EX H&R Springs
#41
02-26-2015, 02:42 PM
Your best bet is to talk with a tire shop, but my best indication is it will work. Over all diameter is about 3/4" smaller than I'm using, and the car will sit 3/8" lower than mine all things equal and 3/8" more finger gap at the top. Tire is wider so it's possible it might slightly buzz that pushpin at the top of the wheel well on the hardest compression's, but possibly not.Your wider tire will be +3/8" wider out side -1mm (43 vs 42), as well be 3/8" closer +1mm to the strut. I think it would work, but you'll have slightly less ground clearance. 50 profile might be better but the chance of rubbing is higher for sure (likely).
185/55-R16 vs 205/45-R16 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator
185/55-R16 vs 205/45-R16 Tire Comparison - Tire Size Calculator
Last edited by jhn; 02-26-2015 at 02:52 PM.
#42
02-26-2015, 03:00 PM
It would be nice to make the MF8 work with the aftermarket spring. Otherwise, I will have to use a Rota Fighter with a +45 offset. Thanks for your help.
Last edited by Fittogo; 02-26-2015 at 03:03 PM.
#43
02-26-2015, 03:10 PM
I think they'll work. On a GK there's more clearance in the back than the front for some reason, so the issue will most likely be rubbing in the front. With a 205/50/16 ( I will switch to this size eventually) might rub a bit on the front but probably not on the rear. You could add a degree or so neg camber to fix that (that's what I'll do). With 45's you've got that much more travel until it rubs.
#45
02-26-2015, 03:24 PM
OEM is +53, but it's a 6" width. So yeah, +43 the hub is 10mm shallower into the wheel, but add a 1/2" to both outside and inside for the 7" width. That's about 13mm both ways. So figure (not including tire width) about 3mm closer inside and about 20mm or so farther outside over OEM wheels.
Last edited by jhn; 02-27-2015 at 11:02 PM.
#47
02-26-2015, 10:14 PM
Alright, so the Fedex Guy dropped off some more goodies today. I was talking w/ Chris @ Redshift and we both believe that the Koni STR.T (Orange) struts that are designed for the GE will work on the GK but neither of us knew for sure. I sent out a feeler thread a while back in this forum with no response, so what the heck, I thought about it and pulled the trigger. I ordered them. He's what I found:
First things first, I wasn't entirely happy with the performance of the H and R springs/stock strut combo. The rebound was slightly too fast for the aftermarket springs. The damping doesn't seem to match the spring rate as good as it could.
After I got it out of the car, I compared the two. The ABS clip and wire grommet mounts looked good; the swaybar link mount and spring perch look a little bit higher up the strut body. This seems like a better way since the H and R springs were a bit shorter. This will allow a bit more tension on the spring when it's at full extension. The swaybar link mount will raise the swaybar up a bit for better control arm clearance and angle of attack. Overall better geometry.
I remembered that Koni offers this combo built like a quick strut on their website. It became clear to me these components are designed to work together. They fit perfectly. Blue springs/orange struts look pretty cool too:
You can see everything lines up perfectly. I can't wait to test drive it:
So there you have it. If you were wondering if the 8750-1102L, 8750-1102R struts fit a GK here's your proof.
First things first, I wasn't entirely happy with the performance of the H and R springs/stock strut combo. The rebound was slightly too fast for the aftermarket springs. The damping doesn't seem to match the spring rate as good as it could.
After I got it out of the car, I compared the two. The ABS clip and wire grommet mounts looked good; the swaybar link mount and spring perch look a little bit higher up the strut body. This seems like a better way since the H and R springs were a bit shorter. This will allow a bit more tension on the spring when it's at full extension. The swaybar link mount will raise the swaybar up a bit for better control arm clearance and angle of attack. Overall better geometry.
I remembered that Koni offers this combo built like a quick strut on their website. It became clear to me these components are designed to work together. They fit perfectly. Blue springs/orange struts look pretty cool too:
You can see everything lines up perfectly. I can't wait to test drive it:
So there you have it. If you were wondering if the 8750-1102L, 8750-1102R struts fit a GK here's your proof.
Last edited by jhn; 03-31-2015 at 12:16 AM.
#55
03-09-2015, 08:57 PM
OK, this story keeps getting better. The brown suited Santa (UPS) brought some more goodies today. Since I'm so happy with the Koni struts on the front, I decided to take a gamble and order the orange shocks for the rear:
Installation was easier in some ways, harder in others. Here's why...
First, the GK Fit does not have access covers in the back to the rear top hats. The felt interior panels have to be removed. This turned out to be a bit easier than anticipated once I figured out where all the pushpins were located, then it was just a matter of popping them out. Once they were out, I could see the tops of the shocks:
Now, to get the shocks out. First, I took the hats loose with the car on the ground. You don't want the weight of the suspension hanging on them. It makes it harder to get loose. Loosening requires a 5mm allen in the shock shaft and a 14mm box wrench on the hat nut. Piece of cake.
And that, folks, is the hardest part.
Next, I jacked up the car by the tow hook loop (receiver hitch on my car) and placed a jack stand under each pinch seam in front of the rear wheels. raise the car high enough so the suspension hangs. Note: be careful if you already have lowering springs. Some makes of aftermarket springs are shorter than OEM and they can dislodge from the perches.
Place the jack in the center of the axle and apply light pressure until there is no load on the bottom shock bolts You'll have to raise and lower it a few times to get it just right. When the load is right, This will allow the shock bolts to be unthreaded by hand once they're broken loose. Be extremely careful not to pinch any brake lines or anything with the jack:
Once both bottom shock bolts are out, the shocks will hang by the top hats. Hold the shock in one hand (or get help, but you don't need it if you have monkey length arms like me), and reach in through the hatch with the other hand and unthread the nut the rest of the way off. Once it is off the shock assembly will come out from underneath in your other hand. Here's what it looks like:
The good news: It is no longer required to drill the dimple to remove the steel spacer! Here I have removed the upper tower pad and water seal, jounce spring (bumpstop), and plastic shield (still attached to bumper). Way, way easy.
Comparing the factory shock to the Koni, the difference in length is noticeable: Koni is shorter. This had me concerned at first (I still am actually) and I welcome any feedback you may have:
The advantages of a shorter shock on a lowered car include A.) Better spring retention. The shorter extension prevents the spring from falling out out of the perches at full travel. B.) Less preload on the jounce spring. Most people think it serves as a bump stop to prevent harsh bottoming but this is a partial truth. It is also a supplement spring. It increases the overall rate when compressed, making the suspension progress through the travel stroke. The shorter shock body reduces the preload on the jounce, effectively softening the early part of the stroke.
The only disadvantage I see about the shorter body is it could allow the rear axle to travel farther into the car creating a bottoming or contact issue that wouldn't otherwise happen. My feeble attempt to check this was by jacking the axle up without springs or shocks to test the upward limit of the axle. It appears the axle can safely move farther than the shorter shock body will allow, but I'm not 100% confident the bottom of the car or something else will make contact on a harsh compression. I'd welcome feedback on this.
I chose not to cut the jounce springs (bumpstops) because both ends of them have a unique fit that snaps into the plastic shield, as well as the upper tower pad. Since the body of the Koni is shorter (I'll bet this is why) It should be ok and ride fine.
You can see how they fit once they're together:
Take care to make sure the upper water seal is not pinched and is seated properly. If not, you could get water in your car in wet driving.
I reversed the disassembly process, jacked up the axle a little more to line up the bottom bolts, checked the shock eye spacing in the axle (good) and put everything back together. And that's it. It took me way less than an hour to do. About 40 min.
Little orange koni's in view, all mounted up:
Installation was easier in some ways, harder in others. Here's why...
First, the GK Fit does not have access covers in the back to the rear top hats. The felt interior panels have to be removed. This turned out to be a bit easier than anticipated once I figured out where all the pushpins were located, then it was just a matter of popping them out. Once they were out, I could see the tops of the shocks:
Now, to get the shocks out. First, I took the hats loose with the car on the ground. You don't want the weight of the suspension hanging on them. It makes it harder to get loose. Loosening requires a 5mm allen in the shock shaft and a 14mm box wrench on the hat nut. Piece of cake.
And that, folks, is the hardest part.
Next, I jacked up the car by the tow hook loop (receiver hitch on my car) and placed a jack stand under each pinch seam in front of the rear wheels. raise the car high enough so the suspension hangs. Note: be careful if you already have lowering springs. Some makes of aftermarket springs are shorter than OEM and they can dislodge from the perches.
Place the jack in the center of the axle and apply light pressure until there is no load on the bottom shock bolts You'll have to raise and lower it a few times to get it just right. When the load is right, This will allow the shock bolts to be unthreaded by hand once they're broken loose. Be extremely careful not to pinch any brake lines or anything with the jack:
Once both bottom shock bolts are out, the shocks will hang by the top hats. Hold the shock in one hand (or get help, but you don't need it if you have monkey length arms like me), and reach in through the hatch with the other hand and unthread the nut the rest of the way off. Once it is off the shock assembly will come out from underneath in your other hand. Here's what it looks like:
The good news: It is no longer required to drill the dimple to remove the steel spacer! Here I have removed the upper tower pad and water seal, jounce spring (bumpstop), and plastic shield (still attached to bumper). Way, way easy.
Comparing the factory shock to the Koni, the difference in length is noticeable: Koni is shorter. This had me concerned at first (I still am actually) and I welcome any feedback you may have:
The advantages of a shorter shock on a lowered car include A.) Better spring retention. The shorter extension prevents the spring from falling out out of the perches at full travel. B.) Less preload on the jounce spring. Most people think it serves as a bump stop to prevent harsh bottoming but this is a partial truth. It is also a supplement spring. It increases the overall rate when compressed, making the suspension progress through the travel stroke. The shorter shock body reduces the preload on the jounce, effectively softening the early part of the stroke.
The only disadvantage I see about the shorter body is it could allow the rear axle to travel farther into the car creating a bottoming or contact issue that wouldn't otherwise happen. My feeble attempt to check this was by jacking the axle up without springs or shocks to test the upward limit of the axle. It appears the axle can safely move farther than the shorter shock body will allow, but I'm not 100% confident the bottom of the car or something else will make contact on a harsh compression. I'd welcome feedback on this.
I chose not to cut the jounce springs (bumpstops) because both ends of them have a unique fit that snaps into the plastic shield, as well as the upper tower pad. Since the body of the Koni is shorter (I'll bet this is why) It should be ok and ride fine.
You can see how they fit once they're together:
Take care to make sure the upper water seal is not pinched and is seated properly. If not, you could get water in your car in wet driving.
I reversed the disassembly process, jacked up the axle a little more to line up the bottom bolts, checked the shock eye spacing in the axle (good) and put everything back together. And that's it. It took me way less than an hour to do. About 40 min.
Little orange koni's in view, all mounted up:
Last edited by jhn; 03-14-2015 at 01:08 AM.
#56
03-09-2015, 09:10 PM
I only have about 10-15 miles on it so far but the ride quality noticeably improved. Softer early compression with no bounciness at all, with stiffer rebound. I blitzed down my trusty dipping road to get a feel of it--so much better!
Koni really did their homework with this. I'm about $450 into the suspension with no regrets.
Love this little car.
Koni really did their homework with this. I'm about $450 into the suspension with no regrets.
Love this little car.
#58
03-11-2015, 03:30 PM
Looks good. Let us know how you like it after you put more mileage on it. Any clunking noise?
Is the part number 8050-1012?
So the EG suspension will fit the GK. It's amaze how similar suspension is after 20+ years
8050-1012
8050-1012
Is the part number 8050-1012?
So the EG suspension will fit the GK. It's amaze how similar suspension is after 20+ years
8050-1012
8050-1012
#59
03-11-2015, 05:02 PM
No noise at all. No squeaks, no clunks, no dust shield creaking- nothing. Super smooth. I put 1700 mi on the factory struts w/ HandR springs. This is way better.
No, part # is 8050-1131. They're for the GE ( 2nd Gen Fit).
I have a thread with all the Koni part # down forum. I suspected they worked but I tried asking first to see if someone else tried it. With no feedback, I gambled and it paid off.
No, part # is 8050-1131. They're for the GE ( 2nd Gen Fit).
I have a thread with all the Koni part # down forum. I suspected they worked but I tried asking first to see if someone else tried it. With no feedback, I gambled and it paid off.
#60
03-14-2015, 01:34 AM
Update:
I have a couple hundred miles on it now - so far so good. One trip took me through some really rough city streets; bad pavement and lots uneven intersection compression bumps. The lower stance of the car was constantly on my mind. I swerved and slowed considerably for most of them, where if it had stock suspension, I probably would have just plowed right through the potholes and stuff. That's not necessarily a good thing either.
Maybe the increased awareness of road quality because of this suspension change is a good thing?
It could be argued that lowering a car could reduce suspension wear and tear by increasing awareness of poor quality roads and hazards. I dunno...
I think if I lived in an area like this and had to drive these types of roads regularly, I wouldn't lower it. Northern regions with lots of snow as well. The lower ride height and stiffer suspension makes the car much less practical. But for smooth, twisty roads -Worth every bit of it! Way more fun!
I have a couple hundred miles on it now - so far so good. One trip took me through some really rough city streets; bad pavement and lots uneven intersection compression bumps. The lower stance of the car was constantly on my mind. I swerved and slowed considerably for most of them, where if it had stock suspension, I probably would have just plowed right through the potholes and stuff. That's not necessarily a good thing either.
Maybe the increased awareness of road quality because of this suspension change is a good thing?
It could be argued that lowering a car could reduce suspension wear and tear by increasing awareness of poor quality roads and hazards. I dunno...
I think if I lived in an area like this and had to drive these types of roads regularly, I wouldn't lower it. Northern regions with lots of snow as well. The lower ride height and stiffer suspension makes the car much less practical. But for smooth, twisty roads -Worth every bit of it! Way more fun!
Last edited by jhn; 03-30-2015 at 11:56 PM.