Best Suspension upgrades for Fit

[Tel1sps]

Ben,

What are the best suspension parts I should add to make my Fit a track car?

Right now the car feels scary at high speed... most likely due to the short wheel base and high center of gravity. And when I say scary I mean unstable and unbalanced.

Now I want to keep this car in a stock class so lowering springs, swaybar, strut tower bars, subframe connector and rear disk brake kit would be a good start. What did I miss????

Regards,
Steve

[sumo]

if your cornering hard dont forget better break pads and fluids! its like 80% of your breaking!

[Tel1sps]

Sure... I like the Ferodo 2500 series for track / autox / street.... work very well for me over the years

[spoonek4]

Originally Posted by Tel1sps

Sure... I like the Ferodo 2500 series for track / autox / street.... work very well for me over the years

Agreed. So far the DS2500 series works the best for me! Very low on noise, doesn't need to warm up the brakes even at close to 0c, and the brake dust can be wash off easily. I might go for the oversize rotor/prelude calipers setup if T1R's gonna come out with one.

So far I've replaced my shocks/springs & installed camber kit for both front & rear. My plan is to get better tires & rear STB(easy to install) later on to improve handling.

[EXWRX]

Not sure about the legality for whatever class you're racing in, but I love my Progress Sway Bar. It makes the Fit much more neutral.

[Tel1sps]

Originally Posted by EXWRX

Not sure about the legality for whatever class you're racing in, but I love my Progress Sway Bar. It makes the Fit much more neutral.

Tell me more.... Is it a front or rear sway? I use the comptech front sway on my S2000 and it is key to dialing in the car (under/oversteer).

[AJ PwR Jr.]

Originally Posted by Tel1sps

Tell me more.... Is it a front or rear sway? I use the comptech front sway on my S2000 and it is key to dialing in the car (under/oversteer).

First of all, I need to know your regulations. What you can and not cannot do to run in stock class.

Coil-overs + front swaybar will be your best bet. This will make the most difference when it comes to competition.

[Tel1sps]

Originally Posted by AJ PwR Jr.

First of all, I need to know your regulations. What you can and not cannot do to run in stock class.

Coil-overs + front swaybar will be your best bet. This will make the most difference when it comes to competition.

Stock class I believe will allow springs, sway, intake, header, exhaust, camber adjustments, brake pads, wheels & tires. Coilovers will bump a class....

[AJ PwR Jr.]

Originally Posted by Tel1sps

Stock class I believe will allow springs, sway, intake, header, exhaust, camber adjustments, brake pads, wheels & tires. Coilovers will bump a class....

Are you allow to run shocks ? If no suspension then my suggestions will be springs + camber kits and reinforcement bars to start.

DON'T get a rear sway cuz you dont need one for the Fit.

[Tel1sps]

Originally Posted by AJ PwR Jr.

Are you allow to run shocks ? If no suspension then my suggestions will be springs + camber kits and reinforcement bars to start.

DON'T get a rear sway cuz you dont need one for the Fit.

Yes, you can run shocks and springs... but adjustable coilovers will put you in a higher class. So just shocks and springs....

Do you recommend Strut tower bars front / rear?

What alignment do you recommend?

I also need those bronze volks

This going to be a crazy season with running two classes... I guess being crazy helps

Can't wait until the end of the month when we have our first track day (instructors class / test & tune).

[AJ PwR Jr.]

Originally Posted by Tel1sps

Yes, you can run shocks and springs... but adjustable coilovers will put you in a higher class. So just shocks and springs....

Do you recommend Strut tower bars front / rear?

What alignment do you recommend?

I also need those bronze volks

This going to be a crazy season with running two classes... I guess being crazy helps

Can't wait until the end of the month when we have our first track day (instructors class / test & tune).

I will email you tomorrow

[eldaino]

Originally Posted by AJ PwR Jr.

DON'T get a rear sway cuz you dont need one for the Fit.

any particular reason why?


because every suspension thread/bible i've read pretty much says that front tower bars are the ones that are useless...and there is some pretty heavy duty real world experience on this site that says the progress rear sway does WONDERS for the fit....

[smatts]

I'm curious as well about the rear sway, but Ben's car did win the super street time attack last year so if he is running the braces and strut bars and no rear sway, there is some validity in his statement.

[solbrothers]

if you're serious about tracking your car, check what mods are legal for a class you'd like to race in.

IMO, TRACK YOUR CAR STOCK!!!! at least a few times.

for a fun street car though, the progress rear swaybar is DEFINATELY the first mod anyone should do.

[manxman]

Originally Posted by eldaino

any particular reason why?


because every suspension thread/bible i've read pretty much says that front tower bars are the ones that are useless...and there is some pretty heavy duty real world experience on this site that says the progress rear sway does WONDERS for the fit....

Why?

Because AJ didn't invent, doesn't make, & doesn't sell Progress RSB's. They do sell strut bars. Not to detract from the quality of their products. Look whose forum this thread is on. No one expects them to advertise competitive products. I wouldn't if I were them.

[spoonek4]

Different people have their own favorite setups. I'm not saying that the progress bars doesn't work. Different type of compeitions needs different kind of braces/suspension settings. What other members use may or may not help the type of suspension setup I have/ the type of driving I do.

I personally don't like to make the chassis too stiff by using aftermarket front & rear sway. No matter it's a fit or a civic that I had. I look for something that can make the car rotate a tad nicer, which can be achieved by setting tire pressure, alignment, or even just a rear STB on an underpowered Fit(which handles quite well already).

I will go for stickier tires before I get big front or rear sway myself. I've seen way too many ppl running full out bar setup with crappy tires which makes the car handle even worse/spin out on street/track. The tires just gave up since the suspension and/chassis is way too stiff.

[solbrothers]

Originally Posted by spoonek4

Different people have their own favorite setups. I'm not saying that the progress bars doesn't work. Different type of compeitions needs different kind of braces/suspension settings. What other members use may or may not help the type of suspension setup I have/ the type of driving I do.

I personally don't like to make the chassis too stiff by using aftermarket front & rear sway. No matter it's a fit or a civic that I had. I look for something that can make the car rotate a tad nicer, which can be achieved by setting tire pressure, alignment, or even just a rear STB on an underpowered Fit(which handles quite well already).

I will go for stickier tires before I get big front or rear sway myself. I've seen way too many ppl running full out bar setup with crappy tires which makes the car handle even worse/spin out on street/track. The tires just gave up since the suspension and/chassis is way too stiff.

swaybars don't make the car stiff.

[spoonek4]

Maybe going a lil off topic here myself but anyway....

I had a bigger rear sway bar set on the EM1 that I had before(and installed rear camber kit awhile after). And some of my friends ran EK9 22mm rear sway setup on their civics before too. It's soooo stiff that they would be able to lift the inner rear wheel easily doing slalom or a tight chicago box while they went autocross. It's sooo stiff that the big rear sway damaged the rear cross member & needed to be repair. Of course there are different kits now that can prevent that happening nowadays but anyway.......that's an example of how extreme bigger size sway bars can be. And again bigger size sway does reduce roll but u need stickier tires to help turning at the same time.

One more example, think about adding different kinda bars to your car as building a "mini" size roll cage. A 8points+ race cage is usually way stronger than a 6points street cage that u can leave your rear seats in. Same thing to adding bars to your cars, the more bars there are, the more support there are to the chassis.

Just sharing some thoughts here.....

[solbrothers]

yes and no. the 96-00 civic is known for having a weak subframe. and, on the fit, the progress rear swaybar is a rather mild swaybar.

but im done arguing. srly

[spoonek4]

Don't mean to pick on words like a kid but one should definitely get rid of the crappy OEM tires before considering bars(any kind, progress/T1R/Summit/Mugen/SPOON). No matter u go autocross or HPDE...