DIY lower your GE8 Fit

[niko3257]

the fronts are done now.


as for the back springs i will do later on or tomorrow.

[AshPanda]

Originally Posted by niko3257

also BIG BIG note:
make sure upon removing the strut don't let
the axle come out to far. you will regret it dearly.
make sure you use bungy cords and or a jack to hold the
lower control arm up so axles don't come out to far.
.

X2..... , It happend to me... i thought i was gonna have buy a whole axle. and get my car towed home! but then we twisted and turned and wiggled and then POP! it went back in. lol then we laughed!

[AWDturbo]

Glad to see everything worked out for you!

I wanted to kick myself for not having taken pics as I did my RS*R spring install last Sunday, but the last time I did that for a mod on my Audi, I screwed something up and got it in my head that I jinxed myself by taking pictures.

I know some people might think the bungee cords are a bit over-the-top, but it's worth saving a person from having to have their car pushed out of my garage and towed to a shop to finish the job.

[OrangeRevolution]

Wow. Awesome write up. I looked at the all that plastic under the hood and thought, "forget it". Nice job in figuring out how to get it all apart. Doesn't look like it was made to be easy. The rear shocks, however, pretty much drop right out. I guess you'll see if you need a spring compressor in the rear. Thanks for all the pics!!!

[AWDturbo]

Originally Posted by OrangeRevolution

Wow. Awesome write up. I looked at the all that plastic under the hood and thought, "forget it". Nice job in figuring out how to get it all apart. Doesn't look like it was made to be easy. The rear shocks, however, pretty much drop right out. I guess you'll see if you need a spring compressor in the rear. Thanks for all the pics!!!

Technically, you don't need to remove the wipers and plastic shrouding - I didn't do it. But getting at the driver side strut bolt is a pain with it in the way. I suggested to Niko prior to install that a ratcheting box end wrench would be a great help (Craftsman makes one) in getting at the bolt to loosen and tighten it. It's anyone's call.

And the back spring install does not require a spring compressor at all. The key in the back is to get the entire rear end of the car up on jack stands and unbolt BOTH side rear shocks to drop the axle. The OEM springs can be pulled out with a small amount of effort at that point and the new springs swapped in. Should take a person about 20 minutes to do the entire rear install.

[09 Fit]

Bump for good info!

[JDM_DOHC_SiR]

Wow Nick!!! Great write up!!! dod you get the final measurments lowered... on the fenders and lower valance..?? I did not see them...

[niko3257]

thanks everyone.
yes the axles were a pain. who ever does this
be carefull they don't slip out.

Wow Nick!!! Great write up!!! dod you get the final measurments lowered... on the fenders and lower valance..?? I did not see them...

coming soon Dave

[niko3257]

alright i'm back for a little. it's been a long day

well lets get started on the back of the car.
for this to be done you have to have the hole back
end of you car lifted. and not by the suspension.
so i began by lifting one side at a time by the bottom
of the spring. look at my picture and see where the jack is.
this is where i jacked each end up from and while up i placed
jack stands up.




now you should have both jack stands on the car and the wheels off.
before we go any further make sure you unhook you abs wires on
both sides.




now take your jack again and place it on the car just like in the picture.


right under the spring. jack it up like an inch or so.
then take off both bottom shock bolts completly. right and left.
after you have done that take your jack out. it will look similar to this.



all you do now is just give it a little push and wam both springs will
just pop right out.
now we can compare again. lets see.


very nice

[niko3257]

next pop open the hatch. pop out the two shock tower covers.
right and left. i only have a picture of the right one. look and
you will see a hook facing up wards. this is the cover to pop
off using a screw driver. repeat on the left side.



now that the covers are off unbolt the shocks.
ah before i forget. we are taking the shocks out because
of this.



the one to the left is for the front.
the one to the right is for the back.
the bump stop is under the shock cover well hidden.

now that we have the shocks out take out you bump stops
and cut them.
ah but wait it's not that easy. make sure you have a small and medium
screw drivers handy for this. also a hammer and a vise.
hard to explain. sorry i didn't take pics of this process. by this time
i was very frustrated.
but anyway you will see a sleeve on there that just doesn't want
to come out. this sleeve is crimped in. so start with your small screw driver an dhammer it in the crack of the sleeve. thus speeding the
sleeve and making it bigger. you will most likely have to move to
the bigger screw driver to achieve this.
but now the sleeve will come out.
cut you bumps off and your all set.


here are some pics thanks to Malice101
the first one shows the top of the rear shock.
you must remove that metal sleeve to get to the bumpstop.
i used a screw driver to open it up by twisting it.








also don't forget when putting your new springs on. watch out for
that bottom rubber bushing. it only goes on one way. it has a nipple
on it and goes back only the whole it came out of. it may look like it
will go back in any hole but it doesn't. so make sure you mark it
so you don't forget.

now you can put everything back together in reverse.
should look like this when done.

[niko3257]

now we can go for a test drive and let the suspension
set back down a bit.


after i got back from the test drive i was impressed and alot lower
but i also noticed my car didn't need a alignment. maybe after the suspension finally settles. i'm not sure. but for now i'm opting not
to do it. as we all know by now there is no camber/caster
adjustments on the Fit. thus meaning there is nothing to align
but toe. and as for the toe i never disconnected it so it should
be alright. and so far it is. i let go of the wheel and the car tracks
perfect.

well with that said time to take measurements again.

left rear after




left front after




right front after





right rear after

[niko3257]

now thats lower
but hers more

left rear after




left front after




left front after again





right front after





right rear after

[niko3257]

left front bumper after




center of front bumper after





right side front bumper after

[niko3257]

well now we are done.
I'm done for tonight too.
I will post up final pics tomorrow.

[OrangeRevolution]

Very nice, AGAIN! I saw that crimped sleeve on the shocks as well. Couldn't figure out what it did, so I left it alone--for now. Is it just a sleeve on the threaded part? Did you crimp it back on? I was thinking I might replace it with something threaded. Looks like a pretty half-@$$ed way of Honda to save 10 cents and/or perhaps force normal users to replace the whole thing as one assembly. Nice job!

[OrangeRevolution]

P.S. If you get a chance can you measure the height of the bump stops F and R? I was trying do some measurements on mine at stock ride height, and I think there was at least 1" clearance (but that's only by memory). Removing them (or cutting them) may depend on how much you lower a Fit.

[niko3257]

Originally Posted by OrangeRevolution

Very nice, AGAIN! I saw that crimped sleeve on the shocks as well. Couldn't figure out what it did, so I left it alone--for now. Is it just a sleeve on the threaded part? Did you crimp it back on? I was thinking I might replace it with something threaded. Looks like a pretty half-@$$ed way of Honda to save 10 cents and/or perhaps force normal users to replace the whole thing as one assembly. Nice job!

yeah honda went to far with this one.
but yes its about half on the thread and half on the
shaft. after i was done i put it back on and then in the vise.
squeezed it back on.

as for the height what did you mean? the whole bump stop or
the parts i cut out? anyway i can def get you the measurements
on the parts i cut out. the rest is on the car and back together.
sorry.

[OrangeRevolution]

Ah, my mistake regarding your bumpstops/pictures. Any measurements of bumpstops or pieces of bumpstops would be useful, for example, if you said 1" and that was about 40% of total. Museum-grade write-up.

[sway]

nice. much do you think the drop will be once the springs settle? Still thinking of going coilover but then again I'm not going to be hitting the track anytime soon.

[JDM_DOHC_SiR]

I`ll say it again... GREAT WRITE UP!!! this has to be one of the best that I have seen on this site in a while!!... and thanks for all of the measurements... very usefull for a bunch of people!!