2011 Sport, AT with Navi (USB 500GB hard drive in upper glove box)

Celestrial blue, clear bra installed across front - look carefully you can just about see the cut line.

I have clear bra's on all my cars and love them as they largely prevent stone damage from freeway debris.

All weather mats installed.

First impressions

Rides really quite well for a small car. Currently returning 27.4mpg over first 250 miles of mostly city stop / go traffic.

Performance is adequate, particularly like the low engine rpm's when cruising at freeway speeds.

Navi and music system suits our needs - I have a 500GB hard drive in the glove box. It's wrapped in bubble wrap and so far seems ok.

Could do with tinted rear glass to keep the sun / heat out. Incidentally I thought 2011 came with tinted glass ?

Links to a few photo's

Picasa Web Albums - Tim Forrester - 2011-01-16 Ho...

 

We all own Fits.. lets see the engine bay on that 996TT! Are these the factory VNTs? Or have you upgraded to some bigger compressors (like GT3071Rs)?

 

OK, here's the business end of 500HP and 500ft/lb of torque.

60-130MPH in about 4 seconds :-)

0-60 is circa 3.5 seconds - but hard to manage given the power and traction, hence 60-130MPH is more meaningful.

Picasa Web Albums - Tim Forrester - porsche

After driving the Fit for a while - makes for an interesting comparison !

Running stock turbo's but with a GAIC flash to 1 Bar plus hi flo exhaust and cats - makes a huge difference to an already fast car !

 

Very nice. My uncle's GT2 is real lively with the TC off and the engine over the rear axle, they are still a marvelous drive though.

And you're right, it is very confusing going from >500hp down to 100HP, when I get back in my Fit after driving my 1G all weekend. Go to merge on the highway in the morning and it feels like I am dragging a parachute!

Have you tried using a multi-stage boost controller to control the wastegates or a solenoid to adjust the nozzle fins to help with traction in lower gears? Some setups like AEMs Tru-Boost should let you dial in a Boost-by-gear setup as well as a scramble boost mode for when you want some more punch in 5th or 6th gear and 1-bar won't cut it. (If you have supporting fuel that is)

Does the 996 come with a two-step launch system?

Anyways, sorry for all the questions. Welcome!

 

Congrats on the new Fit! You have what is now my favorite color for this car. Absolutely stunning color!

All Fits were listed with "tinted glass", though there really isn't any tint to them. I had all my windows except for the windshield tinted at 35% and I love it.

 

Thanks for the comment on the tinted glass - must be very slight and could definitely do with a slightly heavier tint - a project for another weekend....

As for the TT, as it's not a GT2 it has 4 wheel drive which makes it very hard to launch effectively and 1st gear is so short it's next to useless so I get rolling in 1st before going WOT in 2nd and above.

There is no launch control or boost control by gear - but it doesn't really reach full boost unless in your in 3rd gear and at more than say 3000 rpm.

But when the boost does build it holds well and makes it pull really hard in any gear even 6th !

Rev limiter has been raised to just under 7000 rpm which gives a terminal velocity of just under 200MPH as measured on a GPS - don't ask me how I know..

I'm not planning on anymore mods for the TT - as the Porsche tax for such tweaks is too much.

Again completely different to a FIT - but I actually believe its almost as much fun to drive a 'slow car' fast as it is to drive a really fast car relatively slowly :-)

 

If you don't mind I ask, where and how much for the clear bra cost you please? I am still debating if it is worth to do it. I have the car for 6 months now and been scratch from stone on freeway. Is it too late to put clear bra now?

 

I was not sure about having a clear bra on a relatively inexpensive car, but I knew that if I didn't the first time I got a bad chip or whatever I'd be kicking myself.
I've had a clear bra on all my other cars and even after 50,000miles with much freeway debris they are ding / chip free.

As for cost - it pays to shop around. The pre-cut kit costs about $300 plus another $200 to $300 for install - so about $500 to $600. Not cheap, but worth it for peace of mind and easier re-sale later.

Providing you'r car isn't too pitted with chips etc - It's probably not too late and would prevent any further damage.

 

On the Tint, I believe it is a "UV" tint and not any darkening of the glass like most of us would expect.

Congrats on the new ride and I must say, I am enjoying the other one as well. Nice color on the 996

~SB

 

SB, I was thinking this, however, my GPS, which supposedly would not be able to get a signal under such heat-resistant-treated glass, IS able to work. So I'm curious as to what kind of "tint" treatment Honda put in our glass, if at all.

 

UV treating shouldn't cause any issues with GPS as the GPS Satellites use a different wavelength. The UV treatment helps prevent the Sun's UV rays from burning your skin while driving with the windows up. A lot of people who drive for a living have tanned left arms due to the fact they drive with the window down and their arm on the window sill. You can actually feel the difference after just a few minutes when the window is down.

~SB

 

The bra accessory had also being discuss earlier and if you have some time, you can check it out at post#1785 in this thread. Someone experienced nasty stuff accumulating underneath the bra and frequent cleaning underneath the bra is recommended to avoid any effect on the paint under the bra.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/949104-post1785.html

 

I was always under the impression the UV light cannot penetrate glass of any kind no matter how thin - thus I'm dubious about any tint which claims to be a UV filter. Likewise I suspect those drivers who get a sun tan on their left arm do so because they drive with the window open - not because of any UV penetration thru' the glass.

As for bra's - I think the older bras held in place with straps etc were really bad news for paint damage - but the newer 3M clear bras which are applied directly to the body work in a semi permanent matter are much improved.

Indeed many high end cars have them installed from new - while they were doing my Fit there was a brand new Aston Martin and a Ferrari F430 getting just the same treatment.

If it's good enough for them - it's good enough for my little Honda Fit :-)

 

Tim,

One thing of note in regards to the HDD in Bubble Wrap. Bubble wrap is great insulation as well as good for protecting against shock so be careful as the warmer months come around as that thing might get extremely hot if it is being used regularly. At least the color of the car will help keep the inside temp down a little.

My mom once wrapped a thermometer sensor in bubble wrap and put it inside a birdfeeder (with birdseed). It was a "DUH" moment for her as she was more concerned with protecting the sensor than thinking about the logic behind it.

Glass doesn't protect by itself. That's why sunglasses & prescription glasses are marketed as UV Protecting (however it can also be because many lenses are polycarbonate and not glass). Many home windows are also treated the same way and are more "energy efficient" and keep your home cooler.

~SB

 

AWD makes for the best launches.. but I could understand if you aren't comfortable with that or used to launching an AWD, there is a bit of a trick to pre-loading the drivetrain and using just the right amount of slip before side-stepping the pedal. It certainly doesn't help if the second you dig-in you are at the redline though. I know some manufacturers like Nissan and their GTR will void your powertrain warranty if launch control is engaged.

I have to imagine that carbon ceramic multi-pack clutches are expensive in Porsches and a pain to replace on a 996. I am kind of spoiled in that regard, on my past and present AWDs even a carbon-feramic sprung six puck disc is only $135, but it requires dropping the trans obviously.. which takes a few hours to take off and re-install.

Full song in 3rd and 3000rpm is a bit quicker than I experience in the GT2 in stock form, I am guessing this is because of the added engine load created by the extra drivetrain on your AWD.

We played with the VNT activation, and found that if we "closed" the vanes as far as the lever would allow spool would come on early enough that TC system would freak out, then reacting to this we would let off the gas and then bog the next gear.. We are still playing with solenoids and boost controllers, some of which were quite cheap and could be picked up from almost anywhere.

For $39 bucks (through ECMTuning) Ingersoll Rand has a nice one that I use on my race car for wastegate control:



ECMTuning, Inc.

Anyways just some fun affordable tweaks if you ever decide to go that route!

 

Yeah - I was concerned about heat build up in the bubble wrap around the hard drive.

Having checked the specs, the power consumption is less than 1 watt avg - so far I've not noticed any significant heat build up, but given the drive only cost $39 if it only lasts a year I'd be happy !

We have window treatment to keep the sun's infra red energy out of our house and it works well even with only a slight darkening of the glass - I figure something similar on the Fit would keep the rear a little cooler especially as the AC seems a little under powered for the amount of heat trapping glass the Fit has.

 

I have a Sachs GT1 clutch in my car to handle the torque - makes for a very sharp clutch, most people stall it the first time they attempt to take off :-)

AWD 996 are exceedingly hard to launch well, get it wrong and you get either severe axle hop or a burnt clutch - they just weren't designed for 'drag racing'. The tiptronics do much better in this respect.

Some of the guys over on 6speed do use boost controllers, but even then there's potential problems with over boost and grenading engines (a new crate engine is circa $35k for a TT) - so I've kept my mods to a minimum.

Clutches are the weak link on a TT which is why some of the guys running north of 700BHP have multi-plate Stilton carbon fiber plates installed - cost installed is not much less than a Fit !!!!

Interesting to note that some people are boosting their Fit engines though - I wonder how much extra power they get and long the engines might last ? !

Takes me back to my days in F1 racing when we had 1600cc turbo engines producing over 1000 BHP !