Do I really need the miracle that is the new Honda Fit to spice my drive with livestock?

I have been doing 800 kilometres weekly for the last four years in my first generation 1.3l Honda Fit with my pair of “livestock” who commute to school daily  as I go to work to earn their “fodder”. It is a stubbornly reliable, roomy midget with great fuel economy. The car is superb in reliability and utility...but not exciting. PHOTO | NATION

What you need to know:

  • It’s a bit sad to see a genuine petrolhead suffer the ignominy and crushing boredom of pedalling around in a bowl of lukewarm goo. They say life is too short to drive a boring car. Perhaps they are right.
  • What I am going to do is befuddle the simpletons (again) by recommending something that I have spoken against before: modding. Yes, I am actually asking you to dip your toe in the murky waters of after-market motor vehicle customisation. You won’t need to buy a new car, and you won’t necessarily convert your current one into a fly-by-night street racer.
  • Start by changing the exhaust system into something with a big bore that breathes a little more freely and has a rasp to its note. Please note: I am not asking you to get a “fart can” — those noisy toilet bowl-sized affairs that scrape over sleeping policemen — a simple, sporty tailpipe will do.

I am an avid reader of your column.

“...Children rank slightly above livestock… for their predilection to degrade a car’s interior” was one of the most annoyingly humorous lines I  have read in recent times.

Now to my question: I have been doing 800 kilometres weekly for the last four years in my first generation 1.3l Honda Fit with my pair of “livestock” who commute to school daily  as I go to work to earn their “fodder”.

It is a stubbornly reliable, roomy midget with great fuel economy (A true antithesis of my wife’s Subaru BF5 turbo which I occasionally borrow for end-month, early-morning road thrills). The car is superb in reliability and utility...but not exciting. I have been planning, God willing, to trade it off for a second generation 1.3 Honda Fit which has i-VTEC witchcraft (I would prefer to call it a i-VTEC miracle). 

Just wondering if I really need this “miracle” to spice up the three to six hours I spend on the road daily and alleviate the agony of seeing the tail lights of Mazda 3s’...daily. 

Titus

 

Hello there, Titus,

Awesome feedback, this. Also, try not to call the progeny livestock; they have a tendency to pick up on such things (haha) and might plot retribution for the slight on their characters.

It’s a bit sad to see a genuine petrolhead suffer the ignominy and crushing boredom of pedalling around in a bowl of lukewarm goo. They say life is too short to drive a boring car. Perhaps they are right. What we know is that we have to get you into something a little less soporific than a mass produced, pint-sized automatic Japanese hatchback.

What I am going to do is befuddle the simpletons (again) by recommending something that I have spoken against before: modding. Yes, I am actually asking you to dip your toe in the murky waters of after-market motor vehicle customisation. You won’t need to buy a new car, and you won’t necessarily convert your current one into a fly-by-night street racer. Listen here:

Start by changing your bushes to polyurethane versions. It immediately changes the “feel” of the car into something a little perkier. If poly bushes are too costly for you, get regular ones but made of a stiffer compound than usual. Upgrade your suspension into stilts with a bit more raciness in them. Slightly stiffer shocks and lower springs should do the trick, but don’t go too stiff as to make the car uncomfortable to ride in, or too low to make it difficult to hop a kerb when the need arises. By now the transformation should be tangible enough for even your kids to notice there is a change afoot.

Steering response can be adjusted as well by changing the rack into one with a faster ratio, and/or changing your wheels. Go up one or two sizes in rim diameter. If you had 14s or 15s, try 16s, with narrower rubber. Try and buy alloys, not steel, to lower the unsprung weight of the car. You are almost there...

By this point the car should feel completely different, tending towards a jumpy insect, but not too nervous. It should be noticebly more exciting to drive. This is the point where we turn up the wick and stoke the underbonnet embers.

Start by changing the exhaust system into something with a big bore that breathes a little more freely and has a rasp to its note. Please note: I am not asking you to get a “fart can” — those noisy toilet bowl-sized affairs that scrape over sleeping policemen — a simple, sporty tailpipe will do. Options abound from Japanese retailers, up to and including but not limited to Honda’s own Mugen tuning house.  Decat the car as well (Environmentalists, stay out of this for now). I don’t believe in cold air intakes, so you can omit that, but a cone air filter will help somewhat, and it is not too expensive. You could also go for highly polished ports to smooth air flow through the engine and make it rev easier. If you want, you can map the ECU but it costs a bit and you might end up with a constant check engine light if it is done by a quack. Another option is replacing your current engine with the i-VTEC you so desire.

This is the point you can choose to stop, or if you have some spare change, you can now embark on tweaking the aesthetics. Install a bucket seat for the driver. Change the steering wheel to an after-market race unit. You can even get new faces for your dials. Get aluminium pedals. Install HID lamps and LED parking lights. Get a body kit.

You will not be bored with your car anymore.

***** 

Hi Barasa,

I am an  ardent and dedicated reader of your column. I recently bought a Toyota Ipsum S series. How effective, efficient and economical is this model. And how durable and resalable is it?

John Kennedy Okola Odipo

 

Hello Okola,

Now that you say you recently bought an Ipsum, I think it is you who should tell us how “effective”, efficient and economical this model is. You are the one with the car after all. Durability varies according to the degree of TLC received while resale levels depend on whether or not the next guy also wants an Ipsum. Really, why are we still discussing resell-ability? Is it of particular importance to you? If yes, are you a car salesman? If no, why?

***** 

Hi Baraza,

If you had up to Sh7.5m to buy a car, would you go for  a second-hand Landcruiser V8 or a brand new 2017 car (Double-cab, Harrier, RAV4, CRV, Outback) or any in that price range? Make the decision, not as a pure petrolhead, but like a normal guy who needs it to drive himself and his family to work, church and upcountry in Kenyan conditions.

Or what do you think is the long-term best value for money for Sh5.5 to 7.5 million spent on a car, old or new. At least a 5-seater, 4WD and leather, prestige and consumption aside.

King

 

Hello King,

The call is not an easy one to make because the used Landcruiser at that price offers good value for money. However, a brand new car comes with the peace of mind, knowing it is supported by warranty and there is no probability of abuse by past owners.

The problem with getting a Landcruiser (or something similar) is that the running costs will remind you why you could only afford it second-hand in the first place. The problem with buying brand new cars is depreciation.

In this price range, you will be best placed to look at something brand new along the lines of a Mitsubishi Pajero Sport, or a Ford Everest if you want hardcore SUV ability, or a Subaru Outback if you don’t stray too far from the straight and narrow.

Best value for money? A second-hand car from a reliable brand is a sure bet. It will have depreciated sufficiently for you not to worry about it losing any more value by a large margin, you could afford an otherwise out-of-reach vehicle, and there is plenty of wiggle room for price comparisons from competing sellers. Brand new cars tend to have nearly fixed prices.

***** 

Greetings JM,

Last time I wrote asking about a Toyota Hiace and your response was accurate, albeit (understandably) late. I admire your mastery of motoring issues; what price do I have to pay to get such prowess?

Today I want to ask about the Allion A18, 2009 model. I was recently doing a round trip in and out of Nairobi and on my trip back I noticed something that had never happened before, and which I haven’t noticed again.

It began when I was going uphill on a not-too -steep section of the Thika Superhighway when, to my great dismay, it denied me power when I needed it most. I sadly watched everyone zoom past me, unable to go beyond the 60kph mark while my journey until then had not only been smooth, but also very fast.

After the hill everything seemed fine again, until I needed to overtake, but no sooner had I started the manoeuvre than it denied me power again, and I had to humbly go back to my lane. During the uphill ordeal, when I stepped harder on the accelerator pedal, the engine sound was not very consistent.

I stopped soon after and switched off the engine as if contemplating what could be the cause but I am not a mechanic! When I fired it up again and continued my journey, the pretty little thing performed as it normally does (even in my very hilly backyard): so well that it made me proud. Before this occurs again, what could be the possible cause(s)?

PS: Later in the day I had an electrical mishap that was quite troublesome. Could my initial problem have been electrical?

DK

 

Hello DK,

And yes, your problem could be electrical. It would help if you had specified what exactly the subsequent electrical issue was.

My guess is that your plugs are giving up the ghost and need replacement, or your fuel pump is malfunctioning. You might also be having a faulty load sensor –  any modern engine has something called a load sensor which measures the load or stress on the engine. When the load is high, such as when driving up a hill, the load sensor (if working) sends a signal to the ECU.  Based on this signal, the control unit makes a calculation and uses the result to make the air/fuel mixture just rich enough to give the engine the extra power it needs to overcome the load.  Of course if the load sensor is bad, the engine won’t have adequate power when driving up a hill.

Now, about that Hiace: I came across a treatise that sounded as authoritative as it seemed legitimate, and it seems my shot in the dark was not so far off the mark. It comes from one Solomon Kimani at the Toyota Hiace Owner’s Club Kenya, of which I am an online member. I was as surprised as you are that such a thing actually exists, but the information in these fora is invaluable. I will now quote his post verbatim:

******

[Hi, got a question for you kiasi (sic). The sound on some 7L (sic) that sounds like freno (sic), what’s it?

The ‘Freno’, as many people call it nowadays, is basically the sound produced by a diesel engine when DPF regeneration is taking place. Ideally, DPF regeneration takes place automatically when the DPF tank is full. However, some Kenyan quack mechanics have found a way of connecting the DPF regeneration trigger to the brake system. This way DPF regeneration initiates every time the driver presses brake pedal (sic). I would categorically say that this is bad.

Why? During regeneration Toyota (sic) 1KD engine will readjust air-fuel ratio and air intake timing to increase engine and exhaust temperatures. It also closes the exhaust DPF butterfly valve, forcing the hot exhaust gas to remain within the exhaust system. All these are recipe for killing your engine slowly.

In fact, from 2010 new model LDF engine models (sic) do not have the butterfly type DPF system but now have a new DPF system “post-burn injection system” (sic), whereby fuel is injected in the exhaust pipe to increase the temperatures to burn the soot particulates. All in all, do not put those frenos, keep your Hiace as factory setting as possible (sic)]

 

(*the only rectifications made were in punctuation and capitalisation. Everything else is as written by Mr Kimani)

This is close to what I guessed earlier, isn’t it? My hypothesis came after I studied the ongoing emissions scandals surrounding various manufacturers in general, and GM’s case in particular is what shed light on the cleansing method of withholding exhaust gases within the system before release. It sounded a lot like what could be happening with the Hiace engine, the only difference being later versions were only operating under braking, which again lends credence to Kimani’s allegation that quack mechanics are behind the modification.

***** 

Hi Baraza,

Kindly allow me to comment you on your informative articles over the years. 

How can I get the previous articles on soft copy?

Ken 

 

Hello Ken,

I am compiling an almanac comprising my complete works that I will peddle for a token fee. There is a slight hold-up at the design stage, though, but once complete, I will let you know. The current one on sale from Smashwords Inc. is called Where There is a Wheel and does not include a large portion of my Car Clinic back-and-forth.

The new book will include them all, in raw, uncut form.