Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts
Showing posts with label DIY. Show all posts

Sunday, January 6, 2008

DIY: Honda Fit HID Retrofit with FX35 Projectors

DIY: Disclaimer
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I'll just put up the parts that are needed since someone on Honda-Tech.com asked for them. I'll add the rest of the info with pictures later. Cheers!

HID Retrofit Parts List
  1. 1 x pair of Honda Fit headlights
    $360 brand new from Honda
  2. 1 x pair of FX35 projectors (preferably clear lens for a super sharp cutoff)
    $70 used from eBay (frosted)
  3. 2 x small Dog Bowls for the shrouds
    $10 brand new from Petsmart
  4. 6 x 2" screws that fits the FX35 projectors
    less than $10 for all brand new screws, washers, lock washers, and nuts
  5. 12 x flat washers
  6. 12 x lock washers
  7. 12 x nuts
  8. Duplicolor Semi-Gloss High Heat spray paint or whatever color you want the headlights painted
    $5 brand new from NAPA
  9. Duplicolor BondAid spray paint to help the paint stick
    $5 brand new from NAPA
  10. 1 x roll of sponge tape to fit the dog bowls on
    $5 brand new from NAPA
  11. 1 x butyl sealant to seal back the headlights properly
    $25 brand new from Nissan Dealer (you should be able to get this from any autoparts store for less called window sealant made out of butyl; I have not tried this so I can't guarantee that it is 100% the same)

I think those are all the parts you need to do the retrofit. For tools and such, you will need a screw driver, small wrench, dremel hardware, sand paper, painting space, and etc of course. I'll go into more details soon.

Wednesday, January 2, 2008

DIY: Install K&N Air Filter Replacement for Honda Fit

DIY: Disclaimer
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To install it check out these installation instructions from K&N.http://www.kandn.com/instructions/33-2359.pdf

It takes 5 minute tops and that's including opening the box the K&N filter comes in. :)

You should also be able to use these instructions to install a OEM replacement air filter.

Check out my review on this product in the following link.
Review: K&N Air Filter Replacement for Honda Fit

Tuesday, January 1, 2008

DIY: Install OEM Honda Fit Fog Lights on Base Model Fit

DIY: Disclaimer
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I really wanted more light since I drove a lot when it was dark out. The fog lights give you a wider view up close. The install was very straightforward and the most time consuming part was getting around under the dash to plug in the harnesses and finding the harnesses to plug into. It took me about 2 hours from beginning to end.

The fog lights came with instructions from Honda and also the template that I used to cut out the holes for the fog lights. You do need a drill, two drill bits (3mm and 5.5mm), a hack saw, ratchet wrench (8mm and 10mm), and some other tools. Follow the Honda instruction manual for the install. It will show you everything you need to know. The pictures I have posted just gives you a better visual of how things will look.

Here's a link to the installation instructions from http://www.handa-accessories.com/ website.
http://www.handa-accessories.com/fit/fog.pdf

Outline of the cutout and drilled a few starter holes.


How it looks like after you have made the cutout for the fog light to fit.


The work area.


Installation of the fog lights and running of the wiring harness.


Before


and after

DIY: Install Progress Rear Swaybar for Honda Fit

DIY: Disclaimer
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This is the best mods I have done to the Fit in terms of performance. It was just as good as when I upgraded my Integra to the 22mm ITR rear swaybar. The install is pretty easy and shouldn't take you more than an 45 minutes. I don't remember all the wrench sizes that I used, so I apologize about that. I did use red loctite for the nuts and bolts to make sure it doesn't come off in the future.

Here's a picture of what came in the package from Progress.


You need to take off the rear wheels first so you have more room to work with.

Then I jacked up the car with the 3 ton jack on the tow hook and placed two jack stands on the rear side jack points.

After that you need to take off the rear springs. It is held into this rubber piece to the metal bracket that it sits in. Once you get the spring out, you can see the mounting holes for the rear swaybar. You will use three on each side.
Insert the swaybar from the driver side to the passenger side. That seems to be the easiest way to get the swaybar in there.
Once you get it in there start with one side of the swaybar first and put the three bolts in from the top and then line up the swaybar to the bottom of it and put the washer and nuts on. Do not fully tighten it yet until you have both sides ready to be tightened. Do the same for the other side and then fully tighten all the nuts. I even used some red loctite, since I didn't want the swaybar to fall off one day.
Here's the passenger side of the rear swaybar installed.

Here's a picture of the driver side of the rear swaybar installed.

The swaybar is installed and all the bolts have been tightened.

After that you tightened the bolts and nuts, go ahead and reinstall the rear springs. Put your wheels back on and lower the car back onto the ground. Don't forget to tighten your lug nuts and you are done! Take it for a spin.

DIY: Install 6.5" Component Speakers using OEM Bracket

DIY: Disclaimer
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I tried to use the Metra 1" speaker spacer for 6.5" speakers but I could not get the door panel to fit back on because the 1" spacer was just too thick.

Instead of using the speaker spacer, I decide to trim the door panel interior with a dremel and cut out the stock speaker from the bracket with a box cutter and reuse the old bracket for the new components. This worked perfect for me and the door panel sits flush now.

Trimmed the speaker part of the door panel to fit the new 6.5" component speaker.


Trim off the same thickness as the lip on the component speaker.


Putting the OEM foam back on the trimmed speaker part of the door panel.


Zip ties holding the new 6.5" component speaker on the OEM bracket



Final results.

DIY: Install Sound Deadening/Proofing for Honda Fit

DIY: Disclaimer

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The eDead I bought on eBay from Elemental Designs, but you can get it cheaper from the actual website Elemental Designs and use the 20% off coupon that is floating around in their forums. It was about $65 shipped after the 20% off coupon for 60 sqft and I paid $70 for 60 sqft but also got a roller. You don't really need the roller, but it is nice to have.

The neoprene and adhesive spray I purchased from The Foam Factory. Here's a directly link Neoprene Sheets, Rubber, Poker Table Foam, Neoprene Pads. I got two rolls of the 72"x42" Neoprene High Quality 1/4" Thick. I paid $51 shipped for a total of 48 sqft of neoprene and one can of adhesive spray.

The 3M All-Weather Duct Tape cost less than $6 at your local autoparts store.

To make the job easier you may want some GooGone to take off the sticky mess that holds the plastic sheet to the door inbetween the door panel and the door. You also need some rubbing (denatured) alcohol to clean up the areas before applying the sound deadening. A measure tape, box cutter, and a wooden block also are helpful.

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I put eDead V1.2 in the following areas.

- Single layer inside and outside (door panel side) of front doors.
- Single layer inside of rear doors and just covered up the holes on the outside part of the door (door panel side).
- Single layer in entire trunk plus a second layer over the areas that had OEM sound deadening.
- Single layer over rear wheel wells plus a second layer on the areas that hard OEM sound deadening.

I put a single layer of closed-cell neoprene in the following areas.

- All the door panels
- Trunk
- Rear wheel wells

I bought 60 sqft of eDead V1.2 and 48 sqft of neoprene and one can of adhesive spray. I have some eDead left just enough to finish the rear outside of the doors if I wanted to. I am guessing about 5 sqft left. I may use it to do the hatch door since it is small. I have at least 15 sqft of neoprene left and half a bottle of the adhesive spray. I also decided to buy some 3M All-Weather Duct Tape and make sure the eDead doesnt fall apart on me. lol I used up 3/4 of the roll.

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The tools and eDead I used to sound deaden the car. The only thing missing in this picture is the roll of neoprene.


How the OEM Sound Deadening looked like before I put the new sound deadening over it.


First layer of eDead. You can put down bigger sheets if you are comfortable doing so. If you have any bubbles you can poke a hole and squeeze the air out that way.


Finished up with the neoprene in the spare tire well and rear fender area.


eDeaded the inside and little on the outside of the rear door since I didn't buy enough to complete the rear doors.


Neoprened the rear door panel.


The door in stock form. I removed the plastic sound deadening and the grey goo with some GooGone and paper towels.


The door after I cleaned it with a layer of eDeaded inside the door.


Pic of the holes I cut after laying down the eDead. It was easy to do it this way.


eDead completed inside/out


Neoprened the front door panel.




The amount of eDead I put down and neoprene was pretty good in terms getting all the parts to fit back on properly. In the rear I had some trouble securing the plastic back down since it was so much thicker with the eDead and neoprene layer, but it went in with some work and fits very snuggly.

I am pretty satisifed with the noise level in the car now. If I were to do any more sound deadening, I would do the firewall and probably add more neoprene to the rear area of the wall.

DIY: Putting the Honda Fit Headlights Back Together

DIY: Disclaimer

If you need instructions on how to take apart the headlight first please go to this link.
DIY: Taking the Honda Fit Headlights Apart

If you need instructions on how to paint the headlights please go to this link.
DIY: Painting the Honda Fit Headlights

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You need to reassembled the painted plastic cover and the lens of the headlight.





Do the reverse from DIY: Painting The Honda Fit Headlights

I ordered this butyl sealant for tail lights from the Nissan dealer. You can see the part number in the picture if you want to order it. Claymore from FitFreak.net also shined some light on this butyl sealant and you can get it from the autoparts store. It's the window sealant, which is also butyl based. This is the same stuff that is use as sealant in the OEM Honda Fit headlights.


I just found out from Earthmover84 on FitFreak.net more details on the butyl sealant at the car store.
- "you can put on your DIY that 3M Windo-Weld Ribbon Sealer works to, just got some. it does contain polybutylene, and butyl. thought i might let you know. AutoZone and Advanced Autoparts both carry it. part number 051135 08612"




I dont know if you can tell, but I put a thin strip all around the crack where the butyl should go before I put the headlight back together and in the oven.




After I preheated the oven to 200C and turned it off, I assembled the headlight back together as best as I could for now and placed it inside the oven for 10 minutes. After that I took it out and just pressed it back into the crack and slipped the plastic clips back into their places. AGAIN, your oven may vary from my oven so check it in 5 minutes and see if any plastic is melting.

After all is pressed back together, put the three screws back into the back of the headlight.

Here's a pic of a completed vs incompleted headlight.

DIY: Painting the Honda Fit Headlights

DIY: Disclaimer

If you need instructions on how to take apart the headlight first please go to this link.
DIY: Taking the Honda Fit Headlights Apart

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Here's a picture so you get an idea of how the Honda Fit headlight looks when disassembled.




After the headlight is apart you need to take off the two screws that hold the painted plastic cover to the lens of the headlight. Then pop off the amber reflector and the clear running light cover. Be careful not to break the tabs on these.






I used VHT Nite-Shades spray paint to smoke the amber reflector and running light cover. I prepped them by taping up the areas I did not want any paint on and cleaned the surface that would be painted with some alcohol to make sure I got all my grease finger prints off. I then did three light coats of the smoke spray and it came out pretty good.








I used some Bond Aid spray paint that I had left over and Duplicolor Engine Enamel Semi-Gloss Black DE1635 to paint the colored plastic headlight covers. I also cleaned them with some alcohol and covered the running light area with painters tape. I sprayed a light coat of bond aid before spray painting. I did five light coats so there were no runs.










I recommend letting it dry overnight before putting it all back together.

If you need instructions on how to put the headlight back together please follow this link.
DIY: Putting the Honda Fit Headlights Back Together

DIY: Disclaimer

Disclaimer:

The following DIY at this site is provided as a GUIDE ONLY, and neither myself, nor Blogger endorse, recommend, encourage nor take any responsibility for the outcome of someone else doing the following. You follow these DIY steps at your own risk!

Also, all the DIY are performed on a 2007 Base Model Honda Fit so if you have a different year or model some things may vary.

DIY: Taking the Honda Fit Headlights Apart

DIY: Disclaimer

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Here are the steps I took to take apart my Fit's headlight. It was very easy and on my first attempt (headlight was not warm enough) I mest up the black plastic a little when I was frustrated. My second attempt things went smooth like butter!

Instructions:
1. Prepare the headlight by taking off the small dark grey nipple on the black of the headlight and also the three screws you see on the back of the headlight.
2. Preheat oven to 200F. I actually had mine at 210F and mine is a gas oven. It all depends so I would recommend anything from 200F to 225F. Once the preheating is complete, turn off the oven, and place the headlight inside the oven on top of a tray with a baking sheet.
4. Let sit for about 10 minutes. I had mine in for about 11 minutes and then took it out.
5. It should be warm enought so that you have to use a mitten for the first few minutes.
6. Pry around the back of the headlight with a screwdriver or butter knife. Both the black sealant and black plastic will stretch nicely when it is warmed properly.
7. Once you have seperated the plastic and lens you have enough leeway to use your hands and pry the two pieces apart. Take your time and you will see the black sealant stretch. I used a screwdriver to seperate it once it was stretched out and kept pulling the lens and plastic apart and repeat until the whole thing was off. There are a few clips that hold the headlight together that you need to pop out while pulling the headlight apart.
8. If you are having a hard time, put the headlight back in the oven and let the sealant soften up.

Here are a few pics so you get the idea.

Where to start prying.



Slowly prying the headlight apart.

If you need instructions on how to paint the headlights please go to this link.
DIY: Painting the Honda Fit Headlights

If you need instructions on how to put the headlights back together go to this link.
DIY: Putting the Honda Fit Headlights Back Together