Offroad Appearance

I have been a long time anonymous reader of this forum and have recently decided to join in. I visited several other forums before deciding to purchase my RL and was very turned off by the immaturity of the other owners (Tacoma, Sport Trac, etc.) I found this community to be very informative, helpful, and professional.

Anyway, I am interested in upgrading my wheel/tire package, but am curious why noone has gone with a more offroad approach. I think some all terrain tires would compliment the vehicle nicely. Not to mention that all my friends who fell in love with my truck a couple of weeks ago when I bought it, just noticed the plate on the back that says 4WD; they never knew. I really like the look of the 20's and low pro tires, but would like to take advantage of it being a 4wd, and show off a little. If there are pix of anyone who has done this other than the concept photos I would appreciate checking them out.

Thanks a lot.

First of all welcome aboard.

Several people have gone off-road with the stock tires and have been pretty happy with them. It all depends on what you are planning on doing.

Additionally, I think many people are waiting to see what comes out of the after-market business in the suspension mod market. Adding tires is only going to get you through some of the nasty stuff. It would suck if you got stuck because you needed 2-4 more inches of clearance.

Plus the darn stock tires are so quiet it would be hard swap them out.

Welcome to the ROC family Duncan, we're glad you're here.
Sit tight for a minute...someone will be right with you !!!
OOPPPS..it appears we already have an expert on the line....:D
We hope you enjoy our club and glad you decided to become an "official" ROC head. :D
Enjoy the ride.

Thanks for the reply, I'll have to admit I am mostly interested in the wheels and tires for the appearance more than offroading. I'm sure it's a great truck for offroading (it seems to do everything else so well) but I'll probably never take my baby anywhere it'll need any real modifictaions. I just want to personalize it some.

The black is beautiful but needs some shiny wheels to dress it up. Thanks again and I'll be impatiently waiting for the new aftermarket stuff to start flooding the market; along with everyone else.

I also wanted to add that the main reason I decided to take the plunge from viewer to member was the exchange you all had with the sport_trac#1 guy. That was very entertaining. For kicks I went and checked out their forum: they all seem to be in a state of depression that the RL won truck of the year. They are contemplating a boycott of Motortrend Mag. I guess they'll have to add Car and Driver, Consumer Reports, and many others to their list of boycotted Mags then. It's a very depressing world when your a Ridgeline hater.

Thanks again for the lightning fast replies

You might look through this thread: http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1960

Its all about wheels.

This page is posted there as well: http://www.perfectlyround.com/ they have some nice looking rims

I have been a long time anonymous reader of this forum and have recently decided to join in. I visited several other forums before deciding to purchase my RL and was very turned off by the immaturity of the other owners (Tacoma, Sport Trac, etc.) I found this community to be very informative, helpful, and professional.

Anyway, I am interested in upgrading my wheel/tire package, but am curious why noone has gone with a more offroad approach. I think some all terrain tires would compliment the vehicle nicely. Not to mention that all my friends who fell in love with my truck a couple of weeks ago when I bought it, just noticed the plate on the back that says 4WD; they never knew. I really like the look of the 20's and low pro tires, but would like to take advantage of it being a 4wd, and show off a little. If there are pix of anyone who has done this other than the concept photos I would appreciate checking them out.

Thanks a lot.

Duncan,

Welcome. You may want to consider the impacts of different tires/wheels to the Ridgeline. I don't mean from a visual standpoint, because I agree that personalizing your truck is fun and a nice set of aftermarket rims and tires can look really sharp. What I mean is the safe handling of the truck. We are fortunate that T-Mac was able to get an interview with Gary Flint, chief designer for the Ridgeline. He gave some valuable input as far as his concerns with changing the dynamics of the Ridgeline. The interview can be found on the main page on the left hand side towards the top. I just thought you may want to know what a true expert said.

Besides, I have been on some pretty nice off road trails and think it is awesome that I can go from a "luxury" road ride to a stable and safe off road ride with out doing a thing, except turn the radio down to hear what the truck is doing.

Welcome Duncan,
I totally agree with mayfielh on the clearance and quiet ride points.
I use my RL off-road almost every weekend, mostly on rock and if and when it rains, mud. Having had the BFG A/T's on one vehicle and the BFG M/T's on a Jeep, I was concerned about the Michelin sidewalls for puncture resistance, but so far (13,000 miles) they have not had a single issue. As far as traction, I am amazed at how well it handles the mud with the "stock" tires. The VTM-4 system works great if you just let it do its thing (but turn off the VSA). I get where I am going with a lot less slipping and sliding than most of the other guys in my group with their Big 3, 4 wheel drive "real trucks".
The real issue you would have with the stock set up off-road is the ground clearance. I have never buried it or got it stuck from high centering it but I have had it "belly crawl" through some really nasty mud bogs. That's when I talk real, real nice to it!:D

Welcome Duncan,
I totally agree with mayfielh on the clearance and quiet ride points.
I use my RL off-road almost every weekend, mostly on rock and if and when it rains, mud. Having had the BFG A/T's on one vehicle and the BFG M/T's on a Jeep, I was concerned about the Michelin sidewalls for puncture resistance, but so far (13,000 miles) they have not had a single issue. As far as traction, I am amazed at how well it handles the mud with the "stock" tires. The VTM-4 system works great if you just let it do its thing (but turn off the VSA). I get where I am going with a lot less slipping and sliding than most of the other guys in my group with their Big 3, 4 wheel drive "real trucks".
The real issue you would have with the stock set up off-road is the ground clearance. I have never buried it or got it stuck from high centering it but I have had it "belly crawl" through some really nasty mud bogs. That's when I talk real, real nice to it!:D
LET US SEE SOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

Welcome Duncan,
I totally agree with mayfielh on the clearance and quiet ride points.
I use my RL off-road almost every weekend, mostly on rock and if and when it rains, mud. Having had the BFG A/T's on one vehicle and the BFG M/T's on a Jeep, I was concerned about the Michelin sidewalls for puncture resistance, but so far (13,000 miles) they have not had a single issue. As far as traction, I am amazed at how well it handles the mud with the "stock" tires. The VTM-4 system works great if you just let it do its thing (but turn off the VSA). I get where I am going with a lot less slipping and sliding than most of the other guys in my group with their Big 3, 4 wheel drive "real trucks".
The real issue you would have with the stock set up off-road is the ground clearance. I have never buried it or got it stuck from high centering it but I have had it "belly crawl" through some really nasty mud bogs. That's when I talk real, real nice to it!:D

Nevada posted some real nice pics this week. Outfitter you going to post some after your next off-road extravaganza? I need to live vicariously through you guys until I can find somewhere to scratch my itch. :D

LET US SEE SOME PICTURES!!!!!!!!!

I would pail in comparison to your scenery and at your picture taking abilities nevadagarth, but I will take some this weekend and post them next week. The area is about 100 miles west of Ft Worth and is a mixture of mesquite flats, cedar ridges and some creek bottom. I'd tell you it had hills but you'd laugh at me for sure.:D

The area is about 100 miles west of Ft Worth and is a mixture of mesquite flats, cedar ridges and some creek bottom. I'd tell you it had hills but you'd laugh at me for sure.:D

I was going to say Ft. Worth isn't hill country. You have to be over by Austin for hills.

New motto for Texas: Everything is bigger in Texas, except our hills. :rolleyes:

Anyway, I am interested in upgrading my wheel/tire package, but am curious why noone has gone with a more offroad approach. I think some all terrain tires would compliment the vehicle nicely. Not to mention that all my friends who fell in love with my truck a couple of weeks ago when I bought it, just noticed the plate on the back that says 4WD; they never knew. I really like the look of the 20's and low pro tires, but would like to take advantage of it being a 4wd, and show off a little. If there are pix of anyone who has done this other than the concept photos I would appreciate checking them out.

Thanks a lot.

Duncan, follow this link (http://www.ridgelineownersclub.com/forums/showthread.php?t=560&highlight=terra) and it will show you an RL with 18 inch wheels and Nitto Terra Grappler A/T tires (255/55 R18). These are just under a half inch shorter than the stock LTX tires. You could also go with a BFG All-terrain T/A in a larger size on the stock wheels (265/70 R17) but these are over two inches taller and would throw off your speedo quite a bit. Any thing larger than an 18 inch wheels and you will have difficulty finding an all terrain or off road tire. Going with 20 inch wheels is probably not a good for A/T or off road usage.

All Terrain tire options I have researched:
Nitto Terra Grappler 255/55 R18 (requires 18 inch wheels, .38 inch short than stock)
BFG All Terrain T/A 265/70 R17 (I beleive these were used on the Baja 1000 Ridgeline but perhaps in a different size)
BFG Rugged Trail T/A 245/65 R17 (stock size)
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 255/65 R17 (typically good reviews, .6 inch taller than stock)
Firestone Destination A/T 245/65 R17 (stock size)
Michelin 4x4 XPC 255/55 R18 (these don't look much like A/T tires though)
Pirelli Scorpion A/T 245/65 R17 (stock size)
Yokohama Geolander A/T+II 245/65 R17 (stock size)

Baja 1000 Ridgeline
http://z.about.com/d/trucks/1/0/t/S/calif_race_rally.jpg

I wonder how that Skyjacker 2" lift is going to work out. :D

I also would like a slightly more aggressive looking offroad tire for the RL. Maybe next year. ;)

Thanks Dr.J
I want to try to leave the outside diameter as close to stock as possible, it sounds like there are several options out there. I think when the lift kits start going on peoples rides we'll start seeing some new pictures. I just love that I have the option of going either street sport look, or offroad agressive. Both look great, I'm just leaning toward offroad right now, it is by the way a 4x4.

I went to the BFGoodrich website and sent them a message (http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/servlet/Controller/site.misc.LoadContactUs) about making the All-Terrain T/A (http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/bfgapp/catalog/tires/allterraintako.jsp) in a 245/65 R17 size as an all terrain option for the RL. Perhaps others are interested and can do the same.

http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/images/catalog/tires/all_terrain_medium.gif (http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/images/catalog/tires/all_terrain_large.jpg)

I have been a long time anonymous reader of this forum and have recently decided to join in. I visited several other forums before deciding to purchase my RL and was very turned off by the immaturity of the other owners (Tacoma, Sport Trac, etc.) I found this community to be very informative, helpful, and professional.

Anyway, I am interested in upgrading my wheel/tire package, but am curious why noone has gone with a more offroad approach. I think some all terrain tires would compliment the vehicle nicely. Not to mention that all my friends who fell in love with my truck a couple of weeks ago when I bought it, just noticed the plate on the back that says 4WD; they never knew. I really like the look of the 20's and low pro tires, but would like to take advantage of it being a 4wd, and show off a little. If there are pix of anyone who has done this other than the concept photos I would appreciate checking them out.

Thanks a lot.

That is what makes it so great to be an American! We can buy & drive what ever we want! There will always be people out in the world with really small minds.

I think the primary Ridgeline buyer/owner is looking for a car like ride and are in a different age group for the most part. However, after seeing all the new concepts at the SEMA show regarding the RL, I think we will start to see more modifications surrounding it’s Off-Road use. We used to go out to all the SoCal. desert races and ride dirt bikes almost every weekend. We don’t pre-run the racetracks with our truck but we did venture into some fairly nasty terrain and the Ridgeline did fine. At this point, I’d hate to give up the quietly smooth ride for those noisy all-terrain tires and suspension lifts, which we had on all of our previous trucks.

Here is the response I received from BFGoodrich about adding the 245/65 R17 size ot the All Terrain T/A line. Perhaps others interested will send them a message as well and get them to make a move. Most tire vendors make a 245/65 R17 but not comprable to the AT T/A.

At the present time we have no indication that the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO will be built in this size. Please check back at a later for any
updates.

I would pail in comparison to your scenery and at your picture taking abilities nevadagarth, but I will take some this weekend and post them next week. The area is about 100 miles west of Ft Worth and is a mixture of mesquite flats, cedar ridges and some creek bottom. I'd tell you it had hills but you'd laugh at me for sure.:DThat scenery brings back memories of some good bass fishing in texas:(

That scenery brings back memories of some good bass fishing in texas:(

I am not a big fisherman but some of the guys are and we catch a lot of bass in the 5-7 pound range regularly out of this tank.

Does anyone out there know what the Tire/Wheel setup is for the SEMA BAJA 1000 Ridge??? I sent American Racing and Tire Rack a note, but no response? I really like this off road look and want to go there. I did some research on the AR site, but could not identify the Wheels.

Thanks!!!