Pontiac manufactured the Fiero sports car from 1984 through 1988. The compact size, light weight and short stance of the vehicle provides for tight handling and sports performance. Installing a streamlined, high-performance air intake and output system will have dense oxygen entering the combustion chambers, adding power in each cylinder stroke, and will evacuate the exhaust from the cylinder quickly. Perform these upgrades when you want more power from your six-cylinder Pontiac Fiero.
Perform a basic tune-up on your Fiero. Remove the distributor cap, spark plug wires and spark plugs and replace them with high-performance equivalents using a spark plug wrench and a flathead screwdriver. Strong connections will add power to the spark in the cylinders.
Lower the Fiero by replacing the coil over springs on the shock absorbers with shorter, high-performance springs. A lower-profile vehicle will have less wind resistance, which will lead to a gain in speed.
Replace the tires with high-performance tires. High-performance tires are manufactured to reduce energy loss between the vehicle and the road. The properly designed amount of traction will reduce power-losing friction.
Balance and align the wheels. Power is lost when the wheels are even slightly out of balance; unbalanced wheels work against each other.
Replace the air-cleaner box with a cold-air intake using a flathead screwdriver. The cold-air intake will push a higher quantity of denser air into the combustion chambers, resulting in a more powerful explosion in the cylinder.
Replace the stock intake manifold with a high-air-intake manifold. There will be more air coming in from the cold-air intake, which will lead to an increase in power.
Replace the stock exhaust system with a high-volume exhaust system. Make sure the high-volume exhaust system includes the exhaust manifold, catalytic converter and muffler in one piece. A high-volume exhaust is required to see any power gains from the high-air-intake components.
Program the ECU to handle the new oxygen and fuel mixture coming into the engine. The ECU is a computer inside the engine that regulates the air/fuel mixture. Without being reprogrammed, the ECU will adjust back to its old standard of performance despite the air-intake upgrades. No gain in power will be seen if the ECU is not reprogrammed.
