Never better. I'm in SoCal. We're breathing smoke and living under dark skies at the moment. Looks like Cali's going to burn to a crisp, break off and float out into the Pacific, so I'm investigating "Beach Front Property in Nevada." Do your google search, my friend.

Not driving much, but I still need to get my Fit up on a rack for an oil change.

Hope you are holding on and still leading the charge as El Mas Loco FitFreaker. ¡Órale, vato!

 

I was sent pics of what it looks like in So Cal this weekend actually. It's pretty smokey from what I've seen. Also, a friend in South Oregon, unfortunately, lost his house and collection of 6-8 cars.

I'm due for an oil change. Might do it this week.

That's debatable lol.

 

Yeah I was talking internal clearance with the barrel. I've not really been too serious about my wheel game, so I wasn't aware that was the norm for OEM wheels like that.

It does look better IMO. Fills the space out between the caliper and wheel.

 

Test fit the 15-inch steel wheels with the new calipers. Seems to be okay with a 5mm spacer. Won't work without a spacer.

5mm spacer:





Without a 5mm spacer:





Ordered a 3mm spacer to see how they fit as well as shims for the rotors.

 

Stumbled upon a shim kit meant for Mini Cooper rotors on Hondas, made by 1320 Performance. Linking the site here.

Here, you can see the gap between the rotor and studs-



Shim kit closed the gap nicely-



Photo of the whole package: Larger caliper and rotor, now with the 1320 Performance shim kit. Not pictured: spacer-



Speaking of spacer, I went from a 5mm spacer to a 3mm spacer. I did not like how many stud/nut threads were sacrificed with 5mm, so I decided to experiment with 3mm. Only sacrificed 1-2 threads and still have just enough clearance between the caliper and wheel-



Not sure on how fitment is with a steel wheel, but I think it'll be okay.

 

When I did this big brake upgrade to my car I also had clearance issues. In my case between the type r caliper brackets and the inside of my HFP wheels. I started off using 5mm hub centric spacers, but was not happy with the reduced number of usable threads for the lug nuts- it seemed very unsafe to me. I decided to grind the face of the caliper brackets until I had the needed clearance to fit the wheels. I was cautious to only grind the caliper bracket faces the minimum amount to gain clearance and also keep the integrity of the caliper brackets at a safe thickness,

Good find on the 1320 Performance Mini rotor shim kit. I just ordered a kit. The Mini rotors, as you say, are hub centric, but the larger diameter lug holes in the rotors just weren't right. With the lug nuts torqued to 80 ft lbs there probably wouldn't be a problem, but this stainless shim kit just finishes the big brake kit off correctly. Thanks for the BBK article and pics!

 

I thought about grinding down the brackets, but I don't even have a grinder nor really the time to knock it out lol. It'll get done one of these days, but the 3mm spacer works fine at the moment. You're not wrong about how many threads get sacrificed with a 5mm spacer on stock studs and lug nuts.

The shim kit was definitely a good find. Considering there's a 3mm spacer as well as me just driving the way I drive and long-distance, I wanted to play it safe. Wheels are always torqued to 80 ft-lbs, but you never know!

 

@julianachos: Any concern about heat and reduced air flow with the clearance reduced?

 

Whether I use a 3mm or 5mm spacer, it'll still be an issue with these wheels. With the old brake setup, it had me concerned. Back roading now isn't so much of an issue with brake fade but before it was a huge problem. I honestly think it was the pad choice for the most part.

My next step was going to consist of brake ducts LOL.

 

Nothing exciting. Replaced plugs after 130k miles of use and decided to try something else:







Also replaced the A/F ratio sensor and oxygen sensor too.

 

Julian, do those sensors come off pretty easily? Just wondering.

 

Mine did, then again mine aren't the original ones. Using the right tool helps, too.

 

^^There is a tool? I did not know that. Thank you, amigo.

 

So I thought I had updated this, but I guess not. Since my last post, I've done two trips almost back-to-back. Current mileage is close to 560k.

I don't have photos, but I have picked up an Ultragauge EM Plus because I was always bothered about not knowing the coolant temp. Also have a Sony XAV-AX210 since I was tired of using my phone for navigation as it would overheat while being exposed to sunlight or when the heater is on...



In late October, I went to Atlanta for a week. My friend and I took a night trip to Helen to visit the fun roads.

Beginning mileage:



Hanging out...



Ending mileage:



Spent a week at home, then the following week I went back to Texas with a "layover" in Atlanta...

Beginning mileage:



At my favorite place:



Ending mileage:



Had some downtime while in Texas, so I scrubbed my rear wheel wells and sprayed it with CRC marine-grade corrosion inhibitor (06026)

 

Your underbody is in very clean, and what amazes me, I cannot see any rust there! I guess Delaware is not one of those rust belt states.

 

I just drove my GE from Houston back to Atlanta and it performed wonderfully... but I only have 160k!

Did you hit up Richard B Russell Scenic Hwy (348) near Helen? There are some insane overlooks on RBR, can't imagine what it looks like at night.

I'm used to driving Blood Mountain (19), Suches (60), Wolf Pen Gap (180), and RBR (348) in my sports cars, but when I took the first corner of Suches in the Fit, I almost scared myself how much it pushed.

How was your touge experience in your Fit? ( especially at night! )

...I also made my routine stop at Bucee's and stocked up on beef jerky before departing for ATL.

 

Great pics, Julian.

So, what are your coolant temp readings?
​​​​​​​

 

The Mid-Atlantic states definitely have salt and this car definitely has rust haha. Both back ends of the rockers have a nice sized hole and the lip for the quarter panel on both sides have some rust. The underside however looks pretty decent aside from some random surface rust here and there. The engine bay however...

My friend and I went bashing on 17/75. It was a little sketchy going a little hard on dark, unfamiliar roads, but since it was so wide, I kept a clean line and the ITR brakes definitely helped out. The flat-faced wheels however did not help with cooling. Ironically my friend had a harder time and he had R33 wheels - he was in a drift-spec IS300. We had loads of fun. My friend was behind me one run but had a hard time catching up. He took videos and I just laugh every time I watch them. My Fit always impresses friends on our local back roads and I've even launched it airborne a few times.

What sold me on the second-gen Fit is during an autocross. A buddy's then-new Fit was only two-tenths of a second behind my Integra GS-R at the time with B16 (LSD) trans and Koni coilovers. Since then I've thought about owning one but didn't think I'd have this much fun.

The only other time I've been to Helen was in my '98 Jetta TDI that had FK coilovers, Corrado brakes, and sway bars. Unfortunately, I did not take advantage of having fun on back roads.

If one does not stock up on road trip snacks from Buc-ee's, did you really visit??

​​​​​​​
I've gotten 180-200°F if I remember correctly. I don't look down on it too much but have an alarm if it gets past a certain point.

 

If I remember correctly, the fans come on at 230º F. So, 180-200º F is good (although I have 186º F for normal low-end temp in my head for some reason).

 

I think mine usually sits in the 180-190ºF range. Can't say I've had the coolant reach 230ºF, but I have had the fans kick on sitting in traffic a few times. They can activate at least twice when you start the Fit and let it idle once it hits operating temp. FSM states this too on cooling diagnosis procedures. The thermostat is fully open at 194ºF and if I'm reading this correctly, fans should activate at any time above 199ºF as per page 10-23.