Oil Change #8 (41056km)

Aside from the normal Honda filter and 5W20 oil change today, I also replaced the air filter with a Genuine Honda unit as the last time we check it was getting a bit dirty. All is still good with the little Fit. However, I will need new tires by the end of the season. Keep in mind though these are the used tires I got with my SIR rims, not sure if the stock tires would wear out at 40,000km. I doubt it.

My Other Car has Two Wheels

The reason I haven't updated in a while is partly because I've been thinking more about my other vehicle lately. The summer weather is finally here, and I've been taking the bike out at least once or twice a week.

Some of you might remember back in August 2007 that I had finished my Motorcycle riding training and had passed my road test for a motorcycle license. Well, since then, I had ridden a motorcycle only ONCE, during a BMW test ride around April of 2008. And by then, I haven't been on a bike in half a year. Given my limited prior experience, I stalled the demo bike twice before leaving the lot. But once I got moving, it all started to come back, and I really enjoyed the test ride.


It wasn't until October 2008 that I ended up purchasing a bike, a 2005 Kawasaki Ninja 500R; A bike that has essentially not changed for the past two decades, but remains one of the top picks as a beginner sport motorcycle. However, since I purchased the bike in October, it was immediately put into storage policy and sat over the winter with the battery removed and fuel stabilizer in the tank.

I finally got the bike insured for the road in the beginning of May 2009, almost two years since I got my license. I was worried I wouldn't remember how to ride, but again, it all came back to me as I started riding. I think I did 140km on my first day riding just going around town aimlessly. I'm loving it, as the motorcycle has that acceleration I miss from my modded turbo days. Something the Fit just can't give me.

Check Fuel Cap Warning

So, strange thing. I had my last fill-up maybe a week or so ago. I've not touched the gas cap since. However, yesterday afternoon when I started the car up, with around 1/4 tank of gas left, the odometer section started blinking the words "Check Fuel Cap". I was just going to my in-laws not 5 minutes away, so I kept going until I got there.

I turned off the car, and checked the gas cap. Seems to be on securely. I take it off and put it back on again. "click click click..." ok. Let's try again. Turn on the car, and the warning is still there. I tried driving around the block a few times to see if it would reset itself, but it didn't. However, I did find out that if the warning annoyed you, you can always press the trip button and rotate to the Trip A, Trip B, or Oil Life display. But the next time you start the car again, it will go back to the warning.

Like I said, I had not touched the gas cap for a week. So the only thing I can think of that might have set off the warning is the recent temperature change. We've had unseasonably low temperature lately until yesterday, when spring suddenly arrived. Maybe the temperature change caused a change in tank pressure and the car thinks the gas cap is loose? (My car is parked outside)

Anyways, when I went to start up the car this morning, the warning was still there. It stayed on the whole 40km of my morning drive. But when I started the car up again this afternoon, the warning was gone. Hopefully that was enough start-ups/running time/kms for the ECU to reset the warning on its own, and I won't see it again.

Down the Oregon Coast

Well, despite the Hit-and-Run, we managed to make it on our trip, thanks in a huge part to Andrew Ma at Park Collision (604-279-5545). My insurance estimate was moved to Tuesday morning, the day I had planned to leave for our trip. I called Andrew explaining the situation, and he offered to order me a replacement mirror for next day delivery on Monday, before I even handed him my paperwork. He told me as soon as the mirror arrives, he'll put it on immediately so that I can make my trip without worry that my taped-up mirror would fall off on the highway. We'd worry about the superficial damage to the rest of the car after I come back.

And that's exactly what he did. After I finished with the insurance estimate, I dropped off the car and paperwork at Park Collision and went out to have a quick bite. Within 30 minutes from the mirror's E.T.A. of 12:30pm, I get a phone call from Andrew telling me the car is ready to go. I walk back to the bodyshop, and we were off on our vacation right on schedule.

We spent the first couple of nights at a friend's in Renton, WA as they just had a baby boy. It was fun playing with him and his two year old sister. I also visited a Renton Motorcycle Company, which can only be described as a Costco for motorcycles. On Thursday, my sister-in-law and her boyfriend arrived at our friends place, and we headed down towards Astoria, OR for our first night on the coast.

That night we met up with Sandy, someone I met on the FitFreak.net forums. He was very kind when I posted about my hit-and-run, and offered to meet up if I still made it down. He offered some good tips on lodging and dining in the area, and we met for coffee and had a great chat that night. Of course, I totally forgot to take a photo.

The next day we had breakfast at the cafe Sandy originally wanted to take us, but was closed as we arrive to town kinda late. Then we set off down 101. We had borrowed a GPS unit from a friend, and for some reason it took us on a detour off 101 for a short bit. It wasn't too bad though as the detour was a bit of a winding affair and even if my tires couldn't grip the wet roads too well, my friend in his modified Audi 225TT sure enjoyed the drive.

We stopped by the Tanger Outlet in Lincoln in the afternoon, then continued to Newport for the night at a beachfront hotel. The rain was just terrible at some points during the day. But the beauty of the coast was worth it. We must have looked so funny being the only people to get out of our cars at some of the lookout points in the heavy rain and wind, just to take a few photos. Still, I'm sure we missed a lot of views due to the weather. I think this trip is definitely worth taking again.

Due to the limited number of days we had, Newport was as far south as we went this time around. In the morning, we woke up and went down to the beach by out hotel for a nice walk, which ended up with wet shoes and socks (boys being stupid). Then we visited the Oregon Coast Aquarium in Newport. I really enjoyed the Oddwater and Passages of the Deep exhibits. We spent a bit more time in the aquarium than I had originally planned, but it was well worth it.

We then cut across 20 to get to I-5, then followed it north until Woodburn. Why, for the Woodburn Company Stores of course. Outlet prices and no tax. Because we left the aquarium late, we went back the the outlet the next morning. I scored myself two pairs of sneakers before calling it quits and heading back up to Vancouver.

Thanks to everyone who made this trip wonderful.

The Worst Day for Me and My Fit - [Hit and Run]

This is probably the worst day for me and the Fit since I purchased it.

So last night, the wife and I had a late dinner, and since I didn't have to work this morning, I stayed up late, and was playing around on the laptop a bit in bed. I'm not sure what time it was, but I heard a car alarm go off. I went to the window to have a peak, and a BMW 5 was flashing and blaring. It was parked two cars back from me on the street across from my building. My alarm didn't go off, so I thought nothing of it as I didn't really see any major damage or broken windows on the BMW.

A bit later, as I was finally going to sleep, I heard some talking outside. I took another look out the window and there were a few police vehicles on the street. One of the started shining it's spot light on parked cars as it slowly drove along. I had a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I went and found my small binoculars to have a better look. Turns out several of the parked cars had their driver side rear view mirrors broken, including mine. I figured since the police was already on scene, and it was really late, I'd wait 'til morning to see how bad the damage is.

Did you think I was going to get a good sleep with this on my mind? Of course not. And so I woke in the morning not rested at all, and went downstairs to see how bad the mirror was...



It wasn't just the mirror. The side of my car was scraped up as well, then entire length of the car, and even my front wheel. I looked up and down the street, and there are still 3 other cars parked with similar damage, and I know there were other cars parked there last night (later on, my friend told me when he came to pick me up, that cars that were parked on the cross-street were also hit, one with it's bumper hanging off even).

I called the insurance claim centre, and reported the hit and run. The lady suggested I call the police to see if they'd have a police report # as well, and sure enough, they did. However, unless they catch the guy(s) who did this, I, along with all of my unlucky neighbors, are out at least $300 deductible each!

The damage looks deliberate. The mirror at least looks to be smashed from the front center of the housing, not hit along the edge. Maybe a bat or something. And that's what really makes me mad. It wasn't an accident. It was someone's idea of fun.

This couldn't have happened at a worse time either. The wife had booked her vacation days off for next week, and we were going to drive down to Washington State to visit a friend who just had her 2nd baby, and then head down to the Oregon Coast for a few days of relaxation. Now, I'm going to be out the money for lodging, and I'm seriously doubt the car can be fixed in two days in time for the trip since most places require a vehicle to have a driver side rear view mirror.

And of course the estimate centres are closed for the weekend. I'm going to have to wait 'til Monday to take the car in before anything else can be started.

This sucks!

Oil Change #7 (35665km)

Another oil change time. It was done at 35665km even though the receipt says 36665km. I yelled out the wrong mileage to my mechanic as he wrote it. Oh well.

Standard affair once again with the OEM filter and 5w20 oil. No surprises this time around. Even remembered to reset the service reminder right away. I had just checked the tire pressure and so that was ok. Everything else looks good. The Fit is go for another 5000km.

I know the factory doesn't call for such short oil change intervals, and every time I do the oil change the service reminder usually still say 40%-50% oil life left. But with the timing chain system, oil pressure is used as hydraulic fluid to ratchet up the timing chain tensioner. If varnish forms in the timing chain tensioner bore then this system can fail and the chain will become loose and eventually break. The advantage is that if well maintained, the timing chain will never need replacing, saving you the $800 or more timing belt replacement every 100,000km or so.

Back to Basics. No More Parts

I've actually been slowly accumulating parts for my little Honda Fit LX. I know that in the beginning I said I would leave this car mostly alone. But who am I kidding. I'm addicted to this stuff. So before I knew it, I had a full factory sport lip kit, two rear spoilers, lowering springs, rear anti-sway bar, and OEM fog light kit. This is all aside from the EM1 Civic wheels (which I NEEDED at the time *roll eyes*), and the LED tails, JDM passenger side sun visor, and OEM cargo cover (which I actually need).

But in the back of my mind I knew that the Fit was just meant to be my daily driver, not a project. So when I saw some local Fit owners looking for parts that I already have on the forum, I messaged them and sold most of my parts before they were ever installed on my car. The only thing I have left now is a set of OEM Fog light kit. If you're interested, check out my ad for the fog lights on the forum, and message me there.

And to the guys who bought my parts, thanks, and I hope you will enjoy them for me.

Custom LED Third Brake Light Retrofit

Ever since I installed the JDM style red/smoked LED tail lamps, I have been a bit bothered by the delayed reaction time of the factory incandescent bulb in the third brake light. Because LEDs turn on and off much faster, the third brake light always lagged behind the tail lights by nearly 1/4 second when I hit the brakes or release them.

So since my buddy was ordering some LEDs for his LED running light project (A la Audi), I took the opportunity to share the shipping cost and ordered me some nice high powered 4-chip Super Flux LEDs in red. These LEDs have a stated 100 degree viewing angle, which is important for automotive retrofit applications. And the wide angle also means the brightness specs mean something. A 20 degree 5mm LED might have more mcd on axis, as soon as you move off that 20 degrees, the brightness drops significantly. The 4 leg Super Flux LED is also shorter than standard 5mm LEDs and it helps a lot in this application as there isn't much depth between the housing and the lens on the sides.

Also important to consider is the colour of the LED used. LEDs produce light in very tight wavelength. This means a white/blue LED will have very little output in the red colour spectrum. And since the red lens on the third brake light is essentially a photo filter that only allows the red spectrum to shine through, if you used white LEDs behind it, you'll lose a lot of light. Test this by shining your white LED source (keychain light, flashlight, whatever) through a red lens, then through a white or clean lens, and see how much of a difference it makes.

So, anyways, onto making the LEDs

1. Remove the third brake light - Take the cover off, which will expose two 10mm bolts on either side. remove them, then un-clip the center from the hatch and unplug the harness from the bulb socket.

2. Remove the bulb and red lens - Twist the bulb holder out. For the lens, there are four clips. Remove the wider, flatter ones first; it's easier. Use a flat head screwdriver (carefully) to help if needed.

3. Cut the circuit board to size - Pretty self explanatory. Cut to desired size to fit the housing and number of LEDs you are using. Keep in mind the board has to fit inside the inner lip in order to clip the red lens back in.

4. Design your circuit - There are various LED calculators available online if you know the specs of your LEDs. And you can design your circuit in series, parallel, or a combination of both. Make sure you know what you're doing here, or get help from someone who does.

4a. Power goes out - What? It didn't happen to you? Well, it happened to me right about here, just before I can test my circuit. Can't just skip to the next step even if I wanted to since the soldering iron needs electricity too. I played some DS and ate some food (love gas stoves) until the power came back an hour and a half later.

5. Test/Make your circuit - Use a breadboard to make sure the circuit will work, and layout how you're going to place the components on the circuit board. then, just solder the pieces in place.

6. Put it together - Place the completed and tested circuit in the third brake light housing. If you cut your circuit board properly, it will sit nicely inside with the pressure from the metal heat shield inside the housing. Then clip the red lens back in, and it should hold the circuit firmly in place.

7. Re-attach third brake light to the car - Run the lead wires out through the bulb hole. You don't need to put the bulb socket back in. Just attach the positive lead to the white wire side of the harness, and the ground to the black. Clip the housing back in and secure with the 10mm bolts. Put the cover back on, and you're done.

I'm using 6 LEDs that have a forward voltage drop of 2.0V, and current draw of 80mA. I want to run each LED in parallel so that if one LED shorts out, no other LED is affected. I also found a circuit board that was printed so that each horizontal line was already connected, making my job much easier as I don't have to solder connections between every LED. I went with a single 150ohm resistor before the path splits to each LED. And according the the LED calculators, I needed a 1W resistor to handle the heat based on a 14v input. So that's what I got. It's enough since the brake light is not constantly on like a taillight or license plate light.


I'm happy with the results. The reaction time now matches the LED tail lights. The viewing angle is very good, and people say it's definitely bright enough to notice driving behind my car. Compare the OEM JDM version which cost $170USD, my retrofit for a fraction of that is a pretty good deal. Plus it was fun making it. I hope you have fun making yours as well.

Fit Vs. Snowstorm 08 = Fail

Time sure flies. It is now the 3rd Winter I've had my little Fit. The last couple of winters, the car wasn't great in the white stuff, but it handled it ok, even with the factory all-season 175 width Dunlop SP31 tires.

This year, unfortunately, the Fit was defeated. A number of factor contributed to this defeat. One, I am now running on wider 195 width tires since the upgrade to the Civic SIR wheels. Second, the tires that came with those wheels are worn out Bridgestone Potenza RE92s in the rear, which are summer only tires that are terrible even in the wet. These were actually in the front before my last service, at which time I moved them to the rear and rotated the also crappy Kumho Powermax, (yeah, they don't even make this anymore) tires with slightly better threads, and a just for show M+S rating on the sidewall.

Third, Vancouver is currently 2cm shy of resetting it's own December snowfall record. 88cm have already fallen this month, and the record is 89.7cm set in 1964. The whole Metro Vancouver area is not used to this kind of snow, and thus do not budget much for snow removal. This compounded with my crappy tires made the Fit a fun little sled, and nothing more; You need to push it to get it moving, then when it does, it doesn't have much control. Of course parking on the street and having to crawl over a snowbank just to get out doesn't help either. I'm just glad I was too lazy to get the Progress Rear Anti-Sway Bar installed before the snowstorms.

... I miss my Audi.

Oil Change #6 (30985km)

Just looking back at my previous maintenance posts, and noticed that January 31, when I had my recall done, I was at 14,480km. Today, I just had my 30,000km oil change done. So I'm did a bit over 15,000km in 10 months or so.

Anyway, I noticed right away when I picked up those Civic SIR wheels that one of the rears was a bit off balance at above 110km/h. So I had all 4 tires checked for balance while I had the car in for the oil change. Sure enough, one of the rear was out of balance and fixed. Living across from a construction site sucks 'cause apparently there was another nail in my tire. but this time it was not near the sidewall so it should seal with the plug. We also rotated the tires front and back just because the rear Khumos were at least all-seasons, while the front front Bridgestones were not.

Also took the opportunity to put on polished closed factory lug nuts and wheel locks on the wheels in place of the open ended ones that came with my original stock steelies. Thanks to "Doc" for letting me borrow them off his car since they won't work with his custom polished Volk TE-37's anyways. *jealous*

Otherwise, just your standard oil and filter change every 5000km. Oil still looked pretty clean when it came out, but that's a good thing.