Don't think the Sports brakes are any different than the base. Where do they find these salesman!

 

That's what I thought -- why would they put bigger brakes on the Sport??

 

Yes, brakes are identical between Base and Sport. Salesman is being a typical salesman.

 

The breaks are the same. That said, the salesman is right about the clearance, less than 1/2" between the caliper and inside of the rim with my 14's on.

 

Right, I'm a little concerned about driving on gravel roads with that small clearance. It seems possible for a small rock to get lodged in that space, which could damage the wheel and/or caliper/rotor. I drive a couple miles/day on dirt roads, although in the winter they are often snow-covered. Decisions, decisions. Maybe the 15" would be a better bet.

 

This is correct, at least for my sensors. I think you have to drop the pressure by 10 psi in 20 seconds or something -- I just used the air release on my tire gauge until it dropped enough. Of course, I was a bit annoyed that Tire Rack didn't provide this procedure... I was ready to just bring it to a shop until I found that info online.

 

As far as getting the TPMS reset for your wheels, just go by Discount Tire/Americas Tire. They reset mine in 15 min for free. I switched from my 2010 base steel wheels to a set of 2012 sport wheels. On another note I'm going to sell my base steelies with hubcaps, tpms, and lug-nuts if you are interested. The old tires need to be removed so IDK if the weight of shipping w/o tires is cheaper than getting them taken off. I'm thinking $100 plus shipping w/tires. Probably cost $40 to remove the tires.

 

I'm in the rural Northeast, and we don't have any Discount Tires around here. In fact, I don't think we have any large national chain tire companies without driving an hour or so.

Are your steelies 15" or 14"? I'm considering your offer. Can you provide an email so I can contact you?

 

I would think you would only disable it if you were having trouble starting out and needed to rock the vehicle to get unstuck. Otherwise, I'd think you would want it. We get lots of snow off Lake Erie, so I'll tell you better in December.

And tall, skinny, tires rule in deep snow!!! My 15" base tires will work just fine.

 

depends on your driving. VSA interupts my driving over slick roads making it unsafe for me, so unless it's completely icy (over bridges for instance) and need computer assistance, i turn it off even in rain or snow.

 

We have a very steep gravel driveway, as much as 15-18% in some places. My wife's 08' doesn't have vsa and she goes right up. In the 2012, with the vsa in regular mode it's not a pleasant ride up the hill, cars always balking, so I push the button.

 

I bought the 14" wheel and tire combo from TireRack for both my '09 and '12 Fit Sports: both work fine. I use a small piece of static type vinyl material to block the TPMS light. No problems in the spring when I put the OEMs back on.

 

joe- you are aware you cant turn off vsa on your '12 without tpms?

i have the 09 and 12 myself. im running tpms on my 12's winter set. the 09' no issue not using tpms.

 

I just got my TPMS switched from my stock rims to my snows because of this.

As a trick for anyone who gets stuck and really needs to turn the VSA and traction control off to get out, you can unplug the ABS pump (big connector, under the hood passenger side, if you don't know enough to do it from this info DON'T TOUCH IT!!!) and the VSA and TC will be disabled, along with ABS (obviously) and [VERY IMPORTANT] the front to rear break balance is handled by the ABS pump, do not drive like this![/VERY IMPORTANT]

 

Yeah, Ken, I know, but they keep the roads pretty clear here, although last winter wasn't much of a test. If we get more snow this year I'll have a chance to test it out, though I can't remember the last time I had to rock a car out of a stuck-in-snow situation. As I recall it's somewhat of an art with a M/T!

But thanks anyhow for the reminder. If I get stuck in snow I'll be sure to post pics!

 

Hows about we in snow belt states just carry a couple of pieces of 2x4?

 

cool. i personally dont use vsa in the snow even in my RWD car with snow tires. VSA interupts my driving and more often then not, makes my situation more dangerous. if this was a car im not familiar with, running junk tires, i would keep VSA on. or if im in my car over icy condition like over a bridge. GL and hope you dont get stuck.

it's not all about just getting STUCK in snow. VSA does not have all the realworld parameters programmed, so i like to decide when i prefer a little slip and acceleration vs complete bog down driving into traffic in snow.

 

Yup, I have the sport with the 16 inch wheels. Everything worked fine with the 14 inch wheels last winter, no issues with brake clearance.

 

I just bought a '12 Fit Sport and kept the snow tires/wheels from the car I traded in, '95 Ford Contour. The snows I have are Winterforce 185/70-R14's. Of course I can't use the same wheel, but I had ~1/2" clearance on the front calipers on the Ford and never had a problem.

Before I bought the car, I checked TireRack and they sell 14" winter packages for the '12 Fit Sport so I just thought I'd go local and buy wheels and have them mount the tires. The Goodyear guy looks in his book and says he doesn't see a 14" wheel that listed for a Fit after '10. He agrees that TireRack sells tons more winter wheels and tires than his store, but he can't sell me a 14" wheel because of liability concerns.

And now I'm seeing that the only way I can get these tires mounted on non TPMS wheels is to use a guy I know who runs a used car dealership because the law requires stores to install these sensors. Plus there are issues with TPMS and VSA. "I'm from the government and I'm here to help you..." Help remove more money from my wallet. If I only had to pay the one time sensor cost and not the biannual reprogramming I wouldn't be complaining, but there's no Tire America near me and the dealer I bought the car from refused to do these resets for free because I bought the car, supposedly, under invoice.

If snow tires haven't saved my bacon at least once a winter, I'd take a chance on the OEM all seasons, but it's like night and day with snow tires when they haven't plowed the roads.

So am I correct in my assumption that it's safe to use 14" wheels, steel or alloy, on a '12 Fit Sport, the idiot light will eventually go out once the OEM wheels are put back on, and I can disable the VSA w/o TPMS, should I need to, following the drastic steps listed above with no long term consequences?

 

I'd file a complaint at the BBB on him.