PeripateticNomad

I bought a brand new 2007 Honda Fit just over 2-1/2 months ago. I have almost 10,500 miles. I am driving an average of about 1000 miles a week.































I bought the Fit as my commuter car and I will be driving about 50,000 miles a year. Overall, I think it's a super vehicle.















However, the only real issue I have with the car is the lower speed tire drumming/thumping over washboard surfaces and sharp bumps (10-20% of my drive). The ride does not bother me, It's the ride's harshmess that is killing me. I've lowered my tire pressure to just over 30 psi but it does not make a big difference.































Honda's chief engineer, Hitomi, realized that there has been a problem, and he has stiffened the new structure for the 2009 model by a whopping 164% . A stiff car structure supposedly















makes a car?s ride and handle better.































1) Would new better riding tires help the situation?















2) Would front and rear strut bars help strengthen the















structure a bit and help with the ride?















3) Any other suggestions?































Thanks

paulcarhuff

A stiff structer does make a car handle better, but your "bumpyness" will only be handled by absorbing the shock. Try some adjustable shocks, I have AGX 8-ways set to max when I drive, and down to 5 when my wife is in the car.































Just remember, if you soften your suspension, your braking will suffer too.

shayne_civic

OK, the ride quality of the current model is only part of the reason they stiffened the "structure" of the '09 model. The other part is because it's completely redesigned from the model you have.































1.) Yes. Tires have the biggest single impact on a car's driving behavior. Not only can will they improve the ride quality, but they can improve braking and handling. I suggest doing some research to find the tires that can improve all three areas. I also highly recommend the General Exclaim UHP tires for your car. Usually if you buy tires based strictly on the ride quality, you will sacrifice one of the other areas, namely handling. The General Exclaim UHP's will improve all three.































2.) Yes they will help strengthen the chassis, but this usually increases the ride harshness, while improving handling. If you decide to put these on your car, I would only put one on the rear. They do more to transfer directional forces from side-to-side than anything else and this will affect your car's tendancy to oversteer or understeer. Hondas come from the factory with a great deal of understeer and adding a bar or increasing the size of the one you have on the front will only increase the amount of understeer.































3.) I would get adjustable dampers and lower springs. When you have the springs and dampers installed, tell them you want the best ride quality. This will normally mean the dampers will be set somewhere between medium-stiff to full stiffness as long as your springs are soft enough. When you look at springs, simply get lowering springs. Not all lowering springs are made stiffer. You want softer/lower springs and stiffer dampers.