| nahornb |
| Has anyone ever put on any taller rubber than standard and with what effect.I would like to gain 1 " ground clearance from the std @ 28.9 ". Can the tranny take it or how about turning and clearing the wheel wells ? Any comments ? What fits ? Thanks. |
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| vicpai |
quote:
Originally posted by nahornb
Has anyone ever put on any taller rubber than standard and with what effect.I would like to gain 1 " ground clearance from the std @ 28.9 ". Can the tranny take it or how about turning and clearing the wheel wells ? Any comments ? What fits ? Thanks.
......against installing bigger tires on your MDX to gain additional ground clearance. This could seriously affect the electronic systems such as VSA, Traction Control and possibly the Tranny (which in itself has not proved to be very "robust"). Additionally, after talking to a few friends, one of whom took his MDX off road, I'm lead to believe that the suspension is rather fragile, which would not make me inclined to take it any place where the additional ground clearance becomes a necessity, unless of course, you're needing it to go through deep snow (I notice you live in Winnipeg). Honda did a real bad job in the design of the undercarriage of the MDX (Many parts so vulnerably close to the ground) making it practically useless for any kind of off-roading, with exception of VERY LIGHT off-road duty (more like bad/unpaved roads).
FYI, I was going to do the very same thing and spent a lot of time researching various tire sizes etc., but, later, completely decided against it for the above mentioned reasons! |
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| nahornb |
| Thanks a lot; You would not believe the logging trail of 3 miles I use to get to my remote cabin 50 miles from nowhere. It forages a stream and muskeg and goes over boulders @ 5 mph for 20 minutes, I guess I should be very careful. My eXPLORER SPORT WAS MUCH BETTER. I just got the X and it bottomed 3 times going in. No tranfer case either to crawl along. Maybe a picture would be good? Thanks. |
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| shootist |
quote:
Originally posted by nahornb
I just got the X and it bottomed 3 times going in. No tranfer case either to crawl along.
The MDX doesn't have skid plates. That's one of the reasons that Acura calls it "medium duty" off-road. Going over boulders is not "medium duty". Raising it an inch won't do anything to protect the oil pan, tranny case, electronic rear end, or gas tank. |
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| DEZRVIT |
quote:
Originally posted by shootist
The MDX doesn't have skid plates. That's one of the reasons that Acura calls it "medium duty" off-road. Going over boulders is not "medium duty". Raising it an inch won't do anything to protect the oil pan, tranny case, electronic rear end, or gas tank.
Exactly! I can't imagine if knowing the use of the MDX involved such strenuous off roading, why it would be the SUV of choice? For the most part, myself included, I think the most off roading the MDX sees is, off the road and into the garage. |
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| KingBmdxFLIP22 |
| Protect it with an ugly front mask :D |
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| sideburns |
| I put on Michelin m/s LTX (245/65R17) with aftermarket 7.5 inch rims. I did a lot of research - all Acura service departments were against it ("it will mess up all the wheel drive", "it will make ABS inoperable", "it will void the warranty"). None of this happened. It works great - no clearance problems, everything else works. The Tire Rack was very helpful. They recommended the wheel and tire combination. If they recommend, they back it up with a money back guarantee. I even got ahold, thru email, of an Acura engineer who state that a bigger size tire "should" not cause any problems unless you went too big and then the problem should only be with the torque converter in trans(He didn't say what was too big). Of course the speedometer will be off some. This tire raised my vehicle about an inch. That could be enough to clear some rocks that you would normally hit and rip your CAT to shreads. I'm even thinking of trying a 255/65/17 on my next set, but I'm going to do more research before I spend my $. |
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| nahornb |
| Thanks a lot for good info. Will those tires fit on the std. rim ? What gas mileage do you get highway? What rpm @60 mph? Thanks agaain. I know I am pushing the x's envelpoe in this area. |
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| sideburns |
NAHORNb:
You can get a lot of info going to www.tirerack.com. Michelin recommends a minimum of 7" rim width for a 245/65/17. The stock 6.5" would probably work but is not ideal. My RPM at 60 mph is 1500 in 5th overdrive, at 80 mph (my usual Freeway speed!!) it's 2200 rpm. Gas mileage varies (I have a heavy foot): City - 15-17; Highway - 22-24+ (the + is if I'm crusing at 65 which is almost never); Combination - 18-21. I've also done modifications which help gas mileage and power(close to 20 horsepower): CAT-back exhaust system with straight through muffler, modified intake + K&N filter. Good luck! |
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| nahornb |
| THANKS FOR THE INFO , SIDEBURNS. wHAT MAKE OF EXHAUST ARE YOU USING. Did it void the warrantee? Tell me about the sound. Thanks again. I am seriously thinking this one over. |
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| sideburns |
| The exhaust system is a custom design by a muffler shop that does that kind of work (I have yet to see a company (like Borla) that has an aftermarket CAT back system for the MDX). I went from 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" Aluminized pipe from CAT to muffler. Stock system uses some sort of stainless steel (magnet still sticks to metal) but need special bending equipment which most muffler shops don't have. The Aluminized pipe works well and looks good. The muffler is by Sebring (www.sebringtuning.com). It is polished stainless steel (the real thing) with dual 3" outlets. It is a straight through design. When first install I left the resonator off. It was fairly loud but had a "tinny" sound which I didn't like. My wife drives the MDX more than I do and she would start complaining. I put the resonator back on and that quieted it right down. It now has a deeper, mello sound. My wife hasn't complained once. The performance improved maybe 3-5 horsepower but with out the resonator it was more like 10 (could feel in "seat-of-the pants) if you can take increased sound. Most good muffler shops could do the same thing. Cost: Sebring muffler: $200 (most good polished stainless steel mufflers cost about the same); Labor and pipe: about $150 |
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| EXCALIBUR |
sideburns,
Just for trivia sake...did you realize the unit under the MDX that we think of as the "resonator" is actually the "muffler?" The unit at the rear of the MDX with the dual outllets that we think of as the "muffler" is actually the "resonator." Go figure. Anyway, I am glad you like your Sebring exhaust. If I understand your post, when you reinstalled the "resonator" in your MDX, are you referring to the unit under the MDX that is really called the "muffler." :confused: |
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| sideburns |
| This looks like a problem of "semantics". In reality a muffler and resonator are one and the same - their job is to quiet the exhaust. I have usually always labeled the last device on a car's exhaust a muffler - especially one as large as the one used on the MDX. A muffler usually has some kind of baffling material(fiber glass, plates) and is the larger of the two. The factory Acura service manual labels this device as a "muffler". The long, round device near the center of the exhaust system could also be labeled a "muffler", but it's design is straight through with small holes running it's length. Many people might call this a "resonator". I've seen similar devices on the end of an exhaust system that I would call a resonator but again they are much shorter, smaller and have a straight through design. Maybe we could get a poll going on how other people describe these two "hunks" of metal!!! |
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