Messages

1

Club Events / Re: 25th Annual Run For The Hills--Sept. 25-27

« on: September 30, 2020, 10:27:50 pm »

Any ideas on what I should look at?  Plugs are good and wires are good.

My Fiero has stranded me 3 times. One time I verified that it was a pickup coil. The other two times... I replaced the pickup coil among other things. I suspect the pickup coil was the culprit all three times. I'd recommend replacing that first. They're cheap. Also, after getting stranded, and getting towed, it would crank the next day.

2

Club Events / Re: RUN FOR THE HILLS #24

« on: September 27, 2019, 11:52:11 am »

I would be in favor of a date change, too. This year, the timing was wrong for me. This event was on the last weekend before the end of the quarter, and we were crushed at work trying to get stuff out by the end of this week.

3

General Fiero Discussion / Re: Handling problem solved.

« on: July 19, 2019, 05:12:55 pm »

I had this problem on my Formula. But I didn't really have a handling problem. I had a front end clunking problem. I replaced:
- upper & lower ball joints
- inner & outer tie rod ends
- steering rack bushing
- shocks
- upper & lower control arm bushings

And I STILL had clunking. I FINALLY noticed that my end link bushings were shot. Don't know how I did all that work without noticing that. Luckily, my rears were shot, too, so I didn't have any bad oversteer problems. After I replaced the end link bushings, the clunking finally went away, and the handling improved a lot.

4

General Fiero Discussion / Re: What would you expect from a new Fiero?

« on: October 16, 2018, 10:33:04 am »

Mid-engine, 2 seat obviously. I kinda like the V6 sound, but I also like the sound of a high rev'ing 4 cylinder (such as the S2000) better. Acceleration should be on par with a S2000*. Weight? Hopefully they could keep it under 3000. Roadster with an optional removable hard top. Transmission options: manual and some kind of semi-automatic (sequential manual or dual-clutch). 18" wheels with appropriate sized ABS brakes. Traction control and stability control that can be disabled. A suspension that's adjustable from the cockpit, with settings suitable for daily driving, "sport" driving (on the street), and track days/autocross. Enough storage for 2 people for a weekend. And, of course, styling that obviously says, "Fiero".

* I would actually NOT want it be extremely fast. Cars with extremely high performance limits are boring at anything close to legal speeds. I would want to be able to enjoy it without having to drive it at "go directly to jail" speeds. You really can't enjoy a Ferrari, Porsche or Corvette at their limits anywhere but a track. Plus, if it's TOO fast, the Corvette team would try to kill it.

Oh yeah... $25000.  Yeah, right. It would probably be more like 40K.

Re: pop-up headlights.... They're no longer legal. Speaking of headlights... I would NOT want headlights that were $3000 each for replacements (like some LED systems now).

5

Club Events / Re: RFTH 23 Rerun

« on: October 15, 2018, 05:18:29 pm »

So is this thing happening or not? Some of us need more planning than just getting up early and filling the tank. 

BTW, I DID get a clutch system flush done. Nice, fresh fluid in there now.

6

Club Events / Re: RFTH 23 Rerun

« on: October 11, 2018, 02:23:11 pm »

I'm about 4 hrs away. If I DO make it, I'll spend the night with my daughter, and I'll likely part ways with the group after the Tail of the Dragon. Which would be a little disappointing, as my favorite driving road of the day was Hwy 28 from Hwy 74 to Franklin, NC (where the hotel was). Many of the roads on the run needed to be driven by: accelerating, braking, turning, accelerating, braking, turning, etc. This section of 28 allowed a lot of curvy fun without a lot of accelerating & braking. Mostly just back & forth a lot. I drove most of it in 3rd gear, and rarely shifted. For some reason, this road didn't bother my wife as much, either, so I was able to push it a little more, allowing me to keep pace with the group.

How do you do a leisurely run in 1 day, without hotel, but the fast run takes a hotel?

The difference in speed from "all out" to "leisurely" doesn't result in that much extra time. I had my wife with me on the run, so I dialed it back a bit, making me the slowest car in the group. But at the stops, I was usually only a couple of minutes behind. My pace was a bit higher than "leisurely", but my guess is that such a pace would add no more than 30 minutes of driving time to the day.

7

General Fiero Discussion / Re: Has anyone seen your Fiero today?

« on: October 10, 2018, 11:50:20 am »

One day last week, an MR2 Spyder pulled into the turn lane next to me... very slowly. I could tell he was checking out my Formula. We had our windows down, and he said, "I always wanted one of those 'back in the day'".

Monday of this week, as I was walking to my car to go home, my boss' boss (who's only been here a couple of months) was walking through the parking lot, and said, "I wondered who that Fiero belonged to". Turns out, he's a big gearhead. We talked cars & motorcycles for about 20 minutes. He thinks I should turbocharge it. He also has a track car. A Volvo. Station wagon. Turbocharged. AWD. Lowered with aftermarket wheels and an LSD. And I thought *I* had an unusual car.

8

Club Events / Re: RFTH 23 Rerun

« on: October 10, 2018, 11:26:15 am »

I'm interested. I might be able to make it, but I can't make any guarantees.

9

Tech Tips, Tech Questions / Re: Poor handling caused by bad motor mounts? Link inside, and an observation

« on: October 02, 2018, 03:42:03 pm »

The 3.4 was in my previously sold red car. This one is a 4.9 with an Allante intake, and a NV T-550 (Cavalier Getrag) trans.
Plenty of "hardware shattering" torque. Guessing 300+ lb.ft, although it's never been dynoed.

Ok, you're subjecting your mounts to WAY more torque than mine are seeing.

10

Tech Tips, Tech Questions / Re: Poor handling caused by bad motor mounts? Link inside, and an observation

« on: October 01, 2018, 11:07:44 am »

Raydar, what engine & mods are you running? Don't you have a 3.4? Any idea of the torque it's producing?

11

Club Events / Re: 23rd Annual Run For The Hills Pictures

« on: September 28, 2018, 07:57:41 pm »

Thanks for the photos. I'm ready to go back! I still don't see how Fierfly got those photos of cars behind her. I'm glad she did. Otherwise, there would be none of Team Formula Owner. 

12

Club Events / Re: 23rd Annual Run For The Hills Pictures

« on: September 26, 2018, 01:57:17 pm »

Cool video! Is there any way to get a copy?

Absolutely...I put a copy in the same location as the pics.... http://cowspatoot.com/rfth.  Or....were you looking for the raw video?

No, I don't need the raw video, but the link above was to a Youtube video.

Thanks.

13

Club Events / Re: 23rd Annual Run For The Hills Pictures

« on: September 26, 2018, 07:33:35 am »

Cool video! Is there any way to get a copy?

14

Tech Tips, Tech Questions / Re: Rfth prepping

« on: September 21, 2018, 03:04:52 pm »

Heck, Fierofool, with you bringing all that, *I* don't need to bring anything.  The only thing I need to bring to a run is Fierofool.   

15

Tech Tips, Tech Questions / Re: Rfth prepping

« on: September 21, 2018, 01:50:23 pm »

I would add:

Bring:
- Jumper cables (from Raydar)
- 12v air compressor, a can of fix-a-flat, and a plug kit. (also from Raydar)
- FRS radio (Preferably with an earplug. It's difficult to hear a radio while the car is in motion)
- GPS with local maps loaded, unless you really know the route. The pace is high, and if you lose sight of the car in front of you, it's easy to miss a turn. You can't depend on phone coverage to be able to load maps & routes if you get lost. I would recommend loading waypoints into your GPS for the fuel & food stops. That way, if you DO get lost, you can meet up at the next stop.

At every stop (restroom, fuel, food, etc):
- Check your fluids. Your car is likely getting used harder than usual. For some, WAY harder than usual. Your fluid levels could drop unexpectedly.
- Take a quick look at your tires. If any of them look low, check the pressures.

While driving:
- Keep an eye on the gauges. As mentioned, your car is going to get used harder than usual. A lot of climbing at high altitude can cause your engine temp to creep above where it usually runs. Also, if your oil level is the least bit low, you can lose oil pressure in hard cornering.

- end of my suggested additions

And, no, I didn't have oil pressure problems, but I've noticed it numerous times in the past. I can check my oil level by watching my oil pressure gauge on a cloverleaf. If it deflects, I'm just over a qt low. I DID have my engine temp creep up on the Cherohala Skyway. Apparently, lots of climbing at high altitude causes your engine to run hotter. I also had the unexpected fluid loss. The morning after the run, my clutch master cylinder was empty. I KNOW it was good before I left home. I don't know if it dropped on the run or overnight, but either way, I wish I'd checked it on the run.

I'm curious, though. What's the purpose of the Seafoam?

Re: fire extinguishers.... I like where TopNotch had his... on the shelf right behind the driver's head. You wouldn't need to reach in as far to get it in an emergency. When there was smoke coming from my engine bay at Stratton Ridge Overlook, I started looking around for fire extinguishers. TopNotch, what extinguisher and mount are you using?