Looking for 2011 Sport budget modification suggestions
 

So Ive had my Fit for about a year and love it, and its time to start customizing. OK so its past time, but now I'm actually ready to do it. Problem is, I have a son who is almost two, still have student loans from my undergrad and my wife's graduate degree, and am preparing to go back to school myself in the next year or two.
So I don't have much extra cash, but I know I'll be tied into this car for several more years, as opposed to my normal trading in every three years or so.

I want to know what you freaks (the good kind, as in the site name) suggest. Looking for 3-5 mods that I can work on over the next few months. In total, probably around $500 in total to spend. Not much I know, but even that little bit, with yalls expert advice, should really make this car mine!

I am a total car n00b. I can change oil and tires, changes headlamps and wiper blades, check and add all standard fluids, and have even successfully used an AC recharge kit once. That's the extent of my knowledge. I learn really fast though. I don't have anything in the way of tools, but I'm sure the tool loaner programs that most auto parts sellers have now will let me get what in need. I'm open to DIY projects, as long as I have plenty of support. Would love ideas on improving MPG, and maybe overall performance but honestly, extra torque or horsepower aren't huge issues for me right now. Interior and exterior appearance mods are both fair game.

As far as driving style is currently, I am driving 54 miles one way to my job. Typically takes me 50 minutes. About 80% highway, the other 20% back roads. Usually drive 72-77 on highway and 55-60 on the country roads.
Average right around 35 MPG by the car's estimate, closer to 34 when I actually divide it out.

Have a car seat at all times, and use the back to haul small odds and ends around, so I can't loose the back seat or install anything that uses up too much of the cargo room...

To be honest, this is the one time I'd recommend just leaving it stock.

If you have to do something, just buy nicer/grippier tires when yours where out.

Family/debt > Cars.

Yeah you really need to decide what you're going for with a budget like that. Do you want it to look cool (to you) or perform better?

Budget?

DIY Home depot/lowes wire mesh grille (preferably the 1/4" variety). Is that budget enough? Should only cost about as much as a happy meal or two at McD's (depends on how much you buy of course). "Slows" down projectiles coming at your A/C condenser when driving.

A Fumoto valve (basically just a small 90 degree ball valve) to make oil changes easier? $5/$10, I forget. Side benefit is, you no longer have to buy crush washers (if that matters).

That's about all for now... generally, I agree with above, prioritize the $$$ elsewhere. No point in modding a car when dealing with any kind of debt... clear the debt and then modify GUILT FREE!!!

If you really want to do things on the cheap, but still have a car that stands out, there are some simple and cheap mods out there. From the "under $50" bin, you could do any of these. You said you were new to this kind of stuff, so I've included short tutorials for the DIY stuff, and tried to give you an idea of costs.


Shaved badges: There are TONS of tutorials out there, but the basic process is heat the adhesive under the badge with your wife's hair dryer (if its a good hair dryer, don't let her see this part. I've heard of women getting uppity about what their "good" hair dryer is drying), cut it away with either dental floss or fishing line in a sawing motion. Clean up the remainder with some Goo-Gone and a soft cloth like a chamois. Then once its done, I like to give it a rinse to see if I missed any adhesive bits.

Vinyl wrap: There are all colours and styles out there of vinyl in all sizes. Everything from solid colours, prints, and CF look. Apply to the panel you want, stretching it a bit with a hair dryer or heat gun if you're careful and you have one. Most of them come with an applicator that will smooth out the wrinkles. Great for interior or exterior panels, just be aware that anything near the heater vents will eventually come loose if you use the heater a lot.

Sticker bombing: This isn't really a style for everyone, but just gather up all kinds of stickers and plaster a panel with them. When you do sell the car, this can be a real pain to remove later, so I recommend a panel you can remove easily and replace if necessary, like the coloured mirror caps. They remove easily from the housing, and to get a replacement pair from the dealer is only $20 or so.

Shorty antenna: These are super cheap, even the eBay junk will still receive the radio just fine, and they come in all colours and styles. I've seen them from $10 on eBay to $50 for the Spoon one.

Tire valve caps: All kinds of logos or styles, another little touch for those with an eye for detail. I usually get the ones with an OEM logo (Honda H or Mugen logo in this case), partly because they're easier to find if you drop, and easier to get your hands on when you need to put air in your tires.

Red H key cover: check eBay for these. Super cheap and one of those things that makes you feel like your car is something special. I want to say about $20 with shipping.

Home Depot lip/EZ lip: EZ lip kits have the double sided tape already applied. A lot of people use self tapping screws to help it stay on, but if you wash the surface and dry it properly, it will hold just fine.

Aftermarket panel filter: I've used these in all my cars that I didn't put an intake kit on. You should be able to find one for under $50, and if you get a dry element filter, you don't have to oil it. I would avoid the DIY intake people have done on this site solely because it will make the car harder to sell, and you can't put it back to stock without a spare air intake from the wreckers, and there aren't a ton of these cars in junk yards.


That's about all the cheap tricks and mods I can think of off the top of my head. There are of course the aftermarket exhausts/intakes, wheels (lots of older Honda wheels have the same bolt pattern and hub bore, and new Minis do, too. So if you see something from either one for cheap, you could swap those, and if they don't fit for some reason, just sell them on for a little more. Just make sure you get the nuts from a Mini to go with them.).


Some people may think I'm encouraging some kind of social irresponsibility, but I think everyone needs a hobby they can do to escape their daily life. If that means modding a car, golfing, gardening, woodcraft, collecting something, or whatever else, you have to have a hobby that lets you get away from things. So I say, if you can squeeze in a little you money here and there, do whatever mods make you like your car more.

Maybe SWIFT Sport Mach springs. Though as others stated, clearing debt beats modding cars. I do fully understand you wanting to make the car yours more personally, but, and I don't want to come across as an ass by saying this, $500 isn't going to go far for modding without doing it wrong from the get go. With that said, if I was you and I was dead set on doing something, it would have to be the springs, helps with appearance slightly as well as is functional and those country back roads might be taken more SWIFTly.

Some good points made.

Keep an eye out on the classifieds for used lowering springs, people usually sell them like $100-$150 on here. I don't think you'll get a huge discount on the Swift springs because they're popular and a little more expensive to begin with, but you could probably find some Tanabe or Tein springs used for $100-$150. They're just springs, it doesn't really matter if they're used. You'd have to figure out how to DIY, there's a lot of DIY spring install threads on here, because having them installed will take a chunk out of the budget.

Get some decent tires.

All the cheap DIY appearance mods above cost next to nothing... you could do the "JDM wiper mod" on here... i'm not sure why it's called as such and what's JDM about it, but it just makes the rear wiper vertical instead of sideways. That's free if you like how it looks, just search for the thread on Google.

Panel air filter is like $40-$50. It won't get you much if any power, but I think it sounds cool. Some people say it doesn't make a difference in sound but I think they're trippin', mine definitely made more noise and the motor sounds better, not so much like an asthmatic gerbil. Get the AFE dry flow if you don't want to mess with oiling. I have a K&N but I don't mind cleaning and oiling once a year or w/e.

I understand being financially responsible and paying off debts and all that, I just paid off a crapload of CC debt (finally done!) over the last few years, but i've been doing little mods to my car since I got it in 2010. It's important to have a hobby and if you like doing stuff to your car, you should feel free to spend a few bucks here and there to have fun with it. Life is too short to spend it slogging away at bullshit and not have any fun "because you're in debt". You'll get it paid off, just keep at it.

Have fun :thumbups:

If it were me in your shoes, I'd probably just get some Clazzio seat covers and pretty much leave it at that. Instantly classier interior, and by most accounts comfier when driving, and easy to clean juice box spills off of.

Personally, I've never quite understood mods that aren't either functional or visible from inside the car (where you mostly see your own car from). But that's just me and my thinking; far be it from me to suggest that everybody else has wrong personal preferences.

swift springs and tanabe axleback.

True, there's no point in being miserable...

It's just having seen, even once, a person buying or financing a new car (in our case, a Fit), modding it like crazy and then having to sell it all because they were strapped for cash from the get go. Makes me wonder, WTF were they thinking?

Ahoy there Jakey

I added some carbon fiber dash trim to the interior- it cost about $80. I like the way it looks and can see it every time I drive. It adds a personal touch.

You can add different badges or stickers which is inexpensive and makes your car unique.

https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/members/sooznd-albums-interior-carbon-fiber-trim.html

Thanks for the replies so far. I totally understand the "don't spend the money on your car at this point" angle, but I'm coming from the "I need a hobby" angle. I didn't mention that my job is as a registered nurse, so a hobby working on my car has to help my image, lol...

I've already thought about a dash trim kit and the aftermarket air filter without modding the whole intake, so thanks for those suggestions. Spryter, thanks for that list. I'll have to take a closer look at it and pick some ideas out.

I don't really want to make any major changes that would afffect resale/trade, so it sounds like some of these ideas are great....

Thanks again. Keep em coming!

Okay some forget hes on a budget. Instead of Tanabe, do Megan Racing axle-back. Do Takeda Intake. HID's and I'd be done. Later swapp all interior lights to LED's (only a few bux).

Takeda Intake
Cold Air Intake System Takeda Takeda Stage-2 PRO DRY S Intake System; Honda Fit 09-13 L4-1.5L (pol) TA-1003P - aFe Power
http://afepower.com/catalog/TA-1003P/TA-1003P_400.jpg

Megan Racing axle-back
Megan Racing
http://www.meganracing.com/uploadima...BE-HF09-OE.jpg

or

Megan Racing
http://www.meganracing.com/uploadima...BE-HF09-DS.jpg

Hope this helps...

I have a '11 Sport with 37K on it and everything that I did to the exhaust, tires, and wheels hurt my gas mileage. Same 20 miles each way to work, so it must be the mods.

I don't know whether your car is a manual or automatic, but you could try a custom shifter knob. I bought a solid red one off of flameball.com for my MT sport. Best thing I've ever done to that car, it just transformed how it shifts. The knob I bought is almost a pound, maybe a little more, which makes all the difference in feel and directiveness.

http://www.flameball.com/index.php/s...lain/pl-2.html

Can't believe I didn't put that in the original post, but it's an auto with the paddle shifters... Looks Luke marginal changes other than sound for the intake and muffler, so I may just get a better air filter and go withaappearance mods until I have mire money to tune...