Review & Installation-Hood Air Deflector from Canada
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Thanks very much to lamyun, a fitfreak member from Canada, for introducing this accessory in early May on the Photos/Videos forum. This Hood Air Deflector is sold only in Canada with the Honda part number 08P47-SLN-310. Because of the CAD/USD exchange rate, the non-discounted retail price, and import duty figured into the shipping charge, my total cost was $153.00 for the Honda Deflector. It does not show up in American Honda dealer computers, and they do not know that it exists. A competitive deflector made by "Focus" is also sold in Canada and can be found at Shophonda365.com - Canada's online source for all things Honda!
None of the American "bug shield/air deflector" makers list anything for the Fit. this may/should change at any time, but until then, this is all there is.
The first two pics are of the Lund brand bug shield on our '06 Scion XB shown for comparison. Most deflectors made for US cars/trucks fasten to existing holes in the bottom edge of the hood. They curve upward and backward toward the windshield, and their purpose is to deflect air/bugs/rocks over the roof instead of letting them hit the windshield.
American-made Air Deflectors generally cost around $70-75.00 for most cars/trucks/suv's.
Here are a few shots of the Deflector mounted on my BOM Sport AT.
The Honda Deflector's color is translucent gray and the background color of the car shows through it. Since it transmits light, no paint fading will occur as is the case with cloth masks. with lamyun's VBP Fit, the Deflector looked blue/gray in his photos. With my BOM, the color looks brown/gray, and the yellow Fit logo in the lower right corner helps the eyes to see a brownish shade. This Deflector should look great with a slight contrast to any Fit color.
The first step is to clean the hood surface with alcohol where the self-adhesive clear silicone rubber "bumpons" (gumdrop shaped pads) will be attached to the hood. Measure carefully according to the instructions- the pads keep the Deflector from contacting the paint with extremely high air or water pressure.
Unlike the curved bug shield on my Scion with its blunt nose, the Honda Deflector is a relatively flat wing that does not attach directly to the underside of the hood. The wing attaches with pins and screws to 8 plastic clips, like small c-clamps, that fit onto the front and side edges of the hood. There are four clips that are permanently riveted to the front edge of the Deflector, and they slide over the front hood edge underneath the rubber weatherstrip seal. Expansion plugs attach the front clips to existing holes in the edge of the hood.
This is a shot from the rear looking down across the windshield, and it shows how the wing stand off the hood surface by about 1/2".
These pics show the front clips and their placement on the hood front edge. The left and right clips closest to the center use #6X1/2" screws to anchor the plastic expansion plugs into the holes in the hood underside. The other two front clips use expansion plugs without screws. (Woops! The first pic is actually one of the side clips- the second pic is one of the front clips- sorry).
There are two clips for each side of the hood that look like a letter L. The horizontal base of the L has a slot formed into it, and the slot fits over the edge of the hood with a tight friction fit. The vertical side of the L has a screw hole in it. Plastic blocks called "clip bodies" are attached to the side edges of the Deflector by pushing plastic pins through the holes in the Deflector, then into the holes in the clip bodies. The clip bodies have a screw hole in one side, and these holes line up with the screw holes in the L-shaped clips. #6X5/8" screws go through the clips, into the clip bodies, and through the stems of the plastic pins. This mounting system cannot accidentally come apart- very well engineered.
Another shot shows how far the front edge of the Deflector sticks out past the front edge of the hood--
THE REVIEW:
To me, this Deflector looks very good, is well made, and attaches to the car EXTREMELY securely. But does it work?
To find out, I drove 250 miles from the San Francisco South Bay area (San Jose/Santa Cruz County border) to the Carson Valley area of Nevada. The following won't mean much to anyone but SF Bay area Fit owners-
I took Hwy. 680 N. to 580/205 E. over Altamont Pass, through Tracy, then Hwy. 5 N. to Stockton and on up to Sacramento. You Sacto folks know the bug problem driving through the Central Valley.
From Sacramento took Hwy. 50 through Placerville and up 7000 feet over the Sierras to Carson City, NV. I did not clean the windshield at all during the trip. At my destination, there were hundreds of bug hits all over the front of the car- bumper, side mirrors & stalks, all over the Deflector, and even a few further up the hood. Exactly one bug on the windshield.
One other point. This Deflector is open, not closed at its front edge, so air flows both over and under it. American-made bug shields are usually closed at the bottom edge because that's where they curve under the edge of the hood for attachment. with some vehicles, this closed front design caused strange air currents at the windshield and causes the windshield washer stream to shoot over the roof, and makes the wiper blades chatter and float on the glass.
The over-and-under flow design of the Honda Deflector prevents those annoying symptoms.
So, the net review is- this Deflector costs twice what it should because of its foreign source, but I think that it is worth the price.
Last edited by manxman; 05-28-2007 at 06:30 PM.
Reason: correct spelling
I wouldn't have paid the Canadian price if I knew the answer to your question. Maybe tomorrow, next year, or never. Why not drive over to a Canadian Honda dealer and get one there?
Good luck--
Last edited by manxman; 05-28-2007 at 05:31 PM.
Reason: add comment
I asked for my cousin to help me order one, so I just wait for him to go to pick it up (his friend work for Honda, I get some discount ). Then he will ship to me. Hopefully it will look nice on my MR Fit.
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Was there no tape that came with the package to put under the clips. When I put on my Toyota deflector it came with some 3M strips to put on the hood under the clips and thus, hopefully protect the hood from wearing. The Fit deflector seems to have about twice as many clips and they appear soft in your pictures. Is that the case? That may be why the tape is not needed but I would be inclined to put some strips under the clips if there is room.
viamede:
Clips are not particularly soft, and have a very strong spring fit over the hood edges- you have to push them very hard to go on. But, there are little ribs running across both inside clip surfaces that contact the hood. Wear is not likely to be an issue. Remember, these are Honda parts that are warrantied in Canada (don't know what protection the warranty will be in the U.S.). So, your answer is, NO TAPE is provided because it isn't needed.
I e-mailed Angelo at Zetaproducts.net about this accessory while I was waiting for it to arrive. I suggested that if he could obtain a dealership to rep. this product in the U.S. it would fit with his general product line for the Fit.
He e-mailed back that he liked my review and is trying now to get set up with the manufacturer.
So, maybe all it will take is a little patience on your part to be able to get one of these at a more reasonable price. But, if U.S. Honda dealers can't get them, how will a general accessory parts vendor get them?
Smeisters right. This would definitely help during lovebug season. Thanks to the rain, I was able to get some of them off my windshield on that 3 hour drive but the front of the car had to be scraped off. There was literally a pile on my driveway.
Good write up.
Kris
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Keep in mind that, what a Californian considers a bad Springtime bug problem in the CA Central Valley and Sacramento Delta areas probably does not come even CLOSE to the "biological helicopters" that you Floridians call "bugs". I've seen them.
I was thinking about picking one up from my local dealer here in Calgary... but I wasn't too sure I wanted to do it cause I'm not too keen on the looks of it.. but from reading the review I'm almost sold on the fact of its functionality over appearance.
I was thinking about picking one up from my local dealer here in Calgary... but I wasn't too sure I wanted to do it cause I'm not too keen on the looks of it.. but from reading the review I'm almost sold on the fact of its functionality over appearance.
Agreed-
If you could buy a "magic forcefield" that would keep bugs & rocks away from your windshield without having to put anything on the front 1/4 of your hood, nothing on the hood looks better than the Deflector.
But the posted photos don't do justice to the Deflector. Your eyes see the car color through the plastic for a combined gray + car color = contrast. The photos show the reflectivity of the plastic making it look more black than it is.
Since all the bugs are dead here in Ventura County(Coz of insecticide for strawberry plantation)i dont need one right now Dave,but if that bug deflector will be selling here in Cali i might give it a shot because of you Mr.Manxman,Exellent!!!
Since all the bugs are dead here in Ventura County(Coz of insecticide for strawberry plantation)i dont need one right now Dave,but if that bug deflector will be selling here in Cali i might give it a shot because of you Mr.Manxman,Exellent!!!
Thanks b-
How 'bout rocks kicked up by the cars in front of you??
Thanks b-
How 'bout rocks kicked up by the cars in front of you??
well that one(rocks)needs to be consider huh?good point!,my budget for mods this month of may is gone,(i bought FUJITA SRI,thermal tube cover,voltage stabilizer,grounding kits,copper bar, DEKA battery)all this week,hopefully that bug deflector will be my next project within a month or so,i will post some pictures on this project once i finished.
Review & Installation-Hood Air Deflector from Canada
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