i love the paddle shifters, its a good combo since not everyone in my family can drive stick. I'm still within breakin so i haven't been able to drive quickly, but so far i've done a few corners, and i swear cornering within the limits of tires (and of course within the speed limit) it feels faster than our families 8th gen SI. handling > power in the fit.

 

ok man thanks!

 

Kinda wish I had the sport in a auto now

 

plus I guess tring to come up for a contoller may not be nessary, cause it sounds like it shifts pretty quick and it a 5 speed maybe coming up with a bracket or mount so that the paddles move with the steering wheel might be a better help. Anybody got video of the driving while using the paddles?????

 

The paddles are mounted on the steering wheel in a fixed position, fixed meaning none movable, and rotated at 9 & 3 O'clock position on the steering wheel if it is centered out. Being positioned like that is sometimes a problem at when merging onto highways.

Example, your pulling out of the Honda dealer and is waiting to merge into traffic. The steering wheel is turned in your desired direction and your getting ready to launch. You see an opening, throttle up, and as the wheel unwhines you begin to reach for the upshift peddle at which point is a silver blur till you finally straighten the wheel out.

Now if they were attached to the steering column it would be much more convenient for the driver because they would not have to search for the shifter.

 

Anybody got some good shots of behind the steering wheel and with the plastic cover removed so I can at least get some idea of how to mak up some sor of mount or braket I dont have a auto fit I have a manual and Im not sure how close they are assembled behind the wheel plus I want to see what the wires look like going into where the paddles connect. I work at a body shop now so ther are always brackets mounts hardware tools at my dissposal so I want to see if I can be the first to come up with something that would help out the auto guys plus I am looking into selling my fit and getting to sport auto but until then and help you guys give me might help you out in the long run to so help me out guys

 

i think they tried to make it different, as one has a few ribs on it, and the other is smooth (the backs of the paddles)

but if they were stuck to the column it would be best
maybe the next thing should be to make a pedal where the clutch should be
or something like that- press it to down shift, and then make the padddles on the wheel only upshift,

oo- also
i know with some cars, like my sisters aura,
the paddles are push with your thumbs (up top) for an up shift, and squeeze the paddles into the wheel for a downshift= i think that was the direction for each= cant remember-
also they only work when you pull the shifter back- something that is done well with the fit, that they are always useable

 

I think they should have just improved on the prelude shifter design.

 

Engine braking doesn't use any gas, right? Okay so I was thinking today if I get it up to at least 4th or 5th gear, as I slow down if I should downshift once, slow a little, and then brake? Would that save any gas compared to braking for an extended period?

 

No it downshifting will not save gas. It'll just keep the RPMs up longer. If you ever noticed when you begin stopping from around 60 MPH in 5th then RPMs will sweep down from 2.5k to 1k and then stay around that speed until you accelerate again. Sort of like how one engages the clutch in a manual and coasts to a stop.

 

I test drove both and found the AT was kinda neat...not really sure if the paddle shifters are needed in this particular car....but hey people here seem to love it.
IMO it's a little overkill for what the car is...economy.
I still respect everyones decision for choosing the AT's....just not for me.

tonyd

 

According to those with scan guages, the ECU cuts off fuel if you are above 1000 rpm and your foot is off the gas so engine braking stops the car from consuming gas. Keeping the rpms above 1000 while engine braking will save gas. Once the fuel is cut off, more rpms don't matter.

 

Haha yes! Just what I thought I read a while back. This is great news. :] I would try more downshifts but I hate when it gets to 2nd gear and it suddenly starts spinning loud. :b But one shift down is fine. This is great news since my downshift never gets any action. :b

(EDIT) Also tony, I had to get the automatic just in case my mom would ever have to drive my car (never going to happen, and if it did, I wouldn't let her :b), and that was the nail on the coffin in choosing the Fit. The Mazda3 has tiptronic but it's lame as hell, the Mini has paddle shifters now but the Mini is just kinda lame for people my age (I'll say adults look very good in Minis, no hate, love the car), and while my dad last minute said I could maybe get the VW GTI, I had already read these forums too much and got my head hooked on FitFreak.

Screw you, FitFreak! Had I not found here, I may be driving around with 200HP! S'all good, I love this thing and want to K20 it years from now.

 

yeah I hade a 97 and it was slow which is one of the reasons I wanted to know how everybody felt about the fits cause my prelude was to me slower using the autoshift then it was if you just used regular d4. I swear I wished I bought the manuall but I was In such of a rush to get the car I got the only one they had on the lot and said **** it

 

ME 2 But it was kinda cool to not have to shift but be able to down shift and have the exaust loud and make it sound more like it was a stick

 

love my auto sport. get to keep it in D during traffic, but when i wanna pass someone.... i get to shift down using the paddle(while in D) and vrooooom. awesomeness.

 

im not going to lie... i regret not getting a standard transmission but i have fallen in love with my paddles. having the convience of "D" when im stuck in traffic or just cruising and i have the feeling of dropping it down a gear and tearing ass through the canyons.

i have had numerous people question me about the kind of tranny i have. because according to some folks there is no way an auto can drive the way my car does on the twisties. once i tell them its an auto trans but it comes with paddles for spanking those who challenge the fits authority they understand.

 

I love the paddles. I don't think I ever drove my car in d yet. What other cars on the market cost under 16k and come with a 5 speed paddle shifter transmission. Thats right NONE!!! I love it just for the fact that if you don't feel like shifting you don't have to. More options while driving I guess. Don't get me wrong. I love a manual transmission but you got to admit it does shift pretty damn quick. Also down shifting with it is nice to. You just have to time it right so you don't over rev it. Gives it a formula 1 feel. Once you get use to it, its very fun!

 

Don't worry about hitting high revs. Some people even swear by hard break-ins for their car.
Just go with semi-automatic.

 

Ok, this is gonna sound like a newbie question, but what is engine braking? Ican't drive, but i've heard of it yet i don't know what it is. Thanks.