Spoon Racing

To continue on our return to 'hard-core' basics, after looking at how the various versions of the Fit/Jazz fares on the dyno, I thought it would be most appropriate now to whet our appetites by featuring some 'interesting' Fit/Jazz. We start off with what is probably the most famous and well-known modified Fit in the world, the famous Spoon (Endurance) Racing Fit.

A few years ago, Spoon took enthusiasts by surprise when they developed a Race Fit and used it to participate quite successfully in endurance races in Japan. Ichishima subsequently even took this car overseas and again competed quite successfully in endurance races notably in the U.S. My first exposure to the Spoon Race Fit was as usual through HOT VERSION. Being a big fan of the Fit/Jazz, my eyes popped when Tsuchiya & Hattori reviewed the Spoon Fit and then proceeded to race it against a stock DC5, Tsuchiya's modded AE86 and a Yashio (Toyota) Super Vitz with a 160ps 1.5l Super-Charged/Intercooled engine and weighing 980kg. In the 3 laps battle, the Spoon Fit fared pretty well against the three cars, delivering very close lap times to the much more powerful super-charged Vitz and keeping up quite well with the stock DC5 and even Tsuchiya's AE86. Therefore when I was finalizing my Spoon visit during my coverage of the Tokyo Motor Show way back in 2003, one of the specific items in the itenerary that I requested for was to be allowed to check out this Spoon Race Fit up close. This then is the photo album from that visit.

Some technical details for those who might not know them. The Spoon Race Fit is based on the original 'first generation' JDM Honda Fit 1.5T. Spoon developed its Race Fit a few months before its first MMC (minor model change) for Japan in October 2003 so the car is still using drum brakes for the rear. Also at that time, the Fit 1.5T comes with only a CVT-7 gearbox option.

Stock, the Fit 1.5T introduced the L15A VTEC which by now should be quite well known. It is 1.5l 16V SOHC VTEC in configuration, generating a max power of 110ps at 5,800rpm (JDM version) and red-lining at around 6300rpm. As noted, the car comes with only the MMT-S Multimatic gearbox (known as the CVT-7 outside of Japan) and also introduced the then new steering wheel actuated manual sequential shift option. The latest versions now comes with a rear disc brake option, no doubt catering for the preference enthusiasts has for full front & rear disc brakes as well as a 5MT gearbox option.

Notable features that Spoon added to the Fit besides the obvious things like body stripping, roll-cage and racing bucket seats included swapping the Multimatic for a 5-peed manual gearbox which is of course equipped with an LSD. The rear drum are replaced with ventilated types (with cooling fins). I think it is important to note that with this Racing Fit, Spoon proved that using drums for the rear works plenty well. Good enough for 24 hours endurance racing and so certainly good enough for our street use, at least for the level of performance the Fit/Jazz VTEC is capable of ! Cooling ducts are added for the front brakes. Brake calipers are the stock 1-pot items but using Spoon brake pads. Spoon uses Motul lubricants in this Racing Fit - Motul 300V for engine oil, Motul Comp 75W-90 for gearbox oil and Motul Dot-4 brake fluid (the stock ABS system was retained). Wheels are 195/50R15 95V and tyres used are Yokohama Advan A048s. This race car weighs only 800kg compared to the stock car's ~1000kg. Although HOT VERSION did not state the engine power, the now famous review by BEST MOTORing INTERNATIONAL's Taro Koki quoted Ichishima as saying he's managed to squeeze 125ps from the engine (i.e. up 15ps or ~14%) and that is in August 2003 so no doubt the car is quite certainly a lot more powerful now.

As with our standard feature car articles, each of the icon below can be clicked on to get the larger VGA 72dpi photo. Enjoy ! Check back often for more feature Fit/Jazzes. The next one should be a nice surprise !

The Spoon Fit beside its Motul rack.

Instead of stripping a stock unit, Spoon starts with the bare chassis !

The L15A engine is modified for a balance of power and reliability for endurance racing. An oil catch tank is fitted as with all endurance racing cars.

The brake hoses are insulated.

Motul Stickers on the engine bay.

The Spoon Fit do not feature the compressed air operated four-point jack system but its roll-cage seems like quite a fancy design.

The interior cabin features water temp and oil pressure guages and an NGK "AF-Boost" electronic unit (I wonder what it does). The fire extinguisher is seen standing upright but when mounted during a race actually lies on its side.

The stock front-disc/rear-drum system is retained. The rear drum is ventilated to enhance brake cooling while the front also has a cooling duct. The rear offset is +45 degrees !