I have a 95 Civic SiR (JDM) that I fully modded with Turbo , forged internals the works. I need to sell it because of a trip I've been planning all my life...
I will be left with my good ol' Fit L13 CVT. I have decided "what the hell" I love cars and mainly Hondas, why shouldn't I have a little sporty car after all.
But man do people give me shit about modding the Fit. Like.."why are you wasting money buying 17" Rims?' Or buying a body kit, and most of all swapping the engine for a L15 with MT...They all think I'm crazy. Why not K20?...well cost is the main issue. US $ 5000 plus mounts...plus...plus..nope can't make that.

WTF? must I follow the crowd and buy a damn Subaru, or an SR20 powered hybrid? I have had a fast Civic for 7 years now, I have done the drag racing thing, is it so wrong to do these mods on the Humble yet cool FIT?

 

nothing wrong with modding a fit. idk about modding a L13 tho thats kinda pointless.

 

I won't say it's pointless, but certainly there are better options. I like the L15 MT swap because, well that's what the fit comes with, yuh know... I also found a k20a4 from a Stream for a good price,with Autotranny, don't know if thats harder to install that the Type R K20 swap...I want a MT tho...

 

The best you can do with an L13A is boost it - although the CVT isn't really made to withstand high WHP. 120 WHP is enough to fry the CVT clutch packs - it's been done on these shores with boosted L13As mated to CVTs.

Where I live, there are quite a few bolt-on NA mods for L13As but they don't really release a lot of extra power. I'd recommend the L15A M/T swap.

Don't mind the haters and just do your own thing. Post photos when you're done bro.

 

Heh, in the States all we have is the L15 and your choice of 5-speed AT or MT. No 1.3l engine or CVT.

The L15 is pretty gutsy for such a tiny engine, and folks over here are having plenty of fun with the M/T. Nothing head-snappingly quick with superchargers or turbos, but enough to have lots of fun playing on a twisty road.

Swap it and ditch the CrapVT.

 

my thoughts exactly

 

Word man. Don't believe all these haters. I'm modding my L13A CVT Fit as well and I also track it. A lot of people are laughing and telling me that I am crazy and I should buy a powerful European car. Especially folks on track are critical but a lot of cool guys have respect for smaller cars. All these big cars are not my cup of tea, I love my Honda.

Thumbs up for modding your Fit and keep us updated.

 

well i can see why they are giving you crap about the rims and a body kit, you aint gotta down grade, you can get what i get.

lol there is some t.i. for ya.

anywho, functional mods usually keep folks at bay, and the problem is that even within the honda scene, folks forgot that not so long ago the civic hatchback was a humble little grocery getter too.

its amazing how disconnected people can get with certain concepts when something new comes out.

just have at it man, and post some pics. l15 has plenty of boost options, and will make your car a rocket compared to what you have now.

 

best mods for a fit will be suspension/brake stuff. It will never be a fast car on a straight, but with some proper mods, it can fly around corners.

 

Thanks for the kind words guys. I've been looking for the L15 here. Found one but, no gearbox. So still looking. Civic still taking a lot money so Fit will have to wait a bit. Getting the Rims ASAP tho...for sure.

Here's a pic as she is now:

She has a few paint details but that's being fix soon...
Mods:
Skunk2 lowering Springs,
Mishimoto Tranny cooler.
Homebrew SortRam with K&N
Konig 15" rims
Generic Cat Back exhaust (some China shit)
Generic rear Spoiler.

 

That's right and exactly my thought. What is more, the Fit is a practical car that can also be used as a great daily driver. However, I cannot stand the hate, either. I've just talked to some guy from my small town who enjoys racing as well but it seems as if everyone was calling Fit tuners insane. They said, we were all wasting our money...

Keep it going, black Fits always look good. Looking forward to the new rims!

 

The whole thing about modifying being wrong is what motivates me to do it..... I am into function and performance, so my car won't win any beauty contest but that game is so very superficial to me..... I just love the hell out of it when I'm on the boost in 2nd or 3rd gear through a sweeping curve and my passenger is screaming at me to slow down with a death grip on the chicken bar and then wants to do it again.

 

I actually was laughed at today by a bunch of NISSAN owners, imagine that! Ok thats it, I didn't want to do it but I'm gonna have to bring out the civic, and let it loose on his ass...It's a stock SR20 Silvia anyway. Not that I am underestimating the Silvia...

On another note, I went to see a 08 Civic EXI wreck today, and roughly measured out the engine. I couldn't see if it was an R18a1 or not, but it didn't have i-vtec labelled on the valve cover. I was liberal with my measurements and added a few inches just incase ... I got length ~40", depth ~20" Crossed checked it on the Fit, hmmm very snug...

The mounts were really weird looking. Anyways it wasn't the i-vtec or manual so...

I'm looking at the R18 pretty closely. It's lighter, smaller, has good aftermarket support, and hopefully cheaper. I'm still researching....

 

I think that it's your car and you should do what you want with it! Screw what anyone else thinks!

 

You and me both.... A lot of the negative remarks made about the products chosen by a person is like those from an insecure kid with the latest style sneakers making fun of a kid wearing last weeks most popular style..... Have you noticed how many people have clothes they don't wear or wheels they bought that aren't cool enough to put on their car because other people think another style or brand looks better...... If you want to express yourself let your own taste dictate what you do, not somebody else's

 

Some stuff that WILL fit into a GD Jazz/Fit engine bay:
- B18C5 Integra Type R engine - requires custom engine mounts, but this has been done recently by a bunch of Filipino tuners working in China.
- K20A/Z
- K24 block + K20A Type R head - J's Racing did just this with their Fit GT time-attack car

Not sure if the R18A1 will fit though, but hey it just might

I do maintain that suspension mods will be worth more of your effort though. I like to think that added power is the LAST thing that should go into a serious track racer - the car has to be ready for the added strain of the extra horses.

 

I have the Skunk2 lowering springs....I most probably won't be doing any track runs with it..(seeing as we don't have any tracks here). What suspension packages are good? Maybe I should look in the suspension forums....

 

Try to get Tein coilovers. They're quite a big name and have great reputation. I am only running Tein springs but I am really satisfied with the look and feel of the ride.

 

Progress RSB rocks!! Apparently a 24mm Blox FSB works great too! Maybe both the Progress Rear and the Blox Front Sway-bars would FTW!!!

Marko!!

 

Just make sure to have a plan on what your going to do first. You don't want to regret your decisions later on. Do the suspension first and then work on the engine. You'd be surprised at how great the Fit handles twisty. Near my house I love driving on this twisty road that many 4wd guys take it slow while I pass them by.

Motor wise you can turbo, supercharge or swap. See what fits your budget. Remember our lightweight car doesn't need a lot of power to beat other cars.