About a year ago I had a 92 Firebird with a 3.1 l v6 and a auto tranny. The car was loaded and only had 60k miles on it. My father in law had a 86 Fiero SE that had set in a field for about two years and had 93 thousand miles. The Fiero had a 2.8 L v6 paired with a automatic tranny. He got the Fiero running just enough that it wouldn't die when you drove it and you know what he blew my Firebird away. I could not catch the beat up Fiero... My Firebird was taken care of very well and should have never been beat.
I eventualy got rid of the Firebird because of the insurance cost and bought a 97 Malibu with a 3.1l engine and 61K miles on the speedo. Guess what I can tell it is faster than the Firebird was. Don't get me wrong I still love third-gens, but what gives??
I bought the 86 Fiero for nearly nothing, but it needs a lot of work and am hoping on catching a 87-92 Firbird Formula at reasonable price to get back into the third gen scene. Any thoughts to why my Firebird was so slow would be greatly aprecaited.

Thanks,
Dennis

 

I know that the fieros are about 300 pounds lighter... that makes a diffence. Perhaps the firebird needed a tuneup. I have a 3.1L and can pull on a stock 305 in the same year. Not saying my car is fast by any means, but it pulls hard for a V6... If i am thinking correctly the malibu 3.1L is a 3100 FWD which has 160hp and is about the same weight as a firebird. I had a 91 Lumina euro with the 3.1L and pulled on stock V6 firebirds with it, it was a quick car and surprised me BIG TIME. Only if i had known about the turbo grand prix 3.1L then.... sigh... Anyways not sure what to tell ya.



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91 Firebird
3.1 w/ K&N filter, 160 stat, No TB heat, Direct Cold air, DynoMax CatBack, B&M MegaShifter, Performance Shift Kit, gasket matched upper and lowered intake manifold, race underDrive pullies, Splitfire plugs, 8.5mm "stock" wires, Jensen CD330X Head unit, Jensen 120watt rear speakers
Stock front speakers,

0-30mph 4.15 Best 3.98
0-60mph 9.11 Best 8.91

Now on the workbench:

Preped 3.1L bored 1mm over, forged rods, Ported and polished GM iron heads, Crane 1.6:1 rockers, PAW Cam 280/290, .443/.465, Holley Commander series fuel management system.

Slowly but surely seeking a 14.2 in the 1/4 mile N/A OR 13.5 running max 9psi boost.

 

The Firebird had a complete tune up and the Fiero was slightly smoking because it was leaking a little oil, not to mention the plugs looked like they were original and were never changed. It was wierd.

 

how bout insufficent fuel? i got all fieros and 305's around here


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1997 Dodge Ram 1500 club cab
5.2 v8, all the options

Jet Chip

" I'd rather run last in a full out race, than to NOT run at all ".

 

I seriously think the key to making our V6 shine is keeping it cool. I know every engine runs better when its cold but I have not yet to sit in another car that feels faster than my car does when it just starts up. Like my mom's car, its faster than mine and Im sure it could still beat me even after she has been driving around and Im just starting my car. But her's still doesnt feel like it has that much more power when she starts it like mine does. Know what I mean or did I just confuse the hell out of ya? Well do this... Make a good cold or ram air system, get a 160 degree thermostat, and get some water wetter. Basically anything you can do to make your engine run cold. Good luck man!

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1992 Camaro RS 3.1L Check my cars out! http://hometown.aol.com/stopsign696/...age/index.html

T5 Manual 5 speed
Cold/RAM air intake
Z-28 Exhaust
8.5mm MSD Ignition wires
TB Coolant bypass


AIM screen name - Stopsign696

Kills:

95 (****) Probe GT,94 Mustang GT,91 CRX (dont ask me why he raced me),2nd Gen Z28 (350) haha to you V8 guys!,1992 RS 305 TBI (good race),First Gen Integra, Old Escort LX, 80 something Fbird
More to come

 

I don't think it was fuel supply or a cool engine. The Fiero's engine was burning a little oil that it was leaking on the outside. My car seemed to not want to shift into the next gear. It just wanted to hang around 3500 or so RPMS. I think everyone missed the point that I sold the Firebird and will proably be buying a 3rd gen Formula (Firebird) in the near future.

 

No, everyone did get the point. You asked why it was so slow and we gave it our best shot at telling you what might be causing that. I dont see how you could beat the Fiero in the first place. Unless you have mods out the *** and the Fiero was just a POS then he would stomp you. You say it has been sitting in his field for 2 years? In an open field!? How does that thing even stay in one piece? Wouldnt rust have destroyed it? Ill just answer that for you, it was covered with a car cover. Ok, so now the Fiero has been sitting there 2 years, your car has been driven for however long. I dont see anything that could be wrong with the Fiero if it was fine when he set it to rest 2 years ago. Maybe the oil sat that long and caused something (im not a good mechanic). But he should have beat you...pretty badly. This is the way it is... His car is alot lighter than your so he has that on ya. And weight is ALOT in racing. Just think when you have someone in your car how much it slows you down. And my friend's Integra is just a 4 liter 130HP car, but yet he can beat me pretty badly up to about 80mph. But I still say coolness is alot in our cars.


p.s. Why are you buying a Formula? Why not go all out with a TransAm? Just wonderin.

 

I just meant it seemed like everyone thought I still have the Firebird. Fiero's have plastic body panels so the outside don't rust. The battery tray had rusted in half. There was no tarp that I know of. The cars paint had faded severly at some points. As for the the Formula, I just like its style more. If was to go anything else it would have to be a GTA but those are hard to find at a reasonable price.

 

Fieros haul *** . [period] Acceleration times 0-30 are 2.2 seconds [faster than Lamborghini Diablo of same time period] so trying to keep up with the Fiero off the line is foolish to attempt. They have a weaker mid-high range though. I never would have thought those specs were true until my friend let me drive his, now i can vouch for it.

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--Steve S--
1984 Trans Am 305 LG4, 5 speed
Daily Driver, Flowmaster 80 Series
NOW FEATURING: Holley 600 cfm & vacuum advance

 

I can shed a little light on this...

A Fiero 2.8 did 0-60 in under 9 seconds. A 3.1 Firebird should be around 10-10.5 seconds. Why? Both put out the same power (140hp), but the Fiero weighs over 400 lbs less (2750 vs 3150 lbs).

As for the 3.1 Firebird vs your '97 Malibu, I know what you're talking about. I have an '89 RS 2.8 and a '95 Grand Am 3.1, with the same motor the '97 Malibu has. There is no doubt the Grand Am (or Malibu) is faster. Why? Both weigh 250 lbs less, and make 20 more hp.

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Jason E
'89 Camaro RS 2.8
Hypertech chip/K&N filters/Accel 8.8 wires, Accel Supercoil/RapidFires
Eclipse CD and 100x4 amp/Boston plates and 6x9s
Alpine Alarm, Keyless Entry

'95 Grand Am SE 3.1 Coupe
No mods yet...

Long Live #3...