Georgia Fiero Club Forum
All Things Fiero => General Fiero Discussion => Topic started by: PK on October 19, 2018, 07:25:59 am
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In over 20 years this is the first Fiero I have randomly bumped into!!
The bloke Geoff imported it himself a year ago and says 22k miles. 87 GT.
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Nice. And you even spoke with the owner. Even better.
There is a thread for Fiero spotting here (http://www.gafiero.org/bbs/index.php?topic=330.0). :)
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He pulled into a tyre place . ... The tyre guy got in eventually having not practised the fold yourself in half routine.😀
After a minute or so of sitting there he unfolded himself out and asked the owner to drive it in. Haaa. Information overload, steering wheel wrong side, gear stick wrong side. ... 2 Fiero owners watching.
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If a Brit can fit into a Peel P50, he should be able to fit into a Fiero...
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Having driven both left hand drive vehicles and right hand drive vehicles, I don't see what the problem would be. It isn't as if it has a unique clutch or an odd shift pattern. The clutch is still on the left, and the accelerator on the right. The shifter is no biggie, either side. The only issue I had was with the blinkers. I kept turning on the wipers when I meant to use the blinker. This was quickly rectified, and the people outside the car probably didn't notice.
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I probably would have problems with the manual shift in a right side steer vehicle. When I've been working on one of the cars and sitting in the passenger seat, shifting was difficult. I probably would even have some trouble staying on the proper side of the roadway when turning corners at intersections or in roundabouts.
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Shifters here are designed for left hand drive. Shifters there are designed for right hand drive. That having been said, when I was a kid and too small to see over the steering wheel, I shifted for the person who was driving.
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The most common and lethal problem from driving on the opposite carriageway than you are used to is definitely road position. On a car/boike this can be from being entirely on the wrong side of the road. Even when you think you have mastered this, some interruption such as lunch stop/fuel can be enough to default your mind to the previous settings.
I once watched my great belgie friend ride off from a fuel stop on completely the wrong side, terrifying!
In a car, even if you remember which side of the road, positioning on your side of the carriageway is difficult when the car is designed for the opposite side. You have to undo years of learned road positioning in your brain. The passenger also has the same problem as they feel very exposed sat in the middle of the road with no steering wheel ... Add in to the mix tiny roads and it's a real adrenalin buzz.
After a while it does become second nature. The only thing I occasionally do after a long time without driving the Fiero is.... Go to get in the right side after fuel!!!! I then have to try and casually saunter to the other side hoping no one noticed.
Ahh you also get some panicked faces from oncoming vehicles if your passenger falls asleep. ;D
I agree the operation of the vehicle controls is no biggy.
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"Carriageway". Haven't heard that term previously. I learned something new today.
Yes, that does take some adjustment, and exactly as you described. I usually bring a young person with me, the first few drives, and have them sit in the passenger front seat. They will let me know, when I get on the wrong side. The key is to start off slowly and think twice.
Two big problems for me are that the cars tend to be very cramped, and the suspension is often sloppy. For prados and sequioas, I generally replace the sway bars, shocks, and some other components with more beefy versions. There isn't much that can be done about the cramped issue.
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I remeber on my trips to Ireland and the UK, where I had local rentals, that after dinner or so, I'd walk out to the parking lot and habitually open the left hand door, get in and then finally notice that the steering wheel was missing. ;D
Driving was less of a problem, but I more than once entered parking garages on the wrong side and had to back out. That is when locals identify you immediately as a foreigner. :-)
\D