My wife and I bought our 2010 Fit Sport AT in June, and absolutely love it. Definitely the best car I've ever owned.

We mix between daily city driving (about 10 miles a day) and weekend roadtrips (1k miles a pop).

I have absolutely no mechanical/mod/customization experience (but am willing to learn) but am lucky enough to have a father-in-law who owns a bodyshop.

Talking from a purely 'driving experience' approach and not just aesthetics, what mods would people recommend, both in the category of stupidly easy I can do myself and that would take professional install?

Thanks for the help! Looking forward to getting the most life and power out of my Fit!

 

For me the two biggest improvements I made to my fit was:

1) adding the OEM center console, your right arm will thank you!
2) Clazzio Seat covers. More comfortable and way easier to clean.

what are yous specifically looking for though? Everyone has a different idea of what makes a good ride. Better stereo? performance oriented mods? Comfort? Convenience? etc..

 

Run 195 or 205 tires on 16 wheels within specs of recommended overall diameter and throw in some Swift springs

 

Your not going to get a simple answer on this one. Everyone is different.

Some will say a lower stance is better (better cross wind stability). Some say adding a rear sway bar is good other say wider tires will improve handling greatly, or better headlight bulbs or a K&N filter etc etc etc...

Honestly if you are happy with the car right now save yourself alot of money and trouble and keep it the way it is. Just my .02 cents.

 

IMO, overall driving experience relates heavily on how a car drives, handles and rate of comfort. Everything else is purely eye and ear candy.

 

^^agreed (Committobefit08)

one thing you may consider is a throttle controller. it's an electronic device you hook up to your pedal harness and lets you manually adjust how quickly and how wide the throttle butterfly opens up giving you the "sensation" of power/torque; there's also a setting for economical driving.

be warned, modding your ride is a dark hole without an exit. once you're in you're stuck

 

For me, the first step towards improving the experience is to improve on all the things I actually touch. Pedals, shifter/knob, wheel, seats. Then there is the driver mod, which just about makes up for all the other 90% of things you can do to the Fit.

I'd go with tires next, following that same logic. It's the only thing your car uses to touch what it interacts with.

ETC would also be a good mod along those lines. I look forward to getting one someday.

 

i bought my fit, and said i would not mod it. i had a 93 civic hatchback before this car, and put alot of money into it. i think when i sold it, i had over 12K into it, which isn't hard to do when you think about it. so i had no intenstions of really modding my fit.

there are a few minor things you can do that will make you more comfortable, or protect your car. first for me was tint. i tinted all 10 of the cars windows. protects what you keep in your car and helps you with sunlights. next, i bought a bug deflector. keeps the hood somewhat clear of chips. then window visors. i can now cruise with the windows down a crack in the rain.

i think this site, is what made me want to mod my fit. seeing the cars lowered, oh man. so, i bought springs and lowered my car. and i now have the mod bug. exhaust, intake, new rims, and the list of mods to come grows. do what you will, but be warned. its addictive. lol

 

Thanks for all the replies!

I think my issue was that I didn't have an idea of where to even start, and this list of ideas gives me some good tips of what to start searching the rest of the site for.

I think two things that are most important to me are things that make the car handle better on the open road (smoother ride, better control at higher speeds, comfort in accelerating) and possibly anything that could potentially extend the life of my car. Especially if I am going to be putting money into this thing, I'd like it to last awhile!

I have to admit this site gave me the bug, too. I love my car, but I can't walk by her now without thinking, "you're gorgeous, but you could be even sexier!" We'll see if I go back on my usual mindset and do any changes that are purely cosmetic.

I like the idea of new wheels and springs. I know a lot of people drop the car, but I feel it already has such a low-clearance. Will I have a problem with dirt roads at all?

 

Center console was simple and IMHO adds far more value than it costs. Just make sure to search for the thread on it and follow a few tips - don't forget rags to block screws from falling under the carpet!

 

dirt roads on a lowered fit.........for me = a big no no. you can do it, but i hate getting my car dirty, so dirt roads are off limits for my baby

 

This is actually very true even with the GD...ride height is already quite low in stock condition and our cars have more stuff hanging underneath. Tempting as they are, I didn't go for lowering springs because my car already scrapes over tall humps if I have three or more people on board. It just isn't practical in my case, upping handling and style but scraping over everything higher than ankle height.

So I went the other way: upsized wheels and tires. 17s on a GE8 like yours will fill its wheel-arches well. The downside is upsized wheels and tires tend to be heavier and detract from acceleration and fuel economy.

Best mod I did to my car was a seat swap.

(hmmm post got truncated?)

 

No joke... I'd hate to imagine the car at it's max load with any less ground clearance.

 

OK... my personal short list:

1. New Armrest - The one that came on there reminds me of the recline lever for a Lazy-Boy. A console armrest is far more comfortable, and doesn't change angles with the seatback.

2. Remounting the accelerator pedal: It makes the pedal feel like it's at a more natural position, plus buys you a bit of extra room.

3. Soft pads for the door armrests. I made mine myself, and attached with double-sided velcro.

4. Raising the front seat edge - a couple of washers to shim the seat work wonders.

5. This one was purely aesthetic, but I hated the feel of the automatic shift lever. The leather topped one just feels nicer in my hand, and looks far nicer.

6. Here's one that's cheap, but a bit of a pain. Adding extra padding to the seat. The seat foam is extremely thin and soft, and you can feel the frame through the foam. I pulled the cover off, removed the bottom cushion, and placed one of those faux-leather carseat cushions from O'Reilly's BETWEEN the metal frame and cushion foam. It made a WORLD of difference for seat comfort... also, there are two odd shapes on each side of the seat frame, under your thigh. If you push on the crease between the bolsters and the center portion of the seat bottom, you'll feel them. They are two flanges of metal that stick out on the frame... I took a hammer and bent them down so they'd stop poking me in the thighs.

7. Removing insulation from around the accelerator pedal. I don't care if it makes the car noisier - it's freakin' cramped down there, especially for my size 12 feet.

 

And to add.. it can also mess up the speedometer reading.

I would say the center console is the best mod if you're looking for comfort and extra storage. Also you can add the rear bumper applique to protect your bumper, cargo cover, cargo tray, all season floor mats, window tints, door sill, better set of radials and maybe a nice portable GPS.

If you lower your car you will be sacrificing ride comfort, the Fit will ride bumpier but it will handle better.

 

Door visors?

It let's you open the windows a crack to get fresh air when it rains without letting the rain in. Plus, a lot of people say it isn't as noisy with the windows cracked open without it.

 

If you put very light wheels and lighter tires on your car you will extend the life span of all of the drive train components, brake pads and disk, suspension components, and steering components.... You will improve the ride, handling, steering effort, braking, fuel mileage and acceleration...... There is nothing you can do to a car that will improve so much with no negative effects to be had.

 

very well said!!! and like I said... it also needs to be within the stock overall wheel diameter.

 

My few mods - Some inexpensive others ouch.

Blue calipers and drums
"C" piller strut
Tint
Interior wood trim kit
Stainless A B and C piller covers
Gas pedal spring mod
Blue licence bulbs
Wheel and rear H logos in blue vinyl
GE Nighthawk headlight bulbs
Blue LEDs in trunk
Accord horn
Door sill covers
Yellow fog covers
Clazzio leather/vinyl seat covers
Steelies and snow tires Civic plastic repo wheel covers
Blue keyring light
Blue LED in dome
JDM Tails
Body side molding
HKS Exhaust
Shark fin antenna
Paint diffuser
Paint H in front blue
Swift Springs
Rear wiper mod
Window visors
Mirrors with winkers
Painted winter wheels
Throttle controller
Spacers under front of seats
I-VTEC decals
Center consol (a China repro)

That's it so far.

 

Wow, so many great responses and points of view, and with zero snark, flaming or negativity! I love this forum.

I think I'll take the overwhelming response and start researching the center console, door visors and lighter wheels/better radials. I'll definitely wait until after winter for the last, though.

One thing I'm surprised I haven't found any threads on (maybe I'm just a bad searcher) is camping mods to make it easier to sleep in your Fit.

Thanks again, everyone!