Hello everyone, I have been lurking on the site for the last few days, trying to research some info on my new Fit. Last Saturday I traded in my 2006 Ford Mustang GT for a 2008 Black Fit Sport with a Manual Tranny. I live 30 miles from work, and was getting around 20 mpg's with the Mustang. The first tank of gas on the fit, yielded 36 mpg . It is taking some getting used to the Fit, but it seems like a good car overall. So as any car person regardless if you are into domestics or the import scene, I am already looking to do some upgrades to the car. Just got the windows tinted, and am now looking for some rims. Since the car is so underpowered, I would like to add a bit of extra juice, but not affect my MPG's for the trip to work. So first thing I am looking for is a intake. I am also looking at some exhaust setups, but am afraid of the "fart can" sound. So could any of you point me to a cat back, with proven results that does not sound like a blender. Also what have you guys done regarding sound systems. Anyone added a sub to the spare tire well. It is quite small, but it has potential for a single 10in or even a 12
Looking forward to your responses. Anyways here is a few pics of my previous ride (Still miss her ) and my Fit.




New Fit

 

wow, that mustang was sexy!!
it must suck going from a v6 to the little l15

and i know people have put subs in the little spare tire thing, maybe a 12
not really sure

welcome to FitFreak

 

A v-6? Isn't it a V-8?

 

I'll be honest with you, if what's really important to you (and I have to assume it is since I know you took a beating on that '06 GT as prices have fallen through the basement) is fuel economy you should leave the Fit stock. A CAI will get you 5 HP at the most and an exhaust will net you even less unlike your Mustang that was good for 30 WHP with just a CAI and a tune. What type of front end is on that Mustang as it's not the GT's.

Leave it stock and enjoy it for what it is which is a great little commuter and practical all around vehicle. Trying to get more "juice" out of it will probably leave you disappointed.

BTW, my wife has an '08 Honda Fit sport, and I just bought an '06 Mustang GT that I got for nearly half of the original MSRP. I offset the poor fuel economy of the GT by riding my motorcycle to work when I can as it gets 65 MPG.

 

Welcome to the boards.

It is going to be hard getting used to the far less powerful Fit during driving, but at least your trips to the gas station will make it easier.

I'm not a mods guy, just a fan of your former car. I really like the Mustang GT, especially the current generation. My wife and father in law are even bigger fans (he used to have a 1970 Mach I). Too bad the Mustang isn't practical for long commutes or driving in inclement weather. I'll buy one someday, when I can afford 3 cars and make it a weekend toy.

I'd take a look at the Fit Trix section and check out mods there.

In response to another post, yes, the Mustang GT is a V8.

 

The front bumper is the California Special/Shelby GT Bumper. As far as the Fit, I figure that a CAI might get better MPG's since it will most likely lean out the A/F of the factory tune. And since the Fit is such a lightweight car, even a 5 hp increase would be a noticable improvement. I just need to look at some dyno graphs, and see what it does for overall hp, and not just peak HP.

The Mustang was a GT, I had replaced the emblems with the Pony Package, since I was never a fan of the current GT logo.

 

One thing you have to consider about the fit is that it weighs 2400 lbs and has 90 whp stock(MT transmission). That basically means that 5hp = 5.5% increase in power. So.. from exhaust and intake mods you can net 110whp and your fit will have 22% more power, which is a pretty nice upgrade.

I bought my fit about a month ago and after it was broken in I went to oreillys and purchased a cone filter and a rubber connector, stopped by home depot and bought some black PVC and form fitted a cold air intake. I really noticed a difference in power and I also noticed my mileage go up by about 2-3 mpg. $50 (Plus it made the car sound 10x more aggressive :-P)

Most intakes are producing about 3-6whp. Next would be an exhaust. If you want something that sounds good, go check out the exhaust sound clip thread in the exhaust area. There are tons to choose from. I would recommend the HKS Hi-Power muffler with a megan b-pipe(to form the catback), it's got a deep tone, no rasp or rattle, and has a very straight through design providing maximum performance. However HKS designed the muffler to be quiet(just a bit louder than stock) in normal driving and quite a bit louder during spirited driving. People generally notice a MPG increase with exhaust also.($500 for that combo, much less than your stang's dual exhaust would be :-P)

Between axle back and b-pipe you're looking at probably 7-10whp.

Then there are a few different makes and models of headers available. The t1r response header($495) and weaponr street header($195) are designed to provide low end torque and HP(which are usable in-town), and provide about 5-6whp.
Your other options are the weaponr race header $500(header and downpipe combined), which produces about 10-14 whp all across the powerband, and the megan header, which produces the same power as the t1r and weaponr but in the higher rpms(better if you spend time in those higher rpms ;-p).

Then you can always get a downpipe, which will make your exhaust MUCH louder, but provides pretty darned good gains. Probably 3-5hp from the downpipe, maybe even more. $75 from aspec, $120 from megan, $165 from t1r.

Good luck modding your fit! People have noticed that the more mods put on the car, the better gas mileage we get. We're not sure why exactly, but people have noticed that the A/F ratio was pretty rich on a stock fit, so modding just leaned out the car just enough to provide power AND mpg(not dangerously lean, just right :-P).

Congrats on your NHBP! Welcome to the community.

 

as for intake i can vouch for the Fujita SRI, help coupe de tat put one in his fit, was an easy install with noticeable gains after 4500 rpm, dont know about fuel economy though. btw your pony was gorgeous! shame you had to part with her! welcome to fitfreak and enjoy your fit!

 

Boy, I'll bet your neighbors saw the new car sitting in the driveway and said "WTF!!??" Nothing like gas at 4.25 p/gallon to make you take a drastic change in direction. Welcome to the boards and enjoy modding the new car (you know you will) BTW, I have the A-spec CAI and love it! I also hear you loud and clear on the "fart can" thing, look at the Type one Racing T1R model 50s axle back system, it is available from A and J racing amoung others and looks stock with a very mature exhaust note.

 

If you want to keep your economy leave the engine alone.Get wheels and tires, perhaps lower.
Just remember on wheels stock height can tolerate 42 or more mm offset; lowered 45 mm. And max section 205. 205/45x16 or 205/40x17. Airbox is OK but don't expect "10% more power".

 

oh
i feel so dumb,
i didn't see that it was a GT
haha my bad
*blushes*

 

I was getting 32 mpg stock. Since adding my intake, header, and muffler i'm now getting 36-37 mpg. Also, swapping out intakes in our fits DOES give a 5.5%(avg) increase in our cars, dyno proven! And there are enough people on this forum who had INCREASES in gas mileage after adding mods to vouch that it's true!

Good idea on the lightweight rims too. Less unsprung weight = car moves easier = better gas mileage.

 

Unfortunately 5% is within the margin of error for a lot of dynos. And with a 1.5L engine pretty much any exhaust is going to make it sound like it's powered by Briggs & Stratton! I'd say keep her stock and enjoy the Fit for what it is: Economical and still fun to drive.

 

yet 5% is the difference in power between stock and an intake over multiple runs on multiple(10+) separate dyno runs.

then you have to take into account the exhaust, which is also dyno proven to make 10-15hp which is another 15-18% increase.

and I'd have to disagree on the sound of our exhausts. my hks hi-power sounds just as deep as my 2.0L eclipse did with a greddy evo2 catback, which was the deepest exhaust made for the 2g eclipse.

I enjoy my fit because it's economical(more than stock), fun to drive, and(now) just as fast in the straights as a tiburon GT(redfit pr has intake, headers, catback exhaust and no other mods and is running 15.8 at the track).

 

or you can boost it.
then screw economical, you can beat rsx-s's and shit!

 

You are right.
I should have added headers and exhaust to worthwhile mods tho they are not really engine mods. I can easily believe better exhaust system yielding better mpg.
Unfortunately, many also cost mpg too. We've become very cynical about the increases in hp advertised by engine mods and computer variances. Our dyno has never been able to get those same big numbers.
5% on a better intake not limited by large scale manufacturing limits is reasonable but thats only 1.6 mpg on a FIT and there's easily 5% variation just in stock installations. The rest of that 3 to 5 mpg increase is from exhaust improvements. You convinced me that I should get a new system too.

Exhaust is different. While manufacturers have to work with noise and emissions limits aftermarkerteers don't have to be so limited, especially on noise limits. We'ne seen as much as 30% gains on aftermarket and custom systems; so much that carbs and FI needed to be recalibrated (bigger injectors). But noisy when pushed.

 

Best mod for fuel economy is the driver mod. I don't agree that leaning out alreadly lean factory tunes any further will give you better fuel economy. IMHO, people that claim better fuel economy after a mod are simply driving for fuel economy and finally getting the fuel economy they could have gotten all along. My wife has easily gotten 35 MPG city driving with her 5-speed.

If you want to eek a bit more HP out of your 109 HP Fit, then by all means throw a bunch of money on it. It's just my opinioin that you're not getting much bang for the buck when compared to your GT, and in all honesty it's still going to be snail slow.

 

I think that Megan's axle-back exhaust is the best looking if you want an under-the-radar exhaust. I've got nothing but compliments about it =)

Oh, and try a DIY intake first. Autozone and other stores sell intake parts that you can use to piece together your own. The Fit's engine bay and TB placement make it real easy. Just 2 90* bends (or 1 90* and 1 60*) and add a filter at the end. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...am-intake.html

 

[quote=cojaro;372345]I think that Megan's axle-back exhaust is the best looking if you want an under-the-radar exhaust. I've got nothing but compliments about it =)

Oh, and try a DIY intake first. Autozone and other stores sell intake parts that you can use to piece together your own. The Fit's engine bay and TB placement make it real easy. Just 2 90* bends (or 1 90* and 1 60*) and add a filter at the end.

If we do an intake we'll just flow and port match the stock manifold; we have those setups readily available from NASCAR engine building. Thats after the exhaust back.

 

Sorry man, no interest in putting a $3500 blower on. Would affect MPG's too much. Just a few extra ponies for the occasional run through the twisties. Besides my previous car would "beat rsx-s's and shit" all day long. Previous car was a high 12sec car with trap speeds around 108mph. I have already decided to not do anything to the exhaust, just going to look for a intake, nice chrome muffler tip, and a short throw shifter. Going to get the car lowered with some eibach springs, light wheels and call it a day.