New here,

Just bought a 2013 as a daily beater, plan to drive it till it dies. S2000 is my weekend car. I do want to drop it and stiffen up the ride though since I still love my cars and take some curvy roads home. I'm looking at the B14 from Bilstein. I know, they're highly recommended on here, they're a great company. I was wondering though if anybody had more pictures than the few I've seen on the internet? I will be buying some wheels (15 or 16in) to make it look good and lose some weight. I just want to know how the gap is? I'd like 1 finger (not a fan of slamming). I'm a beverage director for my restaurant group, so every now and then I have to throw some cases of wine in the car and weigh the back down. Also, if they do 1 finger with those size wheels, will they be bottomed out? I'd like to leave some travel if needed. Any help would be loved. Thanks guy. Love the Fit, it's a fun little car.

 

Yer good, dude. I think there's only a handful of active people running Bilsteins to talk to presently, and I'm not sure the thread title will pull them in vs. something like "coilover fitment/aesthetics questions".
I believe the bilsteins are adjustable and should accommodate your needs, but going for a gap the size of a finger may see you dealing with rubbing. The rear wheels are also recessed by 10mm. It's for stability, but just figd it may be more apparent after a drop.

I've got a thread here showing whats left of old superstreet articles and it has some surviving pics, talks about their suspension set-up and i think it at least lists that of j's racing. I dont think either ran bilsteins, but you could compare spring rates.

here's the link
Another thing, apparently crz suspension is a direct swap and lowers, but you know, non-adjustable. a member did a write-up on it not too too long ago.

 

Does that mean you could find crz coilovers to fit too? In case I find the same ones cheaper or something.

 

This took some serious digging 😂 but I found the thread.
hereDude made an awesome write-up.
Do consider that if you get coilovers for the crz your max height will be lowered when compared to the fit.

 

These are adjustable. Just set them to a ride height you like.

 

i know they’re adjustable, I’m wondering about how low they go without bottoming out and keeping a tasteful wheel gap with 15-16’s. I’m looking for a finger to finger and a half. I really just wish there was a bilstein thread with pics.

 

I guess you need to figure out how tall your new wheel/ tire combo is. They are marketed as having 30mm of adjustment. Most people that purchase them say the ride hight is just about stock. So, measure what you've got now and sub 30mm. Idk how many fingers that works out to.

Bilsteins are the dream. I hope you like them.

 

I found an old thread, but the pics are mostly expired.
Near the bottom a person makes a crazy long review. With the car sitting on 18" wheels, suspension fully compressed, they say it rubs on every little bump.
Feel free to check the thread or see whatever resources you can find, i just searched "09 honda fit bilstein" since the second gen is 09-12, i figured the first model year of the generation would have the most results. People who buy a car immediately after it's released usually have some loose change 😂

Anyways, if you can't find what you're looking for I think you'd be quite pleased with 16x7 +38 wheels, 205/50r16 tires and the Bilstein (B14) coilovers.
In absence of first hand experience we can math it out.
Measure your current wheel well gap with the car on the ground.
write down the drop available from the suspension: 30mm (1.1811") then figure out your wheel and tire combo.. create your baseline using whatever wheel n tire is on there now.. If its a 2013 sport, it'll be a 16x6 wheel with 185/55/16 tires, a base will be 175/65/15, so 15 inch wheels..

For the sport: 101.75mm tire height. 406.4mm wheel diametertotal: 508.15mm
Assembly in inches: 20.0059055"Base: 113.75mm tire height. 381mm wheel diameter. total: 494.75mm
Assembly in inches: 19.4783465"

Now you can subtract the 1.1811" from the gap.. see how much is left over. I've got the data for my wheel and tire assy, which is 16x7+35 with 205/50/16 tires.
Wheel height: 16"
Tire height: 4.43897638"
assy total diameter: 20.43897638"

my wheel gap is approx 2 7/8" (2.875") with my worn down tires.
If i added bilsteins adjusted all the way down I'd reduce that by 1.1811", I'd have a gap of 1.6939"
Now if I wanted to further reduce that gap to a finger.. my index finger's tip is 1/2", at the widest point it's about 15/16". SO!! if I was looking for a gap between 1/2" and 1" and wanted to keep the bilsteins.. I'd need to remove that 0.6939 by increasing wheel diameter. Only half the wheel sticks up into the well, so if we upsized the wheel assembly to 17 (assuming we also maintained tire size if it was available) we'd take another half inch off of the gap. maybe more if you got a 205/55/17.. that'd have a height of 4.43897638"
Total assy: 21.43897638"
That's an increase of an inch over mine.. so your gap would be. about an inch. man I wrote this so poorly.

Basically, if you want 16" wheels and a gap equal to or less than an inch, dont get bilsteins. If you want bilsteins and a gap of less than an inch, you need 17" wheels.

Since your car's actually a 3rd gen, im not sure the crz swap would work. Dont know if 2nd and 3rd gens share parts there. if the same bilsteins (match part numbers) are sold for both gens, you'd have your answer. I believe crz swap provides a drop of 1.5" (and so do several other coilovers) which would give you your desired gap with 16" wheels. Whether you then rub would be a matter of geometry/wheel offset. if the wheels stick out or fit flush with the body, they'll likely rub the fender. they'd need to have a high enough offset to be able to tuck into the wells when compressed. On the second gen stock offset is +42mm. +38mm pushes the boundary and I can't verify it wouldn't rub. +35 would prolly rub.. I don't know the math for that part :{

​​​​​​​I realize all this isnt totally conclusive, and certainly not what you were looking for, but I hope it helps.

 

Damn, that was really thorough and I really appreciated it! lol. It definitely helps because the Bilsteins are definitely gonna be out of the question. I spoke with Chris from redshift and it looks like I'm probably going to go with one of his set ups. Super cool dude, enjoyed talking to him. Will probably go to him for my S2000 as well. I appreciate your help!

 

No problem dude, it's a subject i feel like i understand pretty well so going over it isn't really a hassle.
Whatever you go with, be sure to post up some pics!!

I myself would be plenty happy with bilsteins or crz assemblies (since they have an increased spring rate). but I've already got +35 wheels and well, some of the roads here in GA, and the construction materials that wind up on the freeway give me pause.

My advice regarding your set-up: drop it on stock wheels first. Then measure how far the wheels are recessed with a straight edge and square and decide on an acceptable offset and width for new wheels.
Oh, and keep the wheels light!!