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I put the 215/60R16 on my 2016 and the fronts would rub a piece on the strut. I put some washers on the studs behind the wheel and it does not rub. Yesterday had it loaded down with gear and another person and hit a dip on the highway and got a moment of tire rub on the rear. Today added the lift kit spacers on top of the coil springs. I have not tried it out yet but it looks good parked. Tomorrow or the next day I will try to do the front lift.
@CPTCUFFS That is awesome. How much spacing did you need with the washers to clear the front strut? 5mm? 10mm? Are you on stock wheels and offset?
Today I fiinished installing the lift kit for the front end. I very much like the way it sits now and the ride is much smoother with the larger tires. Ground clearance to the oil pan is much increased. I will probably take it to a tire shop for an alignment as it is pulling to the right more now. I am not sure if this is a magnification of an existing problem or if I bent something when installing the sway bar link.
All terrains in front. About 3 inch lift up front. Off road lights will come eventually. Just installed roof rails and roof rack. Stock is so little now About 6 inch lift in back with mud tires. Cut fenders up. Going to source some fender flares eventually
The fronts have 30mm strut spacers and I have a couple rubber spring spacer(not really worth it, prolly pull em), and the 27 inch tires providing 1.5 inches lift.
The rears have 40mm spring spacer at the top along with the Honda Insight spring(typically adds 1.5 inches or so) and 29.3 inch tires providing over 2.5 inches of lift on their own.
All approximate, I haven't taken precise measurements. Somewhere around 2.5-3 inches up front and 5.5-6 inches in the rear.
The fronts have 30mm strut spacers and I have a couple rubber spring spacer(not really worth it, prolly pull em), and the 27 inch tires providing 1.5 inches lift.
The rears have 40mm spring spacer at the top along with the Honda Insight spring(typically adds 1.5 inches or so) and 29.3 inch tires providing over 2.5 inches of lift on their own.
All approximate, I haven't taken precise measurements. Somewhere around 2.5-3 inches up front and 5.5-6 inches in the rear.
Thanks for the wonderful post! How is the car driving so with the 6” lift so far?
@3rdGenOwner Ride has been good. However, I either need to do more fender trimming on the rear or downsize tires as I am getting some slight fender hits on larger bumps. The front has been good, but the amount of trimming I had to do was a pain.
Honestly, If someone came to me asking how to lift their fit, I'd suggest the insight springs in the rear, the 30mm strut spacers up front, and run a tire under 26 inches tall. Once you start going past that, it gets difficult to say the least. LOL
Last edited by Rez; Mar 25, 2023 at 09:51 AM.
Reason: incorrect tire measurement
I installed 40mm shock extenders to the rear shocks and that is giving a bit more travel distance for springs now(less compressed at rest). I'm not getting the fender taps anymore.
Just shy of 2 inches up front and 2.25 in the back...including the tires.
I used stock Honda Insight springs from 2010-2014 for the rear and tema4x4 30mm spacers for the front.
I noticed a drop of 2-3mpg in gas mileage. Drivability is a little different. Mainly because my tire/wheel setup is so much heavier. Not quite as go-karty handling.
It is the CVT transmission. I am on my 3rd CVT with this car. First died at 102k miles, second at about 75k miles, and just installed this one with 25k miles.
The first failed before I ever changed tires/lift. Second one failed after maybe 10k miles with this new setup.
Definitely go for the manual. Like just in general. I'll never buy a Honda CVT again.
Fromt Tema spacers
do the front Tema spacers require the strut to be disassembled ? Pics would be great
considering insight rear springs plus the Tema spacers, rear sway bar, larger tires, and front Tema spacers
if I have to disassemble the struts I’ll probably buy new struts
Last winter I lifted the front and rear of my 2012 Fit, and I've been meaning to post about it here.
In the rear, I did the progress rear sway bar and 2010 Insight springs. I wasn't sure if the stock Honda dampers had enough travel, so I modified some truck shock extenders from Amazon that were called "1-3" Front Shock/Suspension Extension Leveling Lift Kit Compatible with Chevy Chevrolet Avalanche/Silverado 1500 Tahoe Fit GMC Sierra 1500 Yukon & Cadillac Escalade". That has worked fine, but maybe it wasn't necessary.
In the front, I used the 30mm Tema 4x4 spacers above the struts. I did not have to disassemble the strut, but, when tightening everything back up, when I installed the stock rubber-covered top plate, I wasn't able to get it to clamp tightly (as I learned later). The top nut tightned onto the included strut-top-thread-extenders clamped the top plate to the strut-top-thread-extender only, because it ran out of threads and bottomed out before drawing the strut with the Tema 4x4 tight and upwards into its mounting position. Thus, everything felt tight, but when hitting bumps, there was some side-to-side movement of the strut top spacer (and strut), making a sound I wasn't able to reproduce when stationary, even with a pry bar. This only was a problem on the front right (passenger) side. About six months later, the top threads of the strut snapped, maybe when I went over a speed bump or made a tight turn in the driveway.
I replaced both struts, but to solve the clamping problem, I removed the rubber from the rubber-covered top plate, flipped the plate over, and put the rubber back on it. Then, I was able to install the strut with the spacer, with the top plate clamping the strut, strut top spacer, and car strut mount as one big sandwich, before the threads bottomed out on the top nut. I did this on both the left and right sides, and then got an alignment. I've been driving fine since then with no problems.
I've attached some pictures and a diagram showing what I did. Hope it helps!
@3rdGenOwner Ride has been good. However, I either need to do more fender trimming on the rear or downsize tires as I am getting some slight fender hits on larger bumps. The front has been good, but the amount of trimming I had to do was a pain.
Honestly, If someone came to me asking how to lift their fit, I'd suggest the insight springs in the rear, the 30mm strut spacers up front, and run a tire under 26 inches tall. Once you start going past that, it gets difficult to say the least. LOL
So for best case scenario, using your information, would this be a lasting build?
- 25in Tires 205/60R16
- 30mm strut spacers in the front and 40mm insight spring spacer in the back
I don't mind fender trimming if I have to for the look and ground clearance I want.
I want my Tires to stick out on the side like yours does as well, will they do that with this build?
So for best case scenario, using your information, would this be a lasting build?
- 25in Tires 205/60R16
- 30mm strut spacers in the front and 40mm insight spring spacer in the back
I don't mind fender trimming if I have to for the look and ground clearance I want.
I want my Tires to stick out on the side like yours does as well, will they do that with this build?
The tires will most likely not need any trimming to fit.
You can get wheel spacers to poke them out a bit. 25mm in the rear gets them more flush with the front. The more you bring them out the harder it will be to keep the car in proper alignment. I currently have 25mm wheel spacers up front(needed to clear suspension) and 38mm in the rear to keep the tires somewhat flush from front to rear. I also downsized the rear tires some for day to day use. Running 27 inch tires all around for now.(That requires pinch weld folding and some trimming though.)
For the rear lift, getting the Insight spring is the best mod. It will give you 1.5-2 inches of lift and won't droop as bad when you are hauling some weight in the back. If you can't source any, a spring spacer will do. This won't help with heavier loads though, and will keep the spring more compressed, which will affect your ride quality.
- 1st I went the expensive route and got Yellow Speed Racing Rally Coilovers, I do not recommend for daily driving. I thought it would be the better choice, for longevity with a bonus of adjustability but the daily ride was too stiff. But I still use the springs from the set for my lift.
- So back to normal suspension with the suggested spacers
TIRES
- All Terrian 205/60R16 WHEELS
- 16" Diameter | 7" Width | 40 Offset
The larger tires and wheels gave the front wheels some negative offset so to keep them more even I added 25mm wheel spacers to the back wheels