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Information, tips and opinions on maintaining and making selected
modifications to a 2008 Honda Fit Sport 5-speed, purchased
March 2008.
This Page Updated October
12, 2009
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First on the list...
After the first 2500 miles, it was quite apparent
that the "Sport" package Dunlop 195/55-15 SP31 A/S tires on 15-inch alloy wheels were sadily lacking in decent performance. Very
unsatisfactory wet traction was my primary concern, as spring brought northern Virginia considerable rain... 5-inches
in just one day is an example. Additionally, road noise is considerable and performance on fast twisty roads was poor.
Tire Rack, a firm I have done business with for a great many years, classifies this as "Cornering Stability", in their tire
performance ratings charts.
After reading Tire Rack product reviews, talking to
local tire dealers and reviewing comments on several Honda Fit owner forums, I decided that I'd upgrade to Honda HFP 16-inch
alloy wheels and involve one of the top five ultra high performance summer only tires. The decision went to the General Exclaim
UHP, ranked No. 1 in this tire catagory, by Tire Rack customers, reporting on their results with the product. I chose
the 205/45-16 size, which has a much bigger footprint over stock size, but does not get into tire/body contact problems
with the HFP wheels with their ET 55 offset, identical to the 15-inch alloys being replaced. Wheels and tires arrived
and my local Goodyear tire store did the mounting and balancing of the tires and wheel, which I delivered to them, raw.
Bottom line is that this is the wheel/tire combination
that Honda should have used for the "Sport" package, but this would, of course, have added cost to the "Sport" package, although
Honda parts dealers show the 15-inch alloy wheel as costing more than the HFP wheel. (?) Performance is now as it should be
and I am very pleased with this configuration. As I accumulate miles on these tires, I will be reporting on any variations
observed, such as fuel mileage changes, which has been 38.55 MPG for the Dunlops, during the past 2500 miles.
And yes, the TPMS indicator in the dash continues to be a nuisance, as it won't
turn off if you rotate the tires, or involve other wheels with proper sensors, as I have with the HFP wheels. You have to
go to a dealer to have this reset, EVERY TIME! Nonsense, I'll defeat it someday, in the meantime a piece of black masking
tape keeps it out of site.
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Nice wheels - nasty looking brake rotors and hubs
Here's some info on how I prep my cars for new or different wheels and insure that they
are not compromised by rusty hardware... all too prevalent on many cars.
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Often many dollars are spent on wheel and tire packages and
nothing on making sure the vehicle is properly prepared for new wheels, as the rusty hub and rotor on my five month old
Honda Fit shows. Awful looking installation, isn't it.
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A properly prepared rotor and hub makes a big appearance
difference, not to mention ease of maintenance and attention to detail. Pictures of the rotors and calipers on my BMW are
shown elsewhere on this website. However, I've never documented the simple process I use, so here it is as done on the Honda.
Getting rid of the rusty appearance
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Only five months old and rust moved in somtime ago. The process
I use to deal with this hasn't changed since I started doing it in 1973, when my vehicles at that time all had front disc
brakes. The only thing I've changed is the paint types, having originally started out with VHT exhaust manifold paint for
the rotors and engine paint for the calipers, all of which survived the heat easily.
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Using various size wire brushes, along with cheap paint thinner,
the rotor is cleaned and made ready for painting. I prefer the toothbrush size stainless steel brushes used by welders, along
with .22 caliber bore brushes for cleaning the rotor vents. Use plenty of paint thinner along with brushing, to carry away
the particles, disolve the grease and oils and finish up with clean rags and compressed air to dry the surfaces.
When complete, your rotor and hub should look like this,
above, with all rust removed as much as possible, ready for painting.
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Use Q-Tips that are 6-inches in length, because you have
to get to the bottom of each vent. If you don't, the unpainted area will create rusty water which will come up the vent and
it will sling all over your painted surfaces creating a mess. You can hose off road dirt and brake dust, but rusty water stains
and residue is another story!
Make sure you get all surfaces by looking down into the vents
as you work. Also, be carefull to get all of the radiused edge of the rotor on both sides. If you don't, they'll rust and
sling rusty water, like the vent will. Just take your time and don't worry about getting the paint on the rotor... it will
be wiped away by the brake pads the first time you apply the brakes. Just don't get too sloppy and contaminate the brake pads!
This paint is watery, so it's hard to get a smooth streak free coat on the hub (as seen above in the expanded view of the
hub, which only has one coat of paint), which may require a second coat after the first coat has cured and has been subjected
to heat. Use 1500 grit wet/dry carbide paper to lightly rough up the surface, before applying a second coat of this paint.
I use RUST-OLEUM Specialty HIGH HEAT BAR-B-Q BLACK paint,
which easily withstands 1,000°F. For calipers, you can use RUST-OLEUM Oil-Based Protective Enamel, if you can find it! The
acrylic stuff won't work and will just burn off in a matter of days, if not the first day you drive the car, after painting.
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With the painting done, it needs to sit for a few hours and
it's best to let it sit over night, before using the brakes. Don't paint the whole face of the rotor hub, only the outer edge.
Apply a very light coating of engine oil to the hub face, which will prevent rusting and sticking of the wheel mounting pads
to the hub face. And don't forget to clean the wheel mounting pad surfaces, before you put the wheels back on.
June 2008 Trip Fuel Mileage
A trip from
our home in northern Virginia to Alexandria, NH, 650 miles each way plus local travel in NH, resulted in the following fuel
consumption numbers. Numbers are miles driven divided by fuel quantity pumped to refill tank.
9.00 gal. 358.0 miles 39.8 mpg
6.81 gal. 314.3 miles 46.2
mpg (strong tail wind)
6.41 gal. 258.0 miles 40.3 mpg (includes local driving)
7.14 gal. 282.0 miles 39.5 mpg (moderate
head wind)
8.84 gal. 335.0 miles 37.9 mpg (moderate to strong head winds)
40.74 mpg average for the total trip of 1,547.3 miles. Our
Fit started out with 2,700 miles on the clock. Average speed was an indicated 72 mph, which was the average normal traffic
flow speed on the Interstate roads traveled, I-81, I-84, I-87 and I-91.
There is a good article about the Fits engine design and
efficiency here, if you're interested in some details.
And what about the new tires and wheels?
It's too soon to tell what effect the new 16-inch wheels and tires have on fuel mileage,
compared to the original 15-inch configuration discussed above, but now that we're back in town driving our normal routes,
I'll soon have some data. What is important, however, is that the new 16-inch wheel/tire configuration performed exceptionally
well, while in New Hampshire and during a rainy Saturday. I was able to handle three situations that I know for sure would
have been trouble for the Dunlop tires in the rain. The new tires handled them without incident and as well as I would have
expected my BMW to handle such situations. Money well spent!
Second on the list...
You can make a simple Fog Light relay wiring
modification, as shown here in a FitFreak.net Forum, to allow the fog lights to operate with the highbeam headlights. This provides significantly more
light immediately in front of the car, since they are normally turned off when the highbeams are operated (stupid), as well
as lighting to the sides which will light-up animal eyes that may be standing by the side of the road, on two-lane back roads.
These roads in my area are pitch black and you need all the light you can generate to see clearly.
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Further lighting changes involve improving the main headlight
illumination, by installing a pair of Osram 70/65watt Plus 50 H4 bulbs, recommended by Daniel Stern Lighting , and available here. These bulbs make a big improvement in the amount of illumination placed on the road and do not appear to be drawing
an excessive amount of current, such that they might create problems for the stock wiring or lamp components due to high
heat, based on my initial testing. These bulbs are bright, so make sure your headlights are properly adjusted! Daniel's web
site has good info to assist you with proper aiming, along with other info about automotive lighting, so take some time to
look at his whole web site. It's an excellent resource on the subject.
Here are a few tips from me about changing the headlight bulbs, as it isn't very straight
forward on the Fit...
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The Owners Manual says to remove only one retainer, but this
won't give you much room at all to work in. Remove the retainer at the top inside of the fender lip, that is held in place
with a No. 1 Phillips head screw. These are plastic parts and they don't actually tighten down. The purpose of the screw is
simply spread the retainer tabs, just like the pop-out pin in the other retainer. Use a small bungie cord to hold the panel
out of the way. Best to do all this on a warm day, or in a warm garage, to allow the panel to have good flexibility,
which it does under warm conditions.
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The space is tight and you'll still need a small work light
to see what you're doing. Pull the lamp socket off first, then remove the rubber gasket. Note that it goes INSIDE the lip
that surrounds it. Many forget this and try to put it outside. Install the new bulb, lock it down with its retainer wire and
put the gasket on the bulb base first, then work it around the outer edge, making sure it is seating properly. Put the connector
back on and check that the lamp is working properly. Once you've done a replacement, the next one will go much more easily.
Additional Resources -
Update June 12, 2009
If you are doing, or want to do your own oil and filter change on your Fit, it's very
easy, as shown here.
Don't like the very sensitive throttle pedal that your Fit has, with its overly delicate
touch? Take a look at this idea and see if you want to try it. I did basically the same thing, but using a small bungy cord attached to the upper part of
the throttle pedal lever, by a small hose clamp. You can increase throttle stiffness by puting a few knots in the bungy cord.
And while I was on my knees under the dash, I installed an after market dead pedal, also.
And Lastly -
I drove a 2009 Honda Fit Sport with an automatic (yuk!) over the Christmas week, to
see what the changes felt like, especially the leg room since the 2009 has been slightly lengthened. If there was more
room, it was not apparent to my 6'-1" 220 lb frame, although the seat backs were more enclosing then my 2008 Sport. While
the steering wheel is now telescopic, there isn't really much travel. And they took away the grip pads that my 2008 wheel
has! The changes to the dash are ugly, as well as operator hostile... why did they change the heating/air controls?
The 2009 Sport 16-inch wheels are a big improvement even with the factory 55
profile tires. My 16-inch addition using 45 profile tires offers even more grip and handling feel in my 2008 Sport. While
the 2009 has about 8 more horsepower, it was not evident, probably because of the auto trans. The 2009 has some body
structure improvements, but other then this I would not trade-in my 2008 Sport 5-speed for a 2009 model. Still, it is a great
vehicle and I hope Honda sells a lot of them.
Current Lifetime Fuel Mileage Average
October 12, 2009 at 13,534
miles= 39.3 mpg
Gas tank fill-up high of 44.6mpg - Low of 32.4mpg
(16.71km/L or 5.98L/100km - and for our UK
visitors it is 47.2 mpg. Conversions here.)
Fuel mileage is calculated by dividing the number of
miles driven by the amount of fuel pumped into the
gas tank to top off level.
The chart above is from the Honda Fit Freaks Forum on June
12, 2009, for the 5-speed manual transmission model (MT). Check here for the latest chart data.
Number of visitors since this web
page was created, May 24, 2008.
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