In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
OK...we need a first week update.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
OK...we need a first week update.
My mom had a first gen(2007?) Fit. Such a perfect practical car. The automatic had great gearing, steering and suspension was firm and responsive, and the back seats could fold in a few different ways. I remember the instrument panel was pretty cool as well. Anyway, we took tons of roadtrips in that little nugget. got 35-40mpgs. Dang it, now I want to get one.
Ovid_and_Flem said:In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
OK...we need a first week update.
We're drivng. The Volt still gets the bulk of the mileage but that's only because it's cheap. I drive the little kids to school in it every day. Grocery shop. Two sets to tires to be mounted so far. Every excuse I can make up to head down the driveway.
Kid #2 drove it and said it's better than the Volt. Great visibility, thinks the transmission shifiting feels weird. He's only driven the Volt with it's electric motor and cars with a manual. Kid#1 drove it when she was home for the weekend. She's in love. Echoed the visibility comment. She's not a tall girl. Looking forward to her increased mobility next year. Mrs. Deuce drove it. Finds it acceptable. The ND Miata has kind of spoiled her with the whole "modern car" thing and she thinks the Fit feels older than it is from a design standpoint.
As for me, I'm about ready to sell everything and buy a fleet of Fits and and call it good.
Given the folks in Ohio (name escapes me, just now) who build K24-equipped track Fits, a fleet may be a good idea...
ETA: Tailored Chassis Solutions
The love for these is well-deserved. We bought ours new in '09, now nearing 160k on the original clutch. It doesn't get driven much anymore since it's hard to get both car seats into, but it's been hands down the most reliable car I've ever had.
Side note - base models didn't get the undertray, I believe I read somewhere that one meant for a CR-Z fits with the addition of some mounting holes.
In reply to Woody :
Similar issue with the non sport models. The factory size is 175 65/15. You can find tires that size, but it seems you can find more in 185 60/15 or a few other close sizes.
Today is Mrs Deuce's day off. She just took the little kids to school in the Fit. This is the third time she's driven it. For reference, in the year and a half I've owned the Accord she's been in it 4-5 times, always with me. She's been in the crappy Miata once. We've owned the Fit less than two weeks and she's driven it three times.
These are fun little cars. I was at a trade show back when this generation Fit was new. The trade show was giving away a 1-year lease with the Fit during the event. However, the fire marshal would not allow the car in to the convention center unless it had a 1/4 tank of gas or less. Tank was full. I happily volunteered to make the Fit compliant to the fire code over the next hour. Even bouncing off the rev-limiter, it got decent mpgs and took longer than expected to get down to a 1/4 tank.
It must be eager or peppy or something. It’s probably a good thing, it’ll make getting a third one easier.
edited to correct the number
mazdeuce - Seth said:In reply to Woody :
Similar issue with the non sport models. The factory size is 175 65/15. You can find tires that size, but it seems you can find more in 185 60/15 or a few other close sizes.
I put (I think) 205/50-16 Hakkapeliittas on my sister's 2009 Fit Sport. They looked really good on there.
These are cool cars that I've always liked but actually never driven. I hope to drive one soon though, when I swapped my EP3 engine I gave the old K20A3 to my friend who will put it into his Fit.
Totally love this car. The two smallest duecelings and I are about to embark on an east coast tour and we decided that this is the best ride. Drives great, lots of room, good mileage, we can park it anywhere and the visibility for them is great for sight seeing. With that in mind I'm freshening up a few things. There is a slight oscilation under braking that feels like a grumpy rotor. I'm fine with it but the two big kids notice and it bothers them. They're super cheap so a new set went on. Oil was at about 3k miles from the windshield sticker so that got changed. I do love these snow cone funnels.
The last thing is a new set of tires which should be here in the next hour. The wheels are already in the back of the truck so I'll pop over there and have them swapped. I did order a new TPMS sensor but it's not going to be here before we leave so I'll get that done after summer before I send Kid#1 off to college. Looking forward to knocking out some miles in the next little bit.
Starting around 2008 i was waiting and waiting for the much-rumored Fit Hybrid to come to the US. While waiting I bought a 1G Insight, and shortly after the US got the 2g Insight instead of the Fit Hybrid, i bought a Prius. The 2g Insight was such a tease of what could have been great. It did most of what I wanted a Honda and a Hybrid to do, but it didn't have any of the packaging brilliance of the Fit, and it wasn't a better car than a 6 yo (at that time) Prius. Not a better Fit, and definitely a worse Prius? That's a hard sell, and the market spoke on that decision. The Fit survived, needless to say.
I've always liked Fits, and if the 2g Insight had never existed here, the Fit Hybrid would have and I would have bought it. I've owned vehicles throughout the spectrum of efficient/roomy/practical and while the Fit is a fantastic middle ground for most, the car enthusiast in me just wishes they would have sold the one version that reached out far enough from the middle to reel me in. Thus ends the unsolicited story of why I've never owned a Fit even though they're great.
Excellent choice for a college student, obviously!
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
I did a road trip once as a backseat passenger in my parents G1 Fit... never again... great cars for short stuff but the rear was bouncy on the ride from chicago to milwaukee... part of that was the roads... but lord... front seats I never had the problem.. the rear seat is not the most fun place to be for extended periods of time.
Take that back... I did a road trip again in the car a few years later with friends from Houston to Cape Canaveral for a weekend...
Weight... more weight in the rear helps... people... stuff... whatever you need to get a bit more weight in the rear makes it ride nicer.
Or not...
In reply to spacecadet :
Well, I don't have to ride in back for the next two week, so......whatever. 
The little kids still say it's better than the truck, they're excited.
On the beach in Daytona. Just doing Fit stuff. Picture from the back seat because I was behind the wheel trying not to get stuck when the bro truck in front of me decided that goosing it to dig trenches in the sand would be funny. Rallycross skills come in handy.
Almost stranded my truck right there once
Overlook on Tail of the Dragon. Ran it both directions.
And on top of Mt. Washington in New Hampshire. Wind chill was 28 up there this morning. Putting on some miles. This is a good little car.
have you rallycrossed it yet?
2nd Gen Fits are amazing. I think they took a step back in quirkiness with the 3rd gen (like losing the upper glove box and the second dash mounted cup holder in front of the AC vent). I've also been more comfortable sleeping in the back of a 2G vs. 3G at races. I think the 5spd Auto has better gearing for that engine than the manual; however, the manual makes it much more fun. I had a beat up 2009 for a year and took it to RallyX, PDX, etc and drove the crap out of it inbetween and it never stuttered. Sold it to a friend in a hard place and he's still thrashing it.
Changing the spark plugs sucks. Not a terrible suck but it could be easier if the engineers put an extra 5 minutes of thought into the design. Tip, you need to remove the cowl and the upper intake manifold. They also take some tiny spark plugs. That's my only real gripe about the cars.
My time with the Fit is coming to a close. I go pick up kid#1 from her summer research job (which banned her from having a car, because rules) and then the Fit is hers. Our trip around the country continued after that last picture, visiting the eastern most point in the US at the West Quoddy Head lighthouse in Maine.
Delivered some big purple things to Patrick and slept on his couch, again. I'm starting to like his couch.
Stopped by my inlaws to play around.
And then finally arrived at the cottage for the summer. We ended up taking a day trip the the Straights of Mackinac. I've driven over the bridge well over 100 times in my life but never stopped. We walked around the fort and then had some weiners. That's a big weiner.
Also went to two drive in movies this summer at the last drive in theater in the Upper Peninsula.
The drive back home was uneventful. I did a marathon session driving just over 17.5 hours straight from my inlaws back home. Kids were a champ and that's the fastest time we've ever clocked. The car is comfortable and quiet enough to keep the fatigue level low. It's a better highway car than people give it credit for.
Changed the oil at a handful of miles over 10k. Stretched it 1500 more than the oil life monitor wanted me to. Never had to add any oil. The car has 166k miles on it now which means I put just over 12,500 miles on it since I bought it in April. There are still a few things I need to tidy up in the couple of weeks kid#1 is home, but I think I've given it a fair test run.
In reply to mazdeuce - Seth :
We miss our 09, but it’s still serving our daughter & son-in-law well. I borrow our other daughter’s 07 occasionally & while fun, it isn’t quite as good ola car as the 2nd gen.
Back in January, when looking for a good condition, low (<$5k) cost car with reasonable safety features for my new driver (daughter) to use, I really tried to find a Fit that would meet our needs in the Cincinnati area. We found that every one had rust well established in the rear wheel arches ... every one ... to the point that I could not bring myself to purchase any of them. We had to settle for a Civic instead ... not a terrible choice, but man ... I was hoping to find a Fit that (um) fit our needs.
You'll need to log in to post.
