Tested out a mild drop in photoshop today. I feel like it really helps the profile view of the GK5. I won't be lowering mine because it's a commuter car not a sports car but I thought I'd share for anyone considering a lowering kit.

 

All cars look better with a mild drop, for sure.

Nicely done p/s OP. Now just change out those horrible stock wheels

 

Aww but I like the stock alloys. They do a good job of covering up the drums and tiny disks so I don't feel bad about them. Although I wish they were wider. This thing would really handle with 225 section tires.

 

That's my car! I've only owned my car for a few weeks and I am already slowing researching my suspension options. I have had my previous two cars lowered just to get rid of the wheel gap. I've really only lowered my previous cars for that reason, especially now with the fit, I don't expect sports car like handling if I drop it, just aesthetics.

Nice job btw!!

 

While you're photoshopping, don't forget to put dings and cracks in the front plastic from bottoming out on driveways, parking bumpers, etc.!

 

The only way you acquire such damage is from being careless.

That said, everything else you post about how you treat your car suggests exactly that.

 

Actually, my '04 Scion has no dings on its front plastic which is both low-hanging and fragile. I do have to be careful even at stock height.

You refer to "how I treat my cars." Do you mean the sin of not worshiping at the alter of Meguiar's? I can see that this is very disturbing to some.

I have 170K on my Scion and over 450K on my '71 VW, both of which have original paint in good condition. All I do is maintain them regularly and replace those things that wear out. Yes, I do my own mechanical work. Cars, in my opinion, are made for driving, not polishing.

 

Or you have a steep driveway that meets the road at such an angle that you cannot avoid scraping every time you exit, no matter how slowly and carefully you drive.

 

I feel like I should hire you to take pictures of my Daughters car.....your photographs are stunning!

 

Thanks man, it's a fun hobby of mine.

 

I had a very steep driveway at my old house.

I had a lowered car and a J's lip, one of the lowest/most aggressive lips for hte GD.

I never scraped it.

 

Even still, I am 99% positive you would scrape on my driveway when driving my car. It's not driver ability, it's simple physics. I come to a complete stop at the bottom of my driveway every time I leave (I have to because it's a busy road), and I still scrape. Thankfully it's only a light scrape and my front spoiler is still intact after 8 years, but it's definitely something I will be aware of when I shop for my next car. (My car is a 2006 Spectra5 with the OEM body kit...I already knew about all the complaints about the low-hanging spoiler before buying it, so it doesn't bother me.)

 

It's not just driveways, it's curbs, parking bumpers, and the occasional rock or small creature one encounters on the road. Lowered cars look nice and work a bit better on the track, but having to worry continuously about clearance (also expressed as "being careful") really reduces the fun of driving. I've seen very careful drivers have their day (and spoilers) ruined by an anchor stake protruding a mere quarter inch from a parking bumper in front of my office. I finally brought a sledge hammer from home and whacked it down.

Manufacturers are already dropping cars pretty far simply for fuel economy reasons. Dropping a street-driven car further is really tickling the dragon.

 

Once, after my wife had a run-in with a local deer, we took one of our cars to the local body shop to be fixed. When we went to pick it up, they drove the car to the front of the shop and parked it. When we pulled away, our bumper got caught on one of those anchor stake's you described, and damn near pulled our bumper off.

The body shop was responsible of course, and fixed our car (again), but had I been at the local drug store and parked the car myself, I would have been responsible for the cost of the repair.

There is something to be said for having clearance between the car and the road.

 

Wish I could raise mine a couple of inches. lol

 

You can get an inch by going to 195/65R15s over the stock 185/60R15s. Check clearance, though.

 

Thanks. I'll check it out. It's a good chance the larger tire shouldn't be an issue but may throw off my mileage tho. Basically would show less mileage over time. lol

 

Pro-Tip: One way to avoid curb/parking bumper damage....park by eye rather than moving until you hit something.

 

double pro tip. if you wanna lower your car buy a lip to protect your stock bumper.

also if you're willing to in your suspension it might be a good idea to clear bra your bumper with vinyl and have it wrap under.

lastly...

paying attention is always a good idea.

that being said are you shitting me the 2015 fit is still running rear drums? lol wtf is that? for 20,000 you better be getting rear disks!
Also
why is the nose on the fit soooooooo long it keeps getting longer and longer. The JDM (every other DM) all look way better than the USDM version. makes me bummed

 

The long nose and rear bigger bumper is a safety requirement in the U.S.

Yeah I was slightly bummed about the rear drums for a 2015 model year. My old 2012 Civic Hybrid had them too. i was like wtf? My old 2009 CRV LX had all disc brakes and it's just a LX trim!

Changing the drums for discs are easy on Civics as Honda makes them. Not sure if Honda makes discs for the rear on the Fit. It's not a huge deal since the wheel rims on my EX hides them pretty well.