I have been looking at getting a Fit here but it kind of bothers me that the rear suspension is torsion beam. I just wanted to test the waters here so to speak, how does everyone like the characteristics of the rear suspension?


If anyone has feed back re: the suspension please include it.

 

I was put off by it initially. Not independent wishbone McPherson strut or whatever.

Then I loaded it up with people and luggage and it didn't bottom out or do anything weird. Whatever Honda did, they did it right.

With just one person in it, it follows the front around perfectly.

 

The torsion beam is hands-down the most fun thing about the car. IMO. Corners like nobody's business.

 

i had just installed my lowering springs and i opted to use a modified gd3 rear shock to compensate for the lowered spring. It deff is stiffer than before. almost feel like i have a rear sway bar.

 

The car handles extremely well, better than any other car in its class. A search of this site will also show you people who have fitted air shocks to the rear of their Fits to help handle heavier loads.

It's an inexpensive car. The rear suspension is what it is. Considering that Honda clearly saved some $$$ by making it a torsion beam, the result is really pretty darn amazing.

 

I like it. It's firm and stays firm when loaded too.

 

Are you thinking about getting the base or the sport? The sport comes with an extra rear 17mm stabilizer bar that provides additional handling benefits over the base.

The car has wonderful handling, I don't ever think about the rear suspension. I have not ever driven over any road imperfection that has unsettled the rear, it's solid as a rock. All this car needs is better tires and in a 205/50 size and the handling will increase dramatically.

 

Maybe my response is invalid as I drive a GD, but handling-wise I think it's fine. Same basic design with the GE anyway.

According to my passengers, it's the ride quality that needs sorting out...and that's reportedly hard to do on a dead beam axle. Road acne isn't filtered out very well.

I don't suppose it's hugely different from the GE. I test-drove a GE6 and, while better, it still feels like a small car with a short wheelbase and the associated pitching and rolling. GE8s supposedly ride a little better...that, I'm not so sure.

 

What I have noticed is that if I am taking an slightly off camber highway entrance ramp that has some minor "road acne" the rear seems like it wants to slide out. I also noticed this on some other corners as well. I don't know if it is the short wheelbase that gives the feeling or what but I do notice some slight oversteer-like "twitchy" feeling. I don't know if VSA is catching it before it goes too far or what.

My question comes to be, would a thicker RSB be needed or should I just get better tires with my lowering springs I plan on getting to solve this? I am looking at the Pro-Kit and I currently have stock Bridgestones but changing to Dunlops when these are cooked.

 

The back end is light and will have a tendency to hop under the conditions you describe. As much as people here fawn over them, a RSB will only make that tendency worse. You won't be able to cure it completely, but I'd look at better tires and playing around with tire pressures as ways to minimize the effect.

 

i dont have any complaints on it yet.. it drives firm even if i have a full load of passengers and items at the back..

 

I am looking at the sport. It really comes down to a new civic or a new fit. I love the utility on the fit, the civic does not come close in that respect. The fit has better city mileage by a fair margin as well is seems, and most of my driving is city. It looks like my only concerns are road noise and handling.




Regarding handling it seems that some better tires are in order. I have actually noticed a similar oversteer tendency from my cb7 (91 accord), probably due to front end weight distribution and skinny eco tires.



Thank you all for your feed back thus far. Has anyone noticed that when driving on uneven surfaces there is vibration in the rear suspension? I seem to recall reading this was a trait of torsion beam somewhere.

 

I have the GD3 Mugen suspension on my GE8, and I have no complaints about it.

If you corner hard enough, a wheel will lift, and bye-bye understeer.

 

I don't know that Ive felt any vibration. I am going to adjust the rear pressure tomorrow and I will let you know my findings.

As far as road noise I think that is a downfall of all lower end hondas. My accord (CM5) had a decent amount of road noise. I don't know that the civic would be much better with it.

 

When we lower do we have camber issues? Is there a kit for it?

 

As far as I know lowering a vehicle any signifigant amount results in negative camber which can cause uneven and premature tire wear.


Whether or not the fit has problems in particular I could not say.

 

You're not alone! My GD has that trait too, although I noticed it more in tight maneuvering with a judicious application of throttle, even on smooth surfaces such as a parking lot. Definitely felt strange.

Thanks WDB for an explanation...guess it's just down to front-end weight bias.

 

Road noise, sure, it's there, but in my opinion it's blown way out of proportion. I do not object to the road noise and I find it very quiet for a car in this class. For reference I have driven in a 2007 Honda Accord, 2006 Mazda 3 sport, 2005 Toyota Matrix, 2003 VW Jetta GLI, 2003 Acura RSX Type-S, 2001 Honda Prelude SH, 2000 Chevy Cavalier, and 2001 Ford Mustang GT. Keep in mind, those aren't cars I've owned, just cars I can remember riding in that struck me as being very loud in the cabin with road and tire noise. My Honda Fit was no worse than any of them, with maybe the Acura RSX being a little quieter than the rest when the engine wasn't being revved. The Mazda 3 sport hatch was the worst. Great riding vehicle, super noisy interior (grand touring model) and I think it's a great looking car, but the road and wind noise is terrible in that car. Plus if you just want to compare the Honda Fit to its own class I promise you it's no worse than any other sub-compact on the market.

When my stock Dunlop SP Sport 7000 A/S tires are ready to be changed, like I said I'm going up to a 205/50R 16" because I think the tires are just too skinny for this car. Plus I'm going to get a more aggressive tread compound, maybe even a performance summer tire since here in Dallas TX the weather is rarely bad enough I would need anything more. Also the car is extremely front heavy, nothing you can do about that though. I haven't investigated strut tower bars because I'm not sure if they're even available for the 09 Fit, but those would help too.

 

I noticed some sway but only when making very quick lane changes..... I put 15"X7" Enkei RPF1 wheels and 195-55-15 Conti Pro Contact tires on the car and it doesn't do it any more..... I really don't think there is anything I want to change to improve the ride and handling except maybe installing the rear air shocks that also are stiffer than the stock ones..... Even with the added power from the super charger I think the stock size tire is plenty wide enough for me..... I drove 1500 and 1600 cc VW Rabbits for many years and found out that nothing is gained by using wider heavier tires that will compensate for the extra load they put on the suspension, steering, brakes, drive train and engine of a car with a small displacement engine that was engineered for a specific tire size and used as a daily driver.

 

I have no issue with the suspension design... is it the most sophisticated? No, does it work, cheaply and effectively? Yes. The issue I have is in the poor factory alignment and difficulty in correcting it. Out of the box my left rear toe is off approx .21 degrees so I either have to shim it and hope the ABS sensor still works or put NeoGens on it and live with it. It's already putting diagonal wear bars in the factory (true shite) Bridgestones.