on my way home from SPOCOM yesterday i was surprised to find out that i kept up with an auto is300 all the way through 3rd gear and a good amount of 4th. i was trying to pass to get onto the 710 north and the jerk-off thought it was a race.

i only let off the throttle because i would've passed the freeway entrance and the wifey asked WTF i was doing LoL. part of me thinks that if i had a quarter tank of gas and no passengers i could've passed him

 

Please... I'm not trying to rain on your parade, but I'm pretty sure our tiny 1.5 liter, 117 hp motor has nothing against the Lexus' IS300 3.0 liter I6 engine pumping out at minimum 218hp and 215 torque. Was the guy messing with you? Probably, but I highly doubt he was full throttle. You should be fine with that. I think the fit is an awesome car and handle like nothing else, but the 1 thing its not is fast.

 

I was going the speed limit tonight, 45mph on a 2-lane road. This douchebag in a Mazda3 (maybe Speed) was tailing my ass for a good 10 minutes and finally goes into the opposing-traffic lane and zooms by me. Just because I have a low, loud, dark Fit I'm guessing.

 

I was on the highway with my wife. A C6 Corvette pulls up next to me and does the 3 honks. Are you serious? I just kept driving the speed limit while he sped off. I felt flattered that he thought the Fit was fast. Shah!

 

Um why is everyone surprised at the fact that people want to race a small honda with rims and low profile tires, sometimes lowered, tinted, with stickers on the car??

Um yeah if you modify your vehicle expect the racers (no matter what they're driving) to come out and try to race you.

I'm a pretty quick driver but I don't race anyone. My car is tinted, has the black headlights with only the stock wheels and I sometimes get some mustang, g35, or altima or maxima, and of course Scion TCs wanting to race.

When I do get my 16s with the low pro tires, I'm going to be waving people off.

Its the nature of modifying. They see a couple movies get the parts and basically want to race anything that looks like it's fast and modified.

No surprise to me at all

peace,

 

street racing is retarded. what's the point? i'm in the military and alot of the single, young military members have modded cars. i get the occasional douchebags in rubbermaid mustangs or ricer civics revving their engines at the stop lights. they peel out and i do the speed limit. i pull up next to them at the next stop light and just shake my head in disgust. i mod my fit for better FE and freeway onramps. that's it, racing is for retards.

 

this is300 was indeed trying to race me. sure the it has a 215 (crank) hp 3.0L I6 but it's also 3500+ lbs and it had an hp eating toyota automatic transmission. not to mention, coming from SPOCOM it had the works: probably 500 lbs of audio equipment, bondo, less than flattering body kit, a spoiler that would make bleachers jealous, and ridiculously huge wheels. my windows were down and its blaring exhaust is what tipped me off, it sounded like a dying moose that had a vulture peck at its ass hole.

seriously, i'm not stroking myself or make my GD out to be more than it is - i'll be the first to admit to how paralyzingly slow my car is

 

Thank you for pointing this out. Kudos to you...

Not trying to start a war here, but another person thinks that an M3 can't keep up with a Fit in the turns. Please... Why would anyone think that? We have a $16K car with probably a $200 suspension. Why would that be able to keep up with a RWD sports car with 414 hp, electronic suspension system, and costs over $55K? If he was trying to race a Fit and lost, he either wasn't trying or he is a terrible driver. If the latter, he should turn the car over to me promptly.

Maybe this mentality is why everyone wants to race a Fit.

^^^ I see that we have more information above. Maybe the story is getting more believable now. Thanks for clarifying.

 

^^ no problem, the more i read my first post the easier it is to believe that it's a hallucination or boy-ricer fiction. whether people chose to believe me or not i just wanted to share my experience

 

You should talk to Sugarphreak about this....

And also, the M3 might have 414 HP but it's also heavy as f**k, and, though it has tons of torque compared to our fits, the usable power in a course with tight, consecutive turns and minimal straight sections is minimal whereas the fit is almost optimized for such an environment

 

Spot on!

A driver's job is just a matter of exploiting the areas of the car where it's got an advantage to the other cars (thanks Initial D 4th Stage for that bit of wisdom). Big, wide, heavy, powerful pigs such as M3s and G37s will have trouble on tracks that suit a much lighter, smaller, dartier car.

Power and price ain't everything...

 

I agree 100%. There are advantages and disadvantages to every car, but Sugarphreak's post was talking about one left turn. After reading it again, the guy driving the M3 sounds like an idiot with his comments. Maybe in that situation, the Fit actually did have the advantage. Who knows...

This thread started with talking about, "Why do people want to race the Fit?", and got into a few posts on "I raced this car and won." Maybe the people trying to race the Fit had a previous run in with another Fit that did want to race and lost to it. Maybe they are trying to prove something the second time around.

 

^^ actually I'm referring to Sugarphreak's experiences in racing school where he's gotten much faster lap times than cars that cost 2-3 times as much as the fit with more than double the HP.

 

If I want to Auto-X, I'll use the Fit. If I want to race, I'll do it in Gran Turismo

 

Last weekend I watched a Fit lead the pack around VIR's grand course ( 4 miles +);fun watching. Oh, wait, the yellow flag was out on all corners so passing not allowed. Fifty feet past the starting line when yellow dropped that Fit was passed by so many cars I lost count. Only the video knows. The video is a scream. And no it wasn't the slowest but it wasn't far ahead of the slowest either. Great lunchroom entertainment.
And that Fit is prepped much better than street cars. In the esses and sharp turns of the A/X section that Fit actually pulled some cars.
But anyone who thinks the Fit is a racer has had one too many margaritas.
Just be courteous and wish them well on their $3 gas.

 

Having instructed at many A/X and drivers schools many times I have seen Pintos out drive Ferrari. Its a matter of learning and desire. Try checking the real A/X results (there are a few) or road race venues to see where the Fit stands.
Having my Fit on VIR several times I can attest to struggling to get under 3 minutes which is slow time for cars. Refer to "Hyundai Sundae at VIR" on you tube to see what the course is like. The Fit is just too underpowered and top heavy to be competitive.
And yes I have the videos to prove it.

 

I agree completely.
My CL-S was a fun car to drive..but not really practical. Do I really need to be able to accelerate 0-60 in 6 sec.. Not really. I think that car got me in more trouble than good. I have driven S2K's, Corvettes etc...many times on public roads. IMO those cars are worthless on public streets (unless you want to lose your license faster than you can even say ticket). Its a tease driving a fast car in public. I have more fun driving my slow car fast and spirited and stay with in the means of the law. Now if you are a track junky and go to the track every weekend then of course the s2k, corvette etc...is practical. If I had 30+ grand laying around I would buy one but I don't so I live with my fun little gas sipper that I can also load half a bed room set in to lol.
In a fast car on public roads it seems like you always need another car to race to have any fun.
In a slow car on public roads its more about the driver and the road to have fun.
Good article I love to reference is this.... this pretty much reiterates what I was talking about above.

Slow Cars - Slow Is The New Fast - Automobile Magazine

"The GT3 is just too damn fast to be driven anywhere remotely close to its limit on public roads. But in the Miata, every stoplight is an excuse to exercise the stubby formula-car-style gear lever, and every corner is an opportunity to practice your drifting technique. On a racetrack, of course, speed is everything. On the street, slower is better. In the GT3, you're constantly disappointed that you don't have a chance to reach its alleged top speed of 193 mph. In the Miata, you're happy when you're doing 45 mph."

"Slow Car ethic is the Honda Fit, a tossable runabout with a tiny but willing engine and an agile chassis enlivened by feel-good steering. Of course, we'd expect nothing less from a company whose CRX was a perennial Slow Car standout.Would I take a Fit over a Ferrari? Hey, I may be weird, but I'm not stupid. I savor every second of seat time I'm able to beg, borrow, or steal in Lambos and Astons. But for me, driving satisfaction is primarily a function of how much of a car's performance I can unlock, and I simply don't have the talent or the courage, not to mention the bank account, to explore the limit of an Audi R8 anywhere but on a racetrack. Granted, a Slow Car doesn't do much for the ego. But whether you're driving a thirty-five-year-old BMW 2002tii or a thoroughly modern Mini, it can get you to the grocery store and rock your world, all in the same trip, without alerting the authorities or voiding your insurance. That doesn't make a Slow Car the right weapon for every fight. But as the old adage has it, some races go not to the swift."

 

I thought this thread was about the idiots trying to race our cars. Now it's been taken over with I beat this car and that car. You guys are the exact people were reffering to. Just be happy with the fit. It's a great car, but it's an econobox none the less. Not to mention, when you try to race( or just go fast I guess) in the fit, you sound like a moron as well with that little 1.5 litter screaming for a relief.

 

I'm pretty sure you've thrashed your car on public streets. It's the only way to get to the speed limit without having the guy behind you follow you all the way until you turn and then give you the finger for being so goddamn SLOW. I've had SO MANY PEOPLE give me DIRTY looks or LAUGH at me because I'm ALWAYS shifting around 4-5000rpm especially in the first 2 gears. I shift to 2nd at 20mph, 3rd at 35, 4th around 45, and 5th if it's a long flat stretch of road. I bang the hell out of gears because I'm scared shitless of being slow. You always see the OLD people taking 30 minutes to get to the speed limit. I don't want to be that way just because my car is retardedly slow. If I owned it, I'd trade it in right now. I'm tired of being ridiculed because I have a Fit.

 

I think you have some issues. I never have people think I go to slow. I am always way ahead of the pack.
If your car is that slow something must be wrong with your car. I pass people driving v6's all the time. Our car is no f1 car but its not incapable. I can shift 3-3.5K rpm and still drive faster than 80% of the people on the road.

good luck