I have a new red Honda Fit Sport (I had a base but it drowned). I just joined this forum because I'm interested in modifying (?) my Fit. I have approximately 0 knowledge of DIY yourself stuff, but I like to think of myself as pretty able/handy and a fast learner. So this is kind of a broad question but: where should I begin? Right now my Fit is entirely stock.

Sorry if this is the wrong place for this.

 

Suspension, wheels and tires.... I've only had my sport for 2 months and that's on my to-do list first.
I'm totally new to this so I'm sure others will have different opinions.

 

Thats a pretty good starting point I would say. My first mod was window tint and I suggest it to everyone that gets a Fit. An intake can give your go-kart a nice little growl, couple that with an exhaust and you'll have a nice sound.

 

I'd say the same, myself.

Everybody's got their own preference, but for me the Fit is a chuckable little thing that doesn't need gobs of power to have fun in.

Personally my first mod was the audio head unit. My second-hand GD came with a stock 1-DIN Kenwood unit that refused to play CDs even after repair, so out it went and in came a Pioneer USB/iPod-capable head unit. Wheels and tires were probably my second mod.

Oh, and I think you'll want to buy a better, louder horn. I'm sorry to say this but GD and GE stock horns are simply pathetic.

 

I think it's good to start thinking about what type of thing appeals to you:

1) "Light" cosmetic modifications like a new shift knob, tinted windows, etc
2) "Heavy" cosmetic mods like a body kit, vinyl wrap etc
3) Performance modifications like, as mentioned, tires, suspension
4) More serious performance mods like turbocharging, race prepping etc.

The reason I separate light and heavy is mostly because you can do minor stuff more or less in isolation, while turning your car into a turbocharged monster or doing an engine swap requires months of years of planning .. don't worry, I won't be at all surprised if such a thing is not interesting, I don't have interest either, but just wanted to mention it! Tires/suspension are a little bit in between - it's best to do the research and buy what you need for your situation

Personally I tend to go for very, very subtle cosmetic or drivability modifications. I might feel differently if I ever had a car I didn't view that highly, but to my eye the Fit comes from the factory pretty much set up well for driving and comfort ... although there are a few things ... :P

 

Great post. +rep

 

I'm interested in some sort of light stuff mostly because that's what I can picture myself doing and affording
but that's sort of part of my question. What sort of price range is something like suspension or wheels and what is the chance I could do this on my own given I don't currently have that much knowledge about cars?

 

My personal intentions are for auto crossing my grocery getter

 

Cosmetic stuff is usually lower budget. An intake adds to the butt dyno but others swear it's just more noise; you can easily do that yourself. Ditto wheels .. they just come off ...

Suspension mods are slightly more complicated. Yes, a beginner I think could do it IF they followed the instructions on this site. However, I note two types of failures common here:
1) Lack of confidence - it's not all THAT complicated but a lot of people don't want to get into it without having a more experienced hand around.
2) Lack of diligence - many people do not follow the very important note to not drop the axle off the car and then find themselves with a stuck car and casting around for someone to come fix it (definitely fixable if you do this, but just a real pain).
So those are basically two opposite types of failures, I guess you can read into that whatever you want. I might stick to wheels, cosmetic stuff, and maintenance items like plugs, oil etc. Once you can maintain your car will, you will probably develop the confidence to do a suspension change. I haven't yet needed to do it, but I'm at a point where I would at least try without too much fear