Advice needed: Tokico blue + Swift or Coil over? City driving mostly
 

I can't decide whether to spend about $850 to get the tokico blue + swift spring combo or (with about that amount) a coil over set.

I will be installing on my 2008 GD1. The driving condition is mostly city with pretty "rough" road condition in Sao Paulo Brazil. There are sharp turns, bumpy road, short on/off ramps (if you can call that), tight parking park,,...etc.

I am looking for performance upgrade without a harsh ride. I have progress RSB, and Tanabe lower front strut bar.

And advice is appreciated.

IMHO the coilovers will be kinda harsh, and if I'm not mistaken the blues are replacement OEM units, so..... blues with swifts closest to stock ride with some pizzazz for the twisties.

Fast, Reliable, and Cheap. Best of 3 is all your ever gonna get!

:yeahthat:

The Swift springs only lower the car slightly in the front, giving the car a little bit of a rake. They increases the front spring rate by about 50% (+60 pounds or so) and more than doubles the rear (Up to about 300 pounds/ 6K.) I daily drove that setup for years and years. The Tokico Blues are ONLY an OEM replacement, they do not really add any additional damping force.

Coilovers are allllll over. What ones were you looking at? Frankly, if your budget was around $850 then the T1R Bacsics at around $675 might be worth it. They are a more street and comfort minded setup. They would allow you to adjust both ride height (even raise it if needed) AND damping. There is a group buy going on here somewhere.

honda_chemist and TPColgett, thanks for your advice.

Yes, I just saw the group buy. My experience has been KYB, Eilbach pro, and H&R in other cars. I have never owned a coilcovers set. How much time and maintenance do I need? The road is so fxcking harsh here that it feels like the Fit is on a 4-wheeling mission all the time. And I worry that the coilovers might not be very practical for this type of road condition. What do you think? The group buy sounds like a good deal.

The group buy is a sweet deal!

Once coil overs are installed, and adjusted to desired height and damper firmness, then that's it... Takes a little time on the front end to setup, but that is all.

Why would they not be practical? I mean, if necessary you can adjust to a higher ride height to clear rougher terrain, and a larger damper piston with linear springs SHOULD allow you to adjust the damping to find a comfortable "floaty" ride.

If you worry about the coil over adjustable components getting dirty or seized up, look into HRP Coilover Covers or making your own "coilover bags."

If you go dampers and springs, you are STUCK with that setup. Which isn't a bad thing, it just means that that is the height, spring rate, and damping you will have. Period. Coils will let you tweak and adjust to get closer to your wants or needs.

Also, the T1R Basic is not designed as a "race" or high performance type coilover, so it should not be what people typically think of as a "harsh" suspension setup. There are several reviews of folks who have them some where on here...

:yeahthat:

Consider coilovers a modular design that can be adapted to your needs. Fixed...is well fixed for the average consumer. I only suggested because for that price range and that terrain; out of the box coilovers will be to stiff for average and above ride height platforms.

If I'm not mistaken; the Tokicos aren't even blue. That's simply what you are when you open the box.