Ha, stop trying to troll me mike410b!

USA dudes have 1.5 litre engines so fuel economy 28/34 mpg:
2008 Honda Fit Review | Edmunds.com

UK has 1.4 or 1.2, but 1.4 is really 1.339 litre engines so fuel economy gets as high as 50 mpg for 1.2
Full review of Used Honda Jazz Hatchback What Car?


MTLian approach re-insertion of spark plugs with care! Get a haynes manual if you can or try to find a quality car maintenance website. Easy to cross thread plugs when re-inserting and must not be over torqued or you're looking at expensive repairs.

 

Be careful with that grease. Do not get any on, near, or around the rotor or the brake pads. Excess grease also attracts dirt and brake dust.

The brake pads and caliper have no return springs so when you release the brakes they just retract ever so slightly slightly because of the runout (wobble) in the rotor. I doubt that what you are describing is a problem.

If you still believe this is a problem you could remove the caliper (do not disconnect the brake line) and clean up the slides that that caliper floats on. I have only done the front brakes on one Fit and I'm trying to remember exactly what those slides or pins look like. I like to use anti-seize on exposed brake slides. It lubricates and also prevents rusting. I learned that years ago working on aircraft brakes. The pins would rust up and bind. Once a year I would have to fix / clean the rusted parts. Anti-seize took care of the problem and I never have to do that again until the pads are worn out.

On the master cylinder. Over filling it will not hurt anything. That is just a reservoir and does not contain any pressure. It is normal for the level to go down as the brake pads wear. When you install new pads the calipers will be pressed back and the excess fluid will go back in the reservoir. If the reservoir it too full at that time, excess fluid will just overflow out the top of the reservoir.

 

Thanks for the heads up, Hondalicious! I have a digital torque adapter which fits onto my ratcheting wrench and turns it into a torque wrench so I'll go ahead and use that to ensure I don't over torque the plugs! I'm generally pretty careful about proper torque (except for my wheels, which I overtorque by only 10 ft/lbs because I find 80 is just ridiculous and that braking the lugs is so easy, I'm afraid that a wheel would come flying off after 2-3 months of driving so I torque them at 90 instead of 80 ft/lbs).

I think there is a special socket I can buy to reinstall the plugs right? I do have some dielectric grease I can use also. I also have a plethora of tubes I bought when working with different fluids (brake fluid / manual trans fluid). I saw one guy on Youtube use a piece of rubber hose to remove and reinstall the plugs. Perhaps this is the best technique: to use a tube to gently start screwing the plugs in and once they are started, switch to the ratchet until the proper torque is achieved. Also, there is a whole debate on whether or not anti-seize should be used on the Honda Fit spark plugs since the engine is aluminum. Do you recommend the use of anti-seize on the spark plug threads?

 

I don't mean your engine capacity, although those are very different.

I'm talking about your gallon of petrol v. our gallon of gas.

A UK gallon is equal to approximately 1.2 US gallons.

 

A bit like me then

Yes, a spark plug socket (with rubber insert, to hold plug, so that it doesn't fall out) there are two sizes I think. Others will be able to chip in with right size for your engine.

Use a hose to install. You'll have a hard time trying to remove a torqued plug with a hose! The point of the hose is that it will lose grip if it encounters any resistance (i.e. cross threading) when inserting. Unless you're doing this in a garage, pick a windless day, you don't want any crud being blown into the heart of the engine.


Yes, it's quite a debate. I decided not to use any on mine because I used denso plugs and they state on their website that the threads are plated to stop any galvanic reaction. Bearing in mind that any anti-seize will affect the torquing reading if you do use some, just the briefest of dabs should be all that is required.

Not for me to recommend things, I'm not an expert or even a mechanic and don't wish to self appoint myself to such a role either. There is good and bad advice on forums/utube as there is in real life.


Changing Your Spark Plugs for a Tune-Up

 

I just read on the fit/jazz service manual that according to Honda, the last step of a spark plug change is to apply anti seize on the threads. I've been reading more and more into this and many users on Amazon stated that they experienced much better fuel economy after changing the coil packs. Apparently, weak/faulty ignition coils can cause the engine to run with too rich a mixture.

I'm gonna try and order an ultra gauge to see if I have any codes: is it possible to have engine codes without ever having a CEL?.

 

Ok, then convert everything into km / litres:

Miles per gallon, US x .425 km per litre
Miles per gallon, imperial x .354 km per litre

So plugging the coefficients into a spreadsheet we get:


US 24 mpg, 10.20 km/litre
US 28 mpg, 11.90 km/litre


UK 40 mpg, 14.16 km/litre
UK 50 mpg, 17.70 km/litre


Factoring in the cost of the fuel in US ($3.37/G) compared to UK (£1.375/Litre)
USA National Gas Price Heat Map - GasBuddy.com
The Price of Fuel - PetrolPrices.com

1 US gallons = 3.785 Litres so US $0.89/Litre

Allowing for the exchange rate of US $1 = £ 0.6189 gives £0.55/Litre)

You're not doing that badly.

 

Well I've made my decision and I'm sticking to it.

Well I'll bear that in mind when I get bad gas mileage.

Don't know that much about it, but I guess that you would be able to see the current parameters/settings for the various sensors in the emissions system.

 

I know this is getting beaten to death..BUT:

To make sure you're getting the best fuel economy possible.

1. ensure tire pressure is in correct specs (32-35psi etc)

2. don't speed. Drive the speed limit.

3. no jack-rabbit starts.

4. use a good quality gasoline.

Do you carry around a lot of extra weight in the car?

 

1. I check it frequently and keep it at 33 psi cold pressure

2. I don't speed

3. I start off fairly normally I think

4. I use what's available which is Ultramar, Shell, PetroCan.

Generally the car is empty except for me a guitar and a school bag. On Monday I'm getting a new engine air filter and will try swapping it after my next fuel up to compare. I'm also always staying under VTEC by shifting at around 3k rpm.

 

Good quality oil and not necessary synthetic is another. A scan gauge or ultra gauge really helps too.

 

I use Napa (Valvoline) 5w20 synthetic on my last 2 oil changes and just changed to castrol syntek 5w20 synthetic because it was on special. Oil cap says 5w20 but should i try 0w20?

Im thinking more and more this is the normal operation for the car. I live in the city so lots of small trips and stop and go traffic. I'm looking into buying an Ultragauge, it's just expensive with the shipping to Canada.

 

Nothing wrong with Valvoline but Honda now uses Conoco/Phillips 0w20 semi synthetic oil. It has a VI of 174 the same as their full synthetic and Valvoline 5w20 has a VI in the 140s. The higher the VI the better protection against shear and better engine protection because it does not change as much. I've use it for up to 10,000 miles with NO problems. http://www.phillips66lubricants.com/...w%20778616.pdf

Ultra gauge is what I use and its about 3 years old and works great. Just need to cover it up with a clean towel in the summer.

 

What about Castrol Full synthetic 5w20? That's what I'm running now. What's the viscosity?

Why should I need to cover the UG with a towel? It'll melt in the sun?

 

5w is the viscosity when cold (w stands for winter, lower number = thinner, less sticky oil). The 20 is the viscosity when hot and is the maximum viscosity oil will thin to when at operating temp (again, lower number = thinner, less sticky oil).

I'm fixin' to get 0w 30 in mine for the winter, 'cause most engine wear occurs at start up, therefore at a cold start up you need the oil to be the thinnest, most freely flowing oil, so it can get to where it needs to be quickly. If you lived out in the desert in summer time then you'd probably not want to go as low as 0w as ambient temp would already be heating oil making it less viscose at the get go.

To read more try:
Car Bibles : The Engine Oil Bible
Motor Oil 101 - Bob is the Oil Guy

LOL, no that would be so you can see the LCD screen in the harsh sunlight.

 

Castrol oil is good. VI tell you how the oil reacts to heat. The higher the VI the better because the oil still remains the same. Like a 5w20 oil has a VI of 140 but the 0w20 has a VI 170 or more so it does not change viscosity as much as the 5w. When going through the bearings under load the 0w20 would protect better.

I cover the UG because of heat in the summer. It might melt with direct sunlight but the alarm has gone off with temps over 150 degree covered but still works fine and the screen has no dead spots.

 

Here's one thing that crossed my mind - your first fillup shouldn't have given you ANY MPG. If it did, you did something wrong in your data entry. I'm not assuming this, just asking, since you weren't specific. Unless you started your MILE ONE with a full tank, there would be no way to get an accurate MPG for your first driving miles in that car. That's why, unless you pick up your car at a dealer that has filled up the tank using their own pump and it hasn't been test-driven, you should basically throw away the first Fuelly fillup and start with your own first REAL fillup. That's not to say that you don't enter it, you do, but you don't enter any miles. Then you put initial fillup in the notes. Over time, however many miles you missed from that first fillup will be insignificant, and it won't skew your mileage on the first few miles you drive (being off that first fillup is also insignificant over time, but it may have made you freak out for no good reason).

Here is MY tracking thread. Unlike most who talk about their mileage on this forum, this is as accurate as it gets. That's not to say that it's "typical" because others get better "realistic" mileage (some claims I find pretty unrealistic), but it is as accurate as it gets short of pouring gas in from measured containers and keeping log books down to the mile of city and highway miles. Any significant variables are noted and every gallon accounted for. It's always filled up to the first turnoff (since others have shown that there is over 2 gallons in the neck, but no way to tell exactly how much a certain level is), I think that the auto-turnoff is probably the best way to go over time.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/1st-...ng-thread.html

PS, my average is just about dead on the official estimates (probably about 1.5 gal lower considering I've got 45/55 highway/city - I think the hilly terrain of Nashville is responsible for that). That should tell you something right there. It's all about over time, not a tankful here or a couple of tankfuls there.

 

Obviously my first entry was 0 mpg because there was no actual mileage to measure. My second tank was 20.9 and my third after a highway trip was 28.6 for an average of 24.7.

BTW, how do you get your Fuelly stats in your sig?

 

Just making sure. See, your average is already starting to increase. As you get more used to the car it will probably go up even more (you'll get more efficient in your starts and shifting). How many gallons and miles was your first tankful? If you filled up quickly, that would probably keep your mileage down because your sample size was small (unless it was all highway, of course).

There's a "Share Your MPG" badge on the right side of the page.

 

Winter is upon us! Just fuelled up; my fuel gauge was at 1/4. 18.0 MPG this tank!