1986 Pontiac Fiero SE from North America - Comments

The drivers seat started to wear badly. I put a low temperature fan switch and thermostat in it.

This car is seriously quick and handles like a dream. Some people say that fieros run low 16's in the quarter mile, but that's a lie. I've seen stock 2.8 V6 fieros run in the high 14's. However there is not much room to upgrade the stereo system.

There is room to upgrade the stereo. You can buy Sony Xplode speakers and they are pretty thin and put them next to the back glass. If you don't want to do that, you can buy a sound bar and put it in the back glass or roof.

Brian.

You could not get a faster little car for the amount of money a fiero is.

Zack.

The 2.8 V6 Fieros run high 18 second quarter mile times. If you want proof then read any Car & Driver or Road & Track publications from that era. I don't know what dream world you're living in, but 80s Corvettes and IROCs ran 14 seconds from the factory, definitely NOT a stock V6 Fiero!

I know for a fact that the fiero can run low 15's completely stock, but it has to be a manual not an auto. I have seen time slips to prove it. Slightly modded they will reach high 14's, but not stock.

Okay boys, here is firsthand information, if you can handle it. I purchased my 1985 2M6 SE brand new and took it to the track 6 months later. I ran in the E.T. bracket against a new 1985 Corvette. Pulled a crowd pleasing hole-shot and the Vette caught me approx 3/4 of the way down the track. Don't remember the exact E.T. but to this day I do remember that he was just one second faster. My trap speed was 94 mph, and I only used 3 red-lined gears.

P.S.

I still own it.

The problem with fieros is since they were tossed together from leftover parts is that they really performed differently. There wasn't the true standardization there is today. I've heard about clocked runs around 15, and my uncle swears to this day his friend had one that could destroy pretty much anything off the line when it came out in 1986. I know mine can torch non-modded v6 mustangs, and I haven't done anything to it.

The stock 2.8 is a quick feeling car, the TQ and where the motor is located make the car launch much better than any other 2.8 powered rear wheel drive car, or front wheel drive car for that matter.

With modifications, I do not doubt that it can be made fast, but that's not where this car will shine. From 0 to 45 my little Fiero was a terror, I could jump on much faster cars, and if they were not prepared I would shock them with the performance of a 20 year old car. But when you want to feel what the car can do, you have to find some twisty roads. The 2.8 and a 4 speed were a good combination. The brakes were good, and once you got used to the car, it would perform better than most of the cars on the road in the corners.

But the sad reality is most of the Fieros are abused, they are cheap toys that people buy and beat on, then at the first sign of trouble they sell them. If they are maintained and parts that wear out are replaced, they are as dependable and safe as any car that I have owned, more so them most.

If someone hadn't hit me and totaled my 86 SE, I would still be driving it today.

The sad reality is, Fiero's really are CRAP. I bought one brand new in 1987 and it had constant problems from day one. I did not abuse it, I drove it to and from college (a 5 mile commute each day) and I never raced it. I was a 19-year old girl who had recently gotten her license and still was quite nervous about driving. So I drove it REALLY SLOW. Fiero's are nice looking, but they are very much crappy vehicles.