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Hey all this is my first new topic on here but I have been getting advice from others' posts for a while now.
I picked up my ge almost 5 years ago but ended up letting my wife drive it most of that time. We're looking for a new car for her so I get to drive it again soon. I love driving it but feel like a few things could be improved. I just shimmed the front of the drivers seat up about 1/2" and the difference is amazing. I plan to get a center armrest and maybe upgrade the speakers. I have a head unit and sub that were in there when I drove it before.
What I'd really like to address though is the handling. My previous car was a mustang with fully modified suspension that handled very well. That being said the fit is much more fun to drive. I really like the driving characteristics but would like it to have less body roll especially transitioning from one direction to the other and cresting hills on the little mountain roads around my house. I have heard good things about the progress rear arb. I've also heard people on here talk about heavy duty shocks and struts with the stock springs. I'm trying to decide between the progress arb plus maybe a front sway bar or something like koni str.t. I'm just over 100k so the shocks and struts are about due anyways. I want to keep a stock appearance and will have to drive in the snow so loweing is out. Am I on track? Any other suggestions are appreciated.
You are on the right track. Upgrading the struts to a more performance oriented type will help along with stiffer springs. The number one thing that makes a big difference is tires. I would do tires before anything else. Pick up a set of wheels off CL so you can get a pair of dedicated summer tires and have a set for the winter. Rear sway will help but not as much as a good set of tires and suspension to handle the extra grip.
I have pretty new tires on there now so I'll probably leave them for now. I'm not planning on driving to the point of losing grip but that might change with a more responsive suspension. I did see a set of mini wheels with snow tires for a good price. It looks like they're only 13 pounds and the stock steelies are supposed to be about 19 so I was thinking about swapping the snow tires onto the factory rims then getting more performance oriented tires next time I need them. I was thinking about tein street basis coilovers then read a thread on here where people suggested better shocks instead for the op. It would be cool to have it a little lower then be able to raise it back up for the winter. I'm 40 with a wife and kids so not really trying to go for the tuner look.
Agree with tires first and wish I had five with lighter ones oops. If it wasn't time for shocks I would say RSB first, but while that reduces lean it really doesn't help with that "on center float" that I attribute (right or wrong) to dampers that aren't controlling the springs enough. Don't get me wrong I think you would like it and its the cheapest thing with few downsides.
Quick question -- what did you use for a front seat shim? I did a similar thing and think I should have more than like 1mm
I was thinking about tein street basis coilovers then read a thread on here where people suggested better shocks instead for the op.
A set of Tein Street Basis would be perfect IMO. I did the lowering spring and shock upgrade before and it was a waste in my opinion. You can get a decent set of coil overs for cheap and you get so much more adjust-ability. I have Tein coilovers and they are great for daily driving.I have mine set so the tires are tucking and it still rides great (almost too soft at times for my liking). I always have the intent to raise it in the winter but never do, I just take the Pilot.
Do you have the adjustable shocks? I think it's called street basis advance. It doesn't seem like something I would really mess with but I'd hate to cheap out and not be satisfied. Is the ride firmer than stock?
Yes I do have adjustable shocks (I have the Tein Flex). If I did it again I probably would get the non adjustable as it is a pain to adjust the fronts because of the cowl that covers the strut towers. Between family life, house stuff and work adjusting my shocks is the last thing I want to mess with. The spring rates are soft (2k I think) so it rides very nice. I don’t remember what a stock Fit rides like lol but I remember it not feeling much different and the wife approved!!
Are you on the eastern shore of Maryland? I’d let you take mine for a drive to try it out!
I've gone through 3 sets of lowering springs, and koni orange. all combinations were more firm than stock (aka, stiff/harsh), and would always wake up napping passengers ... which results in an upset mrs
I'm with GolNat .... Tein's FTW. I have the 1 step above the street basis, "street advance z" because I wanted the ability to adjust damper. THE TEINS RIDE MORE COMFORTABLE THAN STOCK .... I said it .... tein coilovers > stock suspension (ride comfort)
if you google " GSB80-91AS2 " and click on the "shopping" tab, $529.75 will be the lowest result. if you have patience, wait on an ebay 15% or 20% off coupon, and these coilovers can be had for under 500
GolNat I'm in Frederick so not that close but I definitely appreciate the offer.
Evilchargerfan I have the same passenger issue. I'm pretty sure the kit you have is what I was thinking about. It isn't that much more and even though I wouldn't be adjusting it regularly it would be nice to be able to if I totally hated the factory settings.
10-13-2018, 09:23 PM
