@@pizzamon795 I have the same engine and trans and I don't even have snow tires, just high rated all season tires, but the 4 wheel drive mode that is on the 04 MDX has gotten me out of every situation in the snow. I don't have a lift either and I've driven through 2.5 feet of snow no problem. At one point I turned into a shuttle for my job because even the coworkers with trucks couldn't make it to work so I ferries 26 people to and from work for all 3 shifts for 3 days and nights straight. I got a fatty paycheck and fell in love with the car. Our family wanted to sell it but I managed to talk them out of it. I couldn't allow it to happen
Yea I live in Connecticut we just had a snow storm and the thing is a strait MONSTER in the snow. I’m so glad I seen your video cuz it gave me the confidence to go threw some deep snow. And I wanted to say I love the exhaust system you put on the mdx
Thank you. The mdx is such a underrated vehicle. Because its a premium priced luxury vehicle, it doesn't get the recognition it deserves for its off-road capability. For a luxury suv with 3rd row seats it exceeds expectations in off road capability. There are videos showing the mdx climb a iced over incline with ease while competitor suvs of the same size struggle with traction and momentum. The mdx really sales itself when you put it in a sketchy situation. If im ever in a sketchy situation with my family in the vehicle I wouldn't want to be driving anything else.
Congrats on yal new Acura. Im glad to have been able to demonstrate what the 1st gen Acura MDX can do on highway tires with no lift kit and no snorkel. The Honda 4wd system in these is just so intelligent and advanced for its time to the point that I didn't even have the differential locked for most of this video. I live in FL so i don't get to test it in snow but every snow test video and review seems to show the 1st gen mdx exceeds expectations in capability. I've even seen a video of a 1st gen mdx parked in 2 to 3 feet of snow build up and start right up and bulldoze its way out of the parking spot with ease. 1st gen mdx seems to be very underrated and not many people know about them. Machine on the outside, comfort and luxury on the inside with the space to transport 7 passengers while having high crash safety rating and Honda engine reliability with Acura upgraded performance. There is a Facebook group you can join to learn more called "1st gen Acura MDX owners and enthusiasts"
Buying an 04 tomorrow large in part to this video opening my eyes to the capabilities thanks to your video and now I have tire size questions and wheel spacer and lift questions
Hey friend. ALEXA is running stock suspension no lift, and no wheel spacers. The wheels are 94-01 mustang saleen reps. They are staggered 18x9 in front and 18x10 in rear so they naturally poke out with no spacers. Front tires are staggered 265/60r18 and rear tires are 285/60r18 and the fronts can rub on the plastic in full turn.
@Greg Painter as for the 265/70r17 idk if they will rub. I don't have any personal experience with that tire size. There is a Facebook group called "1st gen mdx owners and enthusiasts " and im sure some of the members have ran that tire size and they could give you perspective. Im in the group as well so feel free to mention or tag me or ALEXA if you post.
My 05 mdx touring has almost 400,000 miles and it still runs like a champ and go's anyplace I ask it in its capabilities. Even in a couple places beyond its capabilities. Very sketchy but made it. It's a beast for being a very nice vehicle. My only complaints have nothing to do with its capabilities.
I love to see it I’m pushing 200000 in about 3 months. Been a month without an oil cap cause the aftermarket’s pop off if not screwed to the T and all the way
@GLICIOUS21 np. Been following you in the fb group and been seeing some of the cool stuff uve added to ur 1st gen. Glad to see it get a lil dirty lol. Keep the videos coming
Please check the choice of choosing a tyre with an aspect ratio of 60. If the OEM tyre specification is: 235/65/R17 then the new tyre which is 285/60/R18 may just not be the preferred best because the %difference between their outer diameters is greater than 3%.I will suggest you use 285/50/R18
Watching on my Xbox had to hit the app to comment. I’m so happy right now. I’ve got Generals grabber hts60’ on my 03. Stock wheel size. What’s your fitment with the 18? No extra equipment?
Fitment is decent for daily driving. Does rub a little in front during tight turns but thats because of extra large tire size not because of 18s. My tires in front are 265/60r18 and 285/60r18 rear very wide meaty tire size and very tall height tire size.
@@GLICIOUS21 im at 16mpg all around right now. I would have to let some lead off the door if I go w/ 18s. I’m in Ohio cars only been here about 5 years. Originally from Oklahoma so the paint and underneath is fantastic
Any issues with the 4wd system where you get the VTM4 light? That’s the only light that’s been annoying the shit out of my MDX, pushing 230k miles owned it for about 5 years now. Only problems I get with it are electrical but runs like a beast
Nope my 4WD works flawless. I only had an issue with it 3 times. One time was when one of my abs wheel speed sensors were bad, one time is when the VTM-4 fluid was old and needed to be changed and another time was when the differential oil temperature sensor went bad. I bought the new sensor from acura for like $35 and it was easy to replace. Fixed the 4WD immediately and haven't had an issue since.
@RACKO1 yw. Feel free to hmu on any social media platform for questions or for help. Im very active on FB. Im a member of the fb group called "1st gen acura mdx owners and enthusiasts" and I have posted tons of info there.
Hello. My vehicle is an Acura MDX and it is not lifted. No lift. The front tire size is 265/60r18 and rear is 285/60r18. I hope that answered your questions friend.
I am not familiar with the capability of the 3rd gen mdx so I can't vouch for its capability. But if you are going to try it, considering it may possibly have a lower center of gravity and therefore less clearance, I personally would get larger wheels and taller diameter tires. In addition I would also temporarily disconnect the main air intake vacuum duct hose from the throttle body and let the engine suck direct from the throttle body. This will protect your engine from damage from sucking in deep water if you cross deep water like I did. As long as the water is not deep enough to reach your side mirrors it most likely wont reach high enough to get into the throttle body and hydrolock your engine. The proper way to protect your engine would be a "off-road snorkel intake" if you can afford one. But moving your main intake duct off of your throttle body is a temporary hack that works too. You can clamp a bath rag or small dish cloth over the throttle body as a temporary air filter and it will do the job of a air filter temporarily as you drive through around 3 feet deep water with your intake off.
@jd646 Alexa has 361k miles on her. At this point before ALexa arrived at this extreme off-road terrain, her front shocks were original and already beyond worn out but. But they weren't showing obvious signs. But this extreme terrain trail was several miles long and made to endure at low speeds so ALexa and the jeeps endured this terrain for 5 hours that day before we all came out the other side. By that time ALexas front shocks did start revealing obvious signs of wear. They begin to squeek when they compress. Normal road conditions won't push worn out parts to the point of instant death as severely so had ALexa not tackled that nightmare terrain for 6 hours the shocks would probably not ever squeak for another 30k miles. I am saving to replace the shock and coil spring together as one unit which cost alot more. ALexa exceeded expectations on that trail. We passed several abandoned american trucks who did not make it to the end. Even lost 1 of the jeeps and had to pull 2 jeeps out meanwhile ALexa flexed on the entire course and did not get stuck once. A 3 row 7 seater luxury suv with 360k miles stock suspension and highway season tires coming out the other side of a 6 hour extreme terrain beating trail covered in mud and twigs with just some squeaky front shocks surrounded by the jeeps that made it through on 35 inch tires and 4inch lift kits with snorkels showed me how underrated the 1st gen mdx was. The clean-up was extreme too which makes me not want to return to that trail. The radiator fins, condenser fins and transmission cooler fins were all clogged with twigs front both the outside front and the backside inside engine bay. Wading in muddy water up to the upper grille washed the grease out of the old high mileage drive belt tensioner and introduced dirt grains and sand into the bearings which sped up signs of high mileage wear. Also washed the grease out of my old high mileage tie-rods. So I would say im glad I did it with very worn out parts because had I replaced these parts before the trail I would have been contaminating these brand new parts and speed up the wear and tear cycle.
@@GLICIOUS21 wow thanks for the reply. I have an 04 MDX with 209k on the odometer. I had to replace the front and rear shocks because they were worn out. The rear are KYB and front I used Monroe, but I don't like the Monroe shocks I don't think they're that good. Was wondering about getting custom made shocks from and off-road shop... As far as myself and going off-road I take mine on dirt trails but nothing crazy. I love your build though it's amazing the tires are 🔥
A transmission rebuild on these are way cheaper than buying another vehicle and then it'll drive like new for another 200k miles unless you change the transmission fluid on time. Changing the transmission fluid on time you'll get 500k miles or more out of these or any Honda.
Well I keep my tires inflated to 50 psi so when I turn sharp like a u-turn my front tires rub on the plastic splash guard liners inside of my wheel wells. If I take that off they wouldn't rub anything else.
I get you saying "not really anything impressive on those trails" because the word "impressive" is very subjective depending on who you ask. One person might need to see my stock Acura climb boulders or power up a 90⁰ incline just to agree that it is impressive. But thats just you and you're one person. I don't mind one negative opinion. Reading through many of the comments at least 95% of people who watch this video are impressed because they see a stock acura with 350k miles on it on standard highway road tires with no lift kit doing things that you'd only see in a jeep advertisement. But this is a stock Acura with 7 seats and a DVD player. It's also daily driven to take the kids to and from school and myself to a from work and my whole family to do grocery shopping and then to Disney world. Which are the only things the people watching including the jeep people in the video thought the Acura was good for. The jeep people in the video were so doubtful that they had me pre-install the recovery rope before we entered the first really deep muddy water xing. When the Acura skated through that they were impressed and relieved that the Acura wasn't going to be the anchor on the trail that they thought it would. For hours through mud, wet clay, loose sand, very uneven Earth and 3 feet deep water crossings. To your comment that "most stock vehicles can do this in 2wd", there is a video of the white gladiator camera jeep in front of me pulling the red jeep out who got stuck behind me and also a jeep liberty from another group ahead of us who got stuck twice. But I can see you not being there and not seeing the entire trail saying this is not impressive.