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Honda Fit Bad Weather Handling

40 messages,  Last post on Jun 09, 2008 at 1:51 AM

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#34 of 40 Re: Fit on Snow in Colorado [ellenoc] by mocofl Jan 15, 2008 (7:56 pm)
Replying to: ellenoc (Dec 08, 2007 4:15 pm) Hi, I just moved to Florida from Denver and was rear-ended by a hummer which totaled my small fuel-efficient car. I am thinking about purchasing a Fit. I love the "magic" seats and all the cargo space. My only concern is that when I plan on moving back out west with the car loaded am I going to be able to make it over Loveland pass or Vail pass? Have you driven it through the mountains yet? with cargo in stow? I am concerned about the size of the engine, I am afraid of blowing it out trying to carry my belongings in the back over the passes. I am also considering the Toyota Carolla or Matrix, but I really love those fold down seats in the Fit! How much have you tried hauling in it? Replies to this message: jacksan1 (Jan 15, 2008 10:09 pm)
#35 of 40 Re: Fit on Snow in Colorado [mocofl] by jacksan1 Jan 15, 2008 (10:09 pm)
Replying to: mocofl (Jan 15, 2008 7:56 pm) While it was not in snow and I was not carrying anything in the car, I took a Fit up steep mountain roads in Japan. It had no trouble at all going up some very steep hairpin curves from the sea level to about 4000-ft in elevation. In fact, I had a blast tossing this Fit around corners. That is what convinced me to get one in the U.S. when it was released here.   Japan is very mountaneous (70% of the country is considered mountains), and yet it is full of Fits, many of which actually come with smaller engines (1.3 L) than we get in North America (1.5 L). People there don't complain about the Fit's ability to hill-climb.   In terms of cargo capacity, we have carried anything from a recliner, love seat, bicycles, to dogs and cats. It is amazing how much you can carry in a Fit. We also have a Subaru Forester, and I think that the Fit can carry more than the Forester, primarily because of the clever seats and the height of the cargo room.
#36 of 40 Fit Tires and Driving in Snow & Ice by fitisgo Mar 12, 2008 (6:37 pm)
The standard tires on the Fit Sport, Dunlop SP31 in 195/55/15"size, are very poor tires in all respects, and especially on ice & snow. Two solutions are to buy a set of winter tires/wheels to take on and off every season or to buy a new set of really good all-season tires and put them on the original alloy wheels and drive that way year-round. A good tire for this is the Michelan Pilot Exalto A/S V-rated; the down side is they are very expensive, a set of 4 installed with mounting/balancing can easily run $600. I have 2 08 Fits and on the 1st one I bought winter tires only (Bridgestone WS-50s on closeout from TireRack.com), and put them on the stock alloy wheels, but the cost of changing between all-season and winter tires 2/year is also not worth it. I will probably put the Michelins on the 2nd Fit (just bought it 2 days ago) and pay the recycling fee to send the original Dunlop SP31s to be recycled. Honda puts cheap tires on a lot of it's models (I have 2 Fits, 1 Civic, and 1 CR-V) to save manufacturing costs up-front. If you do some research (TireRack.com is an excellent source) you can replace the crappy OEM tires at very low cost and usually end up with vastly improved tires with many benefits such as handling/braking/winter driving performance/reduced road noise/increased fuel economy/longer tire life/etc.
#37 of 40 Re: how is the honda fit in ice and snow? [sbj] by fitisgo Mar 12, 2008 (6:45 pm)
Replying to: sbj (Mar 22, 2007 7:30 pm) The Fit Sport comes with terrible tires - Dunlop SP31. I have 2 Fits, bought 1st one in Dec 07 and had to put winter tires on it due some snow but mostly lots of icy roads in Omaha, NE, area. I just got the 2nd new Fit on 3/10 and plan to put new Michelin Pilot Exalto A/S V-rated all-season tires on the alloy wheels and drive like that year-round. Also, because the Fit Sport is very low to the ground, it will have problems with traction in snowfall amounts over 6" at one time. I also have an 03 CR-V EX with all-wheel-drive. It is an outstanding winter vehicle. I drive it up in remote North Dakota in the winter for ice fishing so I also have a set of winter wheels & tires (an extra $500-600 expense), but for around town the stock tires will be fine. The major difference here is vehicle price - the 2 new Fits I bought in the last 3 months each cost about $16,250. A new 08 CR-V EX with all-wheel-drive could cost $24,000 or more new - about $8,000 price difference. Consider buying a CR-V that is only 1-3 years old and has low miles but has depreciated some and you'll get a great vehicle for your son.
#38 of 40 Re: rpms [dbvolfan] by bam8 Jun 04, 2008 (6:26 pm)
Replying to: dbvolfan (Jul 03, 2007 6:37 pm) I know its summer but I'm close to deciding on a fit and the biggest issue for me is will it drive well in the snow. I have driven a saturn wagon with studded tires and felt quite comfortable in these Maine winters. The clearance is limited which is of concern on the fit and the tires are small. I'm intersted in the basic model (don't need all the other stuff) but wondering if one can get rims and larger tires for the winter?? Feedback welcome! Replies to this message: fitisgo (Jun 05, 2008 6:24 pm) bam8 (Jun 09, 2008 1:51 am)
#39 of 40 Re: rpms [bam8] by fitisgo Jun 05, 2008 (6:24 pm)
Replying to: bam8 (Jun 04, 2008 6:26 pm) Go to TireRack.com and look up the Honda Fit and you'll see they sell a winter tire/wheel package in 14" size (the Basic model used 14" tires/wheels, the Sport model uses 15" tires/wheels with also a 16" tire/wheel option). The price varies depending on which tire, but the cheapest winter tire/wheel package is $348 for 4 tires + 4 wheels, not counting shipping costs, which might be another $50-70 depending on where you live. Then once you receive the tires/wheels (Tire Rack will mount/balance the tires on the wheels for free) all you have to do is change the tires back/forth in late fall and early spring - I do this myself and save paying the tire store.   The one catch is that the 2008 and later new cars all have the TPMS (Tire Pressure Monitoring System). So unless you pay to have 4 TPMS sensors installed on your winter wheels, which is some ridiculous price like an extra $300, your TPMS system indicator will constantly stay on on the instrument panel of the Fit. You can always put a little piece of electrical or masking tape on the spot of the plastic cover of the instrument panel to block that warning light (obviously your TPMS system is no longer functional, but it seems people lived without it on vehicles for about 100 years or more before the manufacturers were required to put it on U.S. cars.   That $348 price was for the Winterforce brand winter tires, which are OK, but for Maine I'd get something a little better, such as the Bridgestone Blizzak WS-60 for $68 each tire, or an additional $80 for the package, total $428 plus shipping. However if you're really on a budget, the Winterforce winter tire is studdable, so you could take them to a local tire store and have them stud the tires (don't know how much that costs for 4 tires). Replies to this message: bam8 (Jun 09, 2008 1:51 am)
#40 of 40 Re: rpms [fitisgo] by bam8 Jun 09, 2008 (1:51 am)
Replying to: fitisgo (Jun 05, 2008 6:24 pm) Thanks for the info. I always have a set of studded winter tires on my vehicles so not so concerned about that. With good tires on, how does the fit handle. I drive in the mountains and often traveling norther VT,NY an Canada in the winter. I'm looking for imput on how the fit handles in the winter from those folks that drive in more sketchy areas.

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