Hey everyone! I just installed this setup a few days on my 2009 Honda Fit Sport w/ a tad over 130,000 miles and I'm running on the stock 16" sport wheels w/ 185/55/16 Yokohama Avid Ascend tires. I've searched and read pretty much every thread regarding this combo and everyone that has it seems to rave over it, but I'm not getting that same feeling in one area: ride comfort.

For context, this is my daily driver. I switched over from the stock springs + shocks over to the Koni Str.t and Swift Springs. My hope was to keep the ride close to the stock ride as much as possible and I've read many threads saying that this was the setup to go if I was looking for a mild drop with close to OEM ride quality, although it will feel just a little more "firm" due to the higher spring rates of the Swift springs in combination with the Koni STR.T shocks. Some have stated in this forum that it's hard to tell a difference with this setup and with the stock setup.

Although I love that there's less body roll and that the car looks better with the slight drop, I am experiencing a lot of bounce (maybe the correct term would be "firm" but I feel like it's TOO firm) while driving around my hometown of San Diego. My body is bouncing around a bit too much for my liking. I had a local shop install everything and all seems to be good (except for the upper rear bushing in the rear shock. That's the only thing I gotta replace, but I don't think this one part alone will cause the suspension to be so firm).

Here are a few things/questions I had in mind:

1. I contacted Chris from Redshift and he said to try to, at the very least, up my tires +5 PSI. I'll be trying that soon.

2. I also asked Chris if there's a break-in period and he said that there really shouldn't be one. For those of you who have this setup, did you feel a difference from when you first installed them to a few thousand miles later? Do I just need to keep riding on this combo more?

3. Any other things I should try?

Thanks so much for your guys' time!

 

I have a very similar setup on my 3rd gen as listed in my signature. I also live in San Diego so I know them roads too, and yes, they are nasty, especially after all these rains.

I think the PSI could help, but a real fix might involve upping your tire size to 205/50 which will fit your stock wheel. If you can swing it, I'd say get wider wheels too.

I'm running summer tires at that size and, now that my suspension is dialed in, I often feel like I'm back to an OEM ride quality that's super tight when I need it to be.

 

Hey Wagovanman,

Thanks for your reply! I'm thinking of getting a new set of tires within the next few months, so I'll be keeping that in mind. Were you experiencing a ride that was a bit too firm when you initially installed your setup?

 

Not too firm for my taste but our cars are different so it's hard to say. Also we all have varying definitions of "firm." But yeah the slightly bigger tires could help.

 

I run Swifts and OEM struts and also am in wonderful San Diego, hello fellow SD FF members =).

I do however have a progress rear sway bar...which adds to the rear stiffness (or so I'm told). The front seems fine, its just whenever I hit a crack/lip/unavoidable pothole, the people in the rear REALLY feel it. For me it's not so much of a bother. I do feel the road though, which is good for driving feedback, but not necessarily best for comfort.

Considering going to Tein Coilovers - Advance Z to have some dampener adjustability/control.

I'm on 205/50/15s which give the same amount of size wall as the stock sport 16's. Next set I'm going with 205/55/15s just got some gained sidewall.

 

cut your bumpstops specifically the rears

 

whoa, that makes 4 of us in san diego. sweet!

 

And take off that metal bumpstop cover or cut that to or you'll have a metal cup acting as your bumpstop lol

 

Just installed Tein Street Advance Z coilvers

Short and sweet review = THEY ARE COMFY, nuff said

 

ultimate test. Are they comfy with passengers/loaded. Are they comfy over cracked roadsAnd are they comfy on the freeway. BTW are tein coil overs monotube?

 

BTW here's a secret. The gd3 front struts are valved perfectly with swift springs. But you'll have less then one finger gap/flush with the front wheels running 185/55/16. Forget manxmans Monroe air shocks for ge8 there is no rebound compression what so ever. Look yonder at yaris components if you want more selection for rear shocks.

 

these are not scientific by any means but, I'll share anyways:


-are they comfy with passengers/load = this test may never take place, as the car rarely ever sees rear passengers
-are they comfy over cracked roads = using my every day commute as a baseline .... YES
-are the comfy on the freeway = please see previous answer
-are they monotube = https://www.tein.com/products/street..._z.html#spec02



So you're saying GD3 front struts + Swift Springs are the pefect setup for GE8 owners?

Mind sharing some Yaris component PN's for those rear shocks? 1 question.... do we have confirmation of fitment of said Yaris Components? (I remember 1 guy ran KW's off of a Yaris, but he has yet to respond to any questions or show any PN's or anything up close)

 

I'd cut the front bumpstops an inch no more.

Or maybe try tokico hps for gd3 with gd3 springs

Or gd3 front struts with swift and cut bumpstops half an inch.

Or stock springs and cut it.

Or go back to stock.

Id try to cut stock springs imho. Lol

 

still waiting on those yaris PN's ....

 

Thats only if you are capable of installing a rear strut.....

To be honest I only discovered the 08 yaris rear shock by looking for a small lift in the back to carry heavy load, different springs for the fit. While rated slightly higher 117? Vs stock 112? It wont slam and can carry a lot more and still be soft.

Anyways I disgress. I was basically on my back in the junkyard. Of course I took off the shocks in hunt for the springs, As I did this I noticed the rear yaris shock is really similar in design due to both cars having a rear torsion beam suspension with relatively same weight distribution.

I haven't had the time to experiment, but a yaris rear shock from the junkyard should run maybe 20 bucks max. 15 if on sale. Pennies for what it could mean for the added capabilities for our car. Since the only difference I saw was the bottom yaris shock was a slimmer hole I believe by only 2 mm. Bolt size is the same at 14mm. We would only need a sleeve 2 mm thick. Maybe cut for the right length. To convert the bottom to match the fit precisely. Now if thats true. We could go blisteins for the yaris specifically designed for lowered coils. Yaris came out with trd lowered coils I believe. Part id I'll update if I find it. I leave the continuation of the fit legacy to you. Havent had time to check out the front springs or shocks. Now if thats a match. That would be mind blowing and would increase our car shock line up x3.14.

08 yaris rear strut.
If bottom can be converted. Which it should since its slimmer....

Look for yaris model with trd lowered coils. Toyota. Same car but lowered. Maybe one model ahead.

Then blisteins for yaris or anything else in the market.

While your at it. Take off a fit front shock. Throw it down to the ground against the yaris front shock. If its a match. Then damn. We've discovered something incredible.

 

even if someone were not capable of said install, PN's would still be helpful, so the purchaser can get ahold of the parts as needed to provide to their installer

for the record, I do wrench on my own car. I'm unclear (nor do I care) as to what merited that previous comment about being capable of installing a rear strut, just thought Id take a sec to address that nonsense.


the guys at redshift motorspots did something similar with civic rear struts:
https://store.redshiftmotorsports.co...onisportx2.htm

it would be interesting to see more users test out yaris parts on a fit, as we do lack options for the rears (kyb, and koni seem to be the only ones currently for sale)

 

I'll have feedback on Swifts + Koni Orange on some of the worst roads in America this weekend. Finally installing my stuff I've had sit around for 8 months.