for FF, being nose heavy is a non-issue
any weight removed from the rear will HELP handling

do u think that a 50/50 mass distribution is ideal?
maybe only for an FR car
a mid engine, rear or all wheel drive car should be tail heavy
same for a rear engine car

most cars should NOT be 50/50

 

Removing weight is rarely an issue... (it's not likely that even by removing every possible part and replacing materials with lightweigth counterparts would be enough to cause problems)

 

As long as you drop the air pressure in the rear tires there isn't a problem from removing the back seats and spare tire.. There is less under steer and that allows you to stay on the throttle through a turn instead of lifting off and inducing over steer that would otherwise occur in a situation where the car under steers... The handling is much more neutral with the rear end lightened up so you can corner at higher speed but when you have gone beyond the limit of tire adhesion it is going to be all four wheels that break loose.

 

I know LyonNightRoad developed some issues with snap oversteer in his car...but i've never had this problem. I even keep my rears overinflated relative to the fronts (~55 vs. 45 respectively).

 

I made the mistake of trying to keep up with JCrimson on a rather smooth surfaced concrete with nice S curves.. I had the rear end up in the air a bit via air shocks and had 4 wheels and tires in the back of the car... I had recently rotated the tires and forgotten that I hadn't adjusted the air pressure and it was a very hot day which had increased the pressure of the shocks and tires... Of course Joe had super stick tires and every suspension trick in the world on his car... I hadn't become all that familiar with the power band of the high boost kit at the time and had stepped down on it as I was coming out of the curve and lost the front end.. I got off of the throttle and all 4 wheels had broken loose.. I was drifting toward the curb with my foot lightly on the throttle and finally everything hooked back up... That was the only time I have had that kind of experience in the Fit or any other FWD car I have owned when driving on dry pavement... I keep my tires at 37 PSI front and 32 rear.. I was surprised at the difference removing the seats made.;. The only thing I find that is bothersome is that the pressure in the air shocks increases on hot days.. I drive 6 miles to town and when I park and get out it is about 3" higher in back and I only have 7 PSI in them instead of the recommended 20 PSI.... It didn't lift up that much with the seats in.

 

we should do this again sometimes

 

I'm reviving this thread because all this info shouldn't be hidden. Couple questions, too. Any long term issues with the lightweight batteries (Odyssey or Braille)? Also, BnD, have you had any issues with the Wilwoods on your Civic? I've heard of issues with their aluminum calipers leaking. Of course that was likely due to the extreme heat those sets saw on the track, and I'm not sure it would affect the comparatively light abuse that street cars see.

 

The odyssey battery has always worked like a champ. I stored my fit every winter and the odyssey battery would completely drain...so I bought a trickle charger and brought it back to life. I've had to recharge the battery two winters now. I bought another one for my civic build.

Regarding the Wilwoods, I've yet to drive the car so I can't say...but, Wilwood makes like 20 different calipers. The dynalite kit is the base caliper and I would imagine that some issues might become apparent with extreme use. Once I get some wheel time in the civic I will update with my impressions. I got these for $498...incredible deal.

 

I read through the entire thread last night, and probably just missed it, but did you ever get the insight drums to fit?

 

The 1st gen insight drums require the 1st gen insight hub/spindle...unfortunately the bolt pattern doesn't line up with the GE hub/spindle bolt pattern. Unfortunately, the hub/spindle is welded onto the GE rear torsion beam.

Spoon got the insight drums to mount onto the GD...the hub/spindle bolts onto the GD (as opposed to being welded on like our chassis) so that may be how they were able to perform the swap.

The last option, which I never pursued, is to see if the GD rear beam will swap onto the GE

 

Well if you want to send me a GD rear beam I'd be happy to let you know.

 

Awesome thread here, a rare gem on this site

Just read through entire 15 pages.

Couple of thoughts about part swapping.

Anyone find out if the CRZ LCAs fit with FIT knuckles?

Also if not, would the CRZ knuckles fit, this would require 5 lug swap I think eh?
On that note you could swap entire CRZ rear and get discs as a bonus plus seems the CRZ has stock RSB installed. not sure about weight savings on any of this but it would be a five lug/rear disc conversion in one.

Also the insight has aluminum calipers if I read correctly, are they interchangeable, It doesnt seem so to me but didnt dig to deep.

Anyone have a CRZ sitting around they dont need, lol.

 

The LCAs push the track out so the Fit driveshafts would no longer be attached. Unsure if the CR-Z shafts will work in place of the Fits. The newer Insight is using aluminum lower arms as well and the part numbers between first 2nd gen Insight and Fit were exactly the same. The part numbers between the CR-Z and newer 2nd gen Insight are different. So most likely the newer Insight lower arms will be a direct bolt on for the Fit.

I was thinking of giving them a go, but feeling lazy and don't want to swap out my RCA from the current lower arms to the Insight lower arms, but it is still something I eventually would like to do.

Already have rear discs thanks to the Fit RS coming standard with them and 4 lugs work fine for me, especially with the low power of the Fit. Every ounce counts, especially in rotational mass when you are looking to shed weight.

 

I've been going through Honda's parts catalogs for the Insight and Fit and noticed something. For 2010 the Fit and the Insight have the same part number listed for the lower arms, but the images are different. The 2010 Insight and the 2012 have different part numbers but the same image. I'd be happy to pick up a set of new Insight arms and put this rumor to rest... if only someone would buy the stuff I have for sale.

EDIT: Front subframe part numbers are the same for the Insight and the Fit. They also use the same part number for the front discs, but the calipers and pads are different part numbers. Hmmm... anyone know where I can rent an Insight for the weekend?

 

No problems running the PC680 daily driving?

I don't have a winter where I store my car, so I suppose if it only discharged for winter storage it'd be fine as a replacement?

 

So it might be possible to switch to the aluminum calipers of the insight, not much but more unsprung weight there. Wonder why the pads would be different though caliper must be different design...?

 

Where there's a will (and enough money) there's a way. Going off the parts catalog images (and I know those need to be taken with about a pound of salt) it almost seems as it the Insight's caliper design is slightly larger. The knuckles have different part numbers between the Insight and the Fit, so my guess is that the calipers may mount differently.

On a side note, I was reading about the new Fit EV and couldn't help but wonder what parts from that would swap over. The independent rear was intriguing, but I can't help but think the engineers also utilized some lighter versions of existing Fit hardware. Of course, considering how limited the Fit EV production is, I'm sure any useable parts would have an astronomically high cost, if Honda even offered them to the public.

 

No idea if it will be able to be purchased, but I would imagine yes, but then again no idea if it will be exactly the same as the current GE, but the EV Fit is coming with a front aluminum sub-frame!!! I WANT IT, if it fits that is.

 

I wonder if Honda's saving some parts development costs by using Fit hybrid components. Did anyone ever find out if the hybrid version is using light weight components? It's always an easy way for manufacturers to boost their fuel mileage numbers.

 

I happy to see this thread coming back to life. I've been trying to fine out more info about the Insight LCA as well, I would like to get those before I buy or install RCA. if you do Leets found out before I do PLEASE! tell us.

@ sexydrive: Also I didn't know the RS came with rear disk.