Honda Fit Wheels and Tires
My owner's manual (Canadian version) states that the recommended tire pressure for the FIT is 32 psi front/rear. I have the LX model which came with Dunlop tires P175/65R14 with recommended maximum tire pressure of 44 psi. How much should the tire pressure be? Should I go with Honda's recommended numbers? It seems to be a sizeable discrepancy between Honda and the tire manufacturer. Any advice appreciated...
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I got a Dunlop, but they gave me Firestone and Bridgeston pamplet, what brand does dunlop get warrentied under?
I also have an 98 Dodge Caravan and a 2005 Civic, any idea what psi they should be at?
Also, i've heard that in the winter you are suppose to inflate them more and deflate during the summer?
Hope all of this will help increase my milage!
In the winter, the colder ambient temperature will reduce the pressure in your tires, while in the summer, the hotter air temperatures will expand the air in your tires, resulting in a higher pressure. I think the manufacturers state it's perfectly acceptable for a tire to lose 1lb of pressure per month, without anything being wrong with the tire, wheel, valve stem, etc.
You should check your tire pressure monthly, and set it to whatever the proper setting is for your vehicle. Doing so will automatically result in adjustments due to temperature changes, and account for slow losses of pressure over time.
Either over or under-inflating your tires will result in improper tread wear, and possibly create an unsafe situation.
For best handling and performance, follow the posted ratings. Going higher will decrease your rolling resistance, but will also affect the handling in a negative way, and will also hurt the ride characteristics.
had anyone who increased their milage actually notice a big difference in mpg??
I checked again this morning and the back were still 34's..
but one of the front dropped to 33 and the other 32..
i'm afraid i might have a small hole somewhere on the front tires.. to lose 1-2 psi overnight is not right..
would i take it to dealership since i'm under warranty or the tire company? i'm not sure which tire company these dumlops came from.. i will check again after work.. hopefully it's still at 33 and 32..
there were no changes to the two back tires, only the front two decreased.. i will check again after work to see if it has gone down even further.. if yes, then there's a leak somewhere.
I took it to the dealer I bought it from two months ago and the guy dimissed it saying that it's not under warranty because it's not the fault of the tire, but rather the road. :confuse: I don't recall hitting a pothole or anything but regardless, the tire only has 1800 miles on it. I know they aren't the best tires, but come on!
Anyone else have this problem... or know what's covered under warranty of the tire?
He recommended going aftermarket because it would be cheaper with a bigger selection. So I'm thinking of going that route unless I find those rims I like for a right price. Regardless, what would be the max difference in offsets I could get away with?
I just bought the car and don't have any warrenty info on the tires.. do i just bring it back to the dealer for a test by honda?
I've heard that some people fill theirs with N2 (nitrogen) because it doesn't expand and leak out as much as plain air does.
But it also costs money. Air is free, so for now I'll just keep pumping them up!
Overall, I think it's a super vehicle. I could live with little issues such as no lock on the gas cap, or the glove box, etc. etc...but the only real issue I have with the car is the tire drumming/thumping over washboard surfaces and sharp bumps. The ride does NOT bother me. It's the drumming of the tires that is killing me.
Unfortunately, there is vibration resonance over some sharp bumps at lower speeds. I've lowered my tire pressure to just over 30 psi but it does not make a big difference. I heard this issue was addressed in the upcoming '09 Model by making the structure much stiffer.
Has anybody felt an improvement with other tires?
I believe the factory tires are not highly rated.
My Stable:
'07 Honda Fit
'05 Acura TL
'98 Honda Accord EX V6 (215,000 miles)...Going to my oldest son soon.
'97 Supercharged BMW 540 (The Anti-Hybrid with many mods...450 HP)
Any Fit owners that replaced their tires yet? I don't really have any issues with my current ones and do not mind getting the same model but checking Dunlop's website, this specific model does not have a threadlife warranty.
Their Dunlop Signature tire comes with a 60K threadlife warranty but its a Grand Touring All-Season tire. Anyone tried these? Any other tire brand recommendations? MPG is why I bought the car and I'm afraid getting the wrong tire type might lessen it so might as well do the research now.
Thanks.
Get different tires when they need to be replaced, period.
I travel to VT every weekend to teach skiing....travel often in very adverse conditions...Am trying to get more winter "elevation" and traction. Am putting 4 snows on larger rims. (came w/15 inch rims) What size rims and what brand tires...? Would appreciate any feedback
Thank you
Does anyone know if the system ignores non-standard wheels, or will I be looking at a warning lamp 5 months a year?
Or, how is the standard tire in the snow?
I still have access to my wife's CRV if the going if really rough.
Thanks
Mike C.
The front tires have the most weight on them and will do the most work, driving the car and stopping the car as well as turning the car. The fronts therefore will stretch more than the rears and will deflate more than the rears. Unless you are planning on a lot of high speed highway travel or a session on the track, maintain the recommended pressure of 32 psi.
If you want to use the optimum gas for tire inflation, fill your tires with nitrogen. This is available for a low cost generally at specific garages or stores that specialize in tires. Nitrogen is much more pressure stable temperature wise and reduces oxidation of the internal rubber at higher temperature. The reason for this is that the nitrogen is dry and contains no water vapour which is not the case for gas station compressed air. It is the water vapour in the compressed air that causes most of the pressure increase on hot vs. cold tires. Think about this. Airplanes use nitrogen in their tires, and so do most big rig trucks, for the reasons above.
Cheers, Pete
You probably have already purchased your winter tires but I will thow in some advice here anyway. I have outfitted my FIT Sport with 14 inch steel wheels and Bridgestone WS-60 dedicated winter tires. I waited until the end of November here in the Pacific Northwest to install the tires since the weather was pretty good until then. I have experienced a fair amount of snow since then, traveling up-country to ski hills and some wet and slushy slop around town in Vancouver BC. The Bridgestones have been great, even in the slop. The only time I was uncomfortable with them was when it snowed 8 inches and then rained on top of it. The fit would make it up the steep driveway OK, but breaking trail in the wierd snow was difficult for it. I took it back home and swapped it for the F-350 4X4. Even that truck was not comfortable with the conditions, but the weight of the Ford, (8000lbs) made the difference. I must say that the performance penalty for the snow tires is minimal in normal driving, even though they are narrower than stock. I was surprised at this and I must give Bridgestone full marks for this tire.
For the lady who wanted to put on oversize wheels and tires for better snow clearance, yes you can but be advised that your speedometer will not be accurate and you will be traveling faster than advertised. Also, if you stay with the stock tire size for a 15 inch wheel, the width of the snow tire will be a bit more than optimum. In my experience, narrower snow tires work better than wider tires. The recommended snows are the same size as the stock tire for the non sport models and the tires are a bit shorter than the stock Fit Sport tires. This makes the speed over the ground less than advertised on the speedo.
For a full rundown and a good price comparison on winter tires, visit the Tirerack.com for an evening of informative reading.
Cheers, Pete
Richard
In case Pete doesn't have a chance to get back to you, here are a couple of ideas.
1. The Tirerack (www.tirerack.com) company noted in some above comments may sell the wheels by themselves. They generally supply complete tire/wheel assemblies.
2. The kids who mod the non-sport model may be willing to sell the steel wheels. Check ebay or craigslist.
When I was buying my car, the dealer had been playing around with a couple of cars. The Sport in the showroom had nice after-market wheels and tires, they put the Sport wheels on a standard model. I tried to get the leftover standard wheels, but they gave me some mumbo-jumbo about how the future Sport buyer is supposed to get the extra wheels. (He going to get the wrong ones, though), The hitch for me is the pressure sensors. I think I'm screwed and will have to stare at a warning lamp each winter.
BTW - I did about 50 miles in light snow in NE yesterday with the stock Fit Sport tires and was less than thrilled. I got there, but I think my wife's CRV has spoiled me.
Mike C.
Love my Fit - Too bad I am going to drive it into the ground starting July 1st!
Richard
Sounds like you are set for winter. If you go to Tirerack.com and input your make and model (Honda) (FIT) (Sport) then you will find that the recommended snow tire for the car is the one that I got. I got my wheel/tire set from the Honda dealer in Kamloops B.C. I found later that the same set from Tirerack would have cost almost 200 bucks less. We still have this weird price differential from the states vs.here in Canada. It was snowing tonite on the way home though and the tires were great. The WS-60s are third generation Blizzaks and I think they got it right. If you peruse the tire tests they do on Tirerack you will notice that the Blizzak will out perform the Michelin Ice-X among others and gets first place in the comparisons. Tirerack actually rented a skating rink and did acelleration tests, braking tests and a slalom to get the ratings. The Michelins came in third!?!?! The baseline tire was a winter tire that was studded. It came last in all the testing! Go figure. It goes to show the technology payoff in the new winter tires.
Cheers, Pete
Pretty much a non-issue if you stick to Honda small car specs, same wheel. That is why a lot of us Sport owners have locking lugnuts. The kiddo's can use our Fit Sport wheels on their low end Civics.
Unless you live on a street that is seldom plowed, try to stick with the recommended snow tires sizes from the various vendors. If it is not plowed, look at an SUV.
Mike C.
Read the section "What is the right size for my vehicle?" at tirerack.com
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=31
(I know the speedometer/odometer would not be accurate/need adjusting)
The trouble is, I can't bring myself to sell any of the cars I have. I'd get a Sport manual transmission. The Sport weighs only 31 pounds more than the base model, which is important to me because I'd put a free-flowing exhaust on it and drive it like a sports car.
www.1010tires.com/tiresizecalculator.asp
You can compare OEM tires with any size tire and/or wheel. It returns difference in speedometer readings, revs per mile, difference in diameters, and more.
If you try a tire size more than 3 per cent different in diameter, a warning pops up that doing so would risk brake failure.