Swift Springs
Advertised Drop: 1.2/1.0 (30/25)

Tanabe GF210 Performance Springs
Advertised Drop: 1.5/0.9 (38.1/22.9)

Vogtland
Advertised Drop: 1.6/1.0 (40.6/25.4)

I want something to give a little more aggressive stance to my car and a little more performance, but this is my daily driver... so nothing too drastic. I have the 15" Sport wheels and will probably stay with 15" wheels when I get new ones.

I'm worried about what I have seen with some other cars (usually civics) that are lowered. I notice that their cars will bounce like crazy when they hit a bump. I want none of that. That kind of stuff just looks ridiculous.
I honestly have no real idea about what to do, though I have read just about every post and seen every picture on this site with regards to these springs.

Any opinions of look and quality are welcomed. Also, if people want to recommend others.
Thanks!

 

The swift springs are at the top of my list right now...

 

I have Skunk2 lowering springs on my car and it is a daily driver, I like them, Big difference in stance and handling. What you have to understand is that any lowering spring is going to reduce the clearence that your wheel has between it and the wheel well, therefore less distance it is able to travel when going over a bump, hence it has to be stiff, and a stiff spring is going to give you that " ridiculous" bounce that you dislike. Performance usually comes at a cost to creature comforts. In this case I'd say it's well worth it, for the look but most of all for the increased sensitivity in road feel and ability and confidence in cornering. The only time I ever dislike my springs is pulling into my driveway,( get ready to scrape with any springs).

 

Hmm. It doesn't seem like all lowered cars bounce like some of the ones I have seen. I thought some were more severe than others. It seemed like some were bouncing like crazy... oh well.

I am not worried about scraping too much. I my civic Ek was lower than my fit and it was stock, so I think I should be fine in my area.

thanks for the response

 

My comment won't be what you are looking for, so for what it's worth- why not wait for a coilover system from a maker with a good track record on Fits, such as Progress. Most likely this will give you the ability to adjust stiffness AND height whenever you want. From previous posts, it looks like all lowering springs will change the ride and encourage scrapes, while they are improving cornering. Specifically designed coilovers MAY solve all issues.

 

Thanks Manxman,

So basically I shouldn't even bother with springs and wait for coils? Any suggestion for coilovers or are the "good ones" not out yet? I'll do some research on that side.

Perhaps I should just get new wheels first and then see what is on the market.



gah. so many choices.

 

I have absolutely no expertise here, but have been reading all of the posts on the benefits/problems with springs, and the rumors of upcoming coilover kits. From about six months of reading this information, just based upon other people's opinions, it seems like well-made coilovers, designed specifically for the Fit, would give you the best performance and the ability to adjust both height and stiffness. It does not appear that such a quality system for the Fit exists now- just some kits that supposedly fit but really don't, or break easily, or falsely claim 32 steps of stiffness adjustability but really only have 2 (hard and soft).

It looks as if all aftermarket springs require you to sacrifice something as a trade-off for a lower center of gravity. That may also be true of coilover kits, but the ability to adjust stiffness at will is what interests me. I do not intend to lower my car because of driving conditions in my locale. I would like to improve the handling with adjustable stiffness. Your own desires may be completely different. Good luck!!

 

if it was up 2 me, i'd go with the tanabe gf210's. My fit is my daily driver also and i didn't want to bounce around too much either. The drop is perfect, VERY MINIMAL scrapage in the back when i have passengers (i have 16 x 7 wheels tho) so im very sure that ur stock 15's will have no scrapage at all. I think u will like the stance also. I have ridden in a fit w/ swift springs and it's nice but i feel like the car didnt' change much in height nor handling since it's such a small drop. The tanabe's however, much noticeable drop and there is a very nice ride comfort, even with my 16's. That's my $.02

 

Thanks.

I'll probably try out the Gf210's.

the wheels I am planning on getting are the Axis Old school (yeah I know, I hear they are bit of a fad right now, but I like em).

Which are 15X8. There shouldn't be too much of a problem with the GF210's, yeah?

I mean worse thing is I sell the springs if I don't like them...

 

Be careful with a rim that wide, from what I've read you'll rub the fronts in full turn without a large offset. Don't know this for sure, but I'd look into it before I bought them.

 

Thanks for the heads up. I'll look into that.

 

The springs you list are pretty much similar. You can't go wrong with them.

The bouncy Civic's are from one of two things.

1) Cheap adjustable height springs with an aluminum sleeve or
2) Coilover systems.

On both, you don't have a normal length spring. You have a much shorter- tighter wound coil. The springs listed above, even thou they drop the car, they are MUCH longer than my two examples above. The Civics hit a bump, and the spring is shorter, a higher spring rate, and therefore the compression and rebound of the spring in magnified greatly; BUMPY!

 

Coilovers don't bounce if their set up right, problem is most people don't set them up right... They are only bouncy if you set them up for a track and then drive them around town like most people do.

Any coilover setup I've ever ran was light years ahead of any spring strut setup I've had. They also took time and knowledge to dial them in, rather than slap them on your car and go.

Lower does not always mean harsh ride. Most people don't know I have coilovers on my Miata until I hammer through a turn and the car stays completely flat. Compliant but not stiff ride.

 

Take it over a pothole, I'm sure you'll tell their coilovers instead of a separate spring/shock.

 

Went with the Vogtland.

So far, they are really nice.

Installing springs was a snap. Actually did the rear anti-sway bar at the same time. Going to wash/wax tomorrow, then take/post pics.

 

I have to agree with pingpop a HIGH quality coilover is lightyears.....let me say that again LIGHTYEARS better then a spring and strut combo. In most cases at least.

Case in point, I had a modded wrx and so did my biddy. I had Sti RA suspension and it was unreal. I did TSD rallies on fast dirt roads in it and blasted on windy roads and it was a great street setup.

My buddies wrx had cusco Zero2r's on his car and the ride was a little more stiff then my car the feel over bumps,potholes or windy roads was nothing short of dominance. A corner I would take at 50 he could take at 65 and feel like he could go faster. Coilovers rule as long as you buy a high quality unit from someone like cusco, tein, leda etc.....any of these "budget" setups are exactly that...BUDGET. A true high end coil has to be rebuilt every 2 years or so, those ones all the honda boys run are run till they blow.

Me personally I want a slight drop in the car but more then anything a much more stable and level chassis so that its harder to lift a wheel and unspool a tire. So I'm leaning towards a higher rate front bar, and either the mugen strut and spring combo or some tiens with edfc.

I think if you rode in some cars with dialed in real coilovers you would be signing a much different tune.

 

jesse370
I think if you rode in some cars with dialed in real coilovers you would be signing a much different tune.

I have. Currently I have a set going into the Fit and I bet it falls short of what could be done otherwise. For street, I want to feel like I'm not in a horse and buggy setup.

When you have a large increase in spring rate, usually the valve body in the shock/strut isn't keeping up and the flexibility in adjustment isn't there.

 

I think mine are fine, I like the sporty feel, and my car looks great. I have skunk2

 

S2 coilovers or springs?

 

The crazy bouncing cars you see are probably blown shocks/struts. They slam their cars, sometimes by cutting coils off of their stock springs or clamping them, then quickly blow out their stock shocks. That's the extreme bouncing I am guessing you are seeing. If you stick with any of the moderate-drop name-brand stuff you won't have to worry about any of that ridiculous bounce. However, as I'm sure you've already read, the aftermarket springs will usually cause more wear and tear on your stock shocks, so eventually you'll get more and more bounce. But by then we should have some good dampers available to choose from.