As with all my vehicles, from bikes to cars, I've always babied my toys as I don't want to take a chance of breaking anything, etc. That's just how I roll (slowly)!

Well, earlier today I was reading the "paddle shift" thread and saw mention of how many people will drop it a gear when passing a slow moving vehicle or going up a hill. That was never my style, well, not until today when I decided to drive in "S"!

I was behind an 18 wheeler on a long uphill merge onto the Mass Pike when I decided to see what all the "hooplah" was and let me tell you, these little Fits of ours are friggen zippy! Not the fastest thing out there but a hell of a lot faster than what I gave it credit for!! I was up to 75 mph and was still on the merge lane!

I don't believe I've ever heard the VTEC kick in but she sure sounded sweet when I dropped a gear and was at about 5,000 rpm! What does it sound like? How do you know when VTEC kicks in? I wanna go play!!

These cars are a hoot!

 

To me, it sounds like the VTEC kicks in around 4,500 - 5,000 rpm, and it sounds like a higher pitch. There's a distinct difference in the sound.

 

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To be honest,I have never heard a distinct VTEC sound. Now, my garage queen S2000 is another story. That is the old version of VTEC - at about 6000 rpm, a solenoid is activated, and it pulls a rod across the top of the engine which locks up the high lift cam follower. The sound effects are very sudden and distinct, and for that matter so is the response. The Fit, I thought, has a version known as iVTEC. The i stands for 'intelligent' and the effect is continuous and smooth.

 

Are you saying that iVTEC is quieter than VTEC and wouldn't be as pronounced?

 

YouTube - VTEC SOUND
between 19 and 20 seconds vtec kicks in. this is an exagerated version of what vtec sounds like, and it wont kick in as hard in your fit because one less cam to lift higher, but you get the idea

 

Yep that's exactly what it sounds like on the fit, but not as pronounced. I call bs on the vtec being integrated smoothly.

 

yeah these lil things are pretty impresive haha

 

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Certainly the iVTEC transition will be smoother. The Honda S2000 VTEC comes on with a distinct thump and a tremendous and sudden increase in sound volume. Of course, many S2000 owners absolutely love that sudden and crude transition.

 

Oh man, that's awesome! Almost alive... as if a personality is detected.

Strong... really strong!

 

I just went back out on the road to play and believe I heard it. And if not, it still sounded awesome and she was quick! Driving in "S" and bringing those rpm's up really makes a difference!

 

Actually that strong VTEC kick is not a very good thing. It means you are not maximizing the potential of the powerband. It can be tuned out and gain a nice increase in the mid-range and have a much more linear powerband throughout the rev range.

My Snisen didn't have a thump of power as I tuned it out so the transition wasn't even noticeable except for the audible tone. It was a win/win situation as power was increased, car was even more enjoyable to drive and I also was able to increase fuel mileage slightly (still not very good because of my go go go nature).

I did the same thing with the 5R Teggy. KPro is such a wonderful thing. Now if only Hondata would actually look at making a FlashPro for our Fit. Gains wouldn't be as pronounced as found on the K and F motors, but a gain is a gain is a gain.

 

I-vtec is way more smooth.
Regular vtec is from a certain rpm to another. . Usually at 5200 it "crosses over".

Anyway, the vtec in the Fit is engineered for economy.

 

Yeah, what Kelso said! lol

 

he's correct...