i'll admit sixth gear would be nice but lets get real its an ENTRY level car. my biggest problem so far has been listen to people whine about one thing or another, oh and it cost $49 to fill up today.

 

Lower profile tires and wider wheels cures the darting about. And proper wheel alignment.

 

The rest of the world gets rear discs and 7 speed cvt; what are we, the hind end of Honda marketing?
Except for the Tata the Fit is the entry level economy car. And no reason Honda should not be the leading technical entry car in the US. seems they've forgotten their roots in the USA for those of us who had the 73 Civic.

 

I was wondering if that might make a difference. I have the base so it's got the extra skinny 175 section tires!

Alignment is perfect from what i can tell. It's more that frequent, tiny steering corrections need to be made on the highway because any undulation or change in the road surface seems to send the car wandering to the left or right slightly.

I hadn't really planned on buying new wheels or tires for a while but if the consensus is that it will help that particular problem, i might consider doing it sooner.

 

I also found that the progress sway reduced the darting on the freeway significantly. It still isn't as relaxed on the freeway as my last car, but the steering is so much quicker on the Fit.

 

you guys that are worried about your gas getting stolen, go out with a hose and try and stick it down the gas thing most cars have a X type thing in the gas line so NOTHING can get in your gas excepet liquids so i wouldent be worried about what people take out of your tank more then what thay put in like water lol sugar little things like that. ...unless thay have a very small tube but that would take forever be much faster to just cut the line under the car lol

 

This can be a good thing. If you crash and are unconscious it takes a lot less time for the paramedics to open your door (assuming it is not crunched too much) than needing someone to cut the car apart or pop the door. I've driven some relatively new Volvos that do not auto lock while driving for this exact reason.

 

My wife does not like the carpet, she likes to slip off her shoes while riding in the car especially in warm weather, she said the carpet is really uncomfortable under foot.

 

A rear anti-sway bar helped that?

That surprises me.

I figured the tramlining was caused (as it usually is) but the torsion beam rear. Seems like a rear anti-sway bar really would not improve on that particular problem.

My experience has been that torsion beam rear, light FWD cars tend to tram-line. Not a whole lot you can do about it AFAIK since it is not fully independent suspension. I knew it had a torsion beam when I bought the car though, I'm OK with the compromise.

 

You can fix that problem by turning the lighting up with the lights on... you can adjust that with the knob you set you mileage with, just turn it left/right when your lights are on!

 

In Canada we have daytime running lights, which I agree with, but I tonight I didn't realize for a few minutes that my night lights (especially tail lights) weren't on!

In the Neon I used to drive this wasn't a problem--unless at least the "dusk lights" (parking + tail lights) were on, the dashboard didn't light up... but in the Fit, the dash is always lit when the car's running

 

I'd like to chime in and address my opinions over some of the frequently mentioned issues that seem to really bug people.

1. No dead pedal on MT, cheap plastic interior trim pieces, cheap carpeting, buzzing in the dash, road noise getting in, bumpy & loud suspension no intermittent wipers etc....

* This is a $13,000 price range compact hatchback car. Add on whatever you like, underneath it's still a cheap car and built no better than any other brand's bottom of the barrel model. Times have changed, and costs are cut anywhere they can be so cheap materials are expected. If you want no road noise, plush interior and durable carpeting, you need to buy a car in the $20,000 and above range. No cheap compact will ever deliver these qualities at this low of a cost. I'm not trying to rip the Fit or any other car, it's just that in my experience in test driving a ton of cars and owning quite a few as well it's the way it is in this price range. My old Scion xB rattled terribly with every bump in the road. As for the dead pedal, I personally haven't the lack of one to be a problem yet.

2. OEM head unit is weak, poor sounding etc.

* Set the EQ to Groove to bring out the lows and mids, turn the base all the way up and the treble, balance and fader to level. Your sound will be bassy in a good way, nice highs, great mids, and an overall killer sound. I've had this setup since day one and played everything from audio cd's, analog recordings, mp3's wma's etc...It's all a nice sound and you can crank it up with it still coming through nice and clear.

3. No 6th gear/4k RPM range when at or around 80mph.

* This is the way the car was designed. If you drive with the speed constantly at 80mph you're not taxing the engine or burning anymore fuel than you would in any other gear range. All of the Scion model cars perform exactly the same way and get killer gas mileage and performance. The 3500-4000RPM range & 70-80MPH are the Fit's sweet spot range. I've been driving my Sport 5MT like this and am getting about 34MPG while still in the break in period on my third tank of gas.

4. Cheap paint that chips and scratches easily

* Sadly, this is what just about every car maker is dealing with. With paints and clear coats becoming more water based, the paint is a lot softer and more susceptible to chipping. I've had this problem with every vehicle I've owned for the past six years, and the only thing that seems to help at all is to have a clear bra put on.

5. A/C not blowing cold enough

* Our Fits are little greenhouses. By tinting the windows up a bit, you can lower the interior temperature of the car by more than ten degrees...Be sure to check your local highway vehicle laws regarding tint before having it installed.

6. Seats attract a lot of lint, hair, dirt etc.

* Okay I can't freaking stand this either. It's like the one thing that bugs the hell out of me. Leather and seat covers aside, I've found a lint roller in the glove box has helped out a lot in a pinch

7. Blind spots

* I have yet to find any. Then again, my other ride is a Toyota FJ Cruiser 4x4 with c-pillars well over a foot and a half in width, a small rear glass that's swallowed up by the rear mounted spare tire. Now those are some blind spots.

8. DBW revving too high with notchy shifts in certain gears.

* I've had the problematic 3rd and 5th gear shifts too. If anyone has found the optimal shift range for each gear in the power band I'd love to know what they are.

All in all I love my Fit, and it's a blast to drive. I have a hard time just looking at it in the driveway.

 

I think you'll find that if you keep the highway revs below 3500 (where the VTEC kicks in), you'll have at least 10% better mileage. Adding a 6th gear would let you cruise over 70mph without the same mileage penalty.

I wonder how difficult it would be to adapt the Civic 6MT to the Fit?

HF

 

Impossible. They would have to share the same engine platform, which they don't. New Si's have the K20z3, the Fit's have the L15. Wouldn't work

 

I shift at ~3k and 2.5k rpm respectively and 3rd and 5th are just dandy for me.

 

it doesn't have coils yet.

 

My 2000 Accord has variable int wipers on front.

 

I too like the ability to lock my own doors WHEN and WHERE I need them locked. Like driving through a few parts of Philly...LOL

 

[quote=vtec just kicked in yo;333225]A rear anti-sway bar helped that?

That surprises me.

Did me too til I realized he's talking about a rear antisway bar. Then I was completely surprised.

Front wheels darting about is usually caused by tires following minor changes in road surface or/and wheel alignment. Wider tires won't necessarily cure the darting and if the road is less smooth can even accentuate the darting but shorter sidewalls seem to stop that.
Any toe at all encourages darting. And the front antisway bar encourages darting as any chaange at one tire is transferred to the opposite tire in reverse.

 

[quote=HEMI-Fit;349211]I think you'll find that if you keep the highway revs below 3500 (where the VTEC kicks in), you'll have at least 10% better mileage. Adding a 6th gear would let you cruise over 70mph without the same mileage penalty.

It is pretty much th lowest numerical axle ratio you can have at any given speed that matters. Having a sixth gear with lower ratio would lower rpm which would increase mpg.
And no, the 6 speed civic won't fit.