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There are two camps when talking about air pressure. Both will aggressively defend their stand.
I personally believe that inflating a tire to near the maximum on the sidewall results in the center of the tread bubbling out and bearing more of the weight of the car than the outer edges. Therefore wearing quicker in the middle. Also because less tread is on the road, the tire is less safe in wet weather and emergency maneuvers.
The tire will also ride rougher because it doesn't flex as easily. Over inflation can result in a bit better fuel mileage because less tread on the road results in less friction.
The tire pressure on the door jam reflect the tire being able to run with all the tread on the road equally across the tire. This has to do with the weight of the car and the sidewall construction. The car will ride better and handle better in emergency situations and likely last longer.
Makes sense to me that with EPA mileage ratings being so important these days, that the manufacturers would use tires inflated to the highest "Safe" pressure possible to obtain the best mileage possible.
The best way to find the absolute best pressure to meet safety and mileage considerations is to put a chalk mark across the tread and drive the car a mile or so on a straight smooth surfaced road without turning the steering wheel any more than necessary. When the pressure is correct for the car and the tire design the chalk will wear evenly across the tread.
Excessive pressure will result in the chalk in the middle wearing before the chalk on the edges. Too little pressure will result in the edges wearing off before the center.
With that said, if the vehicle becomes heavier due to load, towing, and so forth the tires will flatten more and need a bit more pressure.
Different strokes for different folks.
Kip
Like I said, both camps will defend their beliefs.
Kip
Fossilmin
The only down side to more pressure (within reason) is a stiffer ride.
BTW - look in the manual of a BMW and it will recommend adding abut 8 psi for high speed autobahn travel. Would they say that if it was less safe?
I have been keeping my FIT Base Tires at the Manufacture recommended 32 plus 2 lbs=34
I may pump em up to 38 next time and see what happens.
I am always scared to exceed in fear that they will blow up under hot highway long drive conditions.
PS. No problems with the FIT or Tires at all--excellent performance the entire trip. Easy to drive, turn and park in large crowded cities.
Consumer Guide has a good review of both the Base and Sport models. Their take is BOTH models handle significantly better than the average small car (disregarding the Ford Fiesta and Mazda2 which weren't out at the time). As to the two Fits, the Sport handles better than the Base but at a significant degradation in ride quality. I think the degradation in ride quality is due to the narrower profile tires, not the sway bar. I think part of the difference in handling on the Base model is due to lesser quality, narrower tires.
I test drove both the Base and Sport. I thought the Base wallowed a bit, the Sport was more precise but harsher riding. I later test drove a Base a lot harder and found it very grippy on freeway on ramp curves - apparently the wallowing didn't really affect grip around the curve. The handling was definitely good enough for me. What I DIDN'T like was the wallowy feeling between 70 and 80 on the freeway. It didn't feel "planted." It felt like a light, flighty car, a feeling increased by the noise of the engine (3900 rpm with the manual transmission), wind noise, and tire thrum.
The Mazda2 is much quieter and feels more solid.
The problem is, there is really only one mini--mini van, and it's the Fit. The versatility of those seats is phenomenal. Head room and cabin "spaciousness" are phenomenal. In the Mazda2 it's possible to feel a little claustrophobic. In the Fit you feel "spacious." Measurements between the two cars are comparable, but "feeling" is vastly different.
Honda continues to annoy me with their cheapness. What you get is good quality, but on the Base they leave out keyless entry, floor mats (missing on the Sport too), cargo cover, and stability control - all included on the Fiesta and Mazda2. to make matters more insulting, Honda is apparently only "dribbling" out stability control to the Sport trim for 2011; in 2012 federal rules mandate stability control in all makes and models, but with a corporate motto of "Safety For All" I don't know how Honda can sell the Fit without stability control. It's hypocritical.
I agree with the assessment of ride quality on the low profile tires. On bumpy local streets, the 55 series tires provide much less cushion than my older Civic's 65 series. I run the Fit's tires at 40 psi, which gives me about 2 mpg better on the highway and improves the already crisp handling, but makes the ride harsher on rough streets. It's rough. On the positive side, the two year old in the back seat loves flying over big stomach-in-throat humps.
The car is a pleasure on the highway, and I don't find it flightly, just responsive. It's similar to a Civic in strong crosswinds.
I also agree with the spaciousness assessment. I'm 6'5, the teenager's 6', and we manage to fit comfortably. Not a lot of side to side room--three across is a squeeze in the back and two large men in the front seat can feel a little close (when I took delivery from the similarly-sized salesman in the passenger seat, I thought "what have I done?"). But with a car seat, toddler, toddler toys, playpen, and three big-persons' worth of luggage, there is room to spare in the cargo area. (It's about a third bigger than the Accord's trunk).
We get 35-40 MPG on the highway with this load, at 60-75 MPH with tires at 40 psi.
Immediately after purchase, I did spend about $350 on floor mats, a trunk mat, a removable cargo shelf cover, and a cargo net to bring the interior standard up a notch. Otherwise it's comfortable. The leather wheel is especially nice after hours of driving.
I put a TRD rear sway bar on a Yaris LB and it really tuned up the handling - much less understeer. If there is a similar bar for the Base Fit that leans me even more towards that model.
Thanks.
"Honda continues to annoy me with their cheapness. What you get is good quality, but on the Base they leave out keyless entry, floor mats (missing on the Sport too), cargo cover, and stability control..."
I have a Base Fit with 15K on it at this point. If you have a Base model--Honda actually gave you a blessing in disguise by leaving those things out.
1. No Keyless Entry: I hated this too when I got the Base FIT, but it turned out to be an opportunity to load a VIPER Responder 350 Keyless Two-Way Alarm Paging System ($300.00 installed everywhere). Now I have a security system that far exceeds the security system on most cars including the Sport Fit. You not only have keyless entry, but also a remote with a LCD screen that monitors the security system 24 hours a day, up to 1500 feet away and constantly communicates and vibrates or rings or both the second anyone tampers with your car--not to mention a really bright warning light flashing at night. So you know in advance if anyone is in your car or anything happened before you get there or you can run out immediately and catch the [non-permissible content removed]. Other great features are CarJacking prevention, security control of the electric doors to prevent intruder entry the second you turn the ignition on and dome light control. I would not have gotten this alarm if I purchased the Sport and with the Sport they would have had to remove that alarm system (which does not have many features and only a horn beep.) I learned about the Viper from my Honda Dealer Service Advisor that was discouraging me from installing the Honda Sport alarm on my Base Fit! No Joke! He just did not see why anyone who can install a Viper for less $$ would want a factory Honda alarm. At first I was resistant--but he was right in the end.
2. No Floor Mats: Another blessing. If they gave them to you, it would be the cloth/fabric ones. Like most cloth mats--they last a week max, and you can never get them as clean and looking as day one ever again. A few months later---you are disgusted to put your feet on them. Instead, buy the beautiful thick Honda All Weather FIT mats (125.00) They are great--and every month or so, I wipe them down with water and they are brand new clean again! If you want to know how dirty mats get, get the all weather ones and wipe them down regularly and see how much dirt there is.
3. Cargo Cover: There are probably a few occasions I would have liked this to hide things, but really--you purchased the FIT for its versatility--Do you really want that piece of plastic impeding the ability to fold seats up and down and load cargo in and out like a pick-up truck? Who needs that! Plus its another thing adding weight to your car, killing MPG and where are you going to store it when you don't need it. (The Wife: "I can't stand that car cover getting dust in the gararge--get rid of it--why did you buy it, if you are not going to use it!") Sorry--FIT does not need it. (Savings of 150.00).
4. Stability Contol: There has been a lot of discussion about stability control on the Base FIT here. I don't get it! Could I have been the only person to get a Base FIT that rides great? I took my FIT non-stop (except fuel) from Los Angeles to Portland, OR this summer and then to Vancouver BC, then down the Oregon Coast and back to LA and never once, even at unmentionable speeds had a problem with stability. Now maybe if I went to the track with it--maybe--but no one buys a FIT for that. I don't get the issue. Come by and drive my Base FIT if you want.
Thanks.
California requires twice as much cleaner additive as the Federal standard, so if you live in Calif you are a little better off.
In response to fuel injectors getting dirty and affecting mileage and emissions, several petroleum manufacturers and several car manufacturers got together to come up with higher standards for fuel injector cleaning. The result was the Top Tier Program:
http://www.toptiergas.com/
note that Honda is a participant.
Chevron, Union 76, Shell are the big three that satisfy these program requirements in Cali. The complete list is at the website.
If you use these gasolines, you don't need expensive periodic "fuel injector cleanings" offered by many dealers.
Thanks for your consideration,
Jeannine Fallon
Corporate Communications
Edmunds Inc.
MODERATOR /ADMINISTRATOR
Need help navigating? kirstie_h@edmunds.com - or send a private message by clicking on my name.
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1. Overestimating safe entry speed into a curve, like an on-ramp or off-ramp (but stability control can't fix gross errors or suicidal racing speeds).
2. Pulling into a lane, and having to quickly swerve out when another vehicle simultaneously heads for the same spot.
3. Hitting a slippery spot (wet, black ice) in a curve.
Stability control is also useful in the snow, since the system lets manufacturers toss-in "ESD" or electronic slip device, the modern counterpart of "LSD" or a limited slip differential. Essentially this works by clamping down on the brake on a slipping drive wheel, so power is shifting to the other wheel. It's different from old-fashioned traction control which merely retards the ignition to slow down the motor to reduce likelihood of slippage, but can't transfer power from one wheel to another.
I have never seen mpg improve after break in on any of my cars. (30 or so owned in the past 10 years). I have seen it go down more often. I think I drive extra carefully when brand new then start driving more "normally" although I have a light foot and on my freeway work commute used to meet or exceed EPA freeway mpg (far exceeding the combined mpg).
Consumer Reports says the current edition Fit in 5 speed manual gave them 24 / 37 mpg rating overall 33, with automatic 21/39 overall 30. CR drives reasonably lightly. Most of the public doesn't.
I have a 2009 FIT Base that I love and love the fuel mileage too. Its been all over already. Last summer I drove it from Los Angeles to Portland, Seattle and Vancouver, BC. Last month I drove it from Los Angeles to New York City in 3.5 days and I am stuck here for now but will return hopefully before the snow gets here. On both of those trips I drove mainly highways as you can imagine, but some sleeping in the car a bit with the AC or heater on along the ways. I averaged between 39 and 40 MPG. 39.6 precisely for the LA to NYC trip.
Now, the way I use all the time, and you can use too, to test MPG is to get on the highway when it is clear enough to cruise at 65 MPH or so. ZERO out your trip meter so that the MPG resets and drive approx. 5 miles in each direction and see what it says? That's all you need to do. Or just wait for the next highway trip and do it.
Local driving has too many varaibles to use as a determinator. Use the highway test method. In LA during the summer with the AC on, stop and go, my MPG local only can be as low as 25 MPG.
Last, you know that the FIT is hypersensitive to tire air pressure and that will effect your MPG too. Make sure the tires are all even and pumped to the recommended level. I keep them at 32 or 34 depending on the type of driving. I once found that when they got below 32, it cost me approx. 1 MPG for each lb below 32 PSI.
Hope that this helps.
Do the highway test and let us know.
Happy holidays.
This is likely the case because Honda does not want to further depress sales of the Insight and Civic Hybrids.
I think this is a mistake on Honda's part - for the FIT hybrid appears to be Honda's best hybrid (out of the current Civic Hybrid, Insight, and CRZ).
The Toyota Yaris, Chevy Aveo/Spark, Nissan Versa and Hyundai Accent/Kia Rio are all in the same boat though - none of them get 40mpg (yet).
I suspect we will see an uptick in the mileage of subcompact cars over the next few years.
The FIT performed better than any other car I have ever owned and rented, (including Mercedes), was a pleasure to drive, easy to park and maneuver, and I had no mechanical or tire problems at all. The aerodynamics allows it to cut the wind better than most cars and there is no sway unless strong side winds.
Details:
In October 2010, I drove to NYC in 3.5 days, approx. 2800 miles, for an Avg. MPG of 39.6. This included a few sleeps in the car with AC or Heat on for a few hours along the way. Also driving with AC on until Missouri because it was so hot then. I was alone on the drive, but the rest of the car was packed heavy with little room to spare.
While in NYC, I drove into and around the city a lot, parking in the city, traffic, etc. Drove it down to Washington DC, around DC, suburbs, parking a lot, etc. Drove it in NYC after the Blizzard and the major snow a couple of weeks later—no problem—it held the road better than most vehicles with the Original Dunlaps on and no chains. Driving in blinding rain—no problems at all.
On the way home in January 2011, I drove it South to avoid the ice and snow on the way back to LA. Stops and touring in Savannah, GA, Hilton Head Island, SC, Atlanta, GA, Birmingham, AL, Houston, TX, Austin, TX, Tucson, AZ and Scottsdale, AZ. Some sleeps in the car with heat on along the way. I was alone again, but the FIT was packed heavy with little room left. Could only see out of the top portion of the rear window.
Grand Total AVG MPG for the entire trip from departure from LA to Arrival back in LA 4 months later: 37.0 MPG Exact. :shades:
Loving my FIT, now with over 25,000 miles on it in 1.5 years of ownership. It’s the best of the best IMHO.
Thanks.
This model does not have cruise control so you get those ebbs and flows between 65 and 75 most of the trip would be my best estimate.
Thanks.
But once we know what they are up to, the onboard mileage computer is very reliable, as long as we make that 10% mental adjustment.
It's not hard these days to build smaller cars with 35+ freeway mpg. It's much harder to build anything with real world mileage in the city greater than 25 mpg. Witness the Consumer Report actual city mpg on their sample Fits - as low as 21 with the auto on pure city only cycle, 24 with the stick. CR attaches their own metering device to the fuel line so their numbers aren't estimates based on tank fills or read off the onboard computer the way some auto mags do it.
Say you drive 100 miles: 50 miles of pure city driving at 20mpg uses 2.5 gallons of gas, and 50 miles of pure highway at 40 mpg uses 1.25 gallons of gas. So that means you used 3.75 gallons of gas to drive the 100 miles which equals 26.7mpg, not 30mpg.
So the poorer city mpg pull down the average more than the higher highway mpg. It would be better if we calculated gallons per 100 miles (GP100M) driven, instead of miles per gallon (MPG).
In the above example, we'd get 5.0 GP100M for city and 2.5 GP100M for highway and then the halfway point between 5.0GP100M city & 2.5 GP100M for highway would be 3.75 GP100M exactly.
This is the way gas mileage is calculated in Europe (liters per 100km), but like the metric system, it will never catch on here.