Fiero

the later cars look good. Can the v/6 run in IT? I know the 4 bangers were the iron Duke engine and i was told that there was a marine engine of the same type that made more hp.
 
There's a guy here in the Atlanta area that races one in ITA. I think I've seen him post a couple times on the forum. May want to try a search and see if you can find his name.

David
 
That would be me as I haven't seen anyother Fieros on the track at RA lately. I race an 88 Formula in ITA. This is my third year as a driver/builder/rebuilder etc. The car is still in the development stage as is the driver. With each race we have been getting faster. Not shure how much improvement is driver and how much is car. I started with RA lap times in the 2:15 to 2:20 range. My last outing I managed a 1:53. I've made a couple of changes since then, and the car ran better at Nashville compared to the compitition. It is my guess that a well prepared Fiero with a very good driver can run in the front third of the pack. The Fiero would probably do much better on a shorter hp type track. Send me a pm, and I will help as much as I can.

Chuck
ITA #34
 
John Lundquist (sp?) built an ITA Fiero last year and has run it at VIR and Lowes some this year (I know Jeff has raced against it). The Fiero has potential, but there are limitations.

First and formost, I wouldn't recomend using the 4cyl car in any class. While the motor is mechanically capable of producing god awefull amounts of HP... these options are IT legal. The weight same or similar to the V6 cars.

If you are going to choose a V6 car, I would go with the '86 or '87 SE with a wing delete rear deck. Intial reaction would be to go with the '88 for it's purpose built suspension and while this is really nice, it adds some expense to the setup (the only year/model for hubs, rotors and the like in GM's lineup). The earlier suspension can be bult to peroform nearly as well as the later... except for he bump stear in the rear. The '88 cars had a purpose built suspension that accomidated for the bump stear with some additional tie rods and a better placement of the struts. The also did away with the Citation control arms.

Among the Fiero crowd, it is a comon assumption that the earlier cars had a better front suspension that the later, and the later had a better rear setup. The ideal situation is to use the '88 cradle on the 86 or 87 platform... except the SCCA won't let you do this since you have to relocated the mounting holes for the struts.

I never raced one, although I owned one for 17 years, but I have a fair aomunt of understanding with these cars. Who knows... watching John go around VIR with his car is giving me the itch to build one.

There is a wealth of knowledge on the web and I beleive a Fiero racing news group too. Hope I helped and didn't ramble too much.

hoop
 
Ben....if you want I'll shoot some pics of the dude who has registered to run the ARRcs in ITA.

Anyone know much about his program?
 
Ben....if you want I'll shoot some pics of the dude who has registered to run the ARRcs in ITA.

Anyone know much about his program?
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Thanks Jake - that would be excellent. Keen to see how this guys does. The car I have is very fresh and should be very quick (I hope) It'll lay down some stripes on the pavement nicely.
 
A yellow ITB Fiero driven by Michael Braidman from IN set the Blackhawk Farms track record on October 29th. That 2.5 liter seems to have gobs of torque out of the corners - no surprise there.

The more I think about it, this may be a very good car for the class.

I think that Michael runs more Midwest Council than SCCA.
 
Sweet! I think this car will really run with a full development program. Most of the cars I've seen are not even close to a 10/10ths effort. I'm pretty lucky that most of the expensive stuff is already done on my car except a set of coil overs and the cage.

:024:

I googled this guy but got dead links to the race results - anybody have a link?
 
Thanks Chris - I left him a message through MyLaps.

Cheers,

bp

PS - Not sure I'd go with that mustang on the Fiero Vs. Mustang thread.
 
Thought I'd share my ARRC expierence. Basic car setup Hoosier 225/45R15, 31 psi to start, -1* camber 5* caster and zero toe up front. -1.5 camber and zero toe rear. 350# front srings and 275# rears. Car weighed 2679 with full fuel and driver. THe handling improved ove the previous set up, but the 275# rear springs proved too soft for Road Atlanta. THe left rear would bottom out in 1, 7, 10b, and hit really solid at the dip in 12. 12 was so bad that the car would stop turning creating a double apex. The best we were able to get with this setup was 1:51.
It was a unique weekend problems aside. My driving partner drove the ProIT where he scored the 1:51. He finished 34th. I drove the ARRC. I fouled a plug and lost a cylinder in lap ten which forced me to retire from the race. I finished 34th. All this in car # 34. Anybody out there willing to trade for number 1? LOL. My best time for the weekend was a 1:54, and that was on hoosiers with 11 heat cycles, and the car bottoming out as indicated above.
I had a hair raising expierence going into turn one early in the race. The throttle pedal stuck on the floor when i lifted for braking. I left foot braked, pried the pedal loose with my right toe and turned in at almost full speed. I managed to keep it on track until just before the top of the hill where the two left wheels got into the grass. I managed to gather it up and get back on track in time for two. Still haven't found out what or why it stuck. The cable appears to be ok so I will be replacing the pivot block.
The ARRC weekend was a blast. Looking forward to next year. Now if only i can trade for a smaller number.

Chuck
88 Pontiac Fiero
ITA #34
 
...., and hit really solid at the dip in 12. 12 was so bad that the car would stop turning creating a double apex. .... .
Chuck
88 Pontiac Fiero
ITA #34
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I'll vouch for that...I was behind him in 12 once, and left a little extra room...it didn't look like a comfortable setup!

When I first read your setup I instantly questioned the rear springs as too soft, but I know NOTHING about Fieros. But reading that, and from my visual impression, it adds up.
 
Thanks for the comfirmation. The car is in the early stages of development. I had initially set the car up with 425# rear springs to keep the inside front tire from lifting. They proved too heavy and made the car very twitchey. I went with the 275s on the advise of an expierenced Fiero racer who used data aqusition to arrive at that rate. They may work at tracks like CMP, but were too soft for RA. I have ordered a set of 300 and 325# rear springs. Budget doesen't allow for track rental for tuning, so it will be done at the next few events.

Chuck
 
Thanks for the info on the spring rates. I have opted for 300/300 setup for a starter foundation but plan on burning some more $$ on springs and might go with 350 and 400 increments.

What are you going to do for the bottoming out?
 
Hey Guys,

I'll be campaigning an ITA Fiero in the CenDiv-Ooops Great Lakes Div. I bought Steve Perkins '87 Fiero GT. He ran it at Waterford. It seems pretty well sorted, but I don't know a thing about Fieros so any and all help is appreciated! I've been racing a GP Midget the past 6 years so this will be a big change - going to a car thats 2x's the weight, with DOT tires.

I've been looking for an IT car for a few months and when I saw the Fiero I said to myself 'that should be fun!' I'm a RWD person.

From reading this thread it seems like the car can be competitive with seat-time and development.

Peter Baumgartner
 
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