Apologies if I post this in the wrong place. I bought a 2012 Fit Sport but can't stand the wheel gap and how high this thing sits. What would be the best way to get it lowered a little? My mechanic told me to never mess with the factory suspension and I realize larger wheels will just raise the vehicle.. right?

Problem is, I love how these cars look with the perfect balance of wheels & the suspension adjusted. I'm by no means experienced at this type of work so I guess I'm asking how I would go about getting the parts and a trustworthy person to install whatever I end up needing. Any advice/recommendations will be greatly appreciated.

 

Proper wheel and tire fitment with non-oem sizes (say a 17"wheel) must be balanced out by reducing tire sidewall height to maintain the same steering geometry. Its just a matter of comparing millimeters. A tire has a treadblock, the part that contacts the ground.

- Common aftermarket size: Lets say its a 205/50r16.
The tread block width would be 205mm, and the following 50 (sidewall height) is a ratio being compared to the width of the tire's treadblock. Its height is 50% the width of the treadblock. So 102.5mm. Add that to the wheel size (16in = 406.4mm)
Total Height 508.9mm.

- Stock tires for the sport:
185/55r16
185mm treadblock width
185 x 0.55 = 101.75mm tire sidewall height
16" (406.4) wheel height
Total Height: 508.4mm

Base tire size: 175/65/15.
175mm treadblock width
113.75mm sidewall height
15in wheels (381mm)
Total Height: 494.75mm

you'll wanna stay nice and close to that height to maintain handling, and not go too crazy with offset (+35 max) superstreet recommends +38 with 10mm spacers in the rear, but being specific to +38 will limit your wheel choices or width or you'll screw up yer scrub radius..
Which has to do with the angle your front wheels point when turning, and if they compliment one another.
Oh and as for the rear spacers, 10mm slip ons do even up the rear with the front which gives the car a muuuch more neutral feel. Easier to oversteer. And a quick word on oversteer (the mechanic akin to drifting): it can be dramatically affected by the design of the tires you use.. read reviews for that.

with 16x7s and a 1" drop courtesy of simple swift springs, or if you're mr.moneybags, bilstein PSS coilovers, will about meet the wheel well in the rear and surpass it a touch in the front (am I on point there, guys?)
You can slam the thing if you want to go for stance, throw on some tien coilovers, or uh, function form. buddyclub is another brand. Prolly get 2" out of either one, youd likely want 15" wheels at that height.. but expect to lose that little black plastic splitter/front lip chingas below the front bumper..
You can maintain wheel size by adjusting the camber of your wheels, if you're cool with premature tire wear..
Some dudes will surely chime in with their set-ups, just keep in mind that modifying ride height bolsters handling at the cost of ride comfort and component longevity.. or something like that.

 

I may have meant cm.

 

Awesome post @Pyts !

 

Get some Tein coilovers. Great smooth ride and you can get rid of that wheel gap.

Tein Flex with front fenders rolled.

 

Those HFP wheels look so proper!

 

how much did it cost to roll your fenders?

 

https://www.eastwood.com/ew-fender-r...struction.html

 

what Rob posted. I bought an Amazon knockoff version for like $50 I think. For that price I would get the Eastwood though. Took me like an hour to do each side.

 

I too did not care for the wheel gap, so I’m running a set of konig runlites 17x7.5 and 225/45r17s. The car runs .5 inches higher and I obviously have thrown off the tpms but they definitely take care of that gap. Gunna invest in some coils and perhaps put a little negative camber on the front to tuck the tires under the arches. I added a bit more weight but have removed the spare tire and jack to counter. These tires are a whole 40mm wider than the stocks so obvi I take a hit with fuel economy, but the cornering is crazy good, feels insanely planted. Lastly the trannys gearing feels fine with the increase in tire size, actually feels better in the lower range.