How to Park a Honda Fit / Jazz

Everyone knows that a small car like the Honda Fit/Jazz is great for parking. But these guys go the extra step...

3 Years Old. Out of Basic Warranty

I've just realized, as of Halloween, I've officially owned this little Fit for 3 years now. Aside from that strange Check Fuel Cap warning the one time (which didn't result in any down time), this car has been completely trouble free.

This also means I am now out of Honda's 3 year basic warranty. Which totally didn't hit me until now. That's too bad 'cause I would have probably checked over the car for issues and had the dealer fix a couple of little things.

One of those things would be the plastic cover under the parking brake handle. It has snapped and broke off from flexing as the handle moves up and down. Looking at the forums, it seems to be a fairly common issue with this car, especially in colder climates. Mine has been broken for at least a year and a half. But I guess it just never really bothered me, so I didn't remember. I would also have checked the condition of the stock battery as some on the forum had issues with them dying early. But so far, mine has no problems. Let's hope it stays that way.

Happy birthday little Fit.

New (ish) Tires and Ready for Winter

Well, I officially put the motorcycle away a week ago. Changed the oil and filter, put the fuel stabilizer in the tank, pumped up the tire pressure, lubed the chain, took the battery out, and put the cover on.

As for the Fit, well, I mentioned I needed new tires in my last maintanence post. As luck would have it, I managed to find a couple of good deals on the local Craigslist. I picked up a near mint set of 195/55R15 Bridgestone Turanza EL470 that was taken off another '08 Fit Sport that's perfect for my EM1 wheels.

A few days later, I also found a set of OEM GD3 14" steelies with hubcaps and factory Dunlop SP31 in 175/65R14 size. they had around the same wear (about 20,000km) on them as when I took my originals off and traded them for some body parts that I ended up not using anyway. It's like getting my old setup back. And with the winter we had last year and me on my worn 195 tires getting stuck everywhere, I'm so glad to have these 175 14" tires to run this winter; even if they are all-seasons. After all, this is Vancouver, Not Winnipeg. And they got me through the first two winters with the Fit.

So today, I went to my mechanic, and got the tires replaced on the EM1 rims, and slapped the 14" steelies on the Fit for the season. And the best part, the total paid for the 15" tires, the 14" wheels and tires, and mounting and balancing of the replacement tires, was less than what I would have paid for one set of new 15" tires. Also, since the hubcaps that came with the wheels are already scratched up, I will be running the steelies with hubcaps on, unlike when I first got my car. So it'll hopefully look a bit better. It also means my Fit will pretty much look like a stock DX/LX on the road with the exception of the smoked LED lights in the rear.

One more thing. I noticed that since I've actually stuck to my guns and have not turned the Fit into a project car, Most updates here on the blog have been about oil changes and general maintenance items. I did a bunch of research when I just purchased the car, and still have some of them bookmarked or saved somewhere on the HD. I will try to dig up and look through what I have and update this blog with more information on parts and accessories that may be of interest to you in the future. Thanks for following this little blog, and stay tuned...

Luxury + Supercar Weekend in Vancouver

This past weekend was the first of hopefully more Luxury + Supercar Weekend at the Plaza of Nations in downtown Vancouver, BC. The event was hosted by the Edgewater Casino and featured the lastest releases from the manufacturers such as the Porsche GT3, the Ferrari California, the Audi R8 V10, the Murcielago SV, the SLR McLaren 722S, Bentley GTC Speed, the Spyker C8 Aileron, and more. It also showcased the 1000hp, 1.5 million dollar Bugatti Veyron. Ducati and Benelli also brought out some of their bikes to showcase.

And if even these factory tuned cars just don't interest you, there were some heavily modified exotics, including the contingent brought down by Calgary's ZR Auto that included the 707hp Novitec twin-supercharged F430, and the just finished Heffner Performance twin-turboed Murcielago putting down a dyno proven 1100hp to the rear wheels! They also brought their EDO tuned Enzo, and similarly tuned, but even more rare Maserati MC12.

There were also rare vehicles from private collectors on display, like a Ferrari Dino, F40, Lamborghini Muira, Diablo SE, Saleen S7, De Tomaso Pantera, Noble M400, and lots more. To see most of these cars would be a rare occurrence. To see them all in one place, was worth the price of admission. I'm glad I went down to the show on my motorcycle, and not in the Honda Fit. To have to walk back to the Fit after seeing all those cars...

Plus with the bike, I got to park steps away in downtown for free!

Oil Change #9 (45220km)

I was running some errands and got a haircut today on my day-off, and on the way back, I decided to stop by my mechanic's place to say hi and see when he can fit me in for my next oil change.

Turns out the bay was empty and so he just told me to drive it right in. Air filter was replaced last time, so just the standard oil filter and oil change. I was a tad late on my last oil change, so the oil life indicator still said 60%.

I also asked him to check some tire prices for me since I will need them fairly soon. It seems 195/55R15 is not a popular size anymore, and I have a very limited selection of tires. Add to the fact I need performance all-seasons, my choices are even fewer. It will probably be around 5 bills when it's all done even for something like Falkens.

That price is coming pretty close to a set of used aftermarket wheels/tires in 15 or 16 inch sizes. So I'm going to start looking for those as an alternative as well. Thing is though, I like how stock/low-key my Fit looks right now with the SiR wheels. Any car with aftermarket wheels will stand out. I would love to get my hands on a set of 16" HFP split 7-spoke wheels for my car. But they're more rare around here than real BBS LMs. And I'm not about to buy them new from the dealer.

Hmm... anyone got a set of take-off 16" GE sport wheels/tires for sale locally?

Triple Show Weekend

So, this past Sunday, I had a really tough choice to make. You see, there were three major events happening on the exact same day. There was the Annual Great Canadian Volkswagen Show; the largest Volkswagen gathering in the entire northwest, maybe the whole west coast. It was a must attend event for me when I had my Audi. I even entered it a couple of years and did pretty well (won my class).

Then, there was the Annual Gastown Motorcycle Show and Shine organized by the British Columbia Coalition of Motorcyclists (BCCOM). This is the 4th year of this event where they actually close off Water St. Entirely for this show, and parts of a few streets leading down to Water St. for dedicated, FREE motorcycle parking. The show is mainly a custom bike affair, but totally open to the public in a tourist area of town. So the atmosphere is definitely unique.

Last there was the annual Revscene Summer Meet. Revscene is THE forum for local spo-com/euro gearheads and the annual summer meet brings out all the wild rides from all over the Greater Vancouver Region to one place. Vancouver has quite a few wildly modified Honda Fits, and this would be the venue they're headed to. (like Felix's car pictured here)

It was a tough choice, but in the end, I decided to gear up, hop on my bike, and head down to the Gastown Motorcycle Show and Shine. The main reason being that it was the only event I had not attended previously. And plus now that I'm finally riding regularly this year, I feel like I wouldn't feel like such an outsider anymore. (plus I'd know what I'm looking at now).



I was not disappointed. The event was big (although I was told it's smaller than previous year), and took up pretty much the entire length of Water Street (minus maybe 1/2 block). Mostly custom cruisers and choppers, but there were a few vintage bikes and sport bikes mixed in. The amount of work that went into some of these motorcycles is just insane! I'm certain many of the bikes on display had more man hours on them than the cars at the other two shows. I highly recommend this event to anyone who has the time. Even if you don't know motorcycles that well, you'll be able to enjoy the works of art on display. And if you really want to know more, the owners, or even others who know, will gladly share their knowledge. Just don't touch or sit on the bikes without the owners consent first.

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Links to some photo galleries of the events (not mine)
Great Canadian Volkswagen Show
Gastown Motorcycle Show and Shine
Revscene Summer Meet

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.