Hello All,

After monitoring CL, Autotrader, etc. finally found what I (mostly) want. Proud owners of a 2009 Sport/Nav 5MT -Black <-the mostly part. Loving it so far but do have some beginner's questions I hope to get some clarity on.

Clutch -It has NO feel, I hate it! Is this normal?? I briefly read some threads about a CDV valve on the clutch master that can be fixed by swapping in a good 'ol late 90's Civic CM. Is this the same problem/resolution? Be an awesome easy and cheap fix if it is.

Shifter - at neutral, there seem to be some freeplay. Not a lot, just a tad. Not really a problem but doesn't feel 'right' to me.

Brakes -car has ~34K so I assume the brakes are original -they suck... Any recommendations? For rear drums, can we swap in disc from, say a Civic or something else? I like braking power. For me, it is steering, brakes, power, in that order.

Honda OEM Navi - Is this thing mod-able (play DVD, firmware upgradeable, background scheme, etc.)? Be great if there's 'more' to it

Floor mats - for some reason the PO did not opt for floor mats. I find Honda OEM all weather mats on Amazon for ~100 and Weather tech mats for ~160. Is one better than the other?

Auto door lock - The Fit has the auto door lock upon moving from a stop. It is more annoying than anything. Can I turn this off?

My car is still under warranty for 2 months. Is there something I should bring in to check? The PO did say he took it in for 1 recall (something about gas line I think?). I am very much hands on and would like to avoid any service shop but if it is free under warranty, I'm all for it!

Thanks in advance for any hints you can give. Look forward to joining the community and saving some gas monies

 

I'm in an autotragic, so I'll leave the questions on that to others.

I believe the general consensus is upgrade tires first because they are the weakest link in the stopping ability. Especially if you still have the original tires on the car.

To the best of my knowledge, the only mod is being able to change the boot screen image. And of course it can be worth it to buy the newer map disk.

Page 83 in your owner's manual.

You might have had the lost motion spring recall done. Regardless check on honda's site.

 

Get a Mugen short shifter to clean up the shifter feel. Clutch is light because it's a 1.5L Honda.

Rear disc is a no. Just upgrade fronts if you would like them to perform better.

 

Nice car, I got the same exact one.



see here ---> https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-cdv-gone.html
and even though it's mostly for the GD3's, there some info towards the end of the thread about the GE8 here ---> https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...lay-valve.html




The Mugen short shifter will help, as well as some shifter bushings...
Here's 2 DIY's for the GD3, but the company that makes the bushings says they work for our GE8's as well. https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...tall-pics.html &
https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...g-install.html
I think there was a recent thread showing them on a GE8 but I can't find it.
There was also talk of some company making shifter springs to help with the feel ---> https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/cali...ndustries.html
but not sure what ever happened with that.




You'd have to swap out a full rear trailing arm from a JDM (or other markets where rear disc is avail) Fit.
Here's the part's you'll need.
Probably the brake lines too.

For the fronts you can get better pads, quite a few people on here use the Hawk HPS pads, or you can swap front calipers/rotors (quite a few threads on that here on this site).




You can change up the splash screen, there was some info on here somewhere but can't find it (probably hidden in another thread, I think this one ---> https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...ge-thread.html ) If I'm not mistake the procedures should be very similar to this DIY ---> DIY Change navi splash screen - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums
Other than that you can get a "NavTool" it's suppose to splice/add more video inputs to the OEM Nav. The newer version is supposed to be plug & play, no need to replace the screen ribbon.
Here's a DIY on the older version (lots of info here) ---> DIY: Add Auxilary Video Inputs to Display Custom Video on Stock Navigation Screen - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums

Once you add the Navtool, you can now add your backup camera, or DVD player, TV tuner, gaming system, etc., etc., etc....
Here's that DIY ---> DIY: Add Backup Camera for Reverse Camera Display on Factory Nav Screen - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums

Or you can swap Nav units from a different Honda, like this ---> CR-V Navigation + JDM Reverse Camera Accessory on a USDM CR-Z - Honda CRZ Forum: Honda CR-Z Hybrid Car Forums




As for recalls, there was one for the Lost Motion Spring, and also a TSB for the mpg display (being over 10% optimistic). There's also a thread on here with other TSB's.

 

Can't judge the tires yet but I can definitely feel it is the brakes. Maybe it is not so much the pads but more of an issue that I'm not adjusted to the brake pressure/feel. Both the clutch and gas pedals are light and sensitive but perhaps the brake pedal need more pressure to stop.


Thanks for pointing me the right way. I'm usually not one to RTFM . Anyhow, I must be retarded b/c I can't figure out the last step in the instructions. There is no final step and I've tried a few variations but can't get the damn thing to save. It also does not help that Honda only have instructions for A/T ONLY! Doh and a big fail on them!






I see you are a man (or woman) or good taste
Your post is VERY helpful and I really appreciate the reference links!


Those are the same two post that I found but wasn't sure if the CDV was for clutch pressure or engagement. Did you do this mod? Anyone done this? Guess it would make more sense if I post in those threads, huh.



will have to look into the bushings then. Not going to dump lots'a unnecessary money into this one -daily driver that is suppose to save/make me money on gas.



ouch. guess I'll pass on the rear disc option. Kinda surprise Honda didn't just share components with another model. Will definitely get better pads. Which car's caliper/rotor works on the Fit?



really appreciate the links! More reading to do but Navtool it is (or DIY)!



good to know there are not many recalls and now that you mention it, it was for something along the lines of the motion spring so scratch what I said earlier about fuel line



Any comments on the Honda OEM all weather mats vs Weather Tech mats that cost $60 more..?

 

I have Weathertech, the fronts are amazing, the rears are meh.

Honda mats seem satisfactory as well, get whatever is cheaper.

The brakes aren't bad at all, you cray.

 

OP, in this thread https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-cdv-gone.html a few people did the CDV mod on the GE8. It's on my list but I haven't gotten to it yet. Progress on my mods has been slow, but steady. I'll get to it.

As for the brakes, there's quite a few threads on here (would take me all day to search them, lol) of different bigger caliper upgrades (usually from other Honda's/Acura's), also a few aftermarket "big brake" setups. If the site search is not working for you try searching from google and add "site:fitfreak.net" to your search, it tends to yield more results and the site search function has been hit or miss recently.

I also agree getting better tires (if your car is still on the OEM's), a few people are completely satisfied with the OEM tires, but when I put on the Continental DWS 205-50-16's, it almost felt like a new car. It's much more stable, & the handling's greatly improved, unbelievably good in the rain.