2007 Honda Pilot Off Road Build

@b0wfin ...did your transmission temps get too high or was the lack of low gear the reason for the tow (you probably had the most weight)? In the video in post 261 how well did the other Hondas handle the high transmission temps /stress (the group was ready to assist anyone without 4LO)? Probably should do a drain+fill of the trans if your temps were high.
 
aggrex said:
@b0wfin ...did your transmission temps get too high or was the lack of low gear the reason for the tow (you probably had the most weight)? In the video in post 261 how well did the other Hondas handle the high transmission temps /stress (the group was ready to assist anyone without 4LO)? Probably should do a drain+fill of the trans if your temps were high.
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This trip exposed some of the limitations of 5-6 speed Honda transmissions. The two new Hondas with the 9 speed transmission have a significantly lower first gear which allowed them to overcome the steep terrain despite high elevation power loss.

My build/journey is about finding the limits of our 1st gen Pilot. On this trip the need for low range was very evident. My new 32" tires exaggerated the gearing issue. I'm exploring options to reduce gearing, but downsizing the tires seems like the most practical solution right now. The other 1st gen Pilot had 245-75-16 tires and faired much better than me. Albeit they didn't have a family on board.

I have since completed 3x drain and fills to remove the burnt trans fluid. Other than that my Pilot did not take on any damage from the trip.

My Pilot is turning into quite the build and I am not beyond spending money to correct the gearing issue. If anyone is reading this and knows a good way to reduce gearing please let me know.

I wonder if a custom built front diff is possible. One that lowers the front end gearing and offers limited slip.
 
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b0wfin said:
I have since completed 3x drain and fills to remove the burnt trans fluid. Other than that my Pilot did not take on any damage from the trip.
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Looks like it was a great trip and ride with the family and meeting with some new wheelers. Getting back in one piece is always a good thing.
 
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b0wfin said:
My Pilot is turning into quite the build and I am not beyond spending money to correct the gearing issue. If anyone is reading this and knows a good way to reduce gearing please let me know.
Click to expand...
An alternative mod since gearing and trans mods are limited would be to increase power and torque. Acura 3.7 or turbo or super charging to increase low end torque. Just tossing some ideas out there
 
aggrex said:
An alternative mod since gearing and trans mods are limited would be to increase power and torque. Acura 3.7 or turbo or super charging to increase low end torque. Just tossing some ideas out there
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That is a good point, power could help overcome the lack of gearing. I would also need to further improve my transmission coolers. The two I have might not be enough :)
 
b0wfin said:
I spoke to him about the parts necessary to install this mod on my Pilot. He said that it will work for 2003-2005 Pilots because they have a throttle cable. He didn't know a solution to installing a supercharger on a Pilot with an electronic throttle.
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Sorry, I forgot about that part. Engine swap maybe??
 
CR-Venturer said:
Time to install a supplementary tranny oil cooler! Is your pilot set up like the CR-V where it has an oil cooler built into the radiator? Or just no supplementary cooling?
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I have dual trans coolers plus the internal one. I pushed the trans a bit too hard helping the winch out. Despite the flaws I am sticking with our Pilot. I do want to try and solve the gearing issue. The easiest solution is to drop back to 245-75-16 tires, but I would love anyone with experience to chime in with other options. A custom lower geared limited slip dif would be cool if possible.
 
b0wfin said:
CR-Venturer said:
Time to install a supplementary tranny oil cooler! Is your pilot set up like the CR-V where it has an oil cooler built into the radiator? Or just no supplementary cooling?
Click to expand...

I have dual trans coolers plus the internal one. I pushed the trans a bit too hard helping the winch out. Despite the flaws I am sticking with our Pilot. I do want to try and solve the gearing issue. The easiest solution is to drop back to 245-75-16 tires, but I would love anyone with experience to chime in with other options. A custom lower geared limited slip dif would be cool if possible.
Click to expand...

Holy smokes! Even with two coolers plus the internal, it still overheated?! That's nuts.

I haven't heard of anyone doing an LSD for the pilot, but I seem to recall someone working on something similar for the RD1 CR-V. Check Lifted Honda Society on Facebook. I deleted my account so I can't look it up for you unfortunately. If you can find the post, maybe the guys who made the V one can do one for the Pilot, or at least give some suggestions on a solution.
 
b0wfin said:
I have dual trans coolers plus the internal one. I pushed the trans a bit too hard helping the winch out. Despite the flaws I am sticking with our Pilot. I do want to try and solve the gearing issue. The easiest solution is to drop back to 245-75-16 tires, but I would love anyone with experience to chime in with other options. A custom lower geared limited slip dif would be cool if possible.
Click to expand...
I recently ran into the trans cooling issue. Researched a bit and found out that the transmission fluid on the Pilots/Ridgelines/Odysseys have a transmission fluid cooler/heater. The transmission fluid is cooled when needed and heated "when needed". It was to improve gas mileage, I believe.
I bypassed my internal cooler all together because of the potential pink milkshake issue. I haven't had a transmission cooling issue since...still working out the 3rd gear surging...smh
 
CR-Venturer said:
Holy smokes! Even with two coolers plus the internal, it still overheated?! That's nuts.

I haven't heard of anyone doing an LSD for the pilot, but I seem to recall someone working on something similar for the RD1 CR-V. Check Lifted Honda Society on Facebook. I deleted my account so I can't look it up for you unfortunately. If you can find the post, maybe the guys who made the V one can do one for the Pilot, or at least give some suggestions on a solution.
Click to expand...
I am referring the front differential in the transmission. IMO That is where the gearing needs to change.
 
b0wfin said:
CR-Venturer said:
Holy smokes! Even with two coolers plus the internal, it still overheated?! That's nuts.

I haven't heard of anyone doing an LSD for the pilot, but I seem to recall someone working on something similar for the RD1 CR-V. Check Lifted Honda Society on Facebook. I deleted my account so I can't look it up for you unfortunately. If you can find the post, maybe the guys who made the V one can do one for the Pilot, or at least give some suggestions on a solution.
Click to expand...
I am referring the front differential in the transmission. IMO That is where the gearing needs to change.
Click to expand...

That's a really tough one. You would have to basically remove the tranny and completely disassemble it just to get at it. I considered re-gearing my V in the same way but concluded it was cost and effort prohibitive.
 
CR-Venturer said:
That's a really tough one. You would have to basically remove the tranny and completely disassemble it just to get at it. I considered re-gearing my V in the same way but concluded it was cost and effort prohibitive.
Click to expand...

I have 270,000 miles, I'm going to need a new transmission at some point. It would be a good time to mod it. Due to the YouTube channel I can splurge a bit. I just need to find someone with the know-how to make it happen or tell me why it is impossible.
 
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