived the crash and climed out of the sun roof. There wasn't a passenger, but if there had been my guess is he/she would have been dead.

I'd say it must be fairly safe to walk away from something like that.

-Charlie

my dad got in a head on in an 84se.
he had a cut on his head.
the impact was offset, like they do on dateline, and the impact speed was about 60-70 mph. nothin came through the floor. you see those neons crumple like tinfoil on tv. sittin in the car you couldn't even tell it had been in an accident. i'd say they are pretty safe...

Heres what I did to my last Fiero. Came around a curve at 65 (35 mph zone)halfway in the other lane and a car was coming in that lane. When I jerked it back to my lane the back end went out and this is where I ended up. The passenger side is what hit the embankment then I slid down into a shallow creek. Jumped out the window (door was stuck) and climbed to the top (while saying a few choice words). Bent the engine cradle, damaged every body panel except the hood, driver side fender and the lower rear side panels. BUT you would never have known by sitting in the car, except for the fact that when I hit the force threw me to the side and my hands never left the wheel and actually bent it toward me. The gauges where a little off center too. I walked away with only a sore neck. It was enough to make me believe they are safe.

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Ummm Recluse... You can't park there

DKOV -