Thanks for the pics!
It is clear the motor revs high. But how is the engine noise? Is it intrusive? How it compares with wind noise, which I expect to be high at that speed?

Could you comment if you can listen to the music without/with increasing the level at those speeds? Thanks!

 

Your ear hears bass and treble more the louder the music, being most flat around 90 db. If you're maxing out both controls, why not just turn it up? I understand we all have different tastes, but have you tried turning down your eqs a little and turn up your main volumes?

 

the droning does get old very quickly. i turn the radio louder to drown it out, but then that's loud on top of loud. it kind of forces you to slow down a little. another downside, is since the revs are so high, any slight modulation w/ the gas pedal will make you engine brake, so you need to be very steady on the pedal at highway speeds

agreed on bushings and heavier knob. i was looking at WC Lathewerks custom weighted knobs. a bit pricey, but worth it, imo. was also tempted in picking up GE8 bushings in hopes that they will fit. but i will prob add the knob for now and see how it feels first.

body roll is surprisingly not too bad from what i've seen so far. the car is pretty light and i think the center-mounted gas tank helps with weight transfer. my car only has about 300 miles on it now, so i haven't pushed it very hard in the corners yet, but i have driven very spiritedly. once i break 1200 on the odometer, i'll let you know my opinion driving at 8/10ths.

as-is, i try to keep revs below the 4500 rpm mark. you can tell the motor loves to be rev'd out in typical Honda fashion, though. the higher the revs, the better. since the car is pretty light, it's tossable and makes it really fun to drive. i find myself speeding around and driving aggressively for no reason because the short gearing makes you shift so frequently.

wow, that's awesome that you were able to work w/ the team at track days. i would have LOVED to do something similar. Opak closed down a few years back, right?



at highway speed, the only thing you really hear is the engine (i don't recall hearing wind or tire noise). on the EX radio, there is an option you can enable that increases stereo volume as speed increases. i enabled mine and set the sensitivity to high. to me, the engine is pretty loud cruising at 80 mph. i dont have a db meter so i can't really give you an exact measurement on the sound output, unfortunately. if possible, i suggest you test drive one yourself so you can see if it is an annoyance to you or not (will vary from person to person)

 

Thanks for the answer. I will definitely test drive one by myself. Other users feedback is also important for me, as it points out to some aspects that I may not notice, so I appreciate your input.

 

Tofushop,

yes it was fun, it my early twenties rolling around with Opak Racing. a lot of my friends which drove EVOS never understood my love with slow N/A and over priced Spoon parts. But I think there is some commitment from the Japanese tuners that still make me feel loyal to them. Though now of course from childish lessons and age brought wisdom, I know a custom mandrel bent b-pipe is just as good as a spoon b-pipe in terms of usable power; but the on paper prestige and bragging rights are not as keen!

going back to the car and on topic,

how does your Shiba like the car? my wife and I are having a lot of thoughts about cloth and fabric seats vs leather as of this moment. You know their guard hairs are not going to vacuum easy! And I assume since the car is lower to the ground, they should have no issues hopping in and out of the car for trips.

I am quite happy with the placement of the pedals too, I haven't blipped properly for HT for a while, as the MR2 pedal placement isn't very good. In our EP3, we had mugen non slip pedal replacements which were very good for driving... no so good on the soles of our sneakers.

 

i'm all for name-brand parts, haha. I've always been willing to pay a premium for that prestige or rare part.

the cloth is horrible for shibas. on his first time sitting inside to check it out, my backseat is covered in little hairs that I can't get off the fabric. ive tried using a lint roller, but i can't quite get all of them. if you fold the seats up for the tall-mode, there is plenty of space for your shiba to walk around in the back. but, it's a bit boring since they won't be able to see anything. next time, I will try folding the seats down so he can see out the window. a positive about the Fit having hard plastic surfaces on the doors and interior, is that they are pretty good vs scratch marks. didn't see any markings from my shiba... yet

my dog is 8 months old and he was able to hop in/out easily, but he dragged his claws on the exposed paint on the door sill a little. I think i'm going to get a piece of clear 3M and wrap that area, or carry him in/out of the car.

 

I know this is an old post but after almost a year with my 2015 Fit I thought I'd give my impressions about the transmission in case some people end up here and after reading the OP's post decide that they either skip the Fit altogether or opt for the CVT. DON'T !!!!

I've been driving manual for about 25 years. I've had a few cars from Toyota, Nissan (2 SE-R's) and Suzuki. All were new. I fell in love with the engine/transmission combination of this car more than anything else it has to offer. To me the shifter feel is anything but vague. It's surgically precise and I don't feel the throws are long either. The throws are not super short but shorter than any other stock car I have driven by far.

I agree with TofuShop on the shift knob. It looks good and helps to make the stem and knob combo look very short but it's a cheaply made plastic ball.. When I took it off, I was amazed to see how little there was to it. It weighs almost nothing and feels insubstantial in hand. Still, I had no qualms about how it felt when I was using it. I bought an aftermarket Momo which I liked in my previous cars. If you like weight, get a TWM and you will be happy.

I don't feel as if 5th gear is any longer in its course than any of the other gears. I have no trouble in finding a comfortable position for shifter or clutch use.

I also agree on gearing ration up to a certain extent. I feel like the 4 first gears are perfect. The 5th gear is too close to the 6th. You could go from 4th to 6th and you would barely feel the difference. Honda should have made the 5th a tad shorter and the 6th much longer. 5th would be used to pass at highway speeds. The motor revs at 3100 RPM in 6th at 100km/h which just makes no sense for an economy car. The car should be doing 2500 tops. Still, even at high revs, the motor is surprisingly economical.

The only time when I noticed that the engine was loud was when accelerating hard and I sure like the sound it makes. Sure if you're cruising way past the speed limit, it becomes loud. Small motors are like that. No drone here. I feel the culprit for noise is more in lack of insulation material than the engine itself. Honda had to cut costs somewhere.

As you can see, different strokes for different folks. What I love the most about this car is how amazing and fun it is to use a stick shift in it. I swore that after my previous car this one would be automatic but I'm so glad I got a manual transmission instead.

The transmission and motor feel like they were made for each other which is more than I can say of all the other cars I've owned.

Try the car for yourself before you commit. It's the best thing to do.

 

I've been pretty much driving manuals since 1984..

The 6MT is ok. Not great. First and sixth are WAY too short. You shouldn't have to shift midway through intersection. Fifth gear is the loneliest gear and useless.

Shifter is fine. Through is good. Snick, snick.

That's all I got to say about that.

 

6th gear is short for a reason.

Its a slow car, it needs to be short to keep the car near the powerband.

 

Slow compared to what ? It's faster than most if not all normally aspirated subcompacts out there.

No need to keep the car in the powerband in 6th. The 5th should be used to pass. I thought the 6th gear was there to save gas while cruising along the highway.