I have a '09 Base and wish I could have gone with the sport. Less work in the modding haha XD but I've been looking at a couple '11 Bases and have to say that I would prefer the features over my base. Haven't really looked at the sport yet.

 

I'm interested in not "wasting fuel" (paying overseas big oil etc) not really saving money. But tires are important for safety in my book. At factory psi, these tires feel very unsafe and not maneuverable. Testing higher speed lane changes, and even basic turning on higher PSI is a huge improvement and, to me, makes for potential better safety. Will be getting much better tires when these wear out. Also trying to use crusie control when possible. Maybe I'm just bored! Auto are SO BORING to drive - shifting was much more fun! So this gives me something to monitor and do in an auto. Yeah, that's it.

I'll try my way shifting for a tank, and then let the car decide and see which comes out better. Saw 32.1 in the city today! Well, on the readout - not sure how accurate that is yet. Just using it as a baseline.


Is pressing the clutch down and shifting into neutral in a manual illegal? I've never heard that ever in my life, but maybe I'm sheltered. I'm doing the same thing but an auto matic.

 

I bought the base because it was the only way I was getting a 5 speed with out waiting for one to come from the factory. So I got the red instead of Black and the base instead of the sport. But I'm kinda glad I got the base now that I've seen all the aftermarket stuff that I like better than the stock on either model so I'm kinda "saving" since I'd replace what I paid extra for.

 

I bought a 2011 5mt base on April 20th. Loving it. Replaced the head unit, did some painting and did some work on the seat to make it more comfortable. Put in weathertech mats and going to do door visors and center arm rest (ordered from College Hills Honda) next.

It's the head unit. They built in an EQ that you can't change and it sounds like crapollla. Change the head unit and there is a huge improvement.

 

I bought a base Fit because i wanted a cheap Honda that was economical and practical. Although i do like the Sport's fog lights, ground effects, spoiler, and wheels, i didn't want to spend the extra ~$1,500 for it. Yeah, it's not much spread out over 5 years, but i didn't want to spend anymore than i already had. The price difference would be easier to justify if the Sport came with a more powerful engine, but it doesn't. I guess i'm not really a FitFreak.

 

In July of 09 we bought a Taffeta white base auto Fit for my wife's DD with the help of C4C. We opted for the slushbox so our shiftless daughters could drive it on occasion.

First, I whistled up a CRV key with remote buttons from College Hills. I cut off the tongue, filed and polished it smooth, and with the help of this forum, programmed our Fit to have remote keyless entry. Second, since my wife considers a good horn essential, I bought an Accord horn and swapped-out the wimpy Fit horn. Third, when winter was nearing, I had the OE tires removed and had Michelin x-Ice XiII winter tires installed on the steelies. It has done great in Michigan winters.

When spring came, I called Tire Rack and got four General Altimax tires, 195-60-15, mounted on Sport Edition alloys. This is a modest-priced set-up, and I think it looks way better than the OE tires and wheelcovers. The car handles better as well.

I think our base Fit is now better looking than the Sport, and I don't get much opportunity to use cruise control anyway. If I decide to get a Fit for my own DD, it'll be a base with manual gearbox.

 

Are you absolutely certain the head unit has some goofy EQ built into it?
Are you still using the factory speakers?
I'm wondering if there is a 5th and 6th speaker connection with the high end that goes nowhere since the BASE model doesn't have those tweeters in the dash.

 

I had the choice of a base or sport. Both were black, and both were 5spd manual. I went with the sport because the price to upgrade a base to the look of the sport was more than the price difference to just buy the sport.

The base would have been my choice, if it was closer to $2500-$3000 cheaper vs. the sport.

 

Yep, there was absolutely no way that four 6.5" polycone full range drivers produce no mid range at all. The sound difference between the stock head unit and the one I put in proves this beyond a doubt. And yes, that is on the factory drivers. I know that the tweeter holders are there in the base so I am hoping the wires are there. They most likely should be. I will find out soon enough.

 

You are not hearing midrange from your speakers? That seems odd. I checked things with a frequency analyzer on my 2011 and everything was there except a steep roll off on the highest end - like above 12k, and the extra bass boom, but I seem to have fine midrange out of the factory speakers.
In my experience it would be more work and more expense to on purpose design bad EQ inside the factory head unit (well, that bass bump aside which seems like the EQ setting is just renumbered to allow it) rather than use the cheapest basically flat chips and amps produced en-mass.
I'm not disputing your personal experience, but I think mine is acting different. I've never heard of auto maker sabotaging their audio - although it is cheap stuff - usually they want to make it sound better like with the bass bump.

Puzzled. Obviously, a new head unit will always be much better, but I was hoping just flatter speakers would correct the overdone bass and high end loss, as speakers are USUALLY the weakest link in preinstalled systems.

EDIT: just remembered reading about people upgrading their cars with better speakers and thinking the bass was worse on the new "better" speakers... this makes sense to me as the current system speaks are bass heavy, and less in the mid and high (making the bass seem louder) - then one puts on a flatter speaker overall and the bass lacks.... comparatively to the previous speakers. This tells me the main fault is in the factory speakers: too much bass = less mid and high on a curve

Which HEAD UNIT did you get by the way?

 

Where would I get a rear sway bar, and how much does one cost?

 

Progress $156
Cusco $322
Tiger Tuning $249

 

Hear ya go! Sway Bar About $160.

 

Can the bar simply be bolted on on, or does it require some kind of fine tuning? Also, does it affect the warranty at all?

 

Direct bolt on.

Doesn't affect warranty.

 

Club RSX.com: Progress Rear Sway Bar

 

The Progress sway bar seems to be about $100 less than a couple of other brands. Is there that much of a difference? Anything wrong with the Progress bar?

 

What tires will you get? I want to get 175/65 R15, but there are few choices.

 

The difference is you'll be paying 2x as much for the name Cusco. At least for this part. There's nothing wrong with the Progress bar, that's the one most go with.

 

I realize this is a really old post...but can somebody please explain the logic of how a thin RSB attached to the massive rear subframe is going to do anything at all? The rear suspension on the Fit is not independent...they are already connected via the massive swing arm. I just don't get how a thin RSB is going to do anything at all.