Honda Fit Tein Street Basis Z Experience and Review

Top is the Tein Street Basis Z and Bottom are the Swift Mach Sport Springs.

Initial Unbox & Review of Street Basis Z Coilovers

So I’ve finally gotten around to writing this review of my brief experience with my Tein Street Basis Z coilover set. I’m going to start with my experience with the installation, then adjusting the ride height, and then my experience on the road these past 3 weeks. And the pictures are a comparison of how it looks right now(On top) and how it looked about a month after I lowered(November 2023) it with Swift Springs and had just put on the Rota R Specs. I tried to get it about the same as with the Swifts and I think I got it, although to me it sits a little lower in the rear, and I’m probably going to raise it about a 1/4″ in the rear just to see how the ride changes. Now, on to the review proper.

If this is how it looks on the post, in this picture is everything included in the kit, minus the wrenches for adjustment and some other miscellaneous parts for installation. Of particular interest are the top hats in the upper left corner. I was under the impression that I had to re-use the tops of my OEM struts, but while I was doing the installation, this turned out to not be the case.

Installing Tein Street Basis Z Coilovers On Honda Fit

As for the rest of the installation. It was pretty straight forward to anyone who’s done a strut replacement on a Honda Fit. No surprises, since my car is a tropical one and therefore has none of the rust that plagues you folks who live in less hospitable climates. Just remove the two 19mm bolts that hold the base to the knuckle, remove the sway bar end links completely, because if you leave one end attached, you might not be able to get the other end lined up with the top of the struts where they go in. So I just removed them completely, lined up the threads with both holes, and put them back in, no problem. As for the part of the install that requires putting the top hats onto the springs, this is where I encountered an interesting thing, like I mentioned before.

Following the WONDERFUL instructions provided by Tein, you re-use the bushings and bearings from the OEM struts, but in this case, not the top hats. Why this happened, I’m not sure. But when I took the tops off the OEM struts, the bushes beneath them were completely toast, and wouldn’t come out. But after looking at the tops that the kit came with and also the fact that the struts have their own bump stops already installed, I just assembled the new struts in order, as per the instructions, which was putting the boots over the already there bump stops, springs over that, then the NEW tops, then the OEM bearings from the old struts, and the nut that holds the bearings to the strut rods. Very simple indeed because with the new hats in place, there was ZERO need to set up any preload. NICE! Then just put the body bushing on top, slide it through the shock tower hole, replace the other two washers and tighten the upper lock nut. These struts are also special in that you don’t have to use an allen key to secure the rod while you tighten the nut, just a 10mm wrench to hold it in place. The same as on the rear shocks. When the nut stops moving, you stop tightening, that’s it.

The rear was simple until it came time to remove the OEM shocks. Those nuts did NOT want to break free, but thank God that I bought proper long allen keys with the handles on the end so I could actually twist the rods while holding the nut in place to break them free. A few profane words later, and I had the OEM shocks free, and not a moment too soon, because they were blown and leaking a little fluid. Installation was the reverse, and putting the springs in only required cutting the isolation bushing tabs in two sections, as per the instructions, and they went in much easier than the Swifts ever did. No interference with my Progress RSB either, NICE!

After slathering the threads for the height adjustment in anti-seize lubricant, now came the moment of truth, the first shakedown drive. And I’m happy to report that there were no uncouth knocks or bumps or jolts from the suspension suggesting to me that something was loose or mounted incorrectly, especially from the front.

That’s one thing I forgot to mention as well. While I was doing this install, I also replaced the lower control arms because I had a feeling they would cure an annoying, dull, slightly rattly sounding noise when driving over wrinkled pavement. That noise was driving me crazy and made my car sound like it was 30 years old rather than 15, and I’m happy to report that the noise went away as well. Another noise my car was making from the rear was when it would go over uneven pavement or while driving over a dip in the road slowly. The new springs and shocks cured that immediately and now all that makes its presence known is the interior rattling like a 15 year old hatchback does. But now, onto the actual drive!

Initial Experience & Improvement To Driving Experience

I had reported a concern of mine in previous weeks about how awful the suspension felt in the rear going over certain aspects of these wonderful roads we have here in sunny Puerto Rico. Mainly those concrete expansion joints on certain roads and the concrete/stone borders on intersections paved with those blasted, damnable, horrific paving stones that so many towns here insist on using for their intersections, when all they do is remind you of how screwed your car is if it isn’t brand new. My car especially suffered in the rear, where it felt like getting rear-ended really hard when going over them straight on. Now, the new springs and shocks did not eliminate this effect like I had hoped, but they have reduced the effect noticeably, where I don’t clench my teeth anymore when going over these spots in the road. As for the rest of your typical terrible pavement and assorted road surfaces, this kit quite superbly reduces their effect on your sanity while driving a Honda Fit that generally always had a pretty poor ride.

But this kit has restored the suspension in my car, and actually made it feel better than when I bought it 5 years ago. Now for something that you only spent $697 total(From MartiniWorks in Wisconsin shipped to Puerto Rico) on, is quite a thing. I bought this kit after pondering over buying the Bilstein B14 kit because of cost. This kit cost me a little more than half what the Bilsteins would have cost me on Tire Rack and while I wish I’d have bought them, I don’t regret the savings. If this kit lasts me 50,000 miles, that in my case will equate to 7-8 years of driving, considering I’ve only put 32,000 miles on my car since I bought it 5 years ago.

Now roads that I used to dread driving down are taken with poise and composure, with none of the rattly, crashing, shitbox behavior of when I was riding on the Swifts. Now do not get me wrong, a Honda Fit being lowered will NEVER float over bumps and will never not communicate to you that you are indeed lowered on coilovers. But like another chap said in another forum: the bumps you do hit you hit only once, and then it’s over. No lingering effects from the impact. You just take it and move on with your life. It rides more stable on the highway and in some spirited driving I did last Thursday, the car felt very solid and eager keep hitting those corners. Made me wish I had actual good brakes in fact. But this is NOT for track driving in the least, even though I know absolutely nothing about that.

This is for, in my experience, sprucing up a car that’s possibly seen better days and needs a reset. Those of us who drive old cars should know what I’m on about. My car feels new-ish again and I look forward to driving it every day. I used to even avoid driving with the air conditioning on just to not hear all the rattles and knocks and squeaks from the suspension and being thankful for the exhaust drowning some of that out as well. Not anymore!

How To Adjust Ride Height

As for adjusting the ride height, well that is a royal pain in the ass. I still haven’t gotten it where I would like it height-wise just because I don’t like doing it. It’s not difficult to do, it’s just tedious. But I know that once I raise it a bit more in the rear and possibly in front, then the car can only improve. Just make sure that if you buy any sort of coilovers and live in one of those winter misery states/countries, that you put anti-seize on the threads so you don’t encounter any problems in the future.

Street Basis Z Vs. Street Advance Tein Coilovers – My Thoughts

As for the question: Shouldn’t I have bought the Street Advances instead? I don’t think so. While damping/rebound adjustment sounds nice, really nice, I’m not that kind of guy. I once had a set of Tokico Illuminas on an Eibach Pro Kit on my 2000 Accord V6 years ago and while those were excellent dampers, I only ever stiffened them once, didn’t like it and then set it one click(2 out of 5) from full soft and then never bothered with it again for the next 9 years of driving the car before I sold it. And that would have been the same for this car too. Anyone going from stock, or from lowering springs on stock dampers is going to LOVE making the upgrade to a proper coilover/height adjustable suspension. The only downside is cost compared to lowering springs, but of course folks forget how much a set of proper dampers costs, and then you have ones that are optimized to work with the springs that are included. Add in the incredible ease of installation and you can’t lose with a kit like this. I’m so inclined to say ABSOLUTELY NO ONE has any business buying lowering springs EVER!

So, if you’re on the fence about doing this, not only for a Honda Fit, but for any car you may be driving, once you understand the compromises inherent with lowering any car and the precautions you MUST take while driving, there’s no reason not to just go with the best possible, and we should all say THE ONLY PROPER option when lowering your car, and that’s a proper coilover kit. It doesn’t have to be Tein either, a lot of people hate this company. But after my experience with them, I do indeed wholeheartedly recommend them 1000%. And if you can afford their more expensive options, even better.

Please excuse the long winded review. But I wanted to somewhat accurately describe my experience in doing this, my expectations versus results, and my overall enjoyment of the result. Anytime you can positively affect your car with parts that you install yourself, it makes any car guy/gal feel great.

Now onto the rest of the little details I have yet to fix on my car like cruise control, doing the CDV delete, valve adjustment, upgrading my Sony XAV1000 radio, wrapping the headlights in PPF, powdercoat for the wheels, and finally the paint so my humble little car will take me hopefully into the next decade and beyond…

This blog was approved for reuse from the original writer, /jose_rodz348. Jose purchased the Tein Street Basis Z coilovers and helps you understand exactly how to install these if you also have a Honda Fit. Jose, thanks for letting us post this!