Off-Road Testing of a 4WD Honda Pilot  

I think that the latest generation has tried to recapture this look. It is a good look.

I was impressed too. The vehicle was not working that hard to do any of those tests.

I was surprised how well it did. I nor my vehicle are going to become a rock crawler, but I saw a nice article on what you really need to get into the back country. After the testing, I was convinced the article was correct.

Thanks Magshare! I am pretty conservative in my view towards the capabilities of the Pilot. However, when I took it out in Mills Canyon it really performed well getting in and out of the canyon and around the canyon. At the beginning of the video, you can see the locker get me out of trouble. Exploring Mills Canyon: Episode Two #millscanyon #kiowanationalgrasslands #hondapilot ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-SOdgwx6DSPw.html

Thanks !

Thanks! It is rather humorous to hear some maniacally talk about the super powers of their vehicle. I do have another video coming about off roading in the Land between the Lakes. Its capability actually did surprise me when traction control is off and the locker is engaged. It worked well.

Thanks. Power lines can be hard to see with a drone. Gotta stay alert. I am still on my first set of propellers at 2 years.

When I had a bad TPMS sensor my VSA would still disengage. What fuse did you have to pull? Contemplating the VTM vs VSA…. how do the rear wheels stay locked if traction control were to brake a wheel. I have to admit that I never did attempt to disengage the VSA while on the sand because I really didn’t want it spinning. I plan to go back. I will try it.

@@ericscamping my 1st gen can disengage while aired down so I am not 100% sure you will need to. I would practice to be sure.

Surprised me too!

Thanks. I stayed with the stock size tires. If you remember physics, the radius of a tire is the lever arm for torque. If you increase the lever arm you reduce the amount of torque your motor and transmission can put on the ground. I kept the stock size tires to compensate for the fact the the Pilots do not have a low range.

Thanks for the compliment. I am partial to the Faulken Wild Peak AT3. They make some road noise, but the handling is awesome.

I believe I have 158K on mine. It also runs like new. I ran a Carfax report on it and couldn’t find any evidence that the timing belt had been done so I had that done when I got it. That’s the only thing I’ve had to do.

I’m pretty happy with how I have it right now. I have a 2 inch lift from ready lift, a skid plate from Nola designs, because I don’t want to raise it anymore, and the wild peak tires for traction. It’s never going to be a rock crawler because it doesn’t have a low gear, and I have had some pretty good success on some Moderat trails. The best part is it will get me out far enough to find quiet. I’m not surprised about your trip pulling a trailer that far. It seems like a pretty hearty format.

@@ericscamping those were 2 different experiences, 1 with trailer, 1 crammed full of people. Probably could still do both tho. Are you in the Nola area?

@@coryoryschultz Should read “No Lo” Designs skid plate. LOL.

I think it is more capable. @no-lodesigns4754 has a review of their low gearing.

Low Profile Roof Rack Mod: Episode 2 #diyroofrack #roofrack ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-1YIzlHWBG8o.html

Low Profile Storage System: Episode 3 #hondapilot #roofstorage ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-RvXiyyg5bm8.html

I kept it in first gear with VTM4 on.

Faulkin Wildpeak AT3W

Low range is a better term. Official four-wheel-drive have a high range for road speeds. Then there is a low range for lower speeds that offer significantly more power for hills and obstacles. The gears in the transmission shift the same but through a different speed power output ratio in low range: it changes the output of speed (is lowered) and power (is increased). The Honda pilot does not have a low range to generate power in an off-road setting. All wheel drive in four-wheel-drive different in this regard. One of the other differences between all-wheel-drive and four-wheel-drive is the ability for the differentials to lock so that there is no slippage between wheels. A limited slip differential will allow one wheel to spin. A true four-wheel-drive will cause both axles to spin simultaneously with the same speed, a four-wheel-drive with a center differential locker will make all wheels turn the same speed at the same time. All wheel drive does not offer this option. I hope this helps.

It dies. So Pilots are AWD not 4 wheel? I tried to Google and got a straight answer and found so many sort of answers 😅 I loved my Element and if it was truly 4WD I'd get another one. But when we took it to Ft Fisher (very soft sugar sand to get to the water) AWD couldn't do it😢

My Honda Pilot has the VTM-4 locker. That makes the back wheels spin simultaneously with only a small amount of slippage. It helps, but it is not a true four-wheel-drive

The lift is a 2” lift from Ready Lift and they are stock tire size. They just look good because they are Faulken Wildpeak AT3W.

It is an OHV area below the Keystone dam outside of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It was a great assessment, whether or not, I would be able to perform smaller obstacles and pitted and washed out national forest roads. The pilot is not designed for rock crawling. It never will be. But knowing the capabilities of the VTM-4 locker, it’s pretty important.

The 4WD version of the Pilot is worthy for moderate to easy offroading. It will never be a crawler.