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Fiero owners, especially those who do not have a technical background, are
often left with the impression that the 1984 to 1987 Fiero has a unique case of
bump steer. Bump steer has in fact been an issue with many vehicles over the
years, for several different reasons. Let us get the terminology straight first.
Bump steer is in fact a change in toe angle as a wheel moves up or down in its
suspension travel. When a bump is encountered in a turn, the resulting toe
change will cause a slight steering effect which is felt as anything from a
slight "twitch" to a major direction change. Bump steer can exist in front or
rear suspension designs, although most front bump steer has nearly
disappeared from factory suspensions. The early Fiero chassis used an Opel
derived front suspension as also used in the Chevette. Although it suffers from
limited travel and "kickback", due to the large scrub radius, it does not have
significant bump steer, in fact the only real problem with the front end is the
pro-dive geometry which unbalances the car under braking. It is bump steer
in the rear suspension we are concerned with.
The early Fiero's rear suspension was another front end design, this time from
the X-body series of GM small sedans, such as the Pontiac Phoenix, and in
light duty versions of the A-body series, such as the Pontiac 6000. This
MacPherson strut, lower A-arm suspension was mounted to a cradle similar to
those used on the front wheel drive sedans, but since there was no steering the
tie rods were bolted to the cradle to act as toe links. Herein lies the problem,
if toe links are not perfectly parallel to the control arms at all extremes of
suspension travel, there will be a change in toe angle, thus bump steer. The
Fiero suffers from this problem which is then compounded by the larger
diameter, soft rubber bushings used in the control arms. These bushings
allowed deflection of the control arm, forward and aft under acceleration and
braking, and in and out under side loads during cornering. Since these
motions were independent of the toe link the results were more toe changes,
and more bump steer. This is not a unique condition.
There have been many different rear suspension designs over the years, many
of which gained popularity and wide spread use despite a significant bump
steer problem. Among solid axle (non-independent) designs we have used are
a number of coil sprung types which include a Panhard rod or track rod which
locates the axle, some of these have used a rod which was too short. The
result of this short Panhard rod is not really bump steer but it involves the
body moving left or right relative to the axle. This is an uncomfortable
sensation which results in the same off-balance feel as the Fiero's bump
steer. The Chevrolet Monza, one of the better handling cars of the 1970's
suffered from this problem.
The most universally used independent rear suspension design in rear wheel
drive cars has probably been the semi-trailing arm suspension. When swing
axles began to disappear from beneath many cars, including all of the great
German marques, they were usually replaced with semi-trailing
arms. Everything from the last VW Beetles of the 1970's to the famous
Datsun 510, to every BMW, Mercedes and Porsche of the same era were
equipped with this compact efficient design, and all suffered some degree of
bump steer. This system is called semi-trailing arm because the wheels move
in an arc determined by a triangular suspension arm with pivot points at the
differential and forward of the rear wheels. Motion around this pivot axis
causes big camber changes and a toe out condition as you move the wheel up
or down from the normal at rest position. Multi-link designs, most originating
in the 1980s, have replaced this design in most modern cars, although the
BMW Z3 still uses a variation of this design to good effect. These companies
took great pains to reduce the effect but in some cases, such as very powerful
rear engined designs, like the 911 Turbo, it could not be truly tamed and
added to this cars reputation for punishing the inexperienced or careless driver
with a snap spin. Many cars which used semi-trailing arms avoided the worst
of the bump steer problem, and the related camber change problem, by having
the suspension set so low that there was already considerable negative camber,
and the toe was then set for this height. Since all of the suspension travel was
now really above the "level" position the toe change was minimized, and thus
the bump steer as well. Larger rear tires also helped tame the rear end's antics,
along with limiting suspension travel. These cars used detail improvements to
make the best of a "less than ideal" design. The Fiero's bump steer problem is
the opposite, the design does not have inherent bump steer, but the details
cause it.
The Fiero's bump steer problem is more related to handling feel than actual
handling. It will not upset the chassis enough to be really dangerous at most
normal speeds. What it will do is put a real scare into the driver who first
encounters it, and due to its effect on overall feel it will result in most drivers
being a little nervous of their cars.
Os donos de Fiero, especialmente aqueles que não têm um histórico técnico, muitas vezes
ficam com a impressão de que o Fiero de 1984 a 1987 tem um caso único de bump steer.
Bump Steer, de fato, tem sido um problema com muitos veículos ao longo dos anos, por vários
motivos diferentes. Deixe-nos obter a terminologia em linha reta primeiro.
Bump steer é de fato uma mudança no ângulo do dedo quando uma roda move-se para cima
ou para baixo em sua viagem de suspensão. Quando uma colisão é encontrada em uma curva,
a mudança de dedo resultante causará um efeito de direção leve que é sentida como qualquer
coisa, de uma leve "contração" a uma mudança de direção maior. Bump steer pode existir em
modelos de suspensão dianteira ou traseira, embora a maioria das bóias dianteiras tenha
quase desaparecido das suspensões de fábrica. O primeiro chassi Fiero usou uma suspensão
dianteira derivada da Opel, também usada na Chevette. Embora sofra de viagens limitadas e
"retrocesso", devido ao grande raio de esfregaço, ele não possui bote significativo, de fato, o
único problema real com a frente é a geometria do mergulho que desequilibra o carro sob
travagem. É o bump steer na suspensão traseira com a qual nos preocupamos.
A suspensão traseira inicial do Fiero foi outro design da frente, desta vez da série X-body de
pequenos sedanes GM, como o Pontiac Phoenix, e em versões ligeiras da série A-body, como o
Pontiac 6000. Este MacPherson A suspensão do braço A inferior foi montada em um berço
semelhante à usada nos sedans da roda da frente, mas, como não havia direção, as tirantes
eram aparafusadas ao berço para atuar como toe links. Aqui reside o problema, se os links toe
não forem perfeitamente paralelos aos braços de controle em todos os extremos da viagem de
suspensão, haverá uma mudança no ângulo do dedo do pé, assim, bump steer. O Fiero sofre
desse problema que é então combinado com as buchas de borracha macias de diâmetro maior
usadas nos braços de controle. Essas buchas permitiram a deflexão do braço de controle, para
a frente e para trás sob aceleração e travagem, e dentro e fora sob cargas laterais durante as
curvas. Uma vez que esses movimentos foram independentes do link do dedo do pé, os
resultados foram mais mudanças de dedo, e mais bump steer. Esta não é uma condição única.
Houve muitos modelos diferentes de suspensão traseira ao longo dos anos, muitos dos quais
ganharam popularidade e uso amplamente difundido, apesar de um problema significativo de
bump steer. Entre os projetos de eixos sólidos (não independentes), usamos uma série de
tipos de bobinas que incluem uma haste Panhard ou trilho que localiza o eixo, alguns deles
usaram uma haste que era muito curta. O resultado dessa pequena barra Panhard não é
realmente bump steer, mas envolve o corpo movendo-se para a esquerda ou para a direita em
relação ao eixo. Esta é uma sensação desconfortável que resulta na mesma sensação de
equilíbrio que o bolo de Fiero. O Chevrolet Monza, um dos melhores carros de manipulação da
década de 1970, sofreu com esse problema.
O problema do bump steer pode ser resolvido, ou pelo menos minimizado por vários métodos.
Fabricação