Kens Honda Fit Blog - Page 36

kenchan · #**701** (**permalink**) 01-16-2009, 01:38 PM

this am it was more towards -14F and windchill of about -28F. was pretty
chilly. despite the cold, engine started slow but no problems. my car resides
outside. same with the GE8, wife said no issue starting.

... and no further CRACK noise from the e-brake. hahahaha

im going to use
some EZ felt and cover up the area later on when it gets warmer. probably better
than just getting it replaced with the same piece. (will crack again).

Im amazed at how well my JCV Arsenal stereo's been doing in the frigid cold.
no issue during startups and the LCD appears no different than during the
warm months.

the EnduraTechs felt quite a bit firmer than yesterday morning, but still no
issue regarding comfort. im looking forward to the inspection i'll be doing
come Spring.

Fitcapo · #**702** (**permalink**) 01-16-2009, 02:14 PM

I already started some inspection on my car and noticed a couple weeks back that one of my fog lights is broken. The glass is shatter in the front of the bulb. The light still works kinda but I don't use them. Must have happened on the weekend we had 14in of snow and I had to plow my way through the snow to make it to work.

Snow sucks! lol.

I guess I would rather have snow then this really really cold weather tho.

kenchan · #**703** (**permalink**) 01-16-2009, 03:30 PM

suck to hear your lamp broke.

ive had that happen on my previous cars
and it costed an arm and leg just for that lens.

i think you have to buy the entire assembly on our cars.

i dont mind the cold as long as i have my winter weather gear. when
it's below 5F i always wear my snow pants over my slacks to work and
the right coat. it doesn't feel that cold, actually so i would rather not
have snow.

snow = salt = rust.

cold = warm winter gear + hot coco = no problem.

Fitcapo · #**704** (**permalink**) 01-16-2009, 09:56 PM

Well luck you hahah. I am too lazy to bust out the heavy duty winter gear so I usually am just in a smaller coat and pants. If I get motivated enough I do a undershirt a tee shirt a sweatshirt and a coat but that is only once in awhile. The rest of the time I just freeze my butt off. God it sucks being lazy lol....

Ohh and I looked it looks like the cheapest I could get a set of fogs for is $200. I might look into swapping to a base bumper and keeping my sporte lip or filling in the holes on the fog covers with bondo and repainting them. Haven't decided yet. I will decided once it gets warm and I can work on my car again.

kenchan · #**705** (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 12:31 PM

yah, perhaps it's old age cause i dont think i can last out there without
the proper winter gear.

yah, $200 is about right. it's expensive. if i was in the same boat,
i too would probably go find a base Fit fog lamp surround piece and
just cover it up. if the lens is just cracked you might want to just
put some NiteShades or something and make them darker so the
cracked line is not as visible and just use it like that.

agree...it's just too damn cold to do anything right now. my garage
that hasn't been opened since xmas break is at 28F this am. turned
the tires on my hobby cars that are hibernating to eliminate any flatspots.

Tork · #**706** (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 03:22 PM

Hello Kenchan,
I am just up 94 from you at the state line, close to FitCapo.
Like 22 below up here yesterday LOL

Couple questions if I may,

If I understand correctly, you put your sat radio antenna under the black plastic shroud (hood) behind the instrument cluster and it works fine?
That would be a big time saver on my 09, because on my 07 I put the antenna in front of the regular antenna and it was a bit of a biotch to pull the panels to drop the headliner down to loosen the nut on the regular antenna and to string the cable.

2nd
On the Enduratechs,
A. How close can they be adjusted to stock height if someone wanted to do that for snow clearance for the winter?

B. You probably might not know this until spring, but corrosion on the adjustment spanner nuts for height, how much corrosion with all the salt?

Thanks in advance.
Mike

Fitcapo · #**707** (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 07:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenchan

yah, perhaps it's old age cause i dont think i can last out there without
the proper winter gear.

yah, $200 is about right. it's expensive. if i was in the same boat,
i too would probably go find a base Fit fog lamp surround piece and
just cover it up. if the lens is just cracked you might want to just
put some NiteShades or something and make them darker so the
cracked line is not as visible and just use it like that.

agree...it's just too damn cold to do anything right now. my garage
that hasn't been opened since xmas break is at 28F this am. turned
the tires on my hobby cars that are hibernating to eliminate any flatspots.

I would just buy the some for the base fit but on the base bumper the pieces where the fog lights are on the sport are actually part of the bumper. They don't come off like the one on the sport. Other wise I would have been all over that already because that would be a 10 second swap to do and I wouldn't mind doing that in the cold. It might actually be worth it to just get a base bumper because a base bumper not painted on bernardi parts would cost me $170 so less then the fogs..... So if I could find someone with a base bumper I could trade them my fogs ( broken and non broken) plus my bumper for their base bumper and keep my sporte lip and I think that would be more than a fair trade. Just a thought tho would be hard to find a local base that wants to trade knowing they still need to buy at least 1 fog bulb.

Tork · #**708** (**permalink**) 01-17-2009, 10:44 PM

Hey FitCapo,
Got a big heated attached 3 car garage you are welcome to use almost anytime, just prolly within 5 miles from you.
Seriously, I'll PM you my phone number

Mike

kenchan · #**709** (**permalink**) 01-18-2009, 07:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tork

If I understand correctly, you put your sat radio antenna under the black

On the Enduratechs,
A. How close can they be adjusted to stock height if someone wanted to do that for snow clearance for the winter?

B. You probably might not know this until spring, but corrosion on the adjustment spanner nuts for height, how much corrosion with all the salt?

Thanks in advance.
Mike

tork- ive not done the sat-radio install on either my 08 or 09. my
JVC Arsenal was for the HD radio and better EQ control vs stock and it
just uses the traditional antenna. Ive talked to a member that
commented about running the sat antenna inside the dash with success
just above where the stock HU goes, so that would be the first place i
would consider.

on the EnduraTechs, you can set them up to stock height or even higher
and can also go down about -3" on the front -2" on the rear. very flexible
setup.

i'll have to check the spring seat and collars for corrosion come Spring.
it uses treated metals so i think they will hold up fine. from the last visual
check i did during the wash-down a few weeks back it was not rusted.
im expecting some discoloration (oxidation) on the surface but not RUST.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Fitcapo

I would just buy the some for the base fit but on the base bumper the pieces where the fog lights are on the sport are actually part of the bumper. They don't come off like the one on the sport. Other wise I would have been all over that already because that would be a 10 second swap to do and I wouldn't mind doing that in the cold. It might actually be worth it to just get a base bumper because a base bumper not painted on bernardi parts would cost me $170 so less then the fogs..... So if I could find someone with a base bumper I could trade them my fogs ( broken and non broken) plus my bumper for their base bumper and keep my sporte lip and I think that would be more than a fair trade. Just a thought tho would be hard to find a local base that wants to trade knowing they still need to buy at least 1 fog bulb.

ahhh, that's right...

i remember reading that one would have to CUT
that area on the base Fit if you want to install the fogs. good point indeed.
yah, i suppose if your insurance premium is more than $100
it might just be better to get a new bumper. what would you do
with the signal stalk though? would you run aftermarket fogs to it?

kenchan · #**710** (**permalink**) 01-18-2009, 07:58 PM

so this entire weekend i wasn't feeling completely up to par so spent the entire 48hrs
basically inside the house. wife went out to run errands for us on her 09 so
everything's cool.

i went outside for a brief moment this morning to get some fresh arctic air (LOL)
and to check on my cars. im hoping that this week im going to get a chance to
finally wash my car...

kenchan · #**711** (**permalink**) 01-19-2009, 11:20 AM

tomorrow looks kinda promising to wash my car, but the roads are all wet and
discusting so might not be worth the $15.

ive noticed that each time i try to unlock my locking-gas-cap, the lock
mechanism is almost always frozen. it's quite an inconvenience. it's like
im locking myself out of the house on purpose to see how a robber would
feel. hahahaha.

standing out in the 15F weather at the pump im thinking to myself who the
hell would even think about standing out there in the cold trying to siphon
out gas or vandelize? finding another car to suck on or kicking the car to
vandelize would be much more convenient.

i got some de-icer (little bottle about $1.50) and sprayed it into the lock.
it's a must-have for those in snow belt states if you are using a locking
gas cap. Honda should sell the thing with the de-icer.

fitboy408 · #**712** (**permalink**) 01-19-2009, 02:23 PM

Hey kenchan! I actually have been reading a whole mess amount of your posts about the Enduratechs. Seems like you're really happy with them. On their website, looks like they're pairing the kit with 5kg/mm front & rear. Is it possible to special order a 6kg/mm spring rate for the rear? I recall that somebody mentioned that it was, but I figured I'd confirm with the expert.

Were they able to supply you with a shock dyno graph? Just curious.

I like how they are independently ride height adjustable. I'm actually really looking at these vs. a Tokico HTS/Koni Sport (should be coming out sometime this year)...

kenchan · #**713** (**permalink**) 01-19-2009, 03:13 PM

hey fitboy!

yah, the ET's have been impressive throughout the seasons, even
in the coldest of days it has performed very well giving the comfort
needed as daily driver while maintaining the nice lowered look.

I thought the rates were 5kg/3kg front/rear, i could be wrong.
i think you can only get the 4kg for the rear (only available up to +1kg
due to the fixed damping) but if you decide to up the rate on the rear,
you should probably reflect that on the front as well.

i do not have the dyno plots for the spring rates and im not sure
if they provide that info. for what you get, this package is hard to
beat. plus the instructions manual that it comes with is top notch.
includes illustrations and torque specs!

Quote:

Originally Posted by fitboy408

Hey kenchan! I actually have been reading a whole mess amount of your posts about the Enduratechs. Seems like you're really happy with them. On their website, looks like they're pairing the kit with 5kg/mm front & rear. Is it possible to special order a 6kg/mm spring rate for the rear? I recall that somebody mentioned that it was, but I figured I'd confirm with the expert.

Were they able to supply you with a shock dyno graph? Just curious.

I like how they are independently ride height adjustable. I'm actually really looking at these vs. a Tokico HTS/Koni Sport (should be coming out sometime this year)...

fitboy408 · #**714** (**permalink**) 01-19-2009, 07:26 PM

Thanks Kenchan for the info! It's good to hear that the ETs are holding up well.

kenchan · #**715** (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 08:45 AM

np, fitboy!

just a follow up on that inner glass frozen ordeal... since parking the car with
the HVAC in the upper vent position (not the defrost position), i have not had
any issues.

today's hi is only 18F, so i may postpone the washing until tomorrow which is
suppose to be 24F.

luv4jdm · #**716** (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 12:20 PM

congratz on ur new fit.

kenchan · #**717** (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 03:23 PM

hey thanks luv4jdm.

guys, i actually took my 08 to the jet wash (touchless) today.

it looked spic n span but on the way back to the office it collected
a lot of salt dust and drips left white streaks. lol

can't win.

BUT, the good is that the touch up i did of that chip i caught
over the holidays have not spread... was pretty happy about that.

i took a quick look at the DRAG DR21's. man the lips have A LOT of
pitting and rust spots. cant wait to fix them in the Spring.

Tork · #**718** (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 04:55 PM

Hey Kenchan,
Do you mind if I ask you where you got your windows tinted and the price?
Answer here or a PM would be great
Thanks
Mike

kenchan · #**719** (**permalink**) 01-20-2009, 04:58 PM

tork- i forgot the name of the place but it was midamerica or midwest tinting or
something like that. i can't really recommend the place cause i have tiny bubbles
on 2 of the tints on the small rear glass and i haven't had the chance to get it fixed.

they do have life-time guarantee so i might take it in this summer. was $200...
and it's ONYX metalized tint so it will never(?) fade.

kenchan · #**720** (**permalink**) 01-21-2009, 01:10 PM

been seeing A LOT of Fits out there on the streets and it's good to
see that the trend is picking up.

wat this benefits us enthusiasts is if there's enough demand, im sure
honda will bring more factory hop-ups for the car including sportier trims
in the coming generations.

ps: wife commented that she too got her car washed yesterday.