Even MORE Advice for New Fit Owners !!

[manxman]

If you want to REALLY protect the flat surface of your rear bumper, the Honda OEM "Bumper Protector" wont really do the job. If you have already bought it and installed it, you now know how true what I just said is. But, no biggie, you can still get the real thing and put it right on top of the Honda junk.

http://img222.imageshack.us/img222/3752/imgp0997ue1.th.jpg (http://img222.imageshack.us/i/imgp0997ue1.jpg/)

Here's where to get it, and yes, the price is really that ridiculously low----:D

http://www.buyautotruckaccessories.com/product.cfm/cf-bin/pn.powerflow-bumper-protector/

[sooznd]

I'm convinced- ordered one today. What do you tow with your hitch??? I have a hitch , but so far am only using for a bike rack.

[manxman]

I'm convinced- ordered one today. What do you tow with your hitch??? I have a hitch , but so far am only using for a bike rack.
So far, I haven't needed to tow anything, and the hitch just makes great armor for the rear bumper. I had intended to buy a small Thule trailer to use in forest fire emergencies, and to carry a kayak, but haven't bought the kayak or the trailer yet.

With the recent death of our biggest dog, in an emergency like a fire, we now have enough space in the Fit and our Scion to get all of the animals and most important possessions out of danger without needing a trailer. But, the trailer would pay for itself if I no longer need to rent a truck for "dump runs" and to bring home garden supplies and construction materials.

So, my hitch is there to keep other people's bumpers away from mine, and for future towing needs.

[sooznd]

I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I wonder if there is a little trailer <2000 lbs that the Fit could tow, even though Honda says no towing.

[manxman]

I am so sorry to hear about your dog. I wonder if there is a little trailer <2000 lbs that the Fit could tow, even though Honda says no towing.
Yes, there is. I intend to buy one in the near future. Go to www.etrailer.com and look at the Thule light weight trailers. There are about four different sizes, and all of them could be pulled with the Fit. You would just have to be careful how heavily you loaded the trailer, and how carefully you balanced the load (keeping excess weight off of the tongue of the trailer so that there is equal weight distributed from the front to the back).

The empty weight of these trailers is very low, and I don't intend to load mine, when I get it, with much more than 3-400 pounds of cargo, and I would not pull a loaded, light weight trailer with any more than one passenger in the car. The car is built, after all, to carry up to five 200 lb. people, plus luggage. The main danger in pulling a trailer with the Fit is overburdening the brakes. There are several fitfreak threads about trailering with a Fit, including several good ones by dzager, who pulled a trailer loaded with a boat. You need to drive with a lot of extra care, but the Fit can handle trailers without damage to the car. If Service people at dealerships give you any crap about the trailer hitch, you just tell them that it's for your bike rack.

And thanks for the comment about our dog. At the age of 14, our Dirty Harry was the equivalent of a 98 year old man (for a giant breed like Harry). When his arthritic hips would not allow him to stand anymore, we had to put him to sleep. His "sisters" Heidi, a Siberian Husky, and Juneau, 50% Grey wolf and 50% white Husky, miss him as much as we do (Juneau is his real, younger, half sister). Harry was 80% wolf.

[manxman]

Okay, now I find the need to back off from my high recommendation of "Mr. Grille", the billet grille vendor on Ebay. My reviews of his products in the past sent a lot of buyers to him. But now, when I sent him two messages through his Ebay store to ask if his '06 Scion XB grilles were available in black anodized finish, he does not answer after over a week. Must be nice to have so much business that you can't bother to give a quick answer.

So, I bought billet grille panels for our XB from another Ebay vendor- "Manyfortunes" in Simi Valley, CA. The set that shipped the same day as ordered has polished horizontal bars, with black painted surfaces on the bar tops and bottoms. Good price, too.

[sooznd]

thanks for the info--I had sent an email to Mr. Grille 2 days ago and never got a response, but then I looked up their website & called them today & someone called me back..
From what I understand the black grille still has some silver on it in front & is not solid black?

[manxman]

thanks for the info--I had sent an email to Mr. Grille 2 days ago and never got a response, but then I looked up their website & called them today & someone called me back..
From what I understand the black grille still has some silver on it in front & is not solid black?
Well, I haven't seen any of the black anodized grilles personally, but the pictures in his Ebay ads show a totally black grille. Anodizing is a chemical etch process that is done by immersing the object in a tank. The process affects all surfaces. So, if the front face of the bars are black, so would the sides and backs of the bars also be black.

The black anodized grilles were added to his product line after I suggested to him that lighter colored Fit owners would probably prefer black grilles, and that anodizing would last far longer than black paint. This conversation occurred after I posted my reviews on the freak site several years ago.

Please let us know what the appearance is of the grille that you receive. I am hoping for your sake that it is all black.

[sooznd]

Well I may just go with the less expensive powder coated mesh grille set since Mr. grille's response was this--sounds like it is really not anodized.

"Dear sooteal,

The one in the picture is satin finish aluminum
(silver). We can do it black but the black finish
is a baked on coating similar to powder coating.
If that is what you want you can use this auction
as the price is the same for both. You will need
to specify that you want black instead of satin so
that you are not shipped the black finish by
default.
Thanks,
Dave

- wee12

[manxman]

In that case, the powder coat black will be OK. Anodizing never wears away, but powder coat paint lasts a very long time. If you drive through a desert sand storm bad enough to scour away the powder coat on the grille, the paint on the rest of the car will be gone too. It is possible that the anodized finish that Dave advertised years ago has been replaced with the powder coat process. Paint costs less than anodizing, and the paint process can be done at the Mr. Grille factory. The Anodizing would have to be sent to an outside vendor- someone with an electro-plating factory.

[sooznd]

I had gotten and installed the oem rear bumper applique' before I found out about this one from manx. The power flow is much more substantial--although a bit narrower than the oem. Here is a photo of mine installed on top of the oem. It doesn't look too bad and will prodvide good protection. After seeing my poor Subaru's scraped bumper, I know I will be glad I have this.

[manxman]

That looks great Susan. The Honda tape sort of frames the good protector. Damage from anything heavy and sharp being rested on the bumper will most likely happen to the flat horizontal surface. The tape covering the angle and part of the vertical surface will probably be sufficient for protection from dog claws that have slipped off of the horizontal area. You did a good installation!

[sooznd]

thanks!:) that bumper protector is a great product.
The photos don't show the slight rise in the height of the new protector.
Here's a photo of my old Subaru--now this will never happen to the Fit!

I also put on the door sill protectors & door edge trim--the passenger side came out well with the door edge trim. I didn't do quite as good a job on the driver side doors- the lower end of the trim near bottom of door has some bubbles and some dust might have gotten in. But I don't dare take it off now..... :eek:

Next project will be ordering and installing the grille protector.