I'm staying in the bounds of your argument. The truth is the fruit of the Spirit springs forth in the heart of a person the moment they believe and are justified. Don't limit 'works' to active outward doings. Obedience to God is just as much what you DON'T do as it is what you do. The thief on the cross had no active works but he had the works of the Spirit at work in him nonetheless. For example, he did not curse Jesus like the other thief did. Even his short spiritual life on the cross proved the salvation that he possessed, while the other thief's life on the cross showed he did not.
The thief actually did curse Jesus before he was converted...but I know that this is a moot point; yet I thought I would make the correction for the sake of being factual.
The fruit of the Spirit is not the same thing as works done in order to save one's self.
For one thing, the fruit of the Spirit is the result of having the Spirit; and you cannot have the Spirit except as the result of salvation.
Therefore, since the fruit of the Spirit comes as the result of and after salvation, it does not come before salvation and is not the catalyst for salvation.
I do know and understand that in Titus 3:14, works and fruit are mentioned as being almost synonymous.
But I still think that there is a difference between the two.
For one thing, fruit is something that hangs off of you;
While works are something that you put your hands to.
We definitely do good works because of the fruit of the Spirit in our lives.
For the fruit of the Spirit is love (Galatians 5:22-23); and love is said to be a practical thing in 1 John 3:17-18.