A different kind of Honda..

[accordlx]

I thought I would stop by and post a couple of updated pics of my Honda Ridgeline truck. For those of you who don't know me, I used to be a moderator here a couple of years ago. I still have my Accord which is for sale. I still stop by here about once a week to check out what is going on over here.

Anyways, here are some pics of the truck and some of the mods I have done.

Thanks

Chris

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/100_0020.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Misc/1028061143.jpg
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/100_0023-1.jpg

[Cheeseburger]

looks really nice! if i were to get a truck i would get a Ridgeline truck, but how has it been a reliable truck so far? and do u have any engine pics?

[ZackieDarko]

i hear those have a V-TEC V8

[RamThis]

Nice!!! I've liked those trucks since I first saw them. I really like yours, the color is great. I'd also love to see an engine shot and know some of it's specs!

[SQ is the SQUAD]

i def would of got an avalanche over that

[russiankid]

i def would of got an avalanche over that
And have a 5.1L V8 that gets the worst MPG?

[hotdoghogie]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg

[MessyHonda]

^^^ :wtf:.....anyways i like the truck...at least you keeped it honda

[accordlx]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg

I appreciate the nice comments. Your's though is an uninformed opinion. I did a lot of research before I bought the truck and it came out that the Ridgeline is the best suited truck for me and most likely for about 90% of the non commercial truck buyers in the country.

Most people who buy trucks and SUV's never have their tires touch the grass let alone go offroad. The Ridgeline will handle all but the most brutal off road duties except rock crawling but a lot of other trucks can't do that either. If you need visual proof that the Ridgeline can go offroad, I suggest you watch this video made by TOV with Gary Flint who is the chief designer of the Ridgeline. (After you go to the webpage, right click and save target as on the video format of your choice for quickest viewing.)

http://www.vtec.net/articles/view-article?article_id=325157&page_number=1

Your statement that big Hondas all get bad gas mileage is WAAYYYY off the mark. I get about 24 mpg on the highway with my Ridgeline which is actually 3 mpg MORE than it is rated for. This is higher than the Avalanche, the F150, the Tacoma, and the Colorado. No the RL will not run on E85 but who cares, the RL's emissions are actually LOWER on 87 octane gas than the Avalanche running on Mazola. BTW - The Avalanche only gets 15 mpg on the highway running on E85. (The Ridgeline is ULEV -2 rated which means it qualifies as a ultra low emmission vehicle.) BTW, an Odyessy is rated at 26 mpg on the highway which is only 3 mpg less than your Accord which is not too shabby for a vehicle of it's size and gets better mileage than my Nissan Quest minivan which is actually a smaller minivan.

I find that the Ridgeline's 255 hp 24v VTEC V6 engine has more than enough horsepower to keep up with or spank most other trucks from a stoplight including a bunch of V8 trucks.

Most people think that the Ridgeline is a glorified Odyessy or a cut down Pilot but in fact shares less than 5% content with the Odyessy or the Pilot.

The Ridgeline has a 5000 lb towing capacity and a 1550 lb cargo capacity. As a comparison, the Avalanche has a 1330 payload capacity and the Tacoma has a 1315 lb payload capacity. BTW the standard Tacoma has a standard 3500 lb towing capacity which is a lot less than most assume.

The Ridgeline is also the best handling truck out there. Mine rides like a Cadillac because of it's 4 wheel independent suspension. It's also 20 times stiffer than it's nearest competitor because of it's unibody on chassis construction. Did I mention that it's slalom times are faster than every stock Accord up until 2000? If that's not handling, I don't know what is for a truck.

Safety wise, the Ridgeline may be the safest truck out there. In base trim it comes with 6 air bags, tire pressure monitoring, vehicle stability assist, 4 wheel dual channel ABS with 4 wheel dual piston caliper disc brakes, and locking diffs up to 18 mph. All Ridgelines come with 4wd STANDARD, not as an option and the 4wd cannot be disengaged manually. The truck switches to front wheel drive only (you read that correctly) after 18 mph to enhance gas mileage but will switch right back to 4wd at any speed in less than a second at any speed if the onboard computers sense that either front wheel looses traction.

The Ridgeline scored 5 stars in front, side impact testing and rollover testing. No other truck has ever scored this high in all 3 areas.

The Ridgeline has to be the best handling vehicle in the snow that I have ever driven which includes Range Rovers and Hummers. The biggest problem with driving one in the snow is that it handles too well and every other vehicle out there gets in your way. A Ridgeline handles better and has better traction on snow than a lot of trucks do in the rain. Check out the end of the TOV video I posted and check out the part where they are going over the moguls with the truck and you'll understand what I am talking about.

The Ridgeline is far from being a POS. It is a smart man's truck. It has tons of features that other manufacturers haven't even thought of. All Ridgelines come with a standard 9 cubic foot truck that is under the bed. It has a removable drain plug. I have filled mine up and used it as a cooler for tailgating. It also has a dual action tailgate. This feature allows you to reach down into the trunk without having to climb up in the bed. No other truck has this feature. Here are a couple of pics for those who have not seen this before.

Tailgate open in the conventional way
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Misc/down.jpg

Tailgate open like a door
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Misc/side.jpg

The bed may be short but you can put a 300 lb static load on the tailgate which means that you can haul ANY quad made in the bed with the tailgate down and put the rear tires right on the tailgate. You cannot do that with any other short bed truck such as the Hummer H2 pickup or the Ford Sport Trac. That 300 lb static load rating equates to a 2700 lb dynamic load rating which means that you can back up 2 Ridgelines back to back and put a 3rd Ridgeline with a 400 lb quad in the bed on the tailgates of the first 2 and they will not bend. This is also the first truck that I have ever owned that you can put a full sheet of plywood BETWEEN the tire wells, not ON the tire wells. The Ridgeline does not have a midgate like the Avalanche but I would never personally load up 1000 lbs of plywood in an Avalanche bed even with the midgate in place. There have been reported cases of people having accidents in Avalanches that are overloaded and having the midgates fail. They don't get so much as mangled by the accident itself as the load in the bed coming up and crushing them.

Did I mention that the Ridgeline is a full featured truck? Mine has automatic climate control, a moonroof, full leather, heated seats, power everything including lumbar support, 6 disc cd changer, and factory XM radio.

As a side note, the Ridgeline is more of an American made truck than many of the trucks out there which are considered to be "American made." The Ridgeline has 75% domestic content according to the AALA. (the AALA is the American made labeling act.) This means that the Ridgeline has more domestic content than the Chevy Avalanche (62%), the Lincoln Navigator (30%), the Dodge Ram (26%) and the Jeep Cherokee. (27%)

I think that you will agree that your big sweeping uneducated statement may be a little off the mark after a little research. I'm not trying to flame anyone, just educate.

PS - Here is a picture of the trunk for those of you who haven't seen it. The spare tire is in the trunk, not under the truck like all other trucks. The 9 cu ft size of the trunk is roughly the size of your Accord's trunk. The trunk 9 foot cubic size DOES NOT include the area used by the spare which incidentally slides out on a little shelf for easy access. So that you can understand how big the trunk is, the spare in the picture is a full size spare which is a 265/65/17. The trunk locks with the rest of the doors with the key fob and is totally waterproof with the lid shut. The bed is made of a composite material which will not bend or rust and is stronger than steel of the same guage.
http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Jacking/100_0033.jpg

[speedpenguin]

Damn! :Owned:

I like your truck. I don't think I'll ever need a big truck like that but if I ever do it will have to be a Ridgeline.

[ChaseR]

that certainly is a nice truck man, Sometimes they look terrible but I really like yours, What part of Ohio you in? I will be there in a few weeks in my Si

[guaynabo89]

I have filled mine up and used it as a cooler for tailgating.

That sounds great!

how well did it turn out since the spare sits above the well and how much food/drinks did you fit in there? You get yourself one of those grills you mount in the tow hitch youd be a force to be reckoned with! :lol:

Those riglines are definately innovative and look like a real nice truck yo have.
Yours looks better since it has the push bar up front gives it a more gressive look. in stock form they look kind of plain, but yours looks nicer.


Whats the retail on those things by the way?

[AccordEpicenter]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg

Sooooo pwn3d. Ive driven the ridgeline and was very pleasantly surprised, it drives very much like an accord, same with the odyssey. The only thing i didnt like about the ridgeline was that the bed seemed kinda short on it, is it just me?

[MessyHonda]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg


lol jims odyssey van is faster than most of our cars. they are 5th gen accords frame with a mini van body. the new ones can pull 16s or even 15s...

[accordlx]

lol jims odyssey van is faster than most of our cars. they are 5th gen accords frame with a mini van body. the new ones can pull 16s or even 15s...

The Ridgeline is about a second quicker from 0-60 than what I found as the published spec for a 1986 Accord LX. I couldn't seem to locate my picture of the ice and drinks in the trunk but here is a pic of a friend's truck filled with ice and bottled water. Water does get up around the spare if you pack it like this but it just drains back into the main trunk. No biggie.

http://i101.photobucket.com/albums/m69/HondaRidgeline/Misc/IMG_4477.jpg

A couple of you guys asked for an engine pic. I pulled this one off of the web. It looks exactly like mine so it really doesn't matter. I don't have any engine mods. If you look in the bottom right hand corner of the pic by the hood latch you will see that the Ridgeline comes with a factory cold air intake. The 3.5 liter 24v V6 is currently the only engine available for the Ridgeline. There are rumors of a 3.7 liter V6 Diesel that will have about 350 hp for the 2009 model year. I have also heard rumors of a V8 but don't have any information on it. The engine compartment looks deceptively packed in that picture. I assure you that there is plenty of room for 2 more cylinders under there. There will also a Comptech supercharger available for the Ridgeline in the near future. The second picture is a Ridgeline motor with the Comptech supercharger.

http://www.familycar.com/RoadTests/HondaRidgeline/Images/Engine.jpg

http://www.autocarparts.com/imagemagic.php?img=0d3K1cvcot7V0dfJ1djbn6Kgnsinmp7 T3s0%

[reanimator420]

wow, i bet it would make some great power with that.

[MessyHonda]

wow good info...the lx-i are a sec faster than the carb models

[RamThis]

LMAO Such ownage!!!!

Very informative post!!! I did not like the look of the Avalanche from the get go, too damn much plastic, but Honda seems to have taken a similar body profile, clean it up, and make it look alot better. As far as towing and such, it's not made for that really, though the published numbers are respectable. I'm personally not worried about towing with one, as I have two big Ram's to do my hauling. The thing I was looking at these for were more for the wife. She likes a truck, but wants a four door car due to us having one 2 year old girl, and a baby on the way next summer. The integra GSR is a 2 door, and both rams are 2 door. The only 4 door we have is the 3G, and it's not up to date safety wise so I really dont like the idea of both my kids and my wife all loaded into it if they ever got into an accident. So, SOMETHING new or new-er will be in my driveway next summer, and the Ridgeline is on my list to look at, along with a Toyota 4-Runner SR5.

I want your truck......... :naughty:

[ChaseR]

The only 4 door we have is the 3G, and it's not up to date safety wise so I really dont like the idea of both my kids and my wife all loaded into it if they ever got into an accident. So, SOMETHING new or new-er will be in my driveway next summer, and the Ridgeline is on my list to look at, along with a Toyota 4-Runner SR5.
I want your truck......... :naughty:

Look into the new 4 door Civic's, Get the Si If you can afford it.

[RamThis]

I'd prefer the wife n kids to be in a larger vehicle, SUV type, just for safety sake. At least that way in the event of a bad accident, they have at least about equal mass, since everyone knows 90% of wrecks are caused by soccer moms on their cell phones in their suburbans or by asians. The other 10% is caused by big shot assholes typing on their blackberry. ;)

[Civic Accord Honda]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg:thumbdn: OMFG JAVAS Going To KILLL YOU for talking about the odyssey:gun:...............
and the igeline is nice but honda needs to make a full size truck

[2drSE-i]

i have heard that honda is working on a vtec v8 for the ridgeline...but who really knows.

[ilikevtecs]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg
i can't believe how much noob sauce this kid is!!!!!

[speedpenguin]

everyone knows 90% of wrecks are caused by soccer moms on their cell phones in their suburbans or by asians.

Dude WTF?

[MessyHonda]

Dude WTF?


lol i didnt read that part...but yeah...my friend is asian and she cant drive...but i still dont stereotype ppl.....i mean thier is nothing worse than my asian friend talking on her cellphone driving a stick shift civic.....every time you hit the stop light you just pray to god since you are still alive...lol

[EricW]

Nice truck. I would probably get a ridgeline if i was looking for a truck, although they are a little more expensive than most other trucks.

[HostileJava]

ok im a big sucker for hondas but when it comes to the ridgeline... F*** that POS truck... honda and trucks dont mix.... and the odyssey is a pos too... i love everything else... honda make the worst big cars and they get such bad mpg


:thumbdn: OMFG JAVAS Going To KILLL YOU for talking about the odyssey:gun:...............
and the igeline is nice but honda needs to make a full size truck

And it will be a slow and painful death. I know I get about the same mileage out of my ody's that I did with my 3g's and In stock form every generation ody out there can take a stock or slightly modded 3g. Also the suspension, and chassis for that matter, in my Odyssey's are both based on the 5th gen accords. :Owned:

[accordlx]

Nice truck. I would probably get a ridgeline if i was looking for a truck, although they are a little more expensive than most other trucks.

The price is a matter of perspective. I paid right at $30k for mine with sunroof/moonroof and XM as the only options. The sticker was right at $33K. For that price, I got a lot of stuff standard that are options on other trucks and some features that aren't even offered by the competition. I also got Honda piece of mind in regards to reliability, safety features for my family and resale value. For a similarly optioned out Avalanche which was my second choice, I was looking right in the $38K range. The Avalanche would have only had a resale value of about half after 4 years.

I really don't think that the Ridgeline was a bad choice given what I got.

[89l_x_i]

Damn man who needs a fucking brochure of the ridgeline when you go this thread lol Anyways you sure did your homework which is kind of rare most people just see a car, like it and they end up buying it. I like the ridgeline and wouldnt mind having one myself but even thought im in texas, i have no use for a truck. Not only that but a 30k truck is a bit off my budget well actually way of my budget lol my next new honda will atcually go for about half of that lol.

[SteveDX89]

Haha, hotdog hasn't even posted back. He got pwn3d hardcore style. I think Ridgelines are awesome. I wish I could afford to own one.

[1320boy]

I really want one.....

But.




I wanna alota things>>>:rolleyes: :tongue: :(

[MessyHonda]

I really want one.....
But.
I wanna alota things>>>:rolleyes: :tongue: :(


soo true....also money limits ppl.....who can say you got vtec on a truck....lol

[A20A1]

Still have pics of your accord, I know you put a lot of work into it... at least I think you did. :D

[86nlife2go]

All I gotta say to this is.....Sweet! I think the ridgeline is one of the coolest trucks out there right now...heck, I drive a 76 chevy which gets about...oh, 9 mpg, lol....your truck has pure sex written all over it!

[2oodoor]

good thread , I never really considered the Ridgeline figuring it was out of my reach budgetwise. They look a lot better up close than far off, is all I can say. I finally started liking the Element *(Ridgelines baby bubba) when they did away with the grey black fenders and started using painted panels. I still have not got used to the front facia design. They appear to be very versitale, but with all that, I don't see the mileage matching up to as much truck as I have in my 2004 F-150, it is a lot of truck and still gets 18-22 mpg with plenty of room for everybody.

[chino4u]

nice truck man...