Are people buying Fit's for the wrong reasons?
 

Alright guys I hope I dont offend anybody on here but I just got my 09 Fit sport 5spd a couple days ago and after doing some reading on here I have one question. Why do people looking for performance buy a Fit? The Fit IMO is the best daily driver hands down. Awesome car to drive, amazing gas mileage, reliability. It has it all except power.

I understand doing stuff like intake and exhaust just for fun or sound or customization. I plan on doing some of this too. But I see people dropping K20's in 2008 fit's with less than 1000 miles. Now I see people wanting to port & polish the head and rebuild the entire engine. I understand that you want more power. But if your adding power and reducing gas mileage in some cases, that pretty much cancels the whole reason the Fit was made. There are so many other platforms for a lower price that are better for performance if gas mileage isnt that much of a concern. Anybody know what I'm getting at here? :o

the fit has an amazing chassis design. very rigid and stiff so its more like a road legal go kart without much go under the hood. people drop the k20 or run boost to make it a fast car that no one expects. its anyones choice to do what they want with the car they buy. its not like honda makes you sign an anti tuning agreement when buying one like is on the gt-r. i think it is a great platform to build a quick car.

But why would you spend 16,000 on a chasis? If your dropping in a K20 then you obviously didnt buy the Fit for the fuel economy. Wouldnt it be a better idea to get say a civic hatch if you want to drop a K20?

Im not telling people what they should do with their car or telling them that modification is pointless. But im just curious as to why people do such drastic modifications that effect the fuel economy, the #1 selling point of the car.

P.S. You can even get an AP1 S2000 with a chasis twice as rigid and more power than a K20 for less than 16,000. Although its not as practical.

probably because civic is not a 5 door. the fit chassis is very rigid and a good starting point for a track car. im not sure anyone has a dd fit with a k20. they are mainly track cars. putting boost on the l15a doesnt affect mpg that much so that is understandable power.

Boost should be the only option IMO. Gives you plenty of power, without sacrificing fuel economy. Plus you can easily go back to stock.

Although if your using the K20 powered Fit as a track car then youve just spent almost 20,000 on a 170whp car. If its a track only car you can get an S2000 or a Miata for way cheaper that will out perform a K20 Fit on the track.

if it has wheels, it has the potential to go fast. if you arent a fan of motorsports, i dont expect you to get it but there is a reason alot of people out there put tens of thousands of dollars into their cars and abuse them at the track for no monetary return. if you dont understand that, you never will.

You have no idea what im talking about do you? I am a fan of motorsports. I understand why people do what they do. I have my share of track days in my S2000. All im trying to understand is, why would people spend so much money on a new car. Only to swap out the 40mpg+ engine for a performance one? There are better platforms for performance. Im trying to figure out why exactly is it that people buy a Fit.

because it is unique to drop a k20 into a fit. the s2000 comes from the factory as a good track car, no one expects to see a 300hp honda fit. same deal with transplanting a corvette v8 into a miata. its mainly because not many people have done it and modding your car is to separate it from everyone elses. you personalize it at that point.
btw mpg is not on the minds of anyone seeking to put down impressive horsepower figures.

I agree with you. I just thought that 90% of the people buying the Fit DO have mpg in mind.

thats the general idea but you have to remember to each his own when modding cars no matter how dumb it may sound to you.

I do understand modding the fit, I don't understand getting one to put a k20 in. Maybe I will 10 years down the road when its like what eg6's are now but I don't think its too practical now. Just my opinion. Good thread though

i would never do it but i think it is based on bragging rights.

plain n simple on the streets u would have to call it a sleeper n the best one at that right now what up to date import can u say is the slowest hmm yea well unfortanely the fit is on the list for honda and acura so lets say someone pulls up on a si civic in a fit with a kswap whos gonna win surprise got em hands down to the fit whos :rotfl:now is what they would have to say after all few honda ppl laugh at the fit call it a mini van or like my friend seen it a pregnant roller skate


i love my fit n wouldnt waist no damn 10,000+ grand on buying and squeezing a k-series into my car id go with boost or sc and i do plan on doing so within a few month

The punctuation god just died. lol

I have a question or two for the OP. Why do we/they need a reason to justify it? Why do you care? Does it really confuse you that much that people do what they want?

Now whith those ?'s out of the way. i do not have any "performance mods" done to my car. Only things are springs and visual items really.

Not trying to offend the OP here, but i just will never understand why it bugs certain people so much that they have to start an entire thread/discussion on it. :confused:

I posted in another thread that my uncle called my Fit a pregnant rollerskate.
I didn't know that was a popular analogy.

also
what is this agreement business?

agreed. threads like this are stupid and do nothing to enrich the community with information.

I think people just want to get the best out of what they have, within their means, while being as deviant as possible.
Plus the Fit's strengths of economy, usability, and funky looks can only be discussed so much and the reliability of the car might bore people who want to wrench so they keep themselves busy with the next bolt on.:hyper:

My reasons to buy a 2009 Fit in descending order:
1. Interior space and practicality
2. Honda quality and reliability
3. Handling and road feel
4. Fuel economy
5. Appearance

The car will only be driven about 3,000 km per year and it won't be modded out. Even if it were to be driven what's considered a normal annual distance, the order of my list doesn't change.

people are doing that because thats what people do. people get enthusiastic about things, hence "enthusiast", and change things to make them better/different from grandma jane down the road. its been that way from the beginning of cars. i used to do it but now i enjoy turning a key and having it start.