got the sport model with 16" wheels. i find at freeway speeds the car tends to wander left and right easily (no crosswind). im thinking its either the narrowness of the tires (185? 195?) or the short trail/low caster.

anyone with wider aftermarket front tires comment on the straight line stability?

 

My 2008 back tires wore out quickly even though I rotated them. The dealer said it because the back end is so light that it skims the highway. I did notice it wonder a little but that because 1 set of tire were in the road grove and the other was riding the crown. The car is a little to narrow.

 

im on the high way 80% of my driving, cruising speed 65, didnt notice much pushing.

is your car new? maybe bring it back to the dealer to re-balance the wheels?

 

Yup, mine does that once in a while... I think it is a combination of a light rear end and also the tires being so narrow...

 

Not the tires the car is narrow. If you drive in the grooves on the road the car will be stable. I live in Chicago area and there is grooves from trucks and most cars are able to stay in them. I had a 2004 civic that had narrow tires it was noticeable worst in winter. I guess narrow tire too would cause pushing.

 

Yeah, the tires are kind of narrow, and the wheels are 6" wide.

I just switched to 15x7" +40 wheels and 205/55/15s (changed from the Sport 16"), its much more stable at freeway speeds. A good suspension system would probably also help a lot. Just switching to a wider tire would help too, a lot of people go that route on the stock Sport model wheels.

At 65mph its not really noticeable, but at 75 (legal speeds in some states)or faster with high winds it's very apparent.

Changing the width of the tires and wheels is much easier and more effective at solving the problem than stating an opinion that the car is too narrow.

 

I find that around 90 the fit really starts sticking to the road and becomes very comunicative with little wandering, lower than that and I find it will wander in whatever direction the road is tilted for drainage. Mind you there better not be any road imperfections, but short of that on a nice repaved highway the FIT makes me feel confident at high speeds. I do have 195/50/16 up front and 185/55/16 in back though.

 

what width do you think the 6" can accomodate before looking poofy and unsafe?

 

205s are usually as wide as people (normally) go on a 6" wide wheel. You can look up tire manufacturer data as well as they usually state the accepted width ranges of the wheels, for their given tire sizes. You could go more, but I'd stick with 205. The Integra Type R also comes with 6" wide wheels from the factory and you really can't go wider than 205 without major bulge.

 

i noticed it too, im was just thinking it was because of the tiny stock base model tires and the large side profile of the body.

base models have like 5.5 wide rim, which is sad

 

I guess I am in the minority here. Never noticed anything when I had the OEM tires and I don't notice anything with new Goodyear's on there. Car is stock. The only time I ever experience any kind of drift is when there is a strong wind, or if the grooves on the road pull in one direction or another. If the road is flat and the grooves are straight...so goes the Fit. And I drive from California to Colorado 3-4 times a year.

 

The "highway swagger" is not the result of your tires...it's because the car is a) light b) has a the side profile of a barn that is extremely vulnerable to crosswind and c) the factory suspension is really high and loose (read "comfy")

You can significantly reduce highway wandering by swapping for stiffer aftermarket springs. This will decrease the amount of air streaming beneath the car and minimize body roll with crosswinds. The alternative would be to load the back of the car with crap to increase the weight.

 

You can't rule it out completely. Your theory involves two aspects of the car, and discounting another completely. They are all tied in together. Switching to wider tires will help tremendously. First hand experience.

 

I ruled it out completely. Besides, my theory involves 3 aspects of the car...read again.

 

I like your tire size mix. What does that do to the vehicle profile?

 

I haven't noticed wandering, but at times I catch myself over steering. My old 95 cougar had a looser steering wheel and was just a larger car. The Fit is much smaller, lighter, and the steering wheel is very tight and reactive. A little dab'll do ya! You get used to it, but it takes some doing.

I've noticed a lot of OTHER drivers wandering lately, but cell phones, alcohol, and an induced coma state is what I figure is at play.

Dan

 

Thats fantastic, shows how much you know. Go play with hood scoops or reduce your side to side visibility with your home depot mirrors. We're talking functionality here and there's no room for uneducated inexperienced responders.

For everyone else who doesn't have the time for bullshit, wider tires, and or wider wheels will help with this issue /thread.

Not everyone is going to go out and purchase 120$ springs from ebay to drop their car to lower the side profile (and actually reduce the handling of their car). And the intelligent owners might not be ready to drop over 1K$ on a real matched spring and shock absorber set.

Increasing the tire width is the fastest easiest and cheapest way to solve this problem, and also greatly improve the handling of your vehicle.

 

(a) my other cars are similar weight [and some similar weight distribution]
(b) there was absolutely no wind IME
(c) other "loose" cars track straight. its not an affect of worn dampeners (leaving residual bounce) because the suspension is brand new

 

wanders like a drunken sailor (when I'm not paying attention). I think it's more a function of the driver and not having variable ratio steering. When I drive comfortably with both hands at 8 and 4 o'clock it doesn't wander (10 and 2 is so passe). If I remove one hand and don't pay attention (cell phone, cd changing; hey: it's Atlanta, Jake.) I find my fit doing embarrassing things. Base 09/factory wheels/tires.

that's not to say the short wheelbase doesn't have anything to do with it.

 

I have never felt that my 2009 Fit Sport wanders, but someone who is accustomed to the sloppy, loose steering of an American car may find the Fit too sensitive to steering inputs. I have always liked tight steering, so I have no complaints. All I ask is that it go where I point it, and this it does.