Help me with struts/shocks/springs on my Honda Fit

It's time to upgrade the suspension on my 138k mile 2007 Honda Fit Sport. This is my daily driver and I want to get something better than stock but nothing extreme like a track setup or slammed in the weeds "stance". I also don't want to go with coilovers or spend a ton of cash either.

So far, I've found few options. I did see some Tokico HTS adjustable shocks but they're out of my budget at around $900 for the set of four. The Tokico HPs look viable at about $550 for a set while the KYB Excel-Gs are about $370 for a set of four.

I want to pair the struts/shocks with either the $280ish Swift (168 front/313 rear) or the $137 Progress (160 front/200 rear) sport springs. Both are not much stiffer than the stock springs (120 front/150 rear) and neither set puts the car on the bumpstops.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the Tokico vs KYB and Swift vs Progress decisions?

And, should I add camber bolts and/or the Progress rear sway bar while I'm at it?

I have the Swift Springs from my wife's 2007 Fit in my basement. Give me a number and you can have them cheaper than you might think. They are just taking up space. As far as I remember they are in great shape without a ton of miles on them. If you want pictures I can get off my ass and go down to the basement.

We went with the Swift when she was autocrossing the car. Those, with the rear bar, worked pretty well for local stuff. Car is back to daily driver/dog hauler duty (and we race my WRX), so it is back to stock.

tokiko struts are FANTASTIC.

i have no experience with either spring brand.

also look at Stagg struts.l ive only ever heard good things about them. theyre essentially a private label kyb strut from what i understand. personally, i prefer the ride and characteristics of an eibach pro-kit on my dailys. that being said, im probably building my own coilover set this time for my daily, as so one makes a drop setup that looks right on the hatch to me.

michael

Gimp wrote: I have the Swift Springs from my wife's 2007 Fit in my basement. Give me a number and you can have them cheaper than you might think. They are just taking up space. As far as I remember they are in great shape without a ton of miles on them. If you want pictures I can get off my ass and go down to the basement. We went with the Swift when she was autocrossing the car. Those, with the rear bar, worked pretty well for local stuff. Car is back to daily driver/dog hauler duty (and we race my WRX), so it is back to stock.

Yes, I would be interested in a pic or two. Did you use them with the stock struts/shocks? How much did the ride height change? Any idea on the mileage? What were your overall impression of the springs?

I used to be a dyed-in-the-wool Bilstein HD/Sport guy. But I have to admit they're a little too harsh for daily driving on the horrible roads around here.

These days, I favor Koni for street use. When money is an object, then KYB seems like a good choice. Haven't tried Tokico yet.

Dusterbd13 wrote: tokiko struts are FANTASTIC - while they last.

FTFY, based on my personal experience which may be different from yours. All I can relate to is two sets of Illuminas on the same 2000lb Honda and they suffer from premature emasculation. My experience with KYB GR2's has convinced me that they are the aftermarket equivalent to OEM units but with a shorter lifespan.

When time and budget allow it, my Tokicos are getting replaced by Konis.

Lifespan is a big concern for me. About 14k miles ago I was hit by a car running a red light. There was some concern that my drivers strut -could- have been bent. Not wanting to go through this "what struts/shocks to buy" dilemma, I bought all new struts and shocks from Honda and considered the matter closed.

Unfortunately, the car didn't handle like it should have from day one. I had it aligned a few times thinking that was it but it never got any better. It was a much softer, less precise ride that made it felt more like an old Buick than a Honda. Now, about 18 months later, the rear shocks are sagging and both front struts are blown out and clunking. How one set of OEM Honda parts lasted over 136k while another set only made it a year is beyond me. As a former Honda dealership parts manager, I am really upset that my money and time were wasted on what was obviously crappy service parts that didn't meet the original specifications and standards.

I plan on keeping this car for a long time and I do not want to go through this again. If I had my choice, I would gladly install Honda OEM parts if they were identical to the ones that were on the car when it was originally assembled in Japan. Since that doesn't seem to be an option, I'm stuck with the aftermarket.

Sorry for the delay. I was wrong about the springs - they are Skunk2 springs with about 20k miles. They are in okay shape, but a good bit of the powder coating came off. You can tell they went through at least one winter. If you still want photos, let me know.

http://smg.photobucket.com/user/blakwag/media/skunk2.jpg.html

Not my wife's car, but that gives you an idea of the drop.

I've not experienced them personally, but everything I've read tells me that Koni is the way to go for a nice streetable setup that will last.

I wanted to maintain some of my MINI's excellent handling , but lose some of the harshness on our glorious Michigan roads. I put on a set of Koni FSDs and it's great.The ride is improved over the OEM shocks and it handles just like before. I'd highly recommend them for any car.

Sadly, Koni doesn't have any applications for the fit. For a little less than the FSDs, you could get some JDM goodness:

http://passwordjdm.com/Spoon-Sports-Damper-KitFix-Type-GD133MT-P8168C1576.aspx

I would get the HPD B-Spec Suspension. You can order the shocks and springs seperately. I put them on a CR-Z last year, and thought it was pretty good. Definitely better than stock and not too crazy. I might be able to find the p/ns for you, or you could just look on their website or call their number, also available on the website.

Gimp, that drop is more than I wanted to go with. Thanks for checking on the springs.

I wish that there were some Koni shocks out there for my application.

MCarp22, how long do Spoon shocks and struts live on the street? My neck of the woods is riddled with potholes and expansion joints and I don't want to be replacing the suspension every year or two.

LainfordExpress, I need a password to get into the HPD site. I thought the B-Spec kit was coilovers but I would be interested in OEM struts and springs if they have them. Can you check?

How does Bilstein not have an application for the Fit?! I love the HD's on my Accord(also has Skunk2 springs), and although it's a little underdamped, it works great for daily driving. If Bilstein made a sport for my car, I would've rather gone with that. Koni's weren't on sale at the time, and out of stock everywhere, but now that I have these Billy's, I'm glad I went with them instead. I did like Koni's on my '95 Miata R, but I never adjusted them and they got pretty harsh with the stock springs.

Well now I feel silly for suggesting Koni! I figured there would be plentiful suspension bits out there for the Honda Fit. I am wrong. And disappoint.

The original Fit, the GD3, was only sold in the USA for two model years. That has limited a lot of parts availability.

I did find somebody that was doing some custom Koni inserts for the Fit but they were $1200 for just the fronts which is way out of my budget.

Does anybody have any thoughts on the Spoon Sports shocks?

jimbob_racing wrote: Does anybody have any thoughts on the Spoon Sports shocks?

They're made by Showa, so i'd imagine they are factory-quality like you're looking for. I'd expect they behave like factory sport shocks like the ones on the S2000 CR or something similar.

edit The Spoon website only lists them for the GE8.

But the Password JDM site has them for the GD3. In any event, their shipping is over $100 for the set which pushes the price (with springs) solidly into coilover territory.

Gimp wrote: Sorry for the delay. I was wrong about the springs - they are Skunk2 springs with about 20k miles. They are in okay shape, but a good bit of the powder coating came off. You can tell they went through at least one winter. If you still want photos, let me know. http://smg.photobucket.com/user/blakwag/media/skunk2.jpg.html Not my wife's car, but that gives you an idea of the drop.

That looks great!

Might be hard to resist doing if/when I get an 07 Fit!

In reply to LainfordExpress:

If you can post the B-Spec part numbers, I'd be interested! Mine is a GE8, but helpful info none the less.

Yeah, I forgot about 1st Gen/2nd Gen. The HPD B-Spec bits are for 2nd Gen. I don't know enough to know if that matters.

Also, here is the thread where I put them on the CR-Z STF car I built with HART last year...

2013 Honda CR-Z - SCCA Solo Street Touring FWD

I'll have to look for the P/N's (actually I know I have them, I'm not 100% certain I can give them out to regular folk though).

In the meantime, here is the HPD contact number for the Fit B-Spec Kit, 661-702-7777. You could always call and ask if it is possible to sell you just the struts, shocks, springs. It is a pretty easy swap.

I have been getting frustrated by the lack of performance shocks for my application. While doing some other shopping on Amazon I did a quick search and was surprised to see one set of the Tokico HTS adjustable shocks for my Fit listed. They also listed Tokico Blues for my car but only had one rear shock in stock. The price on the HTS set was hundreds less than I could find anyplace else so I snapped them up and with Prime shipping they should be here on Saturday. I got Swift springs from another vendor today as well and they should be here in a week or so.

I'll update this thread when everything arrives.

I had an 07 Fit Sport and thought it was low enough to the ground with the stock suspension. I would throw on a rear sway bar and find some good shocks/struts and call it a day.