Long time FF lurker, finally here's a few pics of my FIT
Figured I'd try to document a bit of a touge run, probably should have taken some more pictures and video too (if I had a way to) but oh well. Boy do I need a GoPro.
Here's one of the two stretches I hit up today, this one I know very very well uphill and downhill. Today was uphill..
Screen grab is from the BMW Ultimate Drive app, which really is awesome.
Here she is sitting while I check some vitals as usual..
So I'm sure this is going to make me sound strange (which I probably am) but yes, I wash my car before taking her out on a run
I set my tire pressures to 40 up front, and 38 in the rear a few minutes after that...which is actually a detail I haven't gotten into with you guys yet. Right now I'm running the Ecsta ASX's up front as usual, but a month or two ago I had a rear tire get punctured by something on the road and had to find cheap replacements so I went to Craigslist. Immediately found a pair of 195/50 Nitto 452's for 40 bucks not far away from me, and picked them up that day.
A FWD staggered set-up is something I'd been toying around with in my head (and even on Forza!) for a long time and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out without spending much money at all. I was looking to eliminate some understeer and get the tail end more lively, and I was successful in that. However, at some points it was almost TOO much and it sometimes made the car feel unstable in turns. I had remembered it had been far too long since I checked my pressures, and once I filled them to where I wanted them the car felt so much more balanced. It's crazy how being a few PSI off one way or another can really dictate the balance of your vehicle.
Here's a prime example of the roads that I tackle every day, and on that route in the picture below its the last right turn (going downhill towards the river) before you see Wright Rd. and Browntown Rd.
Right there is where the downhill part really gets crazy as you come down into the bottom of the river valley. I feel lucky to live in this mountainous area at times because it's almost like I have my own version of all the touge roads I see in Japan with the insane undulations, differing road surfaces and elevation changes. I've even read that there is a street in Pittsburgh that has the steepest grade of any street in the WORLD.
The area also makes for some great scenery..
You could be driving through nothing but farmland and open fields, and then 5 minutes later come across a little urban town..
I took this opportunity to fill up and head back...pulled over for one more picture next to some odd abandoned house with a front yard that looked like a couch junkyard...didn't take any of the house but you can see a certain rejected white one close to the road in this picture..
I love this car. It just gives and gives and gives and asks for almost nothing back. I can read and comprehend everything it tries to tell me and I feel as though its an extension of my own body when going through a corner. It doesn't need any more power to be more fun either. To me (and this will sound crazy to some), this car is almost like Honda's take on an FRS/BRZ when modified a bit...a tribute to the fun to drive race-bred Civics of old as Toyota did for the AE86.
Anyways, here she sits as of an hour or so ago, resting for another day..
Fun day today.
Here's one of the two stretches I hit up today, this one I know very very well uphill and downhill. Today was uphill..
Screen grab is from the BMW Ultimate Drive app, which really is awesome.
Here she is sitting while I check some vitals as usual..
So I'm sure this is going to make me sound strange (which I probably am) but yes, I wash my car before taking her out on a run
I set my tire pressures to 40 up front, and 38 in the rear a few minutes after that...which is actually a detail I haven't gotten into with you guys yet. Right now I'm running the Ecsta ASX's up front as usual, but a month or two ago I had a rear tire get punctured by something on the road and had to find cheap replacements so I went to Craigslist. Immediately found a pair of 195/50 Nitto 452's for 40 bucks not far away from me, and picked them up that day.
A FWD staggered set-up is something I'd been toying around with in my head (and even on Forza!) for a long time and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out without spending much money at all. I was looking to eliminate some understeer and get the tail end more lively, and I was successful in that. However, at some points it was almost TOO much and it sometimes made the car feel unstable in turns. I had remembered it had been far too long since I checked my pressures, and once I filled them to where I wanted them the car felt so much more balanced. It's crazy how being a few PSI off one way or another can really dictate the balance of your vehicle.
Here's a prime example of the roads that I tackle every day, and on that route in the picture below its the last right turn (going downhill towards the river) before you see Wright Rd. and Browntown Rd.
Right there is where the downhill part really gets crazy as you come down into the bottom of the river valley. I feel lucky to live in this mountainous area at times because it's almost like I have my own version of all the touge roads I see in Japan with the insane undulations, differing road surfaces and elevation changes. I've even read that there is a street in Pittsburgh that has the steepest grade of any street in the WORLD.
The area also makes for some great scenery..
You could be driving through nothing but farmland and open fields, and then 5 minutes later come across a little urban town..
I took this opportunity to fill up and head back...pulled over for one more picture next to some odd abandoned house with a front yard that looked like a couch junkyard...didn't take any of the house but you can see a certain rejected white one close to the road in this picture..
I love this car. It just gives and gives and gives and asks for almost nothing back. I can read and comprehend everything it tries to tell me and I feel as though its an extension of my own body when going through a corner. It doesn't need any more power to be more fun either. To me (and this will sound crazy to some), this car is almost like Honda's take on an FRS/BRZ when modified a bit...a tribute to the fun to drive race-bred Civics of old as Toyota did for the AE86.
Anyways, here she sits as of an hour or so ago, resting for another day..
Fun day today.
Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 72
From: Westchester, New York
Great pics and story,Fit4thetouge.
How does your Fit do in the snow, given that it's so low to the ground? (I know the stock Fit is low to the ground to begin with, but yours looks as if it has been modified to be even lower to the ground.) Just curious. Thanks!
How does your Fit do in the snow, given that it's so low to the ground? (I know the stock Fit is low to the ground to begin with, but yours looks as if it has been modified to be even lower to the ground.) Just curious. Thanks!
Figured I'd try to document a bit of a touge run, probably should have taken some more pictures and video too (if I had a way to) but oh well. Boy do I need a GoPro.
Here's one of the two stretches I hit up today, this one I know very very well uphill and downhill. Today was uphill..
Screen grab is from the BMW Ultimate Drive app, which really is awesome.
Here she is sitting while I check some vitals as usual..
So I'm sure this is going to make me sound strange (which I probably am) but yes, I wash my car before taking her out on a run
I set my tire pressures to 40 up front, and 38 in the rear a few minutes after that...which is actually a detail I haven't gotten into with you guys yet. Right now I'm running the Ecsta ASX's up front as usual, but a month or two ago I had a rear tire get punctured by something on the road and had to find cheap replacements so I went to Craigslist. Immediately found a pair of 195/50 Nitto 452's for 40 bucks not far away from me, and picked them up that day.
A FWD staggered set-up is something I'd been toying around with in my head (and even on Forza!) for a long time and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out without spending much money at all. I was looking to eliminate some understeer and get the tail end more lively, and I was successful in that. However, at some points it was almost TOO much and it sometimes made the car feel unstable in turns. I had remembered it had been far too long since I checked my pressures, and once I filled them to where I wanted them the car felt so much more balanced. It's crazy how being a few PSI off one way or another can really dictate the balance of your vehicle.
Here's a prime example of the roads that I tackle every day, and on that route in the picture below its the last right turn (going downhill towards the river) before you see Wright Rd. and Browntown Rd.
Right there is where the downhill part really gets crazy as you come down into the bottom of the river valley. I feel lucky to live in this mountainous area at times because it's almost like I have my own version of all the touge roads I see in Japan with the insane undulations, differing road surfaces and elevation changes. I've even read that there is a street in Pittsburgh that has the steepest grade of any street in the WORLD.
The area also makes for some great scenery..
You could be driving through nothing but farmland and open fields, and then 5 minutes later come across a little urban town..
I took this opportunity to fill up and head back...pulled over for one more picture next to some odd abandoned house with a front yard that looked like a couch junkyard...didn't take any of the house but you can see a certain rejected white one close to the road in this picture..
I love this car. It just gives and gives and gives and asks for almost nothing back. I can read and comprehend everything it tries to tell me and I feel as though its an extension of my own body when going through a corner. It doesn't need any more power to be more fun either. To me (and this will sound crazy to some), this car is almost like Honda's take on an FRS/BRZ when modified a bit...a tribute to the fun to drive race-bred Civics of old as Toyota did for the AE86.
Anyways, here she sits as of an hour or so ago, resting for another day..
Fun day today.
Here's one of the two stretches I hit up today, this one I know very very well uphill and downhill. Today was uphill..
Screen grab is from the BMW Ultimate Drive app, which really is awesome.
Here she is sitting while I check some vitals as usual..
So I'm sure this is going to make me sound strange (which I probably am) but yes, I wash my car before taking her out on a run
I set my tire pressures to 40 up front, and 38 in the rear a few minutes after that...which is actually a detail I haven't gotten into with you guys yet. Right now I'm running the Ecsta ASX's up front as usual, but a month or two ago I had a rear tire get punctured by something on the road and had to find cheap replacements so I went to Craigslist. Immediately found a pair of 195/50 Nitto 452's for 40 bucks not far away from me, and picked them up that day.
A FWD staggered set-up is something I'd been toying around with in my head (and even on Forza!) for a long time and it seemed like a good opportunity to try it out without spending much money at all. I was looking to eliminate some understeer and get the tail end more lively, and I was successful in that. However, at some points it was almost TOO much and it sometimes made the car feel unstable in turns. I had remembered it had been far too long since I checked my pressures, and once I filled them to where I wanted them the car felt so much more balanced. It's crazy how being a few PSI off one way or another can really dictate the balance of your vehicle.
Here's a prime example of the roads that I tackle every day, and on that route in the picture below its the last right turn (going downhill towards the river) before you see Wright Rd. and Browntown Rd.
Right there is where the downhill part really gets crazy as you come down into the bottom of the river valley. I feel lucky to live in this mountainous area at times because it's almost like I have my own version of all the touge roads I see in Japan with the insane undulations, differing road surfaces and elevation changes. I've even read that there is a street in Pittsburgh that has the steepest grade of any street in the WORLD.
The area also makes for some great scenery..
You could be driving through nothing but farmland and open fields, and then 5 minutes later come across a little urban town..
I took this opportunity to fill up and head back...pulled over for one more picture next to some odd abandoned house with a front yard that looked like a couch junkyard...didn't take any of the house but you can see a certain rejected white one close to the road in this picture..
I love this car. It just gives and gives and gives and asks for almost nothing back. I can read and comprehend everything it tries to tell me and I feel as though its an extension of my own body when going through a corner. It doesn't need any more power to be more fun either. To me (and this will sound crazy to some), this car is almost like Honda's take on an FRS/BRZ when modified a bit...a tribute to the fun to drive race-bred Civics of old as Toyota did for the AE86.
Anyways, here she sits as of an hour or so ago, resting for another day..
Fun day today.
Member
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 72
From: Westchester, New York
Yes, my car is lowered a good bit. Not sure of the exact measurements though. The front lip is new, but I did drive around just fine last winter without touching the height at all. I plan on raising it pretty soon just because with the lip it really is getting to be too low for me
...definitely interested in seeing some of the cars involved though, take lots of pics lol. 
Only issue I had was the beginning of winter before I was able to get new tires and we got one big surprise snow...couldn't drive my car at all but height had nothing to do with it. It's actually quite fun in the snow with decent tires.
Some pictures. Because fall.
Alongside route 66 which has some awesome parts through PA..
Around the same area, along the Clarion river..
Nothing really new so far. A rock cracked my windshield the other day which is a huge PITA...I'll see what I can do Monday with insurance. Also I'm swapping out my rear shocks and bushings in the next few days (since they are both COMPLETELY blown and noisy) using OEM GD shocks, which are a good bit shorter and valved for almost double the spring rate. I got them cheap and I'm hoping they should be a good temporary replacement for the winter. Oh, bought new tires too, Hankook Ventus V2 Concept in 195/55/15. Nice amount of sidewall for bumps, and these tires are pretty much awesome in dry and wet.
Alongside route 66 which has some awesome parts through PA..
Around the same area, along the Clarion river..
Nothing really new so far. A rock cracked my windshield the other day which is a huge PITA...I'll see what I can do Monday with insurance. Also I'm swapping out my rear shocks and bushings in the next few days (since they are both COMPLETELY blown and noisy) using OEM GD shocks, which are a good bit shorter and valved for almost double the spring rate. I got them cheap and I'm hoping they should be a good temporary replacement for the winter. Oh, bought new tires too, Hankook Ventus V2 Concept in 195/55/15. Nice amount of sidewall for bumps, and these tires are pretty much awesome in dry and wet.
WARNING PIC & TEXT HEAVY POST
Well guys, it's been wayyyy too long. It has been quite the eventful year or so, and I hadn't done much to my car most of that time...almost neglected it. I never could use those GD3 shocks, as they still were too long so, don't do that lol. Ended up getting more F2 refills for the rear, and ran those (which blew in 6 months, I rode on them for far too long after that).
Fast forward to a month or so ago, I finally got a decent chunk of money together and decided to put it all towards the car. Bought new wheels and suspension for it, got it all on and aligned. Just needed tires and maybe a windshield at that point for it to pass inspection, then I was going to look into refreshing the body a bit. Then this happened, while it was parked in front of my house..
An older lady swerved and hit me first, then another car. Just under 7k worth of damage, and it took about 2 weeks to get it all sorted out. This was alittle over a week ago, before it was about to go into the paint booth..
I got her back this last Friday, and holy shit did I miss this car. I couldn't wait to get out and finally get some good pictures of it, which I was planning on doing before the car even got hit. After all, it's the best season for stuff like this.
I drove out today to Schenley Park, which is where the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is held every summer, and is also just a beautiful park in general. I took a good amount of snaps on the course itself, right before the popular Serpentine Dr...seriously a sick corner to sit and watch the races, two hairpins right after eachother. Also fun to take in the Fit as well. Anyways, on with these..
Wheels are OZ racing MSW mesh, 15x7 +12. Rubs in the rear, I need to roll and slightly pull my fenders. Running -3.5 degrees of camber in the front, so all is well up there. 195/55/15 Ohtsu FP7000 tires. The car feels really good around corners with the camber and the trade off in a straight line isn't bad at all. We'll see how tire wear goes.
Let me know what you guys think...it feels good to be back.
Well guys, it's been wayyyy too long. It has been quite the eventful year or so, and I hadn't done much to my car most of that time...almost neglected it. I never could use those GD3 shocks, as they still were too long so, don't do that lol. Ended up getting more F2 refills for the rear, and ran those (which blew in 6 months, I rode on them for far too long after that).
Fast forward to a month or so ago, I finally got a decent chunk of money together and decided to put it all towards the car. Bought new wheels and suspension for it, got it all on and aligned. Just needed tires and maybe a windshield at that point for it to pass inspection, then I was going to look into refreshing the body a bit. Then this happened, while it was parked in front of my house..
An older lady swerved and hit me first, then another car. Just under 7k worth of damage, and it took about 2 weeks to get it all sorted out. This was alittle over a week ago, before it was about to go into the paint booth..
I got her back this last Friday, and holy shit did I miss this car. I couldn't wait to get out and finally get some good pictures of it, which I was planning on doing before the car even got hit. After all, it's the best season for stuff like this.
I drove out today to Schenley Park, which is where the Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix is held every summer, and is also just a beautiful park in general. I took a good amount of snaps on the course itself, right before the popular Serpentine Dr...seriously a sick corner to sit and watch the races, two hairpins right after eachother. Also fun to take in the Fit as well
. Anyways, on with these..Wheels are OZ racing MSW mesh, 15x7 +12. Rubs in the rear, I need to roll and slightly pull my fenders. Running -3.5 degrees of camber in the front, so all is well up there. 195/55/15 Ohtsu FP7000 tires. The car feels really good around corners with the camber and the trade off in a straight line isn't bad at all. We'll see how tire wear goes.
Let me know what you guys think...it feels good to be back.
I can't say I love the wheels.
But I'm glad you got the car fixed brosef! Looks like quality work!
What sort of investment into the suspension did you make? Need more tire doe.
Also, :thumbsup: to the sig.
But I'm glad you got the car fixed brosef! Looks like quality work!
What sort of investment into the suspension did you make? Need more tire doe.
Also, :thumbsup: to the sig.