I had a 2010 sport and now got the 2012. The 2012 feels less precise, more floaty and steering wheel feels a little easier to turn.

Any thoughts? Is it subjective?

Can there be major differences from car to car?
Could something be wrong?

I feel kind of disappointed. Maybe it will get better with miles?

 

We have a Ge & a GD. The GE feels more refined. Honda says the chassis is 155% stiffer, thus lighter springs. It may float down the freeway, stuff it into a turn and it feels great. We run 37lbsf/33lbr prssure. RSB settles things a bit.

 

All the things you describe as being different are what changed when I put better tires on my 2011. I assume the 2012 has the factory tires and the 2010 has something else? That may be the difference.

 

i felt the same between my 09 and 12. get Swift springs on your '12. then the car will feel 'right.'

GL!

 

And whats 'right'. We prefer the GE over the GD.

 

the 09 is a GE. and honda changed the spring rate on the '12..

And I own both so I know. The '12 is an obvious softer ride.

by "right" I mean it feels not bouncy like 09-11 and not mushy like 12+.

Hope that clarifies any confusion.

 

That would explain the ride difference. Can you confirm this by referencing to any external source? Where did you get this information. I would really like to see it for myself.

Do you like the 09 or the 12 better?
The ride is indeed softer but I feel the car is less stable, hence more dangerous.

I dont want to install aftermarket springs, sorry.

 

If you have stability issues try different tires, pressures, a rsb. A jacked up 4wd is unstable.

 

i dont remember where i saw it, but just like you, i just did my research online when buying the car.

my 09 is AT and 12 is MT, both sport trim. the only reason why i prefer my '12 over my '09 is for its MT. i didnt agree with the 12's ride quality so i changed springs to Swifts. the 09's ride is pretty bouncy but my wife is the primary driver and she hasn't really complained so i just left it stock.

the 09 is now 4yrs old and over 34K miles so it's on its way out anyway for me. im expecting to sell it maybe next winter or the winter after. not sure yet. i dont usually keep my dd's more than 30K or 5yrs.

 

Unfortunately the short wheelbase combined with the light springs means that the ride is somewhat "nervous" over anything but perfect roads. Not in the sense that the car seems like it is going to do something bad - it tracks just fine - but it just seems to be wobbling on top of the springs. This seems odd to me - you would think that on such a light car, soft springs should be fine, but they do seem to be TOO soft.

I don't know that I have a solution for this. The ride seems like I wouldn't want it any harder, at least. Maybe what is called for is deeper shock towers, so the springs can compress over a much larger distance - especially in the back, the springs are quite short. Don't know. Perfecting ride quality is a bit of a black art, I've learned.

Drove a 328i the other day. Expect it had the magic shocks - had a firm, controlled ride over smooth pavement, yet floated without much feeling over an area of terribly broken pavement. Those BMWs are sickeningly expensive, but the technology was impressive.

 

OH I had another thought. In most cars I've noted that you improve the ride by lowering tire pressures. However in the Fit, at times I have felt that increasing the tire pressures actually improved the ride. Maybe the springs are so soft that too much give in the sidewalls just creates too much play altogether? Try it both ways and see what you think?

Our Fits have weird suspension dynamics. That's all I have to say.

 

Increasing tire pressure increases the effective spring rate, it may be that the springs and shocks on the Fit are not that well matched (or not as well matched as you'd expect out of the box). I've also found that decreasing tire pressure makes the ride more bouncy rather than softening it. If I let it get down to 30-31 I can feel a bit more vibration than if I go up to 34 or 35.

I have lowering springs though, so maybe that doesn't translate to the OEM suspension. Just an observation of mine.

 

yep it's not. considering typical customers can weigh anywhere from 85lbs to 250lbs (or more) each, car manufacturers have to work with a VERY broad range of operational weight at the lowest cost on these econoboxes while maintaining warranty and safety standards.

comfort usually suffers...

and lowering psi can work, but the manufacturerer recommend psi on the door jam is their comfy setting. anything lower can contribute to irregular wear on your tires.

 

Do the 12s have the same tires as the 09s? When I switched over to continentals, it has a bigger impact on the overall feeling of the car than the springs, or sway bar, for that matter. My car rides leagues better than it did stock, and the damping seems to be holding up to the increased spring rates on the swifts just fine. You really could sell this spring rate from the factory. It's amazingly comfy. Cornering suffers somewhat because of that in my opinion. Some days I wish I had a lot stiffer spring rates, and others, I praise the car's versatility. Highway stability goes up with every suspension and tire mod for sure. The wind blowing me around was no fun. Not so bad now.

 

the 09 came with bridgestone turaza(sp?) and the 12 came with dunlop SP7000. but it's not the tires alone they changed from the read. my 09 is currently riding on the 12's SP7000's and the ride didn't change too much.

 

Thanks for confirming the softer ride. I went from an '09 sport to a '12 base. Noticed softer and more roll. Bought a sport axle to fix the roll. Don't know about the softer part as I need all the clearance it has now.

 

What?? Why are you mentioning clearance?
You replaces sport with the base and of course it's not a fair comparison. Base does not have a stabilizing link.

I am comparing two sports but thanks anyway.

 

I have put a sport rear axle on a base model without changing any of the springs. It has the stabilizing link welded into it as part of the assembly.

That helps the roll part. But the springs still feel softer than I remember on the 09.

The other thing in play here is I use 16x7 rims with 205 55 tires to push the highway RPMs down a bit. They are 24.9 inches in diameter compared to the 24 inch stock. I would put the Bilstein kit on for the spring rate if it did not lower the car at all.

 

I have BMW X6 model. Don't know what happen to it today It is not starting at all. I am at the place where car mechanics are not easily available don't know what to do???

 

It makes sense to call and join AAA in your state. There are towing benefits for members that at least give you a path to resolve car issues when they happen.