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?

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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?

 

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

 

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

 

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.

 

This is a TPI set up

 

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.

 

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

 

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

 

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

 

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?

 

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.

 

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.