I have up to 12k with wiggle room to do some mods to my fiero. I am leaning toward the ht motorsports slalom suspension with the upgraded shocks and sway bar, and the rear bump steer kit with coil overs and rear sway bar and the 12 inch brakes to go with it; getting the car fully where i want it suspension and brake wise and ready for some big power. I am also wondering if its a feasible alternative to do an sbc swap with a low millage corvette lt engine and put coils overs on the back for more room for larger tires and go with the wcf 12 inch brake upgrade to deal with the increased hp, and have my muncie 4 speed either beefed up or go with a 6 speed f40. Or have i just lost my frikin mind.
[This message has been edited by Macs86GT (edited 05-31-2010).]
If you're gonna go for a V8, I'd suggest either Northstar or modern LS series. If you want to drop in a RWD V8, the newer truck motors can generally be found at pretty good prices. They're pretty much the same block/head castings as the car RPOs, but with some different internals, intake, and ecu for different emissions standards (legal loopholes).
I'm doing a slightly modded LS4 with the F40 trans in my car.
Suspension is of course a great place to start. I've been thinking about the bump steer kit myself, given that with 150hp, I get plenty of torque steer, and the bumpy roads can throw the back end sideways pretty quickly. Really don't want to have that exacerbated by the 350+ hp I'll be getting from the V8.
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11:45 PM
Jun 1st, 2010
FieroGTguy Member
Posts: 3087 From: Indianapolis , IN Registered: Mar 2001
HT Motorsports products are amazing... I have their front slalom racing suspension, coil-overs and 12" Wilwood brakes w/ portioning valve. It feels better than any other sports car that I have driven. Most complain about the price, but if you can pay to play... I highly recommend them!
Thanks for the input guys. I think ill do the suspension and brakes first as i doubt i can get an ls series of engine with the f40 the way i want it; Cryo hardened, heat treated for strength and having it re geared so first is actually not useless, think more like the vette 6 speed. I hate doing things half arsed and and doing things twice. I looked under the car last night to really give my suspension a once over twice if you know what i mean, and its looking kinda grim. My shocks are fairly new about a year kyb's, and i don't like the way they ride plus i can lower it and get rid of that unsightly wheel gap as well as getting better brakes. I have always wanted to do the HT motor sports suspension as it looks like what should have been on the car in the first place and not what was used. I think ill use the remaining cash to finish up or tweak the interior and get that finished up. Mr mikes seats and new carpet/ headliner possible custom interior. When I'm done i want to have the car running as fast and handling as well as its looks promise it can.
I'll be at carlisle PK i still have to order the parts and get them shipped, and to get that all done I'd need a dozen or so fiero fanatics at my house helping, and even then it would be in doubt weather or not i could make it. I'm hoping to find some good stuff at the swap meet. As well as finally meeting other lunatics
[This message has been edited by Macs86GT (edited 06-01-2010).]
Originally posted by Macs86GT: Thanks for the input guys. I think ill do the suspension and brakes first as i doubt i can get an ls series of engine with the f40 the way i want it; Cryo hardened, heat treated for strength and having it re geared so first is actually not useless, think more like the vette 6 speed.
The strengthening can certainly be done pretty easy. The one mated to the LS7 in Troyboy's car from Archie has been hardened up pretty good. And he's putting 475 hp to the ground. Not sure that 1st is changeable to anything better for a reasonable expense though. I wonder if any of the F35 or F23 gears could be swapped in…
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10:46 AM
darkhorizon Member
Posts: 12279 From: Flint Michigan Registered: Jan 2006
the 282 getrag gear ratios work quite well, and have been fairly decent in terms of reliability with 500whp.... assuming you are not driving it with abuse.
You are probably going to find more horsepower in the v6's for the $12000 pricetag, you are also probably going to put more of that power to the pavement with a automatic, as the manuals lose their performance edge around the 500whp mark.
The held suspension is pretty neat stuff, not completely worth the money, but dang close.
I have up to 12k with wiggle room to do some mods to my fiero. I am leaning toward the ht motorsports slalom suspension with the upgraded shocks and sway bar, and the rear bump steer kit with coil overs and rear sway bar and the 12 inch brakes to go with it; getting the car fully where i want it suspension and brake wise and ready for some big power. I am also wondering if its a feasible alternative to do an sbc swap with a low millage corvette lt engine and put coils overs on the back for more room for larger tires and go with the wcf 12 inch brake upgrade to deal with the increased hp, and have my muncie 4 speed either beefed up or go with a 6 speed f40. Or have i just lost my frikin mind.
You could buy my Choptop and SCCA car with all the parts including a new F40 6 speed for 10K and have a couple grand left over for a rainy day.
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11:56 AM
PFF
System Bot
ConvictedRedneck Member
Posts: 1034 From: Easton, PA - USA Registered: Nov 2005
If I had the money, I'd go with the full HT suspension and brake set up. That right there will run you about $7k total but you come out with a car that would outhandle most anything on the road. Put another $2k into lightweight forged wheels and tires. Leaves you ~$3k to play around with, maybe you could pull off a swap for that much.
I was thinking of going the auto route my brother brought that up last night even though i tend to prefer the manual as does he it seems harder to keep the wheels hooked with the manual then the auto. As for buying the cars if you only lived closer that is one mean chop top. Texas is a bit far from Maryland. I think the suspension is the smart bet get the car ready for what i want to do with it save for maybe a madarch or imsa wide body. I know my current rims aren't bad weight wise not ultra light but about or less then the stock 15 inchers. about 19 to 20 lbs give or take scale error.
[This message has been edited by Macs86GT (edited 06-01-2010).]
