I asked this at the end of my previous post but nobody chimed in. So this question is for those who have stretched there Fiero frame. Did the stretch hurt the handling of the car? It seems to me that increasing the width of the car would possibly improve the handling, like the widetrack Grand Prix. OR maybe I'm just confused. Thanks in advance for the replys.

~Johnny~

Anyone, Anyone. Man do I feel unwelcome. Can somebody make any reply. Pleeeeeeeeeeease.

~Johnny~

Stretching the frame extends the wheel base and would slow down your turning response. If you are also widening the suspention the car should be more stable.

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[This message has been edited by avengador1 (edited 01-10-2002).]

Welcome to the Forum!!

It's not that you are unwelcome. I just don't think there are more than a couple of members who have stretched the fram for a kit. You might have better luck with a question like that at a kit car forum..??

the typical kitcar stretch is just to add wheelbase length not width. You need a suspension kit to widen the suspension links and axles to make it wider. Most are 3"-12".
As far as affecting handling, In for example Nascar, wheelbase is longer for the winston cup cars than busch series because the extra length makes it more stable at high speeds than the shorter wb busch cars.

Just in the middle of a stretch [7 inch]right now. Haven't driven it [legally] yet, so can't answer your question. However others have said it all above, except longer wheelbase gives a smoother ride.
Example: Short wheelbase pickup is rougher than a long wheelbase.

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I have done a five inch stretch on my 85, for my lamborghini kit. However I haven't driven it yet. It should give a smoother ride.

Hmmm,
"How" you lengthen (stretch) or "how" you widen is more relevant to your question, than "if".

For instance, you can widen the front tires by 1. using wheel spacers, 2. using lengthened control arms, 3. using a stretched cross member, or 4. using a custom made cross member. All will put the tires out there at a wider apart position, but at greatly different prices, and with greatly different effects on handling. The reason for the stretch now becomes relevant. Is this for a show only car, and handling isn't important, or is this for a serious street racer or competition racer, where handling and minute tuning will mean everything?

The widening of the rear tires can be done with 1. spacers, 2. longer controll arms, but is often done by only 3. the fact (with kit cars) that you are mounting 335 wide tires on 10" or 12" rims, and often you are allready "widened" by the time these are mounted.

The lengthening stretch can have pronounced effects on handling by virtue of weight shifting, more than anything. The center of gravity of the car is affected when the wheelbase is extended, and if you are transplanting a different engine & trans into the chassis, the cg will again be affected. For instance, a 2.8 + fiero tranny sets just infront of the rear axle. A stroker modified chevy sb + porsche trans sets mostly way ahead of the rear axle (the engine crowds the firewall, even with an 11" stretch). And an LT1 + thm325 trans will put 1/2 of the combinations weight just aft of the rear axle. Big differences all the way around.

The overall effect of the lengthening stretch and powertrain choice can be greatly modified by using a custom built steel tube chassis. In this case, only the fiero "tub" is retained, and a new tube chassis is fabricated. This gives the builder a shot at modifing the final cg, by selection of materials and design of the chassis. Smaller amounts of cg tuning can be accomplished by relocating battery to the front, moving radiators to the rear, etc..

David Breeze
N777H