armyvet218

so i just bought an 88 firebird 5.0 FI. the fuel injection tag threw me off first, because all my research shows this should either be tbi or tpi. then as i pull the wheels off to check brake componets i notice the wheel caps say ws6. further research shows that the ws6 only came on the formula firebirds. is there anything i can look for to figure out if this is truly a ws6 formula or just a firebird?

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

Does it still have the RPO sticker in the glove box? Should have WS6 listed if it's a Formula.

armyvet218

no but it does have a performance suspension tag on the dash.

armyvet218

and same paint and rims as yours it just doesnt say formula on the side.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

Is that no, it doesn't have an RPO sticker, or no, WS6 is not listed?

armyvet218

no rpo sticker. i decoded the vin and it came up as a firebird not a firebird trans am. was the formula firebird classified as a ta?

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

No, the Formula and T/A are different models. The T/A cost more. So, is it a 5.0 TPI or TBI?

armyvet218

is got what appear to be fuel lines running to each cyl so im assuming tpi

armyvet218

ive never dealt with tpi and only dealt with tbi once so im pretty new to this. when i look at the trottle body it looks a lot like a tbi but theres no fuel lines running to it so for all i know what looks like 2 short fat injectors could just be sensors. theres 2 wires going to each of them.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

This is a TPI set up

armyvet218

ok so is there anything else i can look for to see if i have a ws6 or not? if not i want to remove the wheel caps. but if so i want to get a new wheel cap cause im missing one and a ws6 badge.

lonestar7

iTrader: (1)

My Formula 350 has a 36MM front sway bar. I think the Formula (5.0) also had one, measure the sway bar diameter.

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

This subject has been just brought up a couple of days ago,checkout this thread,
https://www.thirdgen.org/forums/hist...66086-ws6.html

armyvet218

its 36mm. looks good so far. anything else i can look at

armyvet218

well everything matches up for that car to mine but year and i dont have 4 wheel disk. just front disk. but another guy said on there thats not a tell tale sign. so what about on the 88?

mantaguy

iTrader: (5)

Sorry!!!,Don't know about the 88 WS6,I do know that the WS6 for 86 was only available for the TA and not the FireBird.

eseibel67

Don't take this for granted, but I think we can deduce whether this one has WS6 suspension or not even without the SPI sticker.

If VIN starts with 1G2FS it is a Firebird, either base or Formula. 305 TPI was not available in Firebird, so if 8th VIN digit is F, it will be a Formula and therefore be equipped with WS6 suspension.

By the way, WS6 is a suspension option, not a model on it's own. The first year for those was 1996.