Hi,

What would be the best way to lower a Jazz ? I'd only be wanting to drop it a small amount I would guess, as we have quite a lot of "speed bumps" and I don't want to damage anything.

As mentioned, I don't have a Jazz (yet !!), but I would be getting the 'Sport' model which has the 15" alloys and bodykit.

(Oh, and today is test-drive day !!! A CVT-7 Sport, just like I'd get)

Michael.

 

Hi Michael,

I'm using H&R Sport springs for the Jazz. It rides better than stock and it lowered the car approximately 1.21". It's the perfect ride height for a road car with occasional track use. Tanabe (DF and GF) has springs for the Jazz as well with the same lowering height. I didn't get them because I didn't have enough info on the springs. But if you want a more aggressive drop (but with a stiffer ride), Spoon has 2" lowering springs.

 

If, and when, the FIT arrives in the US, I too will be looking to drop the FIT for a nice stance. I'm sure to look into coilover systems like Tein's or JIC and beefier sway bars. I'm running a KYB AGX's & Ground Control coilover system right now on my daily ride(1.75" front lwr/1.5" rear lwr) and could not be any happier with the setup I have especially with the terrible roads where I live. Once you go coilovers, you'll never go back to a shock/strut & spring setup.

 

Amen to that!!!

When I was in HK, I went to GP Shop, one of the more prominent aftermarket performance shops there, and the guy at the counter told me about two coilover options they had for the GD1:

1. Gab (corrected entry) - non-adjustable damping. Cheaper than the next brand. But fixed damping didn't suit me well. I wanted some personal tuning. -- approx USD 700

2. Endless coilover with adjustable damping. Apparently, Endless made only 100 sets of these. Out of that, 50 were bought by GP Shop. Out of the 50, there were only 10 sets left with them last May. Must be good huh? -- approx USD800

If you have the dough, I suggest you go for adjustable coilovers. You can tailorfit the rideheight and damping characteristics of your car to your taste.

 

SR20 - believe me..we have alot more horrible roads here..

Tein has made a name by producing sound and high quality coilovers..that would be a good choice..

 

I have lived in the US for a while, I've seen Manila's streets, Indonesia is the worst

I'm a big fan of H&R myself, I used to have all three H&Rs on my CD5 Honda, Race, Sport and OE, they're all recommended.

 

I guess it depends on what you're seraching for. If you JUST want the lowering of the ride, and maybe a bit stiffer handling, you'd wanna go with something like the H&R or my favorite the Eibach Pro-Kit. If you want a true sport suspension, take a look at my posts on this issue in the tuning section

Best luck!

 

Hey I using Tein Springs, which is a 30mm drop front and back.. And I on 205/40/17s. Don't worry they will not rub against the arches. Ive had 4 grown adults sitting at the back..

 

easy solution is springs but how long will your stock shocks last?

i am running tein type wagon low down spec cool style master coilover suspension which i installed myself and a friend

with adjustable height and damping i cant ask for more

 

eibach or H&R

which one ?

 

More info is also available in the suspension thread.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-suspension-brake-modifications/2504-honda-jazz-fit-suspension-thread.html

 

Just to repeat the question of FitBum, how long can you expect the stock shocks of the fit to last with aftermarket lowering springs such as: H&R, Tanabe, Spoon... etc?

Also, to those who have the stock shock, lowering spring combo, do you experience "bottoming-out" whenever a corner is taken too aggressively
or when you go over dips in the road at speed?

Any info would be much appreciated!

revred.

 

As to how long oem struts or shocks will last is very RELATIVE to how you drive, where you drive and how many people you carry most of the time and your road conditions where you live.

I personally dropped my brand new Protege 5 back in 2002 with 1.3" allround on OEM struts. Let's just say that as I approach 80K my struts could use an upgrade, but I'm not since I'm not gonna keep the car.

In general! They will wear out faster than OEM, but to what degree is a personal thing. 90% of my driving was myself along the other 5% was with an additional passenger in the front seat and the other 5% was with a third person in the back seat. I also ran with a dual 10" bandpass in the trunk.

H&R of Germany are the pioneers of lowering springs and their moderate Sport Kit drop is highly recommend as they don't sag. Eibach is good too AS LONG IS IT IS MADE IN GERMANY!!! The USA made kits have some sporadic reports of excessive sagging. I have been on many 2 other carboards and the USA made Eibachs are a gamble in quality.

Read up on the spring companies mentioned in this thread and other posts to know how they are made; cold wound, shot peened, their testing methods, powdercoated. Also stick with spring companies with a vast, deep and long race heritage in F1, WRC, Touring, Nascar, etc.

 

Check out the Spring Bible Thread; I was begining to work on it.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-engine-modifications-motor-swaps-ecu-tuning/3428-reference-bible-springs-rims-tires.html

 

I wonder if HFP lowering springs will be offered, and if they will work well with the OEM struts.

 

I was going to lower mine, but since it's only a year old and still under warranty. I'd rather not.

 

Hey Cardemon, in your spring bible, on all the springs you are missing the most important piece of info when it comes to spring and thats the rates of them. Without the spring rates, no one will be able to tell which spring is softer or hard then the other, personally I think thats a much more important piece of info then how much or little the lowering height of the springs are.

 

Thanks for the info!

Anyone else with perosnal experience with stock shock / lowering spring combo wanna share their thoughts on the matter?

 

True dat my brotha. It is still a work in progress thread and it is exhaustive. Most of those spring companies don't readily give out their spring rates, but I'm sure a little more digging will reveal them.

Before I purchased my H&R sports I was so **** and worried about ride harshness that it took me two months of reading and research. I wanted the look of lowered without a tractor ride; But like a buddy of mind said...,"it's like a woman in high heels; it looks sexy as hell but she may have to compromise her walking gait."

With regards to ride harshness, one must also consider if they are gonna size up their wheels and by how much? And of course, lowering is addictive. Once you do it you may want to go lower or put lowering springs on every car you will ever own to prevent excessive transition roll, pitch, yaw, brake dive and acceleration squat.