INTRO...
After joining this forum -because I have such a strong love for my Fit- I would almost sign in religiously and browse through the threads that interested me. Then... I got into a collision (Sorry I don't have a digital camera so no pics) and it was so depressing for me that I actually avoided the forum for almost a week (I might've signed in out of habit but I didn't check anything out).

The Juicy part...
I was stupidly driving through an unfamiliar canyon and took a turn too fast. Little did I know that this S turn split off into a forked Y section. I tried to use the hand brake and power slide out of it; didn't do much. I fly into a semi deep ditch and into a barbed wire fence. Seat belt explodes, airbag goes off, smoke is everywhere. This was at around 1 in the morning I call up my crew and it takes us almost an hour to get her out.

The damage...
**My front bumper is demolished.
**I lost my driver's side mirror.
**The hood is F*ed up but usable.
**Driver's side door is a bit banged up.
**The back bumper is pretty scratched up from having to back into the barbed wire fence to get out.
**Minor scratches all over the body from the fence.
***Radiator is bent/pushed back on the driver's side.
THE GOOD NEWS IS THAT SHE IS MECHANICALLY PERFECT!! No leaks, so gashes anywhere that counts, and the alignment is still straight. She is completely drivable. She just looks very unhappy and the position of the radiator worries me.

What can I do?...
Mainly, I need to get the radiator straightened out. Hopefully without going to a body shop/radiator specialist.
***The only problem is when I looked at it more closely, it appears the radiator is welded to the chasse! Can someone follow up on this? Because if that is correct the my Jazzmin will need to be totaled!!*** NOOOO!! DX

Everything else I will just order and replace myself, it motivates me to get my upgrades at once .

I know these are probably already posted somewhere...
But this is what I need replacement advice on:
Driver's door
Side mirror's (and how to re-wire them)
Steering wheel
Seat Belt

Thanks for all the help and for reading my long and boring thread, which was probably full of dumb content!

 

WOW...sorry to hear that had happened to you. So this is why you werent able to make it to the meet this past saturday. I would have been more then happy to have picked you up so you can still come. atleast you have time to get it to the way you want it before you come to the next meet.

 

Yeah... I'm totally embarassed. I'm usually the lead for my crew, because they trust my judgement... but I was by myself and was pushing when I should have been cruising. Hopefully she'll be ready for the next meet, cuz we can rebuild her, make her stronger, faster...etc. Lol. I laugh but it still sucks.

 

She has to go through surgury now. i hope she will run the same, feel the same, and be the same.

 

Good luck with the repairs. More than a few of us eastbay freaks have had accidents already. I didn't even make it to my first oil change! lol. The radiator is suppose to be a replaceable part so I don't believe honda would weld it on.

BTW, you're an MR Sport right? I'll give you my old front bumper cover if you want it. It has a little damage around the passenger side headlight area, but still very usable. I was planning on tossing it anyhow since it's just uglifying my backyard. Let me know

 

Wow- you really meant it when you wrote "something bad happened". You will need a body shop to replace the door skin, mount a new mirror and repaint both to match, and to straighten the radiator support (radiator is not welded in place). That is unless you have friends or relatives who are expert paint & body men with time to spare.

Read "grouser's" thread about the damage and repairs from his collision with a bear. Your damage does not seem quite as severe as his, but yours is bad enough to require professional repairs in order to look new again.

Best of luck to you for a quick recovery!
Dave

 

Damzil-

P.s.
Don't take this as criticism, but the E-brake on the Fit isn't effective enough to power slide, in fact you can barely slow the car down with such a weak E-brake. I am hoping that the rear disc conversion kit supposedly coming up from Skunk2 will improve the effectiveness of the E-brake, but that might be too much to expect.

 

Wow that sucks..Glad to hear your ok though, and glad to hear the Fit isnt totalled! At least you have a good attitude about making the car faster and stronger then ever, hopefully when your car comes out of surgury it will be better then new! Good luck on a speedy recovery so you can make it to our next meet in the Spring!

 

I'm definately interested in having somethign to make her look somewhat complete in the meantime, and I'm happy to help relieve you from clutter! It is a little surprising how many of the Bay Area Fits seem to be experiencing some bad luck... well i'm pretty sure mine could've been easily avoided.

 

LOL don't worry about that... I figured that out the first time I drove her home. It was an "Emergency" moment, which mentally justified my using the e-brake. I can stand using the hand/e-brake in most FWD cars for turning anyways. i'll keep an eye out for that conversion! Thanks for the support!!

 

Again, we were VERY sorry to get the sad details of the reason we didn't see you on Mt. Hamilton. Good luck with the repairs. FYI, I will post a DIY on the rear disc brake kit when and if it arrives, and will post on the Bay Area forum when it arrives. As a new member, you may have missed "JDMChris's" group buy threads that got Skunk2 to agree to makes these kits for about 30 of us listed on the group buy thread.

 

If Skunk2 ever contacts you lol

 

skunk2 rear disc brake kit was a good deal but it was still pricy for me...

 

I'm sorry that this happened to you, but very happy that you're allright, and that the Fit is still running and repairable.
If you had the progress rear sway bar, you might have made it around that corner.

 

So here's the irony... I crashed thursday night errr... reallllly early Friday morning (like 1am), that day (Friday) I was scheduled to pick up my AEM CAI, a Front Upper Cusco strut bar, and a Tanade Sustec Under Brace (luckily all I paid for was the intake), and be on for the Bay Area Fit Meet Saturday.

Gahhh!... so disappointed in myself...

 

But here's the GOOD part of the irony- with your front end damage, you probably would have squashed or kinked up the CAI. And "EXWRX" makes a very good point about the Progress Rear Anti-Sway Bar! Sounding like a broken record (remember records, anybody?): If you only do one mod, make it the Progress bar. If you do a LOT of mods, make the bar the first one.

 

Here are some pics of my old bumper. It looks a little worse that I remember.. but still very usable. It's ready for pickup so let me know if you still want it.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...t/IMG_0893.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...t/IMG_0892.jpg

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l2...t/IMG_0891.jpg

 

Where's the bst place to buy the bar?
Im buying Megan racing axle-back today instead of LED tails..
So if i could swing both the exhaust and sway bar, id like to do both at the same time as you suggested

 

Call Joey at Progress Technology in Anaheim, CA, or look in the Progress Bar thread for the other Progress vendors. Once in a while they show up on eBay, but the prices are not that much reduced from the $140.00 from Progress direct.

 

Also, don't forget New Edge Performance. When Progress in Anaheim, CA, is out of stock on the bars and busy making more, Tony D. at New Edge usually has some in stock. CA residents don't pay sales tax when buying out of state, and New Edge Performance is located in Baltimore, MD.

Progress makes a similar rear sway bar for Scions. I tried to place an order for such a bar as a Christmas present on my wife's XB, but Progress was out of stock. I called Tony, and the Scion bar is now on its way. This is a very good Fit parts vendor.