I have a 87 gt with the stock suspension and also a 88 parts car that came with an extra rear engine cradle. My question is...which is a better suspension for launching and going in a straight line? Im only really concerned with being fast at the drag strip and not so much for road courses. So either keep the 87 control arm suspension or swap to the 88's multi-link. What do you guys think???

Nither. They both suck for Drag racing.

you need upgraded and performance rear end parts.

Rear bumpsteer correction tublar A arms for the rear, a Paul Vargas adjustable Rear swar arm, KYB struts, etc....

Honestly if you want to keep it in a straight line with the fastest ET's , you need the best you can get back there.

------------------



Get your copy of the Fiero 25th Anniv book at http://www.blurb.com/bookstore/detail/349809

Best RV, Camper, and Trailer dealer in West Michigan. http://www.cliffstrailersales.com and he's a fiero owner too!

88 is better. Anti squat and proper rear end bump steer (84-87 rear have front wheel bump steer).

just to clear this up, im not a serious racer, just a 1-2 days a month at the strip. Just looking to get the best suspension set-up with what i already have. Does anybody know which geometry is better for loading the suspension when launching??? If anyone has researched it before or has actual experience with dragging a fiero let me know some feedback...thanks again

The 88 has better toe control and by raising the dedicated trailing link attachment point at the cradle higher you can improve the launch characteristics... but the 87 can swap the upright from other FWD applications and upgrade to the larger 33 spine outboard CV resulting in a low cost/stonger axle setup... the more power you make, this available upgrade on the 84-87 will be more valuable than what the 88 suspension can offer.

fieroguru, what did you mean by the "upright"? Are you talking about the knuckle assembly? Sorry i don't know what you're talking about. Also, i am in the process of swapping a 3800sc into it from a 99 gtp but converting it over to turbocharged. I would probably benefit from the 84-87 suspension due to being able to install the stronger axles, right??? Do you know what fwd car i can use them off of...thanks man!

Upright and knuckle are essentially the same thing...

The 1993 -1995 dust buster minivan (transport, shilouette, or lumina APV) knuckle and lower a-arm are a direct bolt on to the 84-87 cradles and come with the larger wheel bearing with 5x115 bolt pattern, vented brakes, and the large 33 outboard spline (same as your stock 3800 axles).

Fog documented this upgrade in his thread:
https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/104511.html

Here is a pic:

Thanks FieroGuru....you really shed some light on my situation. Appreciate all the info! I'm going to stick with the 87 suspension in it. It makes less work for me and makes more sense as I can beef up the axles and bearings.

You also could use some solid craddle mounts. Under hard acceleration I could feel the rubber craddle mounts flex on my '87. I upgraded mine to polyurethane ones, but you can also find aluminium ones for a rock solid mount.

I haven't actually 'raced' my new setup yet, but I'm really liking what I have going by switching BACK to the 87 suspension. The 88 was nice for certain things, but going quick in a straight line, I think I'll be happy with the 87.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: Upright and knuckle are essentially the same thing... The 1993 -1995 dust buster minivan (transport, shilouette, or lumina APV) knuckle and lower a-arm are a direct bolt on to the 84-87 cradles and come with the larger wheel bearing with 5x115 bolt pattern, vented brakes, and the large 33 outboard spline (same as your stock 3800 axles). Fog documented this upgrade in his thread: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/104511.html Here is a pic:

Does this setup work for the front also?
Does the rear brakes have an e-brake?
It would be tough to find 5x100 wheels for the front but 5x114 for the rear.
Also, I wonder if any FWD axles bolt right in?

quote Originally posted by nosrac: Does this setup work for the front also? Does the rear brakes have an e-brake? It would be tough to find 5x100 wheels for the front but 5x114 for the rear. Also, I wonder if any FWD axles bolt right in?

Nope, the front of the fiero does not use struts. Front calipers do not have parking brakes, so this conversion would give up the parking brake (just like the grand am upgrade) unless you swap in another caliper. You could always redrill the fronts to the 5x115, or run uni-lug wheels with both the 5x100 and 5x115. The availablity of bolt in axles would depend on transmission type and drive train location.

quote Originally posted by fieroguru: Upright and knuckle are essentially the same thing... The 1993 -1995 dust buster minivan (transport, shilouette, or lumina APV) knuckle and lower a-arm are a direct bolt on to the 84-87 cradles and come with the larger wheel bearing with 5x115 bolt pattern, vented brakes, and the large 33 outboard spline (same as your stock 3800 axles). Fog documented this upgrade in his thread: https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum2/HTML/104511.html Here is a pic:

Woah... wait... so is that an upgrade to the stock suspension? Is it better ONLY for drag racing, or is it a better overall improvement? I mean, is there something about it that it helps eliminate bump-steer and whatnot, or is it just bigger / heavier?


Thanks!

------------------
Todd,
2008 Jeep Patriot Limited 4x2
2002 Ford Explorer Sport 2dr 4x2
2002 Ford Crown Victoria LX
1987 Pontiac Fiero SE / V6
1973 Volkswagen Type-2 Transporter

quote Originally posted by esco105: just to clear this up, im not a serious racer, just a 1-2 days a month at the strip. Just looking to get the best suspension set-up with what i already have. Does anybody know which geometry is better for loading the suspension when launching??? If anyone has researched it before or has actual experience with dragging a fiero let me know some feedback...thanks again

quote Originally posted by esco105: ...i am in the process of swapping a 3800sc into it from a 99 gtp but converting it over to turbocharged.

PFF member, AkursedX, has some drag racing experience with a turbocharged 3800 Fiero that sounds like it's similar to what you're contemplating, and like you, he's priorities in life other than what you call "serious racing." Moreover, complete with drag radials, his turbocharged 3800 Fiero is for sale, and at a price which looks to me to be significantly less than what it would cost someone else to build a nice turbocharged 3800 Fiero from scratch. See "1988 Pontiac Fiero 3800-Turbo" ( https://www.fiero.nl/forum/Forum4/HTML/055206.html ).

And no, I don't know this gentleman. After seeing your thread, esco105, I simply remembered seeing his.

quote Originally posted by 82-T/A [At Work]: Woah... wait... so is that an upgrade to the stock suspension? Is it better ONLY for drag racing, or is it a better overall improvement? I mean, is there something about it that it helps eliminate bump-steer and whatnot, or is it just bigger / heavier? Thanks!

It is just bigger/heavier/stronger... it is still a FWD strut/upright installed in the rear and will have the same bump steer issues as the 84-87's.

87, because you're going to break something, and the parts will be cheaper.