Well, new to me at least. Picking up a nice clean 09 sport "Blue Sensation" 5 speed with about 115k on it. Pics soon...
I've always had hatches of this size as a second family car. I used to own a 00 civic hatch that i bought new, as well as a 04 zx5 focus hatch - loved both to death. I also recently parted ways with an old project- garage dwelling 91 prelude.

The carfax didn't reveal too much other than some minor accident repair. Visually, there werent any red flags, and it handles and shifts as crisp as one i've driven with half as many miles.

First question - after reading all the horror threads about blown spark plugs on here, i think ill make it my first order of business to swap plugs this weekend. What's everybody's preferred choice?

 

Nice!

Stick with NGK or Denso iridiums and you'll be good to go. My choice is Denso IK22's. They are one heat range colder and a hair shorter than stock for a bit of additional power.

Not sure though if they'd be the best choice as you're heading into winter in Buffalo. Can't go wrong with just sticking with the OEM iridiums or going with Denso IK20's. Those would be stock heat range, but slightly shorter.

 

thanks! Wow the Denso IK20 are 8 bucks each. That's over 2x as much as NGK. Worth it or waste of money?

 

I would go with the lowest priced iridium OEM replacement plug in NGK or Denso brand. Either will work great.

 

Great choice! I also drive an 09 sport "blue sensation". You will love it. Its an excellent vehicle.

 

some impressions after one week of driving:

HANDLING - A+. Snappy, tight turning, never feels tipsy. Good balance.

POWER - I feel like with the 5-speed it's never starved for power. Nice little kick if you're operating in the mid range rpms.

INTERIOR - Great seats for me, i'm tall and there is plenty of room.
- I'm driving a fishbowl and the whole world is watching me. Seriously, even more windows than my old 2000 Civic hatch. Even during night driving there's glares and reflections bouncing around the interior. REALLY bummed about the New NYS tint laws. There's nothing i want more than to take her to a tint shop and black it all out.
- also on night driving, my headlights suck. Trolling around for a bulb upgrade

- SHIFTING - I can't for the life of me figure out how to go smoothly from a full stop into first gear. I've owned a handful of standard cars and never had this problem. I can either start realllllly slow which is smooth enough, but isn't my style. Or if i try for a quicker start, ill either chirp the tires, or the car will buck wildly back and forth when i release the clutch. all the other gears and going between them, feels really crisp.
- anyways, i love this car, how it looks and handles, and i already have my first upgrade on the way - the revo short shifter goin' in this Saturday along with a new knob and boot!

 

Rockauto has Autolite Iridium plugs for $1.43 after rebate. “They’re not NGK or Denso though!!” Who cares.... I put them in 20k miles ago and drive 6,000 miles a month as a courier. Haven’t had one issue yet. I also use Walmart Low viscosity trans fluid for my 30k 2 Times drain and fill and haven’t had any issues in 60k miles either. $8 a plug is ridiculous! Just like $9 a quart for tranny fluid is insane. But do whatever makes you feel comfortable... in the end it’s your car your choice. I’m just letting you know that there are cheaper alternatives. Also, consider replacing the coil packs with hitachi ones from rockauto. I’ve had more issues over the years with weak/bad cool packs than plugs themselves. Good luck and enjoy!

 

Thanks for the Tips bigdeezy! I love rockauto deals, sometimes their shipping prices are nutty tho. I'm gonna def. check into these coil packs. that's all new to me.

 

I agree that the costs of some stuff is inflated.

Best deal on Denso IK22's that I see is $21.57 for a set of 4 on eBay. Probably still more than the autolite's, but I'm not an autolite fan.

For the transmission fluid, I'd just make sure it is specifically for a manual as the additives necessary for the synchro's are different than for an automatic. Also make sure it's the proper viscosity. The factory fluid is 5w30. I'm sure that any manual transmission fluid in 5w30 will suffice.

 

Agree on the headlights. We have Silverstar's in ours. Not worth the money. If there's an improvement, I can't tell.

The Fit took me a bit to get used to as well. There's a clutch delay valve (CDV) built into the system that throws off the timing a bit and makes the engagement not as positive. I eventually got it down, but you may want to remove the CDV. Good threads on here regarding it's removal.

Happy motoring!