Do any aftermarket springs keep the Fit's stock ride height?
Dave,
I have the same interest as you, but am waiting for more developments from this older thread that you may have already read: Dual Rate Progressive Springs - Japanese Speaker Needed
The dual rate springs that ciburri is talking about seem to provide a 1" to 1 1/2" drop that I don't necessarily want (but will put up with), in order to have the higher spring rate that comes into play with hard cornering and, I assume, occasional heavy load conditions.
We seem to have similar interest in a couple of threads. I read your review/installation of the A-spec strut bar with a lot of curiosity. Strut bars look the part and I'd like to need one but I really wasn't convinced that the Fit needed one -- especially with the driving that I do. I mainly commute in mine and enjoy spirited driving -- no track time or autocrossing. Your comments convinced me that the Progress rear anti-sway bar would give me what I was looking for in terms of cost-effective, tangible improvements with no real downsides.
I'd like some progressive springs to tame the Fit's abrupt response to small bumps while keeping or improving its other impressive handling traits. I like the Fit's look and although the wheels do look small, I'm not a fan of the slammed look or dragging parts over speed bumps. (I know I'm in the minority when it comes to not being a fan of "slammed" rides)
I've also been following the voltage regulator/ignition booster/pulse plug threads. I'm sure that some of these "enhancements" might work but I'm hesitant to spend the money for something that might be snake-oil. I like to tinker but I've learned to be cautious -- especially when considering modifying what is a reliable, fun car.
Years ago, I had a Jacob's ignition pak on a Toyota truck and while I saw gains in mileage and performance, the drawbacks (dubious reliability, melting parts, etc) made me never want to put one in another vehicle.
Dave, (reminds me of the old Cheech & Chong skit "Dave's Not Here!")
We do think a lot alike on all subjects you mentioned. The kind of failure that I experienced with the Jacobs ignition could have been fatal- just like the class action suit that Ford lost on the ignition module on the Rangers/Bronco IIs of the 80's and early 90's. Ignition failure has killed enough people to cost Ford millions. But it was Jacobs' attitude when I called them to discuss my melted coil wire that made me their life-long enemy.
Anyway, the dual-rate springs have my interest. The thread originator ciburri lives about 50 miles away from me and we correspond about several subjects. With he and I being the serious buyers, and jbrisson and Chikubi expressing interest in finding a source to buy from, I hope that one or more of us can get some experience with the dual rate springs sometime soon.
At the risk of sounding like a know it all I can tell you that as far as taming the fit's abrupt response to small bumps, you probably won't achieve that with new springs. It's more than likely a result of cheap shock valving on an inexpensive car. You may have better results with buying a set of high quality aftermarket shocks when they become available.
Quote:
Originally Posted by dave brown
Hi Dave,
We seem to have similar interest in a couple of threads. I read your review/installation of the A-spec strut bar with a lot of curiosity. Strut bars look the part and I'd like to need one but I really wasn't convinced that the Fit needed one -- especially with the driving that I do. I mainly commute in mine and enjoy spirited driving -- no track time or autocrossing. Your comments convinced me that the Progress rear anti-sway bar would give me what I was looking for in terms of cost-effective, tangible improvements with no real downsides.
I'd like some progressive springs to tame the Fit's abrupt response to small bumps while keeping or improving its other impressive handling traits. I like the Fit's look and although the wheels do look small, I'm not a fan of the slammed look or dragging parts over speed bumps. (I know I'm in the minority when it comes to not being a fan of "slammed" rides)
I've also been following the voltage regulator/ignition booster/pulse plug threads. I'm sure that some of these "enhancements" might work but I'm hesitant to spend the money for something that might be snake-oil. I like to tinker but I've learned to be cautious -- especially when considering modifying what is a reliable, fun car.
Years ago, I had a Jacob's ignition pak on a Toyota truck and while I saw gains in mileage and performance, the drawbacks (dubious reliability, melting parts, etc) made me never want to put one in another vehicle.
At the risk of sounding like a know it all I can tell you that as far as taming the fit's abrupt response to small bumps, you probably won't achieve that with new springs. It's more than likely a result of cheap shock valving on an inexpensive car. You may have better results with buying a set of high quality aftermarket shocks when they become available.
It is probably a combination of springs and shocks. I dont know what the spring rates are on the Fit's stock springs but its not hard to guess that they are fairly low as well as the shocks being tuned pretty soft. I have ridden in a pretty wide array of car's but I have to say the Fit is probably the softest riding of all.
This isnt necessarily a bad thing depending on your taste for suspension but I would not mind if it was a bit more responsive without losing too much of the initial softness.
I think that willy and JDM both make good points. After some expensive experimentation on my off-road vehicles in the past, shock absorber quality and design have made a huge difference in ride and performance quality. Once we have a choice of some good after market struts and shocks, some of the Fit's characteristics that are a little annoying will probably go away. The dual rate springs in a different thread have my interest, but I am also holding my breath for Koni, Bilstein, KBY and others to offer some solutions for us to pick from.
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