My 2015 is coming up on 78,000 miles, but I still haven't replaced the plugs. I remember how easy it was to replace them in the old days. Of course, we had to replace them every 10,000 miles. 😂 It's too cold to do anything like that now, so I'll wait for the spring. I suppose I should replace the belt, too. Better one mile too early than one mile too late.

 

I just picked up an XJ Jeep Cherokee a couple weeks ago, so might be doing the plugs on that more often. Everyone I talked to about them said they like old copper plugs the best. And mine's a late model with that monstrous coil pack, so it's a bit more of a pain to change.

Wasn't too bad changing them on the GK5, a bit annoying to get the coils out and to tighten the plugs (I actually used a torque wrench, not much room for that).

 

Take a look here. I search online for opinions before doing anything major.

best spark plugs for a Jeep xj - Google Search

 

A early Xmas gift to myself

 

Looks good! I bet you were afraid it would spoil the looks. 😁

 

I actually was! After figuring out if it would even work!

 

The biggest complaint I've had with my '19 EX MT6 was the steering wheel.
It's ridiculous that Honda installs leather-wrapped steering wheels on Sport & EX-L, but not on EX.
Sport and EX-L weren't an option for me because Sport MT6 doesn't have Adaptive Cruise Control, and EX-L MT6 doesn't even exist, not to mention my hatred for leather seats.

After 3.5 years of ownership, I finally felt bored enough to spend almost 3 hours installing one of those cheap ~$20 "universal" steering wheel covers.
It took so long because, well, I've never done anything like this before, and I went with a slightly harder "baseball stitch" I learned on YouTube just the other day (LOL).

It's not perfect, but I'm quite happy with the result.

Aftermarket leather steering wheel cover.

 

Needs a bigger spoiler


I joke, but seriously tho that car must be terrible to keep that clean!
I had an 07 Focus SES sedan in black.
After that car, i swore to never own another black car again, such a pain in the neck!

 

Honestly it is a pain but it's my fav color so i kinda deal with it...

 

Finally got my rear pillar light's functioning and swapped out my trunk garnish to the black instead of chrome!

On with daytime running lights


brakes on

 

Lookin' good!

 

I had the oil changed with Amsoil 0W-16 and Honda filter. I'm an old fart and really had second thoughts about the oil weight but I read a lot of articles and tests and the engines designed to use it should! It's the only oil Amsoil lists for the car and I think they have the best oil and testing procedures on the planet. Things like vtec actuators are designed to work with this weight oil and most wear occurs during cold starts where thin oil rules so I'm trusting Honda on the oil weight. I hear they're developing a 0W-8. Adapt and survive-Darwin's law!.

Also changed the manual trans fluid with Amsoil's 5W-30 synthetic trans oil. It shifted well before, seems even better now-like a rifle bolt.

I ordered a K&N drop in filter. I travel the highway often and at 80 it's turning around 3750 rmp's so anything to help it breathe. For those naysayers that claim these filters contaminate the maf sensor-those claims have been debunked. The filters are not only less restrictive but also filter better than O.E.M. The revs this car turns on the highway used to bother me but Honda started out making motorcycles, where 3500 rpm's was just coming into the power band, just like our Fits. It seems very happy at 80-85 mph!

I also plan to run premium in the car. The low grade in Europe, where this car was designed for, is equivalent to 90 octane the way we measure octane in the states and the car has 11.5 to 1 compression. I don't care if the only benefit is running cooler; with 11.5 to 1 there has to be a benefit and I'm hoping for a little more power and gas mileage as the higher octane should make the knock sensors happier and advance the timing.

I just contacted a local upholstery shop and got a quote for $599. to put seat heaters in my cloth front seats. I explained to the upholsterer the cloth was glued to the seat's foam pad and he said they do them all the time. I love these seats, spent ll hours comfortably cruising back from where I bought it and prefer cloth in the summer to vinyl or leather but living in Chicago the only thing I wished the car had are seat heaters. It will soon.

I also have some leftover Dynamat that I plan on putting in at least the rear doors. Knocking on the doors, the fronts appear to have dampening material in them already, the rears don't.

Just had a Demco Stay-In-Play Duo built in brake actuator installed, along with a charging circuit that will keep the Honda's battery charged while being towed, as the actuator is run off the Fit's battery. The system has a compressor that was mounted behind the front bumper bar that not only actuates a piston that's under the dash to push the brake pedal, it also creates vacuum for the power brakes. Both the tow vehicle's brake lights and inertia have to be sensed before the Fit's brakes are applied and it's incremental. There's an LED light on the back of the Fit's rear view mirror that lights up every time the Fit's brakes are applied so you can monitor its' operation in the rearview mirror or on the camera of your tow vehicle. There's a great video on etrailer.com showing installation on the same model Fit. I pick the car up, along with my new Winnebago, day after tomorrow. First time I'll have driven the motorhome or towed my Honda-baptism by fire!

 

They can get away with 11.5:1 because of the knock sensors. Spending more for premium isn't going to make much difference. The higher the octane, the greater the resistance to knock, but the electronics take care of that. I use Citgo regular because it's TopTier, what Honda recommends.

I put Dynamat all through my 2015, and it made a big difference. However, my son's 2020 is still quieter than mine. I put a seat heater in my car for $45. I removed the seat and seat cover. Not a bad job. My son has a portable seat heater, and that works fine for him. If it stops working, there's no disassembly.

It must be so much easier hooking up a trailer now that rearview cameras are so common. I had to keep getting out and looking at the position of the hitch.

Don't forget

I've used K&N filters for years. No complaints. I even have one for the cabin filter. Also don't forget front and rear dashcams for your Fit. In case of an accident, they'll make a difference. I have the Viofo front and rear.

 

If you plan to run Premium you should an aftermarket ECU chip that is tuned for premium. Otherwise, there will be no meaningful change in performance or longevity by running premium.

OTOH, I pay extra for ethanol free, but am pretty sure it's a waste of money.

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Do you mean there is no problem to separate the cloth from the padding and keep the factory looking seats after the job? If that's the case I'll seriously plan for installing seat heater elements on rear seat. Kids have been pegging for heated rear seats.

 

I replaced the faulty VTC actuator on my 2015 Fit LX. It has 137k miles and it was making the cold start rattle long before. It got to the point where it was rattling at idle. Fresh oil tended to quiet it for a while. Then I started hearing another noise that sounded more like a loose timing chain. I wasn't 100% sure it was that, it could've been a faster rattle from the VTC, who knows. Anyway, I replaced the timing chain and tensioner while in there. I've only done oil changes and miscellaneous stuff before tackling this. Kind of took everyone's help. My wife helped me put the liquid gasket back on the timing case cover! Long story short, it was a nightmare and I never want to do that again. No more rattle though

 

Which model did you get the lights from? I want to do mine at some point.

 

Nicely done!
Did you buy your FIT new or did it start rattling during ownership?
Also, what oil viscosity and oil change interval were you following?
I'm thinking I should have had the dealership replace the chain and tensioner while they did the VTC, but it was a warranty job.

 

We bought it brand new, February 2015. I honestly can't remember the first time I heard it rattle, maybe 2018? Just got a little worse over time. I knew I had to do something whenever it started making a jerk/jolt while driving while turning from a stop. Anyway, I was using the recommended 0w20 and following the maintenance minder. When I took the valve cover off, it looked clean. When I took the chain off and compared it to the new one, I couldn't visually tell that it stretched but I replaced it regardless. I think it was high time to replace the tensioner though, the old one fell apart when I was uhh.. playing with it.

 

I think Honda set the Fit up to run best on 90 octane, which is European regular. I think we have the same chip the Europeans do. I agree that the knock sensors will retard timing and allow these cars to run on 87 but the more timing the more power, lower head temperature and better mileage. Just for yucks Google what octane an 11.5 to 1 compression engine should use. I guess maybe I'll try mid-grade (89 octane) first as I agree that anything above what the engine's designed for is a waste.

I think you're smart running ethanol-free gas. I've always gotten about 15% better mileage on ethanol-free as opposed to 10%. I hate ethanol as it is corrosive and has less energy per gallon than gasoline ands turns to sludge if you don't burn it up fast enough. In my opinion there are a select few that are profiting from ethanol and no viable reason to use it but I won't get into politics.