Has anyone Auto X'ed their Fit?

I think I am going to next chance I get. With the crisp steering, short wheels base and surpisingly pep from the mid rpms...I think it will be fun!

 

I have. It was fun... not terribly fast, but fun.

The stock tires are not good for autocross. If you do it more than once or twice, you'll quickly destroy them. I suppose you're looking for different tires if you plan to autocross seriously anyway.

Admittedly, I haven't tried a lot of courses in the Fit, but I wasn't a huge fan of second gear. I normally upshift to second immediately and leave it there for the remainder of the run. The Fit's second gear seemed slightly too tall. Tight, slow sections drop the revs too much, and it takes a long time for the engine to pull up and make good power again. At higher revs, the engine seemed to have enough power to control the chassis relatively well... but when the revs dropped to around 3000 or below, it felt sluggish.

It didn't understeer as much as I thought it would. The short wheelbase probably helps. Also, it was possible to trail-brake and change the balance of the chassis. Rough pavement might upset the rear suspension, but it seemed "tossable" on a fairly smooth surface.

It's definitely a "momentum car". There's not enough power to correct for mistakes. Based on the lack of power, I think the Fit will make a better H-stock car than an STS car. Even with good coilovers for STS, it would be way down on power (and too heavy) when compared with top STS cars. Something like an '89 Civic Si has similar power, but weighs around 2100 lbs in STS trim. It would be interesting to see how a Fit with Konis and R-comps would do H-stock.

 

awesome. Thanks for the insight!

I did figure the stock tyres would have their limits. Especially since I have the base model and it has the good ol' 14" steelies. I'll have to play w/ tyre pressures and see what helps.

 

no roll over?? lol

 

you dont see the Spoon Fit rolling over

 

the spoon fit is also dropped to the floor

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Last For One &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">no roll over?? lol</TD></TR></TABLE>

Heh... no. In fact, I was surprised that it was so roll-stiff. Because the front swaybar is big and the rear torsion beam doesn't allow a lot of roll, the tires are likely the biggest problem with lean. Dedicated R-comps or even summer street tires with stiff sidewalls would eliminate most of that.

 

Although I don't have a Fit, I would love to see one auto-x. I think it should do well in H-Stock with some Koni's and Kumho V-710's. 205/50R15 should fit (haha) nice on stock rims.

 

Cant run those parts in h-stock. Bump you into STX i think.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by carbnjunkie &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Cant run those parts in h-stock. Bump you into STX i think.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can change shocks (Koni's double adjustable), you can run a cat-back exhaust, R-compound tires (Kumho V-710), adjust your alignment, remove or change the front swaybar, replace your paper air filter with a K&N filter, lus a few other things.

 

wholly crap! Good times!

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TodaSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can change shocks (Koni's double adjustable), you can run a cat-back exhaust, R-compound tires (Kumho V-710), adjust your alignment, remove or change the front swaybar, replace your paper air filter with a K&N filter, lus a few other things. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Right. The idea behind the stock classes (SS through HS) is "stock cars with only parts you'd replace through normal maintenance". That means any tires (even R-comps) on stock-sized wheels, brake pads, muffler (but no other exhaust parts), and shocks (but not springs).

STS and STX are "street touring" classes. The specifically require street tires by including a minimum treadwear rating for allowed tires. Basically, they allow intakes, coilovers, and more exhaust changes. Also, brakes are unlimited. A Fit with any of these changes would be STS, not STX. STX allows cars with LSDs (such as the WRX, ITR, or '06 Si), but STS does not.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by TodaSi &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Although I don't have a Fit, I would love to see one auto-x. I think it should do well in H-Stock with some Koni's and Kumho V-710's. 205/50R15 should fit (haha) nice on stock rims.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Actually, some serious autocrossers cram 225s on 6-inch wide rims. I'm not sure if they'd rub on the Fit or not, however.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yobtah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

The stock tires are not good for autocross. If you do it more than once or twice, you'll quickly destroy them. I suppose you're looking for different tires if you plan to autocross seriously anyway.

</TD></TR></TABLE>

As usual Honda reserves the good parts for the JDM version, JDM Fit comes with Bridgestone RE040 from the dealership.

 

Honda probably didn't want to sell an "all purpose" car like the Fit with summer-only tires. I suppose they could have offered a summer tire option like they offer for the Civic Si, however. Also, the RE040s on the Japanese Fit are 185/55-15. In the US, that's a relatively odd size. Finding replacement tires other than the RE040 could be difficult here.

 

I was gonna take a little bit of video of me in the fit autocrossing it. I have BFG tires on there and they have glued my car to the ground. I wish I could come out of turns a liiiiiiiiittle quicker, but none the less, its still fun.

 

Was your time close to the average for the course?

 

I am still waiting for my Fit to arrive and can't wait til I can go autocross & HPDE with it.

So as far as I understand I can't use my set of 15x7" Kosei K1 if I wanna run it in H/S isn't it? Coz I have my 032RS mounted on that set of rims when I still had my EM1.

I don't wanna mount them on the stock rims.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spoonek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">
So as far as I understand I can't use my set of 15x7" Kosei K1 if I wanna run it in H/S isn't it? Coz I have my 032RS mounted on that set of rims when I still had my EM1.
</TD></TR></TABLE>

This is true. I would say STS, but the A032R's would bump probably bump you to a Street Prepared Class.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by spoonek4 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

So as far as I understand I can't use my set of 15x7" Kosei K1 if I wanna run it in H/S isn't it? Coz I have my 032RS mounted on that set of rims when I still had my EM1.

I don't wanna mount them on the stock rims.</TD></TR></TABLE>

You can use the tires but the rims must be same dimensions/offset as stock.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by jetydosa &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">You can use the tires but the rims must be same dimensions/offset as stock. </TD></TR></TABLE>

Right. Stock classes allow R-compound tires but require wheels with the same size and width as stock (so no 15x7s on the Fit) and within .25 inch of stock offset (no more than 6 mm different from stock).

STS requires "street tires" with a treadwear rating of 140 or higher. This means the A032R is out. STS does allow any wheel size or offset, however.

The combination of R-compound tires and non-stock sized wheels would put you in a Street Prepared category... probably DSP or ESP.

If you show up for an event with that setup, ask an event chair or one of the tech inspection guys. They can easily make a determination for you. At a local level, they might simply add you to H-stock or STS, but at least you'll have asked.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yobtah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Heh... no. In fact, I was surprised that it was so roll-stiff. Because the front swaybar is big and the rear torsion beam doesn't allow a lot of roll, the tires are likely the biggest problem with lean. Dedicated R-comps or even summer street tires with stiff sidewalls would eliminate most of that.</TD></TR></TABLE>

I counter that statement... Consider this:

2006 Civic LX Coupe (HS)

*225/50/16 V710's
*Very aggrerssive alignment
*28mm Si front bar

I can honestly say that compared to the black 1993 Civic I campaigned in a variety of classes (CSP, STS, FSP, STX, SM) over the course of 12 years that running R-Compounds on an under damped & undersprung Stock class car actually exacerbates the roll issue because the car grips and grips and the suspension just keeps moving and moving because the slip angle is so different on R-Compounds compared to street tires. With the 93 Civic, I had the luxury of custom Koni's with 600# Hypercoils at all 4 corners (along with other suspension goodies).

Thus, I highly doubt the Civic, Fit, or any other "soft" GS or HS car (the base and "S" MINI's excluded) will roll less with R-Compounds on it. The car may not feel like it's rolling more, but take photos... The results may surprise you.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yobtah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Right. Stock classes allow R-compound tires but require wheels with the same size and width as stock (so no 15x7s on the Fit) and within .25 inch of stock offset (no more than 6 mm different from stock).

STS requires "street tires" with a treadwear rating of 140 or higher. This means the A032R is out. STS does allow any wheel size or offset, however. The combination of R-compound tires and non-stock sized wheels would put you in a Street Prepared category... probably DSP or ESP. </TD></TR></TABLE>

*I agree with the first two points you made except about STS wheel size. I believe the width limit is 7.5". Diameter is free but width is NOT...

* The Fit is an FSP car, it will get crushed there (5th gen Civics and early Scirocco's dominate the class).

Truthfully, bite the bullet and put the correct sized wheel for the Fit you own (base or Sport) and run in HS. I have no regrets whatsoever about "stepping down" from having a very fast, well-sorted, and nationally competitive SM Civic to a HS Civic (that is already proving to be a potential major threat nationally).

It's great... Tires, wheels, and shocks. Done!

Lastly, the BEST part about HS is that the class has the longest staying power of any of the Stock classes, imho. Think about it, up until 2001 when the C5 Z06 was introduced the RX-7 TT had ruled SS since its introduction in 1993, then the Z06 came along and made the Rx-7 obsolete overnight! Now the same is happening to the C5 Z06 owners as the Elise owners have started to sort their cars out and they're now winning... UNTIL the new C6 Z06 goes to SS in 2007!

That gets expensive to stay in a top car. The same arguement can be made about the base MINI in HS, but that car can and has been beaten.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by honda93 &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">*I agree with the first two points you made except about STS wheel size. I believe the width limit is 7.5". Diameter is free but width is NOT...</TD></TR></TABLE>

Oh... yes, you're right. I never ran anything larger than 15x7s on an STS car, so I never really thought about a width limit. More recently, I drove an STX WRX. Wheel sizes are truly unlimited in STX. Maybe I was thinking of that... I dunno.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by yobtah &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> Wheel sizes are truly unlimited in STX. Maybe I was thinking of that... I dunno.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Wheel size is limited to 8" wide in STX, 7.5" in STS.

But yeah, HS is the way to go with the Fit assuming you care about being competitive. There are always 2 ways of thinking when autoxing a car:

1- Mod the car like you want to drive it, and run in that class, and who cares if you get clobbered

2- Mod the car to be competitive in the class the car is best suited for.

I am somewhere in the middle LOL