I just purchased a '09 Fit Sport AT with Nav and my wife asked me this morning if I could make it faster 0-60mph so she can get on the highway safer. She enters the highway several times a day and i can see her point. I cant say Im a gear head, but I can and have rebuilt older engines (351w, 350). I am lost with these newer engines with front wheel drive. I know there is some incredible HP options out there for this model, but I have not clue where to start. What would produce the most HP for under $1000 and not hurt the engine or transmission? Thanks so much for any help.

 

nitrous is about it for that money.

 

I don't think I'd try nitrous on an engine that's still under warranty. Getting it wrong would be very expensive, not to mention dangerous.

My first (not very helpful) response was "teach her how to drive a stick instead." Really, $1000 isn't going to buy you much improvement in acceleration.

 

sell your fit and get a faster car. you got the worst fit. auto tranny lol

 

You could easily do Intake and Exhaust for that price. From what I understand the HKS is fairly quiet and gives moderate power gains and an intakes should also help with that.
HKS should run you between $300 & $400 and an intake should be between $200 & $300 for a Cold Air Intake. Between the two you should be seeing a net increase of 10-15whp (that's wheel hamster power)... That should be a 10% increase in power which should definitely be noticeable.

~SB

 

buy a $1000 foxbody mustang

 

have your wife lose some weight, take out sound deadening, remove back and passenger seat, and get some rota slipstreams same size as stock, oh and remove the exhaust

 

bwaahahahahha

 

I hop on and off the highway around my area and I have to say, I have no trouble with my sport AT. Frankly, it's balls suprises me. It's one of the first things I noticed I did NOT agree with people on the forums about when I test drove one, and now own one. While lots say the at AT is lacking, I find it zips plenty good enough to charge right in battle. Perhaps have her try the paddles? I haven't used them yet to know if it would help any.

Dan

 

Also, and no offense meant with this, be certain your wife is entering the highway the safest way possible for the rest of us. In my experience here in NY, there is only one time of day- rush hour- when there's is an actual light on some entrances which regulates the spacing of cars entering the expressway. And even then, you have a whole entrance ramp in which to come up to speed and merge. Nine times out of ten, you enter ALREADY at highway speed. It is dangerous for her, and us, to enter from a full stop. Most people who find themselves in that situation are making the approach and entrance improperly. True, some entrance ramps are too short and make it difficult to enter at full speed. But IME, that's fairly rare. So, confirm she knows how to best enter a highway. Lots of people don't. Needing to get from 0 to 60 to enter a highway suggests she should be approaching better, and safer.

Dan

 

oh... and lighter wheels will definitely help with acceleration but will put you over your budget. Basically there are two ways to improve acceleration; More power, or less weight. A combination of the two is always optimal but budget constraints can and always will be an issue.

~SB

 

actually for less than 1000 you can get some nice lightweight wheels, just reuse the stock tires........

 

Thanks for the help, I will look into the exhaust and intake. FYI, she is 100lbs soaking wet and I dont think she would consider leaving the baby at home. LOL good laughs though from all. I was looking at the supercharger bolt on option for $3k but I am concerned how much life my engine loses from it. She refused to drive a MT and I was told the paddle shifters give the same control and feel as a MT. I have not tried both so i cant say for sure.

 

ahh nice a petite lady!

supercharger shouldn't hurt engine life too much as long as its tuned properly and you don't beat on the car anymore than you would

you don't have as much control or feel with the paddle shifters

 

!!? who is making a ge8 supercharger?

Moving out of NY is another option.

 

Give them a try! I use the paddles all the time and i can always get up to highway speeds before i need to merge. Only reason that i opted for the AT.

 

Among motorcycle racers, the rule of thumb is 7 pounds = 1 horsepower, so removing 70 pounds from a Fit should be roughly the same as getting 10 hp more from the engine.

The paddle shifters are fun; I can't say that they will actually improve performance, but they do improve fun, and you may feel like you're going faster. I can think of one added benefit of running in Sport mode: at highway speeds in auto, a fairly slight push on the accelerator results in a large downshift; in some situations, such as a hill, the A/T may hunt between higher and lower gears. in Sport mode, you control when, and how many gears it downshifts.

 

Other than a $3000 supercharger (and not all advertised are worth it) there isn't much that can be done for a Fit to decrease 0-60 times.
Learn to use the gearshift (auto S or manual) to get into freeway traffic. Perhaps all she needs is learnibng not to fear shifting 6500 rpm.

 

You hit the nail on the head here. In my case, I had to learn not to think like I'm driving a V8 (or a Harley-Davidson), and learn to "wind 'er up" when getting on the highway. Once you realize that nothing's going to break, it's actually a lot of fun.

 

I've got no problem with my Fit not being able to get up to 70 granted I drive a manual and run it up to about 5300 before shifting. Just step on the gas harder. I doubt she's got it matted when she's on the onramp.