so, I did some fun runs at the autoX at earlier today and yesterday...this car is damn fun! Honda apparently does NOT make a bad chassis! one of my friends, though, owns a new FR-S, and he was letting me do laps in it today. with that car, I ran a 27.8 around the course. I got out, and did some laps in my Fit just to see how it was...28.8. one second slower than the FR-S.....I was kind of blown away. both cars were bone stock, too. I didn't even adjust the tire pressures on the Fit. and before you say it's the driver, I'm MUCH better with RWD than I am FWD...never owned a FWD car before, and I'm still learning...apparently pretty quickly, though

that being said, has anyone figured out the class that the Fit should be in? I've heard STF is the class for the Fit, but I'm not sure. this thing has caught me off guard, and I'm seriously thinking about doing some mods in the off season and autoX'ing the shit out of it next year.

 

Hey sounds like some one else caught the AutoX bug Yes if you plan to at all mod your Fit you will want to be in Street Touring Fwd. You could also go H stock but R comp tires are $$$$ aaaand good luck against the mini's with the factory optional suspension upgrades

This is a looong thread https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/fit-...iscussion.html but the info from me and a bunch of other AutoX'ers is contained inside

Hope to see photos or video of you tackling the cones soon!

 

I used to own a second gen MR2 that I used to run in ES....I've had the autoX bug...it just laid dormant for a while...I just didn't know this car was actually competetive! Does the 2nd gen manual Fit Sport do well in STF? Has it had any success at a national level?

 

Gotcha! STF is barely a year old, we still don't know the "over" or under" dog cars. On paper the Mazda 2 and early 3 door Yaris both can be at or around 2000lbs which is light, while there are Camry's that with breather mods can put down close to 120hp. All we know, is that Andy Hollis took last years championship in a fully prepped Mazda 2. Weight reduction and suspension improvement are really the way to go to get our little cars moving. Check out these guy's for the suspension! 2009 Fit Suspension Page Chris from there is also on the forums here https://www.fitfreak.net/forums/2nd-...-interest.html

 

FWD - at least with a nose-heavy car - the key is to figure out how much speed you can carry into a corner so that you can scrub off as little as possible and get back on the throttle ASAP. There aren't that many variables here - you basically have to be off the throttle in order to get maximum lateral G, which means you are power-off the whole way around.
RWD is a bit more complicated because you have the ability to maintain a neutral cornering line that doesn't lose so much speed, BUT to do this you need to really know your car. This is because you have the added power on-off choice.

Your FRS friend probably hasn't gotten to know his car, meaning you have a big advantage over him. Either this, or the stock tires are letting him down, and he's having fun but not going very fast. Which was the point of the car but I guess a disadvantage if your goal is lap times.

 

Cool. I'll be checking out the links you gave me TPColgett. How much can I be expecting to spend on parts in an STF prepped Fit?

As far as the scion, I think you may have misunderstood me. I was doing laps in both cars, and the Scion was only 1 second quicker. Both cars were stock.

As far as the notion of him knowing the other car, he bought it about a month before I bought mine, he's autox'd and tracked the car before (it was my first time autox'ing the Fit), and he's works for Porsche of America as a driving instructor. I was still getting half a second more out of the FR-S than he was, though....

 

That completely depends on what level of "prep" you want to achieve. National, regional, local? My advice is in this order:

15x7.5 LITE WEIGHT wheels, check out 949 racing 6ul's
+
195 50 15 Toyo R1R tires for cold/hot/dry conditions.. I DO NOT advise ever trying to drive these in the rain or damp!

Redshift coilovers + camber bolts

Rear Sway Bar, under tie bar and strut tower bar. (The "chassis stiffening" is more for long term durability with you beating on the car more than for any noticeable improvement in handling.)

Just on the above you can sink what, like $3K? Then you can try to do power making and weight reduction options... Custom exhaust, ECU tuning, racing seats, dry cell or lithium battery...

I have kept all my receipts... but I don't even want to know where I am LOL

 

what about 205's? I've heard some people like those or 225's on this car. I need to see what all is possible in the STF class...the stock seats aren't bad...is the car actually competitive for wins in at least a regional level?

 

I don't know your region so I really cant say... There are only 3-4 STF cars currently competing in mine, including me! Replacing the seats is all about cutting weight. MORE than anything that will speed up your car, especially with the high center of gravity and low HP and TQ

I use 225 Hankook RS3's in the front and 195 Toyo R1R's in the rear now but I will be switching to Toyo's all the way around when I wear out my RS3's... There is A LOT of debate out there, but the closest car we can compare the Fit to for AutoX purposes is the 88-91 EF Civic Si. They are also in a Street Touring class, so similar prep, limited to 225 wide 140 UTQG DOT tires and 15x7.5 rims. Those can weigh 197x-2000 pounds race prepped. We're lucky to be at 2300-2400. Roughly same HP though, at least between them and my GD. The national champs in the STC civic, swear by the Toyo, specifically in the 195 50 15 size.

Go look up Hollis Racing on FB. They had a national winning STC civic and then the STF national winning Mazda 2. The "notes" section on FB is FULL of good info!

Also, find out if your local SCCA chapter has a forum and start picking those guys brains! That's what I'm doing

 

the region does, but no one runs a Fit. I'm trying to figure out if this car will give me the results if I put the money in it. around $3k is a lot for me...besides, they don't PAX all the results together for local events?

 

Every region is different... and PAX at least at .795 for STF it's the softest out there. Other than $1500+ for coil overs, you can break up the purchases into $600 or less, especially if you bargain hunt and or buy used Honestly, it really comes down to what YOU want out of the car. Tires and suspension will make the biggest difference other than weight, and to be honest my list isn't top dollar or bargain basement options, just what from my experience and research is the best bang for your buck.

You could run Federal 595R's (CHEAP) or Star spec's, both are WAY better than the dunlop's the car came with. Buy a used set of 15x7 Rota or Konig 's for 2-3 bills that weigh less than the high offset stock wheels. Start with A RSB and throw on coils when you can. It's all up to what your budget and driving style really decide...

Either way, I have repeatedly PAX'd top 25% in the Fit... Other more experienced drivers have gotten even better times out of my car (like PAX top 10.)

The GE has a stiffer chassis and more power and a MUCH more active aftermarket, so I think BOTH Fit platforms have plenty or room to play in SCCA Solo

 

I'll probably get some wheels after I get the coil-overs...wheels on this car would look weird to me with the wheel gap...honestly, I may just save up and get all the parts, since it looks like all that would be left is the sway bar, unter tie bar, and strut tower bar...possibly some seats in the future...but I'll see. any idea how much the stock seats weigh?

also, what would all these mods do to my warranty? completely void it out?

 

At least in CA, on warranty claims the burden of proof that any aftermarket parts caused the failure falls on the dealer. This tends to mean most are grumpy if not flat out refuse to work on cars with mods.

I have a local dealer that is cool LOL

Basic wheel and suspension mods should not give you any trouble though...should not...

Also keep in mind, if you break it WHILE doing AutoX... good luck...

NO clue what your seats weigh, mine are 40+ pounds. Its the factory Airbag and related items that have all the weight.

 

oh...if the seats have airbags and safety items in them, I'm not going to bother with it. don't want to cause any insurance trouble at the expense of a tenth, or two...I can make up that difference by just driving a little quicker.

 

Haha, best adjustment is always tweaking the nut between the seat and the steering wheel

 

lol. indeed. suspension mods like you suggested will make a huge difference...taking 15-20 lbs out?....not so much...honestly, I probably wouldn't even notice that little amount of weight missing. I just get in the car, and do what it needs to go fast...not much thinking past that.

 

PM location? Hayward Honda I hope


If you break during autocross just push it out on the street and call a tow truck

 

You need to tell your porsche driving instructor friend, then, that not only do Porsche owners not know how to drive, they also don't need to buy more expensive cars to go fast! Hehehe

Unless the job of a porsche driving instructor is to teach people how to not get into crashes, ie, drive MORE SLOWLY. That would actually be a good service to provide to Porsche owners.

 

Oh I read your reply post in more detail. So basically YOU were only a second slower in your own car than in a more capable car that you don't know very well. That makes sense. I would expect myself, not usually (hardly ever!) driving RWD, I would not drive it much different around a course than I would a FWD car, ie, I would be far too cautious to get the best out of it.

 

he's not a Porsche owner, though. he's actually a very competent driver, and one of the best I know. his job is to teach fast drivers how to go faster.

right. and honestly, I wasn't familiar with either of them in a performance setting. I had never driven the Fit in any sort of performance manner. I've done some 5/6 tenth runs around back roads, but I've never flung that thing around and REALLY gotten to know the car. what I was saying is, both cars were on even keel for me. and I definitely wasn't taking it easy. I was driving the crap out of both cars. I was turning the car with my feet as much as I could...four wheel drifts, and such. I have a history of karting, some formula car stuff, and a little instructing. I think there was probably another half a second in the FR-S with an alien in the seat. I know I was giving up at least two tenths on my quick run due to a small glitch at the turn around.