riding around with a bone stock engine is the way to go! i love honda's reliability.

 

Hahaha!

Mind you, I'm trying very hard to resist the lure of turbocharging (doubling my meager 62 WHP is very tempting)...I'm just glad I don't have the money to burn for that just yet.

 

nice mods man. well done!

 

This is an onboard video of a couple of my practice laps around Subic International Raceway before my timed laps. A friend of mine rode shotgun and shot the footage.

This was taken with his Nokia N93 cellphone so forgive the quality...and yeah, stock GD1s don't really run very loud. I think I was doing 1:07s here. My final times were 1:04s.

Click the image below to view.

 

My birthday gift is finally complete...after three damn months :lol:

 

Circuit/Event/Date: Subic International Raceway short track, dry @ Team Flat Out trackday 12/5/2009
Car: 2005 GD1 Honda Jazz 1.3S M/T
Engine: L13A3 twin-spark, stock
Suspension: stock
Brakes: stock
Rolling stock: Toyo Proxes 4 all-season, 205/45R16 87W on 16x7 Rota Circuit 10s

Queued up







Look at the laptimes tumble. Baseline run, 9:00 am

2:00 pm

2:30 pm


3:15 pm: Aibo's new personal best!

Previous record: 1:04.4
New record: 0:59.14

 

Damn, I really like how the Recaro Speeds look in your car, have any more closer pics?

I can really recommend getting a SRi...really added a few hp...and a feels like its pulling a little harder now!...according to my butt-dyno at least! :-)

 

Ahh these are SRDs, not Speeds...although yeah they're very closely related. The SRD and the slightly newer SR3 are made by Recaro Japan, while the Speed uses the basic SR3 frame with a taller backrest/headrest for Europeans.

I'll post a few more photos later on at your request.

 

I forgot about updating this thread, sorry

Anyway I got new photos shot by my girlfriend's brother.

Pitworkz by Hongly trackday
Subic International Raceway
January 17, 2010

 

just curious, do you feel that the 1.4 liter engine is sufficient for driving around town/hilly areas and stuff? daily driving basically... Sometimes i wonder why america is so obsessed with having huge displacement engines.

 

Okay, long-winded reply coming up...apologies in advance

Technically it's a 1.3L engine. L13A3s displace 1334cc so we round off to the smaller number, although why the UK and other countries badge it as a 1.4L, I have no idea. Marketing perhaps

Also, compared to your L15As, the original Fit engine has two less valves per cylinder but gains an extra spark plug for the i-DSI system (intelligent Dual and Sequential Injection). So that's 8 valves and 8 spark plugs for my L13A3, vs. 12/16 valves and 4 spark plugs for the L15A. In a nutshell, with i-DSI, the two spark plugs fire in sequence at low revs for efficiency, then fire at the same time at high RPM for power.

Keep in mind Honda has basically scrapped the i-DSI system for the L13As in the GEs - they now get the 12-/16-valve VTEC from the GD L15As.

Now for your question...

For daily driving, the L13A3 - especially when mated to the short-geared manual gearbox - is adequate. It's an un-Honda-like engine in a lot of ways, mainly because it makes peak torque at just 2800 RPM. That means it's very easy to drive around town (and is actually slightly faster-accelerating than the L15A off the line) - in contrast, most Honda engines need to be wound up to at least 4500 for max torque. The flip side is it gets pretty breathless at high RPM and revving to the redline really only makes sense on the track. The short gears and meager 82 HP at the crank also limit it to a top speed of 175 km/h (around 109 mph).

The only time you'll be wanting for more shove is when you're climbing up a hill with a full load of people and their cargo - perhaps not a good engine for San Francisco, then (although I don't know if L15As fare any better). Also there's a noticeable difference in acceleration driving with just yourself or with a passenger compared to driving with all five seats occupied.

The L13A3 is ridiculously frugal on fuel too. Push it to redline all day at the track and it'll still get 12 km/L (28 mpg). I've already mentioned I pulled out a personal-best 28.024 km/L (66 mpg) out of it too, although I was still on stock 14s back then and haven't been able to repeat it on my 16s.

The low-powered L13A3 I believe is the reason why Honda made the Fit handle so well. If you can't pull out speed from the engine, you can at least maintain your momentum with the light body, rigid floorpan and benign handling behavior.

 

mm i see.. sounds fun! haha it'd be great to see everyone struggling to get up their driveways in america. German cars have so many small displacement models that they DONT bring to america, my mom's 03' BMW 330i actually has a 1.8liter counterpart and i think even a 1.6L in other countries. Mercedes Benz S class is only offered in V8 and V12s over here... The old model W220 Had a 3.5liter V6 offered here from 2004-2006... 2 years out of it's whole 6 year sale span in america... Not only do the V8s cost alot more, not everyone needs to go fast.. especially in a luxury car. An S class would be fine with a V6 installed, it'd just be like a ML350 in terms of power to weight anyway.. They should have offered at least one engine spec down from the 1.5VTEC for people aiming at maximum fuel efficiency, then we wouldn't need the prius and hybrid craze.. it's not like they would be any faster than a 1.4liter fit anyway

 

Jason,
Yeah we used to get the E36 BMW 318i and 316i over here too.

Anyway here are fresh photos of Aibo chilling out at Bonifacio High Street...before the last trackday




My car is so green, grass grows on the ground below its tailpipe. Hahaha!

 

Photos from Batangas Racing Circuit...courtesy of Eurovtec3, Hazardboy and Spoon769 of Honda Club Philippines.







This was my first time at BRC and I clocked a personal best of 2:20.8.

 

That first shot is the money shot. Very nice. I love seeing cars actually on the track.

 

Many thanks for the kind words guys!

A minor update:
If push comes to shove I might finally land myself a sweet set of JDM wheels.

Perfect for my plan to downsize to the 15x6.5 size too. Better ride comfort, less unsprung weight, potentially better fuel economy, a greater variety of tires, cheaper equivalent rubber too...

...and slightly gawkier looks on stock ride height.

 

tat looks like a fun track

 

car looks nice need a drop and a lip kit asap

 

Deal fell through. Seller didn't seem like he was actually willing to sell and flaked out.

So Aibo soldiers on with his knock-offs for now.

Not too keen on lowering the ride height. Aibo already scrapes over tall humps as he is.

 

Update:
I bought these stock JDM GD3 wheels off my buddy EK3 Ferio. In the Philippines these were stock on the GD8 City (aka Fit Aria), but in Japan these were stock on the pre-facelift/MMC GD3 Fits.



He had these restored and repainted a slightly darker, flaked silver than the OEM color. They basically match Aibo's Silver Stone Metallic/Storm Silver Metallic paint.





Next task is to find a set of suitable rubbers - I'm thinking 195/55 Toyo Proxes T1Rs. Gotta save up first though. My wallet's taken a beating from maintenance and repairs.