it could be your tires...I decided it was time to buy some new shoes for my Formula (and some new wheels). I didn't wan't to go 17 to 20 inch, because there are too many people around here who'll steal your car just for the wheels; also, I wanted to stay with something fairly close to stock, in case I ate a chunk of metal and had to buy a tire in the middle of Resume Speed, Iowa or somewhere like that. I bought a set of 215R65/15's for the front, and a set of 235R60/15's for the rear, mounted on a set of American Racing Fusion (look a lot like a chrome version of the old Porsche 911 Fuchs wheels) 15 x 7 wheels (they didn't make this model in 15 x 6 for the front) all the way around. Alignment settings were unchanged. The difference is like night and day, and the ride is much less harsh, and I still have the 'cornering on rails' feel, too.
Here are the wheels and tires:

Oops forgot pic...

purdy.

But you didnt tell us what tires u r running.

Pretty sure they're made by Bridgestone; it's Pep Boys' in-house line, Futura GLS, supposed to be a "performance touring" tire, which probably means I sacrifice some handling to get a smoother ride. But since I drive so very seldom at the limit of adhesion, and I'm not trying to beat everyone home from work every day, it's a tradeoff I'll gladly accept. For my purposes, driving twisty back roads at speeds which will usually keep me out of trouble, they're just fine. I like the Fuchs-style look of the wheels, too, nothing overly ornate, just clean and simple.

that looks kick ass, those tires raised your car a bit, looks alitlte off-roadish!!! ive got big tires on my 88 coupe fastbackGT v6 right now, im trying to find some heavy duty mud tires for it that will fit the wheel wells, i think 205/75/14's are the largest i can go, its just going to be for this winter anyway, my 87GT has 17's on it with 45 series tires, and it rides like a board..... my 85GT has 225/50/16's on it and its got a smoother ride, but nothing rides as good and handles as good as the 88.

do they make those rims in 16" sizes? if so how much did the ones you have cost even though they are 15"?

matthew

They were USD $150.00/ea. They make them all the way up to 18 inches, I think... I probably could've got the 15's cheaper online, but I prefer having someone you can lay hands on, figuratively speaking, if something goes awry with the product, and these are a new line AR came out with recently. They're the only thing I've found so far that resembled the Porsche Fuchs wheel (loved the look of those wheels since I was fourteen). Part of the reason I bought them is because the Fiero has always reminded me of something designed by Porsche.
The car isn't raised nearly as much as the pic makes it look, (something I did wrong w/ Photoshop to resize it) the ride height is less than an inch above stock. For some reason it looks more 'muscular', lol...
Here's a slightly different angle...

[This message has been edited by Vonov (edited 10-04-2004).]

what were your old tires?

i've used futura tires before and they performed well - the lifespan just wasn't very long

Kind of a chrome version of the old Kregar mags. Nice!

I've had 3 different sets of wheels/tires on my 86 SE and it's always taken some muscle to steer. I went from stock size wheels and rims to ARE 15X7 with 205-60-15s to TSW 16X7.5 with Dunlop 205-50-16s and the effort required to steer the car hasn't changed much. It may be that the castor is set a little high but the car is stable on the straight road and sticks like glue in the corners.

General Tire Daytonas...(what the car had when I bought it) handled well, but rode like rocks.

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"He who does not oppose evil, commands that it be done!" ----Leonardo da Vinci

quote Originally posted by SKIDMARK: Kind of a chrome version of the old Kregar mags. Nice! I've had 3 different sets of wheels/tires on my 86 SE and it's always taken some muscle to steer. I went from stock size wheels and rims to ARE 15X7 with 205-60-15s to TSW 16X7.5 with Dunlop 205-50-16s and the effort required to steer the car hasn't changed much. It may be that the castor is set a little high but the car is stable on the straight road and sticks like glue in the corners.

Keep in mind that Vonov's car is an '88. It has a smaller scrub radius for easier steering.

I used the same geometry in mine, but mine don't look so chunky.

The fronts are Federal SS595's and the back are BF Goodrich T/A's

Oops, I'm actually 195/60/15 front and 205/65/15 rears- sorry

Same result though
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Arn

[This message has been edited by Arns85GT (edited 10-04-2004).]

I run the same tires in 15" version on my firebird for street tires when Im not running drag radials. Horrible traction but they feel nice and handle pretty well.
245/60/15s I think are what I have.

Ooh, I like those rims!

*drool-drool*

I want to give my Fiero a musclecar flavor, and those rims would be perfect.

[This message has been edited by Blacktree (edited 10-05-2004).]

Vonov,
Just wanted to stop by and compliment those new rims!!!
I really like them---they remind me of a time when hot rods weren't built in Japan.
Good choice!

Jeff

I found a great difference changing tires/rims too. Going from a 215/60/15 to a 215/45/17 made a world of difference. I think the smaller sidewall fights you less when you try to turn at parking lot speeds.

Yeah, I'd steal them, hehehehe.

I didn't know it was that bad in TN? Even though their 15's I'd still put locks on them.

quote Originally posted by madcurl: Yeah, I'd steal them, hehehehe. I didn't know it was that bad in TN? Even though their 15's I'd still put locks on them.

Thanks, Curly...(I think...) I consider that high praise indeed. If you look real close, you can see the locks, btw.

It's just bad in the larger cities, Memphis, Knoxville, Nashville (although we've put a hell of a dent in it here) and Chattanooga.

And Jeff, I actually chose them because they reminded me of two different wheels at one and the same time; the old Cragar S/S, and the old Porsche 911 Fuchs wheel (if anyone remembers the old 5-spoke wheel that used to be on the 911's). Amen to the hot rod thing, too.

And yes, Blacktree, they're available through Pep Boys, but they're a new enough design that not everyone carries them, and I had to special order them out of a warehouse in California. Apparently they haven't made it east of the Rockies yet.

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"He who does not oppose evil, commands that it be done!" ----Leonardo da Vinci

[This message has been edited by Vonov (edited 10-04-2004).]