Kens Honda Fit Blog

[kenchan]

so i stopped by Murray's today in hopes they had some sale going on
Mobil synthetics. only to find them at MSRP $6.99 per qt.

guess im going to walmart this week to pickup a 5qt jug ($22).
i hate going to walmart though... door ding fever.

[kenchan]

TOOL- can you link me to the DIY for the stereo install?
i searched the ICE forum but couldn't find it.

i did find all the hardware needed like the metra/scosche kit, harness, antenna
adapter.

thanks!

[TOOL]

Sad to say Ken, but there isnt one at the moment.
I say search the ICE section and see what you find. There is bits and pieces of the install instructions in diff. threads around the ICE section. Thats how i managed anyway.

[kenchan]

ahh, that's wat i thought. thanks anyways!

[kenchan]

the update for today...not much going on but i did visit my
customer this am about 45min away while motoring my FitS.

was a nice drive. temps have cooled off quite a bit here
in chicagoland so no a/c. much more torquey.

[TOOL]

I never run my AC, kills power way tooo bad!

[kenchan]

Another update for today.... a turn of events, actually for the better!

I got an apology and full credit + freight charges for the wiper refill
collegehills got wrong twice for my FitS. Which means, it covers for
all the crap I went through (less my labor $50/hr ). This is after
3wks of back and forth, even wasting my time and brdss's time meeting
up for the blades (thanks again brdss) hoping to sell locally and not
having to go through the return process. I put in effort trying to make
it as painless as possible for everyone including collegehills honda.

Anyway, finally got some compassion and their acknowlegement for
their mistake and accountability from the Internet Manager...also
respect as a valued customer. he's the one ive been dealing with from
the beginng, so i am happy to see that he has improved his ways.

As most of you know, i own 4 modded cars and buy parts online
ALL THE TIME. some parts are cheap maintenance parts like these refills
or oil filters, but some go easily into the thousand $'s each... take for
example my G35C's SSR 19" 3pc wheels and RE050A PP summer tires...
those were $1k a corner and at one time i had 2 full sets and spare
wheels. or my BBS wheels on my Cooper-S, Milltek catback exhaust, etc.
you get the picture. it doesn't matter if it's a $5 part or not, you are still
dealing with me. it better be easy and worryfree to buy at your online
store cause i will drop hundreds, if not thousands if i like you.

collegehills started out as protraying a pretty decent store, i was a
returning customer. but then abruptly turned careless and almost
reckless, but after my explanation of expectations and complaints, they
(he) realized to change their ways for the better. I think collegehills
realized that im not just some pissy cheezy poor POS loser customer
like some folks are. (ive done retail in my younger years, i know who
shitty customers are). I had a legitimate reason to be upset. i wanted
the store to be better.

As with anyone with a solid job and kids, I am a very busy guy. i carry
a blackberry 24/7 to keep up with my customers and team members all
over the world. i do business for a living. i sell millions of OE parts every
month to my customers. I have a certain level of expectations for
customers and stores alike to succeed. i hate losers and i hate whiners.

So as a conclusion, i will give credit to collegehills for his effort trying
to make a bad example into a good one. I like a winning story and i
am glad that i could be a part of it so that we have a reliable store we
can count on.

they are back on my 'approved vendor list.'
www.collegehillshonda.com

now while this has been going on, i have 3 other vendors i am working
with for problems on their products and services.... i shall keep you all
updated on the outcomes here, on 'ken's blogs.'

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by TOOL

I never run my AC, kills power way tooo bad!

becareful though, cause that is one way to kill your a/c! by not using it
enough. seriously. you should cycle the a/c at least 10-15min every
week. just turn it on while you're cruising on the expressway or
hwy.

[TOOL]

Originally Posted by kenchan

becareful though, cause that is one way to kill your a/c! by not using it
enough. seriously. you should cycle the a/c at least 10-15min every
week. just turn it on while you're cruising on the expressway or
hwy.

I didnt know that! Thanks for the advice.
It seriously, hasnt been on in over 3months..and when it was on, it was for like 5mins then i just couldnt take the power loss any longer. Damn AT!

As far the CollegeHills deal, they are a great company to do buisness with and im happy they took care of you like i would expect them too

[kenchan]

you're probably ok, but just keep turning it on and cycling that a/c!
it needs to be cycled to keep itself lubed.

the car's not that much faster in MT form, just more bursts coming off the
line since you get to decide how much rpm to engage the clutch at.

[kenchan]

alright, the wrench light is on so i need to change my oil this weekend
on the FitS. came on at a good time cause i was just driving back
from Honda (to pickup my passenger side wiper refill) and so i went
straight to Murray's in hopes they had some sale going on.

5W20 Mobil1 $29.99 for a case (6qt) not bad! this is better
then that 5qt jug i was planning to buy at Walmart cause i only need
4qts.

6-4=2
2+6= 8
8-4-4= 0

so i just need to buy another case next time and i can get 3 full changes.
or you can do 4x3 = 6+6 watever.

[kenchan]

so another vendor story that i wanted to share...

about 3months ago i bought a set of BBS wheels for my other car through
TireRack (vendor here). Alex over there has been a great sales consultant
for me for the last 7-8 yrs or so. Basically i can send him an email i want
this and this, and next day the products would be at my desk at work.

I few days ago i found some paint flaws on the very edge of the lip on
my BBS... it's not visible from the front, thus why i didn't notice it until
recently.

Sent him a quick email with picts asking if they would warranty it. Came
back 'yes, how many wheels affected?' but i decided to just keep an eye on
that one flaw (18x3mm) to see if it worsens. it's like contaminant under the
paint and when they mounted the tire the paint slightly cracked. He said
he put a note on my order so if it worsens just let them know and they will
replace it.

Tirerack's been a great store. ive bought probably over 12wheel sets and
tires, suspension bits from them the last 10+yrs. They have always been
responsive and supportive.

Ive actually been to their SouthBend, IN store a few times. it's a candy
store for car enthusiats. HUGE showroom filled with wheels.
One time one of the managers even took me around their warehouse
for a tour while my wheel set was being mounted. it's a HUGE, well
organized warehouse with a team of pro's. All of them with big welcoming
smiles and you can tell they are eager to help you out.

Just wanted to share a story of appreciation and the great work TireRack
has been doing over the years.

now about that RS-GT wheel set ive been eyeing the last few months
for my G35C... $6K for the set with tires. hehehe.
maybe next season.

[kenchan]

gonna be kind of a busy day tomorrow (sat). going to pull out my G around 7:30am
and be back by 9:30am. wash the legacy and seal it hoping to be done by 11am.

then run some errands and have lunch, do the oil change on the FitS, rotate the
tires, inspect the car, etc. and wash it Sunday morning.

as a followup to my lastest fixes on the legacy... it's been running great. i suppose
it's good that i didnt spend extra money on the family car in this bad economy, but
i kinda wanted the odyesse... maybe next year (or next time it breaks down).

[kenchan]

so a couple of days ago i mentioned that i paint sealed the FitS's
exterior with non-other than Griot's PaintSealant. definitely an easy
name to remember.

i sealed the paint on my Legacywgn today. I used the Griot's red pad
with the holder and just did everything by hand since PaintSealant is
super easy to apply (like NXT). wash, clay, and sealant all included,
1.5hrs. That is super fast. I could do it faster if it was cloudier...
had to turn the car around since one side the panel was getting
slightly hotter to the touch.

Washing the red pad afterwards was kind of a pain the last couple of
times since the sealant repells water and detergents real well (as it
should ).

So today, i used some dishsoap liberally to wash the pad and walla,
done cleaning it in about 1min. I used Griot's MF & Pad Cleaner at
the end to get the last of the dish soap's hand lotion out. Just
sprayed into the pad and massaged it to a nice foam and rinsed it
under warm water. btw, recommend you not use super hot water
when you wash your pads if you are using these pad that have
velcro loops on the back. it will damage the glue between the pad
and velcro and ive seen some separate.

here are the list of things i used.

(note)
If i was changing waxes from say carnauba to polymer or vise
versa, i would use some PaintPrep to rid the last of the previous
wax so that my new wax/sealant will have a getter grip on the paint.
I know some folks use Dawn to remove old wax/polymer. ive had a few
instances where some remaining contamination on the paint melted
away and stained into my white car's paint. so use Griot's PaintPrep
or P21's prep car wash instead.

1) Griot's Paint Sealant


2) Griot's Red pad and its holder as pictured below:


3) Griot's MF cloths. I use both Prima and Griot's cloths.
Make sure you remove the tag completely and wash it
before use. the tag will swirl your paint. noted
Griot's a few times already. hope they stop putting them
on.


4)Dish soap... any kind

LOL...

4) Griot's MicroFiber & Foam Pad Cleaner



I was about to take a quick pict of the Legacy but
wife took it to run some errands. well, at least she
took the kids with her so that i can blog and rest a little
while before lunch and working on my FitS in the afternoon.

[kenchan]

btw, if you've never shopped over there, here's the link. been buying stuff from
them (not only detailing, but a lot of garage accessories) for a while. they are a
good store.

www.griotsgarage.com


if you're planning to buy electronics from them, you might want to search amazon
first cause they pretty much re-badge those.

[kenchan]

finished the oil change on the FitS. was the first time doing a Fit...
nothing out of the ordinary, including the dealer kingkong torqued
drain plug. LOL stupid arse kids doing oil changes at my dealer.

it's a easy car to do... everything's right there and no need to
do any articulated tool usage or hand usage to get the plug or
filter off. and you dont need to remove anything to access.

also cleaned the engine room. rotated the tires and inspected
the critical areas while the wheels were