Well I must say I'm very very impressed with what my Fit did this weekend at the local auto-x. I usually race my 240sx in street mod but wanted to see what the Fit had in the H stock class for a change.

First off, horsepower didn't matter on the course that was setup this past weekend. And the Fit excelled. Coming from a high horsepower rear wheel drive car I wasn't up to speed with the whole front wheel drive handling characteristics of the Fit but it didn't take long to master it. Yes there was horrendous under steer but that had to do with my exiting speeds being a rear wheel driver. Once I hit the brakes a little more that helped that problem.

I think the Fit would benefit very well with two things...a better shock absorber and a rear anti sway. With H-stock though I'm not sure if you can add one if there isn't one to begin with...the rules just state...May not be removed, replaced, or modified in any way.

I do have springs so technically I wasn't aloud to run in H-stock but I never really understood the rules that you could replace your dampeners and not your springs...stupid. Oh and my wheels were also .4" over the allowed offset but whatever.

I think the Fit handled great and has a great chance to become a national competitor though it will have a hard time competing with the Mini Cooper base because of it's already existing suspension and lower overall center of gravity....but it does have a chance!!

I ended up only a second under a professional national scca racer in a Mini who had r-compounds and all sorts of experience (meanwhile I only have about 3 years). My pax time wasn't posted yet but I assume it was relatively good.

So all in all, I'll be bringing the Fit to more events with tighter courses just for the fun of it and all you considering it should as well too. I might actually just sell my springs and get a good set of dampeners to be in the rules as well.

Here are a few pics from the event....

 

man.. that looks like so much fun

 

Awesome run with the fit--

 

Cool. I have heard a lot of good things about the Fit on race tracks like that.

 

In my area for SCCA you would be classed in Street Touring S not H-stock.

First you have to run in stock wheels or as close to it within 0.25" offset.
15x6" only for Fit Sport. What rims did you use?

Second, no aftermarket springs at all.

Which tires did you use and what size?

Not many choices in stock sized shocks for the Fit right now.
Konis would be nice.

 

damn that sucks.

 

It's really not that bad.

If you have a stock Fit Sport then you can run in H-stock but you must leave things alone. Except for certain allowances- any cat back exhaust, any drop in air filter that fits into the stock airbox, any shocks of the same size as stock, any wheels that are stock sized 15x6 and +55 offset or within 0.25" of that offset- but this size is very rare. And any tires both street and R compound so Kumho V710 or Hoosier A6 in 205.50-15 are good options but not to be run on the street much or at all.

Alternatively you can use Extreme or Max Performance Summer tires that will fit the 15x6 rims and that is also OK but not as quick as the R compound tires. For most new drivers it's a good choice for more durability and good enough performance.

Once you alter the suspension with strut bars, swaybars, springs or add a cold intake then you run in Street Touring S if you have street tires (you can change to different sized rims) or in F Street Prepared if you run in R compound tires (you can change to different sized rims).

Most people that are new to autocrossing should try to stay in Stock classes for more experience and lower cost or participation. You can learn just as much and you will likely be more competitive within class. You won't be quite as fast but your handicap for the class is the best of all competitors.

Others will choose to mod first and ask questions later. Each class allows for a certain level of modifications and within each class you can legally modify to the full extent if you want or your budget allows but many competitors will mod to the max and so you will be pressed to try to keep up.

The most important factors for autocrossing is your driving skill and tires.
Driving on all Season tires like the Dunlops are going to be totally lacking any sort of performance feel. If you can switch to summer tires that would be a start- if you have a choice, Extreme is better than Max is better than Ultra High Performance summer tires. These are not for cold weather or in any snow but will do OK with rain. R compound tires don't work in the cold.

There are Ultra High Performance All Season tires that will work but it's a compromise on performance. They are usable in cold weather and in light snow.

Good luck.

I do not believe that the Fit or Fit Sport is capable of being national class for H stock, STS, or FSP at this time given the level of competition.

A good test is to get that national class driver to take your Fit out and see how fast he can drive your car- you can compare his time to your own and vs him driving his MINI. Then you can see what the gap is. If you can get within 1/2 second that would be great.

In my area our top places are determined by 0.01 to 0.001 seconds sometimes. Top 10 raw times cover about a one second spread out of 120 drivers.