Ecomodding my $800 Honda Fit 5-speed beater [was "Picking up my..."]

[MetroMPG]

I just realized I don't even know what the car's EPA rating was... checking now...

2008 Honda Fit 4 cyl, 1.5 L, Manual 5-spd

Combined MPG:31
City MPG:28
Highway MPG:34

[me and my metro]

That should be in the 40s by the second tank!

[mpg_numbers_guy]

If I ever got a Fit, the first thing I would do would be to swap in the Insight's transmission if I could. The Fit is geared ridiculously short, which doesn't help fuel economy at all. With the Insight's transmission, I surmise that the Fit could get better fuel economy than the Mirage, maybe, or at least be more comparable but have the added bonus of Honda reliability.

[Ecky]

Following!

The Fit's engine is pretty darn efficient. Its achilles heel is its "sporty" city-oriented gearing - that and its box shape.

If you're willing to get into transmission work, most of the internals are interchangeable with the Civic hybrid and Insight. A 5th gear swap (same ratio from Insight and HCH) is good for -6% RPM. The HCH final drive is -17%, and the Insight final drive is -25%.

The Insight or HCH gearbox bolt up to the Fit's engine. I believe the CR-Z's 6 speed also bolts up, for what it's worth. The axle location and size is *mostly* the same on all of them, but the transmission side mount is (I'm fairly certain) different on the Fit.

[MetroMPG]

Thanks, both - that's great info to file away about the Insight transmission. The stock gearing is definitely not ideal for highway MPG, that's for sure. Do you know of anyone here who's done a trans swap for fuel economy?

The Mirage's trans is also not geared ideally for MPG, but there are far fewer options for changes [the Euro model had a taller fifth and final drive, if I recall].

That said, I'm not going to diving into major mods on this Fit - I plan to use it as next winter's beater... then it's flip time!

[MetroMPG]

I've had a chance to go over the car, and it's in surprisingly decent condition.


It's got a few issues... but how many $800 cars don't?

The bad:

• Very minor exhaust leak [muffler itself]
• An occasional rattle in the front end over bumps [sounds like a sway bar link]
• Occasional low RPM hiccup when getting on the gas after coasting [this may be EOC-related]
• The winter tires have good tread, but are old and dry rotted -- wouldn't pass inspection.
• Alignment is slightly off
• Front brake rotors are pretty crusty rusty around the outsides. Questionable whether they'd pass inspection. Pads are at about 40%.
• AC doesn't work [I knew this ahead of time]: the compressor clutch doesn't even click when I press the AC button. Personally, I don't care about AWOL AC, but it will make it a bit harder to sell next year.

The good:

• Engine fired right up after sitting for over almost 2 weeks with no valvetrain rattle [the Mirage does this] or other weird noises
• Race car suspension! [compared to you-know-what]
• Race car steering! [compared to you-know-what]
• Steering is tight [tie rods, ball joints]
• Cruise control works
• Summer tires have decent tread and are newer [no dry rot]
• Cosmetically decent inside - full set of OEM "Weathertech" style Honda rubber mats
• Original paint all around - the questionable appearance of the corner of the front bumper in the top pic was just a reflection/shadow.

The ugly:

• RUST! The rear wheel arch HondaRust. I haven't decided how much effort I'll put into repairing it... because it's always worse than it looks. A proper repair on the driver's side will need metal cut out, patches made & welded in.

Overall:


I think I got a great deal on this fixer-upper!

I'm honestly not sure why my friends priced it so cheaply. I think the car could sell for ~$1500 without doing anything aside from tidying it up. With a valid inspection, it'll fetch over $2k easily.

Funny: my friends told me they junked another '08 Fit last week because the clutch was shot and it had 100k higher kms [so, ~350k kms = 217k miles]. They only paid the Honda dealer $100 for it, and the junkyard gave them several hundred more than that!

I didn't ask them what they paid for mine.

[MetroMPG]

Wind deflector delete. Laminar air flow restored! [That's an aero joke.]



Also deleted 1.25 deer whistles [remnants = the black squares in front of the upper grille].



Tires are aired up.


Floor mats & windows cleaned.



Oh, and I confirmed the sway bar end links are the likely source of the front end clunking on bumps - I can rattle them by hand. Apparently it's a common issue.


That's enough Fit monkeying for this weekend.

[nemo]

Originally Posted by MetroMPG

Might be useful for grill block.

[MetroMPG]

Yeah, too bad the mounts weren't articulated, James Bond style... variable grille block/hood deflector!

[MetroMPG]

Originally Posted by mpg_numbers_guy

... the Fit could get better fuel economy than the Mirage, maybe, or at least be more comparable but have the added bonus of Honda reliability.

Know what? The Mirage has turned out to be a very reliable car. If you're going to have a problem with a high miles Mirage, it's probably going to be the CVT [JATCO/Nissan unit].

One of our Mirage forum members is a mechanic for a courier company that has a fleet of 30 or 40 Mirages [all CVTs]. The cars suffer from tons of abuse, have high miles/kms. He's replaced a handful of CVTs and done lots of brake jobs, but has never had to touch engines, suspension/steering, and rarely other components. Some of his cars are past 400k kms / 249k mi.

He even bought himself a used one - with the CVT!

We've also got a bunch of self-employed delivery drivers on the forum who swear by the car's reliability [though most of those guys bought manuals].

The biggest downside to the Mirage may be parts prices / availability. It has nowhere near the aftermarket support of other Japanese brands.