Im a very interested in this. Hopefully I will be getting my paid internship this summer and will be able to afford this after a month of boring work lol but damn there are so many other things I want

 

email sent, im curious about this... tuning will be a huge thing for me... why wont hondata get on this?

 

The markets not there. Yet.

And if this forum is an indication I dont know if we will ever get the support the D/B/K/H series engines do.

I just don't see where more than a handful of people want or could handle an actual tuning solution. The majority of the population wants instant gratification bolt on bits, which always end up a compromise and mediocre..

 

QFT!

You guys can have boost within 2 months for half the price of this kit if you truly (madly, deeply) want it. You know it can be done now...
So why speculate about tunning options for a kit you might not even buy? Hondata would be great, but why would they make a product that as of right now, only like 3 people and myself would bother to buy and learn the ins and outs of.

Thanks to my existing tune I could bolt this bad boy on as a twincharge setup in less than a week. But $3000 is a hell of a alot of money! If I had $3000 in my pocket I would spend that on optimizing my existing setup, getting a cam, PnP, Valve job, Low Comp Pistons, maybe rods, maybe trans swap etc. and make much more hp per dollar and most importantly, learn more in the process; not spend it on a little more bottom end grunt.

However, I can really understand why some would rather spend $3000 and know for sure that it's going to work. I can't hope to tell you how many times I nearly died from cardiac arrest durring that time after I had spent all my money on parts and installed everything but before I got it running. Having so much money, time, and work tied up in something that might blow up before you even get it out the driveway aint for sissies. I still remember the raw excitment of starting up my creation for the first time on midnight New Year's eve. I hope one day someone here gets to experience that same rush, having a neatly packaged product just couldn't produce the same excitement/fear.

So where am I going with this...

COMMIT

Commit to yourself that you are going to learn what you need to learn, that you are going to make mistakes, and that you will be prepared to accept the consequences of your mistakes, gracefully. Until you can do that, I wouldn't dare buy even a kit.

Once you can do that, Get the kit and bolt it up and don't look back.

I am here to help anyone that would like it. Just know, and I'm sure DSM feels the same way, that I'm not going to build your project for you. I would not rob you of the joy of a project you thought through yourself.

Something about this forum always makes me start talking in circles. What I'm trying to say is:

 

I completely follow you. When I pieced together my kid for my srt and got it fired up I was sooo overjoyed.. that I fel comfy with. And tuning it is as easy as plugging something in... the fit I'm a little more weary about because its not ment to have 450hp... the block looks like it won't even take over 200 lol but I would love to build my own kit just not ready to tear into my brand new car.. the bolt on kit is there and ready and easy.. before I commit to any of this we really need a tuning solution, for the time being I would love to do an na build and see what I can get out of it.. Ive spent countless hours calling manufacturers trying to find things like cams, tb, itbs, I don't care just something to tinker with. Even talked with bisimoto and there trying to come up with something for us.. its not a huge market but it definetly needs to be explored. If we had half as much love for the motor as we do the suspension we would be golden... anyway lyon and dsm I'm going to re read lyons thread and see how bad I want some power, then see what it takes... thanks guys for my rant lol

 

So..... Does anybody know what the deal is with this s/c?

 

It's sort of a mixed bag, depending on what you want. I had a long conversation with Rick Rimmer at Boostec last week. We talked about a lot of different things like marketing, reputation, demand, fitment, level of effort, DIY or plug-n-play, etc. In another life, I was once a Powertrain Engineer at Ford, so maybe that helped open up our conversation a bit beyond the "I'm a potential consumer, what have you got for me" give-and-take.

Anyway, distilled down it kinda of goes like this...

• Does Sprintex have a clean, plug-and-play kit ready ready for the US market? No, but they are working on one.
• Will the Sprintex S/C for the Asian market work for the US model right now? Yes, the basic components are identical, and that is where the DIY comes in. Boostec (the primary US distributor for Sprintex products) will gladly sell you the S/C for your Fit if you're inclined to go it alone with the remainder of the DIY modification.
• Quiet simply, the Asian and US Fit engine and powertrain, right down to the emissions, are identical with one exception. The US Fit uses an EGR Valve, and that's where the difference in the two plug-n-play S/C kits from Sprintex lies. That, and some ECU piggyback tweaks that Sprintex is cleaning up for the USDM Fit.
• What does this all mean? Well, we're talking about a clean, plug-n-play S/C kit, with documentation, that's reliable, and can be used on your daily driver, right? That's what Sprintex is working on, and here's why - the US speed-shop/tuning/enthusiast world isn't what it was in the 60's and 70's anymore. The dynamic, as explained by Rick, is that he deals with literally HUNDREDS of tuning shops in China, and they're the ones doing the Sprintex S/C installs on the Fit, because the documentation is minimal, and the consumers don't have the means to do it on their own. The US, on the other hand, has so many new car vehicle restrictions and regulations in place that there are only a fraction of similar tuning shops left. And the US demand isn't there yet because we don't buy a Honda Fit for the same reason as people in other countries.
• In China, they want a super-fast cell phone, a super-fast Internet connection, and a fast 1.5L engine. Most people (that have a vehicle) have compact car. It's their primary choice. The MAJORITY of US consumers have no interest in trying to go all motorhead on their gas-sipping DD, because if we want a fast muscle car, we go buy one. It's what we do, because vehicle regulations have forced us into that consumer model.
• So where does that leave us? Well, simple put, unless you want to go it alone, Sprintex HAS TO develop a fully documented, bullet-proof, plug-n-play S/C kit for the USDM Fit, because the work here will mostly be done by the consumer instead of a corner speed shop (which doesn't exist anymore). There's only one US distributor, so is everyone that wants the kit going to drive to Boostec in Colorado to have the kit installed? That's the kicker - the distribution/installation infrastructure in the US hasn't been developed like it has in Asia due to government regulation and US consumers buying compact cars for a different reason.
• Finally, if Sprintex were to rush the product to the US market as an enthusiast DIY with minimal instruction or documentation, all it takes is a few knuckleheads to f-up the install and both Sprintex and Boostec start getting a black-eye, even if those individuals were to blame by jumping on something they couldn't handle. So, what we're really waiting for is Sprintex to develop a rock-solid S/C kit that CAN be installed by an enthusiast accurately and reliably. They have a vested interest in protecting their reputation, product line image, and building word-of-mouth goodwill to help promote demand.

 

I'm guessing a year and a half to two year wait on this then

 

@Jim2bFit
I have to disagree with the part about limited tuning shops. I would say the tuning market for import sport compacts has grown linearly (if not exponentially) over the past 10 years. All you have to do is open any sport compact tuner mag and look at the profile builds. 2/3 are built by specialty shops...the other 1/3 are DIY'ers as you alluded to. The majority of these are from California, BUT...I guarantee you >90% of people could get to a reputable tuning shop within a 1 hour radius. I live in a reasonably small city in MN, but there are 4-5 full on build shops just a 1 to 1.5 drive from me. Any of these shops would be happy to install and tune this kit for me...if I chose that $$$$ route.


Furthermore, most of the muscle car builds were done by shade tree mechanics here in the US...aka DIYers. So, really nothing has changed on this side of the world. We are still a country of DIYers...and with the proliferation of information on the interwebs, it's so much easier despite the increasing complexity of the cars we drive.


We are fortunate to have the aftermarket support that we currently have. If this was an RSX or Civic forum someone would have already installed one of these SC kits by now...the problem isn't the lack of options, it's the lack of will (as LyonKnightRoad alluded to).


We all have a tuning option --> AEM EMS version 2. Every review I've read states that it trumps anything from Hondata. If I wasn't eyeball deep in a civic build...I'd buy the Sprintex or HKS SC kit, an AEM EMS, and a 12 pack of beer and be boosting in no time.

 

Aye, you guys make me feel more awesome than I really am. 4 months now and I'm still the only person the US riding around in his boosted GE8? C'mon. The thrill is starting to wear off. I'm on my second engine now for goodness sake. Do it somebody. Do it. It's just money, you can always make more money. They say when you get old and grey, it's the risks that you take, succeed or fail, that you remember fondly, not all the conservative, 'safe' decisions you made.

 

Black,

You looked too far between the lines of my post. I was sharing information from the horse's mouth, hoping to answer questions about "what's taking so long" for the Sprintex S/C kit for Asia to get to the US.

As for as what constitutes a "speed/tuner shop" - it's in the eyes of the beholder - or manufacturer/distributor if you will. Again, I was sharing tidbits from Rick Rimmer at Boostec. I won't argue the point that there are plenty of mom and pop shops that do this kind of stuff, I have about 20 within 5 miles of my house due to my proximity with Road Atlanta. Naturally, people that aren't mechanically inclined or need special tools look to them for help with mods/upgrades. But a distributor or manufacturer may not view all those shops that way. Liability (warranties), a very litigious US culture, reputation, state/fed emissions standards, etc. are a few of the issues. Rimmer said Boostec's network in the US is very specific/limited.

I think the crux of the F/I S/C T/C kit availability issue can be answered this way. If I were a manufacturer trolling these forums, here's the 2 questions I would be asking myself:

"If an owner is so concerned about a mod/upgrade voiding the warranty on their '10 Fit, then why even do it? And, do I even want to place a game changing product into that equation?

I believe that's why the Raceline thread died. They wanted us to foot the bill for kit development, so they don't seem serious about offering a product for the masses like Sprintex has done in Asia. Of course, guys like us that have money burning a hole in our pocket and aren't worried about warranties tend to get a little impatient!

 

One of my buddies offered to give me enough 'venture capital' to make a kit and we would split the profit. I turned him down. It's not worth the headache IMO. So I do sympathize with the manufactures because even I wouldn't want to do it.

 

Well I have been emailing sprintex back and forth and the only issue is the egr valve. Lyon has helped me with that problem so the build will continue I am currently waiting for an email back fo a harware only kit. Next week F/IC will be ordered and UEGO got local backing from a tuner store for fuel lines/ pump this build is happening whether I have to fly to australia and get it my self. I just hope the manifold bolts line up..... They should I hope
Mark

 

I'm thinking I may just pick up a cheap cylinder head from a salvage yard, get that and the IM ported, pick up the WR header, a AEM EMS, and call it a day till some cams or high compression pistons (12.5:1) come along.

 

I'm pretty sure Bisimoto has cams and pistons for our motor already.

 

im telling yall just wait a lil bit longer, there will be something on the horizon and i already contacted bisimoto the crz had 3 valves vs the fit has 4 so no cams yet atleast that was my convo a week ago and as for pistons im pretty sure they have them

 

You're just assuming b/c he has turboed the CRZ that he has a cam and piston available??? Lyon turboed his car and doesn't have cams and pistons.

I've actually checked his (Bisi's) website and asked him multiple times in his HondaTech "CRZ" thread about cams for the L15. There is no cam available for our engines....and the piston compression required for a high boost engine is at the opposite end of the spectrum of that required for a NA engine.

 

mega ditto!

 

I'm well aware of compression differences, and Bisi sells high compression pistons for our motors.

 

L15, LEA1, 11.5:1, 74mm piston - $639.00 : Bisimoto Engineering, Where Efficiency Meets Technological Perfection

These what yer talking about?