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Beavissp82

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Discussion starter · #1 · (Edited by Moderator)
I’ve had my Ridgeline for about 6 months now and I’m looking for some performance upgrades. My primary vehicle is a Colorado with a V8 5.3L, so a big difference in the HP. I like my Ridgeline much better but wanna boost the HP. I’m not talking about things that you can buy at an auto parts store upgrades. I’m talking about swapping performance parts from other vehicle upgrades. IE: accord, Acura throttle body, intake swaps; major weight reduction mods; things like this.

I would love to hear what some of you guys have done to your Ridgelines. Chime in and post them up. Give me some ideas.
 
#2 · (Edited)
Please update your profile and it will be a lot easier to reply.





As for upgrading, if you own a G1 ‘06-‘14 the ‘09+ have a few members who have dropped a 3.7l Acura engine in. There’s some turning software, one even did some dyno runs here in So Cal.
 
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#4 · (Edited)
If you don't want to buy performance parts, the J37 swap would be easier than trying to find one or two OEM parts that are upgrades. There really aren't many OE parts that are upgrades, Acura 3.7L 70mm throttle body and intake would be the big one. Depending on what engine you have there could be cams that you can upgrade. For the most part the Ridgeline parts are up there in performance compared to the other J35 chassis.

IMO, if you are looking to keep the J35, aftermarket parts are really the way to go to wake these engines up.

My current parts list;
- 3.5" Custom Short Ram Intake
- 6"x9"x5" K&N cone filter
- 6"x 3.5" velocity stack
- Acura ZDX 70mm Throttle body
- Ported upper intake manifold - 70mm to match throttle body
- RSX-S/TL-S 310cc fuel injectors
- NGK Laser Iridium plugs w/8 heat range (7 is stock)
- Bisimoto stage 2 camshafts
- RV6-Performance Precat Delete
- RV6-Performance J-pipe
- Magnaflow high flow 2.5" catalytic converter
- 2.5" Borla cat back exhaust
- Street tuned using KTuner Flash V1.

Even if I'm not north of 300whp I am loving it. I love working on my own vehicle and spend a lot of time in the garage tinkering. so the time I have invested is not really factored into it. Probably could have done the J37 swap for the cost of my time and parts.....lol
 
#6 ·
@Beavissp82: Thanks for showing interest in the G1 J35 and I hate to ask, what depth of homework have you done so far?

There is a whole sticky thread on performance for the G1, you may want to also cruise through Acurazine forums as those guys are pretty gutsy on their J32 & J35s.

Additionally, here are some links to help you out.

Marked Motorsports: Honda J series Adapters & Parts : Marked Motorsports, Team Website

Cody Loveland Racing: https://codylovelandracing.com/turbo-systems/twin-turbo-j-series-nsx-turbo-kit

Hondatech J35A3 talk: https://honda-tech.com/forums/honda-accord-1990-2002-2/fastest-accord-world-build-3085969/

P2R Racing: https://www.powerrevracing.com/Honda-J-Series-s/1877.htm

Acurazine J35 (King Motorsports): https://acurazine.com/forums/3g-tl-...l-performance-parts-modifications-112/j35-12-1-heads-cam-build-complete-897606/

AEM Full Standablone: https://www.maperformance.com/produ...2-ems-engine-management-system-honda-v6-j30-j32-j35-acura-cl-by-aem-electronics

K-Tuner: https://ktuner.com/

Grassroots Motorsports: https://grassrootsmotorsports.com/forum/grm/honda-j-series-thread-tech-info/111289/page1/

You should consider yourself lucky as I had these bookmarked and did not give you the typical newbie spheel :)
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Thanks. Tried to do some browsing, but guess I’m just not looking in the right spots. Seems like whatever I search for Ridgeline is pretty limited or comes up a dead end. That’s why I wanted to see , or know what all you guys have done first hand.
 
#8 ·
Beavissp82 said:
Thanks. Tried to do some browsing, but guess I’m just not looking in the right spots. Seems like whatever I search for Ridgeline is pretty limited or comes up a dead end. That’s why I wanted to see , or know what all you guys have done first hand.
Click to expand...
Many of of the members here are into adding accessories, than actual performance modifications. There only a handful who have done their research, spent their money, and did some sort of upgrades.
Rather than looking for the vehicle, look at the engine. Basic architecture for the J series is the same. Emissions, VCM, Vtech, etc etc are just secondary privilages that get these engines to go through revisions. As you know, earlier J series, like the J30s and J32s had traditional Cylinder head and exhaust manifolds, then the later generations of the J35 & J37 saw integrated manifolds. Yet the architecture is the same.

Long story short, Accord and the TL/TLX/TSX world has a huge pool of enthusiasts and thus they have a ton of resources. BTW, the MDX forums are similar to the ROC; it does not have many actual engine performance related items or members.
 
Discussion starter · #9 ·
I am new to J series. This is the second Honda I’ve owned, and it feels good to get the Honda feel back. Last time I owned a Honda was back when the B series and H series where coming in strong. So, as you can see, I’ve been out of the loop for awhile and trying to get back in. Just trying to see what all is compatible and interchangeable. What is worth the work for the modification and what isn’t. Thanks for all the input. All is appreciated.
 
#10 ·
Still the same theory as the B, H, F, and D's, air/fuel and tune to get the most out of it. The RL has a very small performance market as out of all 8 of my Hondas owned its the least modded other than my DD and wife's Pilot. It was never meant to be performance minded.
Bolt on's within your budget and then a tuner will be the best bet other than shedding 750 lbs somehow.
Or save up and go turbo as a friend of mine did with a J35/j32 hybrid, dual throttle body setup feed by a rotrex supercharger making 600/480 in his TL.
 
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#13 ·
Beavissp82 said:
GhostYK1, How much of a difference can you tell?
Click to expand...
With just the CAI and MDX throttle and intake plenum work there was a big difference in throttle response. Even bigger difference across the power band once I was able to tune it.

The addition of the cams and exhaust made a huge difference. Going for a dyno tune in December to find out just how much.
 
#17 ·
How about brakes, i have been extremely disappointed in the front brakes on this vehicle. My VW Passat Diesel had better brakes that what this truck has. Have you seen any upgrades around? The Honda mechanics say the same thing, they thought the brakes would of been upgraded from the Pilot
 
#20 ·
woodrug said:
How about brakes, i have been extremely disappointed in the front brakes on this vehicle. My VW Passat Diesel had better brakes that what this truck has. Have you seen any upgrades around? The Honda mechanics say the same thing, they thought the brakes would of been upgraded from the Pilot
Click to expand...


After doing a lot of research I went with the MDX front rotors pads and calipers. Definitely an improvement over the Ridgeline’s... but still far from perfect. I went with oem pads and rotors though, so I may go with a more aggressive pad next time.


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GhostYK1
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