Hello,

I am looking for some advice for some modifications for my Fit.
My goals are as follows:

• To make the ride as comfortable as possible.
• To reduce road noise

I will not be selling my Fit anytime soon, so I would like to make some small modifications to make my rides more enjoyable and comfortable.

The road noise and feeling every bump on the road is making driving a very unpleasant experience.


Some might say, "just buy a new car", but that is not in the plan for several more years.
Some other info: I do not race. The car is stock except for Tint. I'm more interested in comfort than handling. I looked at the Sticky "Suspension" thread and it seemed to be geared more towards Handling and not comfort.



At the current moment the solutions I have in mind are:

• A better suspension system - front & rear
• Soundproofing.
  • I walked into a car custom shop yesterday and they say they do sound proofing for road noise. They said they order a Dynamat kit for the specific car and I have to leave it for 2 days as they rip out everything and install it.

So my question is - Are the 2 items mentioned above the right course of action? If so what are the recommended systems (specifically with regard to suspension)?



Thanks in advance for any help/advice.

 

For road noise, only thing you can do is the soundproofing. Dynamat is one of the options. There are several others, so check around, as they may be cheaper than Dynamat. Pretty good tutorials online on how to do it yourself as well (probably better job and cheaper).


Ride comfort, I would change out tires rather than suspension. Get some 195/60/15 touring tires. It will give you a bit more sidewall. 185/65/15 may also be another option. Cheaper than a new suspension system...

 

It's a shame you bought a Fit because it is exactly the contrary of everything you want it to be. You should really consider trading in for a Toyota. The reliability is the same except you will get mushy syspension and probably more comfort from it.

 

I was thinking the exact same thing. People buy fits for the reasons you call negatives. It's the reason why it stays on C&D 10 best list. It sounds to me like you failed to do a decent test drive. Going up to 70mph, going over a rough section of roads like (railroad tracks), and more...

 

I would think that changing the suspension would be expensive, perhaps almost as much as trading in your car for a Toyota. I would focus on the soundproofing. p Nut's suggestion is spot on!

 

Sound deadening & grand touring all-season 195/55/15 tires will be your best bet.

Sound deadening will be a pro to many when you go to sell the car at some point & properly sized tires will keep your speedometer & odometer accurate, and keep weight down, keeping strain on engine/trans/brakes/suspension all to a minimum for best ride, efficiency, performance and safety.

 

I would agree with some of the other commenters here that the Fit is never going to ride like a fat domestic land barge, however, I think a good 14" wheel/tire combo could help and would be the first/cheapest thing to try. Large diameter wheels do ride harsher/corner better than small diameter wheels with taller tires.

First, plan to go to a 14" diameter wheel. If you're driving a base model, you're already at 14" so you can just change tires. If you're driving a Sport, you're currently at 15", so you'll need to get 14" wheels. Check reviews of your current tires to see if they're noted for noise/harshness - many tires are. This could be most of your problem. Then check for other 14" tires that get good reviews for a soft ride and low noise. Tirerack does some good testing; read through some of their reviews. If you're driving a base, get 175 65r14 tires since that's stock; if a Sport, 185 65r14 have the same OD as the stock 195 55r15's.

This shouldn't cost you a lot of money net. Generic 4x100 14" alloy wheels from other Honda models can be had for $100-200 used; even the best 185 65r14 tires are less than $100/ea. Or tire rack/discount tire can ship you a set mounted and balanced. Plus, you can sell your current wheels/tires on craigslist.

Unless you're currently running a well reviewed, smooth running tire, I'd try this before the sound deadening/suspension mods. Not that those things can't work; they can, but it may be overkill.

 

I'm going to gonna different route on this. This is completely legit even if i am then new spokesperson for this product and a new customer myself. I'd do the Clazzio Seat covers. Here is why. Minus the fact the are Leatherette Covers, they have a layer of memory foam that absolutely changes the ride at 299.99 It beats the price of new tires. If you have any other questions, PVT me. But the change in ride i very noticeable. I loved the stock ride but I (and you) will love it too.

 

For our JDM GD3 Fit, the ride issue was entirely due to the very long bump stops in the shocks. These came into contact after less than 3/4" front and 1/4" rear vertical wheel movement! If the American version is the same, there's your problem. To get at the fronts you need to take out the struts and remove the springs.

At the rear you don't need to remove the springs. It is probably easiest to remove the rear shocks with the wheels still on the ground (you can jack the car up a little). To get at the bump stops inside the shrouds of the rear shocks you need to drill out the crimp on the steel crush sleeve inside the top mount. Once this crimp is mostly gone the sleeve will screw off the top stud of the shock.

I cut the front bump stops back from 90 mm to 38, and the rears from 115 mm to 55. On reassembly don't tighten the rear shock bottom bolts until it is sitting back at its correct ride height.

This will transform the car's behaviour over bumps, but the stupidly stiff front suspension also doesn't help, and gives the car crazy understeer. I removed the front anti-roll bar by carefully dropping the front crossmember. (I didn't actually have to disconnect the steering.)

Fortunately all our shocks were still in good condition. With all this done we had a car that was unrecognisable. Comfortable and ideal for city driving. Trips out of town on country roads highlighted a bit much body roll and still a little too much understeer - this is because of the very soft rear springs and anti-roll bar. For me, I need to do something about that. But for daily cross-town commuting you wouldn't bother.