Kens Honda Fit Blog

[kenchan]

wooah, was getting alittle worried that i may not be able to blog for the day
due to ff being down for the last couple or hours.

no, i have not yet installed the cargocover on the GE8...been toooo busy.
i need to make sure the oil filter is in the package as well. might do it
tomorrow since i need to take out the trash anyway. want to rid that
big box the cargo cover came in.

[kenchan]

i opened the box for the cargocover for the GE8 and found that it's not a
retractable type like on my 08, rather a hard carpet backed flap that attaches to
the gate like my MINI's boot.

i suppose this is good since most of the time the rear seats would not
be folded down.....but for those that carry a lot of large cargo
that flap can get kinda clumsy since you'll need to unbutton it, and
place the thing somewhere. the 08's retractable one is obviously much
smaller when retracted.

[GAFIT]

I like hard styles in cars that have a rear window that can open. It allows you to stack light stuff on top for quick access.

It doesn't make sense on a Fit with a permanent rear window.

[kenchan]

GAFIT- i think the issue is when you open the hatch on the 08's with a
cargo cover that cover gets into the way when you want to put even
smaller stuff like groceries... so they 'improved' that by adding the flip-up
feature where the flap goes up with the gate to provide a larger opening.

honestly speaking, the zeta cover i have on my 08 is garbage. it's sagging
in the middle. i should've just gotten the factory one to begin with. since
my windows are tinted and can't really see inside anyway, i may just end up
removing it in entirely.

[kenchan]

was hoping to get my car washed today during lunch, but its' only 17F out
and we're expecting more snow the next 3 days... so i guess i'll pass again.

[kenchan]

just wanted to let you guys know that my GE8 which i recently bought is now
the most expensive car i own (per kbb). LOL

09 GE8 $18K
03 CooperS $16.4K
04 G35C $16.3K
08 GD3 $15.5K

i am now an official poor starving musician. (but my stomach is full)

[kenchan]

i hear we're going to get hit with snow again tomorrow.

man my wife is lucky with them WS60's... me? junkola Ziex912's. LOL

i think im going to get me some gramlites come spring with the s-drives.
spec is probably 15x6.5 +43 offset with 195/50/15. should be able to get
most of the nice tight snappy feel back in the steering.

im trying to tell myself not to do it, but those JDM LED tails are starting
to grow on me. lol

[TOOL]

Funny man
Time to get some more exspensive hobby cars maybe? I smell a 370Z? Mmhmmm!

[kenchan]

Originally Posted by TOOL

Funny man
Time to get some more exspensive hobby cars maybe? I smell a 370Z? Mmhmmm!

hahaha. naw, not for a while (2yrs?). i want to make sure nissan
does not cancel their production for the US market first.

but as often times i mention to folks asking about their new car purchase
whether they got a 'good deal' or not, a value of a car is really subjective.
it can be a $5K kbb car, yet it could mean $50K to someone who loves it.

so dont go by the generic real world value of kbb. i dont think there are
too many G's or MINI's like mine that has been garage kept in the winter
time and never seen snow. plus, to me the cars are still worth the
price i paid new cause i still luv them, including my FitS.

youre going to get 'rippedoff' anyway when it comes time to sell.

[kenchan]

was snowing pretty hard this am but stopped.... hope it stays that way for the
next hr until i get home.........!

[kenchan]

snowing pretty good, but thinking i can just toss in the factory cover on the GE8
like on my GD i thought it would be a quick 1-2min ordeal.

i walk out with my driver (drill) and pliers. frikken thing is clumsy to install.

First the clips that attach to the gate for the prop-up rope is metal. yah, metal
on metal = scratched paint on the gate. wtf

then the 5 buttons you need to drill into the back of the rear seats. there's no
template or anything, just an illustration that shows how it should generally look.
wtf again. in the snow i pushed the button screw into the back seat pretty good
with my Milwaukee drill... no go. the hell? i must have not 'hit the spot' right but
no way to tell cause there's no template or measurements where the buttons are
suppose to go.

after snow got into the trunk and started to accumulate i gave up on the buttons
for another attempt later on when it stops snowing.

another thing... you have to slide the cargo cover into the car at a precise
angle or it will not slide in. it's a clumsy pos, imho... if you're in a rush a lot or
carry larger items frequently dont get the cover and just tint your windows.
07-08 Fits win hands down as far as cargo cover. lol

[kenchan]

doing a lot of clean up online to reduce my posts. going to update the
albums later on this Sping with more newer pictures so stay tuned.

[kenchan]

dang so much snow on the way tonight and tomorrow... i've not yet washed my
FitS since thanksgiving holiday. lol crapola.....

im sure we will not run out of water this summer...

[TOOL]

Hahah dude i went like 2.5 weeks with out washing my car which is super weird cause i usually wash it weekly, but with all this rain i couldnt get a long enough gap to make it worth washing. Finally i did yesterday evening. It was so so filthy, especially the back haha. It looks like a diffrent car in my garage now, all nice and shiny again

Hows the wife liking the GE so far?

[kenchan]

yah, in the warmer months whenever possible i wash my car at home once a
week, but man... this winter has been very harsh on our cars. ive yet to take it
to the local touchless. lol today is nice but then it's only like 10F or
something. tomorrow hi's are like 2-3F... maybe Sat i will take the car in.

wife likes her 09. she says its 'soooo~ cute.' i can make that car look so
nice, but no modding is expected on the GE8.

[TOOL]

Happy to hear shes enjoying it
Im trying to talk my parents into trading my Moms 08 xD in for a new Insight when they come out haha. I love the new Insight, i like the looks and the MPG performance is awesome. For a starting price of "Just about 18,000$" you cant go wrong

[kenchan]

yah, that new insight does look 100000X better than the original insight which
was bascially useless other than for transporting 2 people or one big one. lol

it's fun to drive cars with alternate energy, that's for sure.

i have not driven my G or MINI since thanksgiving break either... hope winter's
over in 5-6wks. i know the sun has been going down later now so 5pm is not
as dark as it was only a few weeks a go.

[kenchan]

morning all fitfreakers.

yesterday while coming off work i sat in my car and noticed that the ENTIRE
inner front windshield was frozen. LOL meaning, i scrape the outside glass
and the scraper gave a nice clean plastic SQUEEEEEEEK. damn it.

so i sat there idling at 2K rpm for about 15min letting the defrost do its job.
i must have wasted about 1/2 gallon of gas just from that. lol

this frosting inside glass happens when the outside temp drops significantly
and the air turns very dry. condensation forms on the glass and it just freezes.

i found (not scientific yet) that you can prevent this by shutting off the car and
turning the HVAC vents to the upper vents and not leave it on defrost. it appears
(speculation) that the heat from the engine after shut off leaks out from the defrost
vents and it augments the condensation inside the glass. when you vent from the
top vents obviously there is very little (if not zero) warm air that leaks out from the
defrost vents onto the glass.

give it a shot. it seemed to have worked for me this am.

[kenchan]

so i encountered my first warranty issue (aside from the squeeaaaakky
driver seat which later cured on its own).

it's about -8F this morning and the car started slow, but fine. i let it idle
for about 3min while I scraped the ice off the car. was ready to go, i put
my car in gear, pressed the e-brake button, pushed down, CRACK.

WTF? i thought. then i remembered someone on fitfreak crying
about the rubber piece under the e-brake tore or something. i look down
below the e-brake and sure enough, a fairly large piece literally snapped
off and dissappeared under the center console.

wat a POS. this is the first car (out of the 18 or so cars ive owned)
ever to do this.

unless i point it out to someone noone will ever see it so not a huge
deal, but just though wat else might snap in this weather.

[kenchan]

btw, the EnduraTechs were a tad stiffer than normal in this -8F weather,
but still comfy enough to drive. no issue.