What's the best performance upgrade for a Fit, for the dollar?

 

This topic has been covered a few times. I think the best thing you can do for your car is lighter wheels, stickier tires and a rear swaybar.

 

says the guy thats installing a k swap

 

Totally agree with this. Bought the Fit as a daily driver and leave the MR-S in the garage. But driving the Fit seemed so much like a chore that I would end up taking the weekend car to work. After spending $140 for lowering springs, newer wheels and stickier tires, driving the Fit has gotten a whole lot more fun.

But if what you are looking for is straight line performance, don't waste your money on the L15A.

 

An intake is nice, I ordered a test pipe from aj-racing so I'll let everyone know how it goes

 

both of those things will create more noise and VERY little performance benefit.

mnfit said it best. lightweight wheels, sticky tires and a RSB.

 

drive slower

 

and shift more

 

Look in the Eco Fit suggestions but I noticed a good improvement when I checked my tire pressure and made sure it was recommended. I really can't complain about my fuel economy because I get around 30 mpg in town a lot better than 18 in my old car.

 

I'm pretty interested in the Jun cam that's now available for the L15A. +16hp and a few Tq


Taken from the AJ-Racing blog:

JUN offers high lift camshafts for the Honda Fit 09+ & CRZ 11+. The camshaft is available in IN280/EX264 degrees for L15A & IN248/EX264 degrees for LEA. As we can see, the profiles for the JUN L15A camshaft is much more aggressive and if install into the LEA, we will see more agains. It is possible to have the L15A camshaft to fit into the LEA but al the rocker arms has to be replaced *Please email us if you have questions about it.* Building the CRZ LEA engine to hit 150hp is possible.

JUN has dynoed the camshaft on a 2010 Honda Fit GE8 L15A with stand alone ECU, the camshaft and the tuned makes remarkable gain of 16hp and 2.3kg/m TQ.

However, JUN requires the original cam core before they can have the camshaft regrind to JUN specifications and JUN doesn’t offer a core at the moment so it will be up to us (AJR) to see if we will be offering a camcore soon.

 

If only you knew what these little guys can do.




I don't think you really appreciate how expensive that will be for only 16 BHP.

A standalone ECM ($900-2200), the actual tuning process($150-200/Hour), valvesprings with a greater k-rate ($350), the cam its' self and the shims (because it is a regrind).. and knowing most people on this forum.. the labor on install ($70+ per hour) I would be shocked if you could do all that with shipping for less than $2500.

Also, JUN is not the only group that makes a cam for this motor. But they will happily bend you over for it.

Understand that 280/264 is going to shift the VE way to the right. Say buh-bye to any low-end torque and mid-range response.

 

Hmm. Oh well, I always told myself id hold out for a k swap and leave the L15 alone. But when I saw that it did pique my interest. Shame it's so much work.

 

Either do a K swap, or Turbo the L1.5 engine. Because of the F racing series using this motor there is parts coming out.

http://racing.honda.com/hpd/images/p...F99_100701.pdf

 

Cheap and fun is def. the ETC for 140.00

 

I meant start saving money because if you want real hp gains, it's not gonna be cheap. I'm facing the same dilemma with my other car. I ended up adding an exhaust to make it sound faster then finished the suspension and now saving up money for an engine swap.

 

yes a K or Turbo would give him more performance but idk if I would consider it best bang for your buck. A turbo Kit can be put together for what $3,000? DSM would know that better then me. I do know your looking at $10K- $15K for a Kswap and that get you to 200-250whp

 

For new it can be expensive. It takes lots of work to get it cheaper but it can be done. My son bought a B18 motor rebuild with a new turbo kit for 1000 dollars. The car, new rims, new Exhaust and Brakes included. 10/15K for a Kswap seems expensive because a used car is usually cheaper. I know your car is really nice and you did a excellent job.

I guess the fabrication is expensive but my son is good at that with help of some friends so adding that your right but I would not pay for that.

 

Older Honda engines like the B18s will be cheaper then the K swaps are now. You are right though doing the swap your self can easily save you $3k. If you do spend time surfing forums for sale sections with some patience you can score some killer deals on used parts

 

$3k sounds about right if you piece it together yourself, MNfit. Maybe only a bit more for odds and ends like tapping the pan with a bulkhead fitting for the oil return, etc.

The turbo choice is going to be the big decider for cost. A BB Garrett or some silly precision/turbonetics non-sense that most of the Honda guys tend to go for will make up most of that.

If you do some research and get a good Holset/BorgWarner/MHI turbo you will save some cash and arguably have a more reliable setup. Not too mention you can actually rebuild the journal bearing cartridges instead of replacing the whole motherf*cking CHRA.

I love the K-Fits and the K20/24's in general. So much more support, a nicer variety of cams/heads etc.

But I keep thinking about where I would be if I had 15k to drop on the chassis and the L15A1.

So far I am going expecting to be about $4500-4800 deep in the compound setup and supporting mods.

Thanks to moving at a glacial pace, I have saved a boatload on everything else so far. Plus what I have had left over from old projects and donations from FF.net members for designing and sourcing parts for their builds. There are going to be a few big power L15A Fits showing up in the next 12-18 months if my inbox is anything to go by! ;D

Wiseco actually ran out of stock on a certain custom piston I have been recommending, which I am hoping isn't just commision. Not too mention you can get some super stout K1 con-rods for a mere $370 out the door through Ron Shearer.

Most turbo parts are universal fortunately. I still have to get a 60mm primary wastegate (GF and her sis bought me the 44mm MV-S for between turbine stages!) and the EMS-4 are holding me up though.

Exhaust fab for the manifold, stage pipe, wastegate tubing and cutout are going to be about a 1/4 of the total cost! The EMS is another 1/4, the rest is pretty affordable all things considered.

This stupid DSM addiction is what's really holding me back though, I spoke with my supplier for the HX52 Pro Billet wheels, and they want $645 for a new compressor wheel!

 

I might be a little out of touch on the actual costs. Things have gone up 30 percent and I can get my parts at dealer costs plus a very small mark up pretty much at cost.

I do know you can find deals and trade parts for parts that you don't need for parts you do need but its time consuming and hard work.