If you lock the wheels in position and you have noticeable free play there is a problem in either your linkage or hub connections.

 

Been a while, thought I'd check in.

I appreciate everyone's thoughts. This is how platforms are cracked open to adjust them.

Yes, I am on stock wheels, stock tires. Good to hear that upgrading makes a difference.

I am considering front upper and lower tie bar, but need to save for those. =)

I agree with hayden, seem the design of the car is very "numb" for the average daily commuter purposes. I'm hoping there is a little more in the suspension that can be adjusted in order to get some better feel.

After putting on the Civic camber bolts and getting the max negative camber, I'm pleased with the results. (Although, bummed that a wheel stud was stripped in the process...stinkin' impact wielding mechanics! Ever hear of a torque wrench!?) The turn in is VERY pronounced and the on-center feel is a little better. If you haven't done this, do it. A great value for money mod.

Additionally, I picked up a pair of Enkei RPO1's (Mid school, classic wheel) in 17x7 ET40 that are a little banged up. After refinishing (planning to do it myself) and repainting, looking at getting the Conti's DW's or something similar. I'm encouraged by the responses on the tire upgrade making a difference.

Also, i'm curious what it would take to make a caster/camber plate fabricated so you could dial in more of both. Would it be worth it? In my reading, it seems more caster would give me what I'm looking for, and guys with old school honda civics (i'm talking CVCC engines) would make their own due to the limited adjustments, so it seems feasible.




The quest continues....

 

tein is garbage

 

^^^You want attention, don't you....

 

no sir. tein is garbage

 

Thank you fellow Vallejoean, but your opinion is not beneficial to the discussion, therefore, you must want attention.

 

dont worry, im on junk2 coilovers. not saying im better than you, just saying

 

Is it possible to keep the power steering but have less assistance with the addition of a resistance of something like that? Or a retune?

 

It could be said less abrasively but the gist of it is true. Tein doesn't produce very good dampers on the consumer level. Read up what Dennis Grant (an engineer with many SCCA wins and adviser to FSAE teams) has to say about dampers here and here.

Another big issue is that differing spring rates of the springs that come bundled with dampers. Grant mentions here that the springs that come with JIC dampers varied 25% between each other.

Aside from swapping parts from the CR-Z that I mentioned previously, another option is to swap parts from the Fit RS available in Japan. Looking at Honda's webpage on the RS, changes were made to the EPS unit. Here's a screenshot of the page in Japanese and a rough Google machine translation.





Don't get too excited about that reinforcement bar aft of the front subframe. I did and then found it comes stock on Fits in the US. I'm not so sure about the reinforcements to the rear though. If anyone familiar with the Fit RS could contribute, it would be appreciated.

Also regarding the discussion on reducing unsprung weight earlier on in the thread, I failed to mention the possibility of using the aluminum front lower control arms from the CR-Z. Switching over will save a few pounds of unsprung weight. In the brochure for the CR-Z, Honda lists a 4 kilogram reduction in weight compared to the LCA found in the Insight, which is also the same LCA used in the Fit.

However, I am not sure if the knuckle and ball joint found on the Fit is compatible with the CR-Z's aluminum LCA. Did anyone ever attempt the swap?

 

there was some thought to swapping the CRZ steering electronics/rack since there is a "sport" mode which quickens the steering...but that sounds like $$$$. I don't know, electronic throttle controllers work well, how about an electronic steering controller? sounds possible. I would most definitely be interested in that.

 

Yes. Tein may be "garbage." But the coilovers actually helped me get more "feel" from the car than stock. They are a great balance of firmness/comfort that makes using them have ZERO negatives for me. So, again, mentioning the quality, or lack there of, of the coilovers I'm using, doesn't move the discussion forward, since I attribute them as having a positive effect on the steering/handling. One could just as easily (as some do) say "the fit isn't a DC2 or an EK"....but comments like that aren't addressing the issue at hand, which is how to get better steering feel out of the GE8 Fit.

I've read Mr. Grant's page before...great stuff there. I understand from a racing standpoint, the damper rate/spring rate and consistency in Tein's production is lacking. Heck, even Koni shocks aren't valved with enough consistency for Dennis (something he mentions as well). If I were racing in ANY capacity (which I'm not) I would be more inclined to lay down my money and get some Bilsteins, mainly because after a read his page a few years ago, I was/am convinced Bilstein makes the best dampers.

However, I have a daily 40 min. one way daily commute and a family. I wanted to lower the car for, yes, looks and a more tight feel, but didn't want to get springs simply wear out the stock shocks, then be left with NO aftermarked damper support (i.e. Koni, Bilstein). I also didn't want to go with Ksport, D2 and the like because I've been there, done that. Way too stiff for me. Bilsteins coilovers came had come out for the fit, but they were out of my price range. I found a GREAT deal on these Tein coilovers direct from Tein, NA that were on the Tein GE8 in SoCal for R and D purposes. Couldn't pass them up.

Most of the time, I leave them at the "softest" setting, being about 2" lower, I can drive for 2 hours and have all three kids and my wife fall asleep in the car. Yes, they are that comfortable. So, the adjustability is something I rarely even mess with.

Props to you glarus. I would love to get an RS EPS..sounds intriguing. Thanks for the post.

I heard about the CRZ control arms...wonder if they would fit? Hmmm....

 

Did some searching and it looks like it isn't a direct fit after all. The revised Insight aluminum control arms mentioned in the thread look to be the way to go.