Help with lowering springs -> Swift vs Tanabe
 

Been researching for about a week now. Really want to have a good ride quality so keep that in mind.

I have a lot of experience with lowering springs and coilovers. When it comes to just springs, I greatly prefer linear springs to progressive. I have seen the swift springs state they are linear, but also seen them labeled as progessive. I know the Tanabe springs (GF210) are progressive. That said, prefer the drop of the tanabe springs. They seem to give a more balanced drop vs the swift.

Right now, my fit has a 3" gap in the front and 2.25" in the rear. I would like the gap to be around 1.25-1.5 all around without a rake. I have only been able to find "Tiffany's" pics with the swift springs. On paper, the swifts seem like the right springs for me, but seeing the pics, the Swifts seem to have a more raked stance than I would like.

Anyone provide any advice or more pics of the swift springs?

Thanks for all the help :wavey:

Went with the swift sport springs

got them on today...

Happy with the drop up front, but the rears could stand to drop another .5" or so. Still, about what I expected, but not in love with the drop. The ride is decent. I would actually say it is better than I expected. I installed a progress rear sway at the same time. all in all, a good improvement for $350 bucks and an hours worth of time

pics please!

Hello All,

I noticed that there were some questions on our springs, so I thought I would chime in. To keep a long story short, our DF210 springs are linear rate springs, thus providing stable characteristics when cornering. But to get the whole story, please read on.

These pictures were taken a few minutes ago, and pls excuse the brightness - it's a very sunny day today in SoCal :)

http://www.tanabe-usa.com/post/df210spring.jpg

http://www.tanabe-usa.com/post/df210coils.jpg

What you'll notice from the 2nd picture is the tighter grouping of coils (the area within my finger tips). These are known as "dead coils." The benefit of having this set of coils in our spring is that it prevents the spring from dangling while allowing an aggressive drop. Compare this to a spring which is simply shorter in length with higher stiffness. A shorter spring will dangle when the suspension is expanded, in situations such as driving over a sharp bumpy area.

If you've ever seen these springs mounted on the car, with the car standing on the ground, you'll notice that the dead coils will be touching each other, and cornering will be affected primarily by the main coils. But when driving over a sharp bump, the dead coils expand, keeping the spring positioned properly within the strut perches, which is good for the strut, and good for your comfort.

Sorry for the lengthy reply, but I hope you have a better understanding of our springs now. If there are any questions, feel free to reply, pm, or call in.

Thanks!

I just realized that the OP was asking about GF210 springs. I posted pictures of DF springs for the '09 Fit. :p Here's a picture of the correct one (GF210 for the 07-08 Fit). Same rules apply, except in the GF210 set, the dead coils are all at one end of the spring.

http://www.tanabe-usa.com/post/gf210.jpg

Can you post some comparison pics of Tanabe vs. Swift?

I wish I could, but we only have Tanabe springs here at Tanabe USA :wavey: Perhaps someone else can chime in?

I could not find much information on how Swift makes their springs, but the Tanabe website gave a pretty good lowdown on how their shit is made. I would honestly say that i am more impressed with the way Tanabe markets their product.

Question for Tanabe. I have DF210's on right now, and I was wondering how the rear springs would be positioned. Dead coils at the top or the bottom? I heard the dead coils should be at the top.