Has anyone successfully improved the ride on their gen2 fit? We recently moved to a place that's 1.2 miles of rough dirt road from the highway. Wife's back dictates an undesired vehicle trade trade if we can't smooth it out substantially.

 

Who owns the road? Can the road be better maintained to address the potholes that are the issue? Do you have a tractor with a rock rake to drag / level the road as often as needed?

Any light short wheel base car is going to be bumpy. Seems a shame to spend thousands of $ and beat up a new / new to you vehicle of same deteriorating road.

 

I agree with this.

Especially since you use the adjective and phrase...smooth it out substantially.

The Fit is a small, light, vehicle...I would be hard pressed to believe there is any way to really tweak it to suddenly have the smooth ride or suspension of a luxury vehicle.

 

I'm definitely not a specialist in this area and don't have any solutions for you in terms of mods.

However what I can tell you with certainty is that any mods you would do to the car to improve the ride and smooth it out substantially for the 1.2 miles of rough dirt road, will equally and negatively affect the Fits' handling on the highway, a car that already isn't the best for highway driving due to it's shape & dimensions. I'm talking about higher center of gravity, reduced handling, increased body roll in high speed cornering, increased MPG, etc. Basically you would change a fun & nimble car into a sloppy mess on wheels.

You can't really have the best of both worlds, off-road and highway machine that's great at both.
Just think of driving a Wrangler or Hummer on the highway - it sucks from every point of view, from increased road/wind noise, poor handling, increased MPG, longer braking distance, etc.

I think your only real and logical solution is a different car.
Do your best to include the 1.2 miles of rough dirt road into your test drives for a different car!
A Subaru Forester might be the Jack of all trades for your conditions.
Or you could always go for that good ol' 'merican truck.

 

Tires are probably the easiest way to smooth out the ride, but as others noted, the difference won't likely be substantial. You can try a lower tire pressure (but be careful with going below recommended), larger tire, and/or a smaller diameter rim.

Or you could try some kind of seat cushion to reduce the load on her back?

 

Thanks y'all. It's the bad news I thought it would be. But I had to sound you out. Forester or similar will probably be it. What I'm liking most about my '10 Fit right now is that it's paid for. Ok one response makes me wanna ask about seats. I know most of you are into performance mods but has anyone tried to stuff lexus or even Accord seats in?

 

So, the road can't be smoothed or dressed up? Who's road is it?

 

It's rough even after they grade. But worth it for the view, the quiet and the deer that wander through

 

The Fit has one of the less good ride qualities out of the cars I have owned. It is a small car with a short wheelbase, short suspension travel, and a twist-beam rear suspension.

What you really need, I am sorry to say, is a larger car with longer suspension travel. Something like a Subaru Outback would feel like a luxury car in comparison, the type of car that will nose over a largish bump at low speeds and make a nice "cussshht" noise coming down. If serious winter weather is an issue, maybe even a big truck (although the fact that you are making this work with your Fit implies that probably is unnecessary), which would be something like a Honda Ridgeline. But I would bet a CRV - 3rd gen and up - would be enough to substantially improve your life.

There are some car brands that tune their cars more for comfort. In the same class for example, a Nissan Versa or Toyota Corolla will have more compliant rides. I wouldn't suggest this as a solution though, if you are swapping your vehicles you may as well actually solve the problem with a bigger car.

If keeping that car is a must, you can check out different tire brands, and or smaller wheels (ie tires with taller sidewalls), and as a (free!) first step check your tire pressure. Both of those could help ... a little bit. And then beyond that, I would suggest foam padding for the wife. The front seat is less jarring than the back, although I'm sure you have tried it all by now!

 

Many good ideas.The Outback is definitely on our wish list. And Forester or CRV as well. 'Merican truck...you mean my Tundra. It was assembled in Princeton Indiana(lol). It rides acceptably through there but she can't always use it. Yes snowy weather will be an issue. 4400 ft alt. in mountains sw of Palm Springs. Just moved up here mid March but already slushed through a little snow.

 

I don't think you can swap the car seats with other Honda models because in the Fit the front seats are mounted directly over the gas tank and they had to design them specifically for the Fit platform.

 

They say just get a bigger hammer😊. So we're getting an Outback. This flat towable auto would be a good deal for RVers. It has a Blue Ox bracket already installed and under 104000 miles. Located in So Cal.
A big thanks to everyone

 

They say just get a bigger hammer😊. So we're getting an Outback. This flat towable auto would be a good deal for RVers. It has a Blue Ox bracket already installed and under 104000 miles. Located in So Cal.
A big thanks to everyone