[rjsaenz]

I have posted a video "Up The IKE Gauntlet with 2017 Ridgeline towing 4440lbs "

The weight was higher on the return trip because I did not dump the black and grey tanks. Both 25 gallons and both where 2/3 full. I also had some fresh water in the tank. I really wanted to test it with allot of weight. I did go straight to the CAT scale to get an accurate weight of the Trailer. You will see that at the end of the Video 4440 lbs !

I was impressed with the way the G2 Ridgeline handled the weight up the IKE Gauntlet. It had no problem 60 - 65 mph. Even though I had the pedal to the floor it did not feel like it was struggling. As you will see from the video there was no gear hunting by the new transmission. My only complaint was near the top I wish It had down shifted a little sooner. I think the Ridgeline could have handled the full 5000 lb tow rating at speeds 55-60mph.

The surprise of the trip was the millage. Overall millage on the trip computer was 14.6 mpg. But from my manual calculations it has been about .8mpg high so actual was about 13.8mpg over the 350mile + trip. I had been using ECO on previous camping trips that had fewer hills and passes and less weight, yet it got lower mpgs, with eco on 12mpg. So don't tow with ECO on you will get better mpg.

Enjoy the Video! If you have questions just ask.

EDIT: Forgot to mention IKE run time 7min:35secs well under TFL bench mark of 8min.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tuIMBAOvHgE

 

[Last Train]

Great report. Three questions . . . (1) once the truck settled in to the uphill incline, did the transmission stay in 5th gear at WOT - until it downshifted near the peak?; (2) what were the winds like?; relative direction & speed (because this as been a really key issue for us towing with our 2011 RTL - with a travel trailer that typically weighs about 100+lbs more than yours); (3) did you have a passenger on the run?.

Can't wait until the TFL guys get blown away by this kind of performance when they do their run.

Thanks again.

 

[ToadVine]

Thank you, rjsaenz, for taking your time and effort to make and post your videos.

It is much more valuable to have your full and documented results than all the biased speculation from a sponsored review.

 

[rjsaenz]

Great report. Three questions . . . (1) once the truck settled in to the uphill incline, did the transmission stay in 5th gear at WOT - until it downshifted near the peak?; (2) what were the winds like?; relative direction & speed (because this as been a really key issue for us towing with our 2011 RTL - with a travel trailer that typically weighs about 100+lbs more than yours); (3) did you have a passenger on the run?.

Can't wait until the TFL guys get blown away by this kind of performance when they do their run.

Thanks again.

1. From past experience towing uphill it almost immediately goes to 4th. I didnt bother to hit the D4 because im sure thats where it was already. I really like the way this truck is geared compared to the old G1 !! Huge improvement !!!!

2. There was only a slight 5-10mph breeze from the north. We were heading east bound.

3. Ridgeline had cargo of me 190lb my wife and dog combined 200lb dog kennel. A trunk full of junk. Trailer tire and Canopy. I now from weighing before without the wife and dog the Truck weighed 5000 on the nose with me and same cargo, so with wife and dog 5200lbs.

Question for you. Do you tow with a WDH with sway control ?


I am thinking about contacting the TFL guy to let them use my Ridgeline to do their test. It may be months till honda can get them one.

 

[ToadVine]

wife and dog combined 200lb

You, sir, are truly a gentleman. >

 

[rjsaenz]

Thank you, rjsaenz, for taking your time and effort to make and post your videos.

It is much more valuable to have your full and documented results than all the biased speculation from a sponsored review.

Thanks ToadVine ! If pictures are worth a thousand words Video is worth a million !!! Ill let the video speak for itself.

 

[Last Train]

Question for you. Do you tow with a WDH with sway control ?


I am thinking about contacting the TFL guy to let them use my Ridgeline to do their test. It may be months till honda can get them one.

At LEAST send them this video! Would love to see their faces when they view it.

And no, per the Gen 1 manual's advice, I do not use a WDH. Although I do use a friction sway bar. Honestly, with typical tongue weight of 480 lbs I have very little drop when we hitch up. You could go to the Gen 1 forum and see my comments and a pic on a recent trip we took from the Houston area up to the Northern Ozarks. The darn thing was amazing, frankly. Despite winding and steep two lane roads everything was solid as a rock - even when we were going through rain on those roads east of Eureka Springs.

We just got back from a trip to the Rio Grande Valley, and the head winds (23 mph from the SSE) were the challenge on the way down.

With all that said, we have sort of settled on a usual towing target speed of 60-62 mph. That still leaves me with some "oomph" to pass other, slower traffic - plus, we enjoy the "travel" part of towing our travel trailer at a bit more leisurely pace!

Seriously, send your video to TFL and let us all know what they say. I would be tempted almost to "dare" them to view/analyze it!! ?

 

[plex]

TFL hates the Ridgeline, they don't even like calling it a truck, i doubt they will do a gauntlet with one. Based on videos with TFL guys in the past they have a very negative attitude toward the Ridgeline being included in the truck segment.

They are just afraid of what the results would be, and if it beat all other midsize trucks they would just say its only because of the low tow rating and throw it out.

 

[fargin]

Thanks rjsaenz for posting the RL tackling the Ike!

This has to be one of my favorite sounding V6s, especially past 5000 rpm.

 

[fargin]

TFL hates the Ridgeline, they don't even like calling it a truck, i doubt they will do a gauntlet with one. Based on videos with TFL guys in the past they have a very negative attitude toward the Ridgeline being included in the truck segment.

They are just afraid of what the results would be, and if it beat all other midsize trucks they would just say its only because of the low tow rating and throw it out.

I want to like the TFL guys, but the Pilot vs Highlander video just reeks of bias. I think they will do it, but Roman will find a way to skew the number - it will be overloaded like they did with the Frontier or they will run into 'traffic' (I forget which video it was but the 'traffic' they ran into was their own camera car. Or if they do it straight, it only did so well because the trailer was xxxxlbs fewer than the Colorado etc.

 

[stantaur]

Agree TFL needs to clean up their act to be called proper journalists.

Their 0-60 testing and drag race comparisons of the IS-F was in Drive, whereas every owner and journalist got their best times in Sport Mode using the manual paddle shifters. Any chimp can run a low-4 sec 0-60 and mid-12s @ 113-114 MPH in them bone stock, yet Roman couldn't figure that out.

He seemed similarly biased in the San Antonio launch event for the Ridgeline.

 

[HyperPete]

Nice!

My '06 Outback with a 3.0 Liter 6-cylinder Boxer engine would have been in 3rd gear from the outset, probably needing to downshift into 2nd at the top. It also only gets about 9 MPG towing my 6 X 12 enclosed motorcycle trailer (under 3500 pounds) even on flat ground.

I can't wait to get rid of it and get into the Ridgeline.

 

[ToadVine]

Agree TFL needs to clean up their act to be called proper journalists.

Oh... you mean like the 'real' professional ones on CNN and MSNBC. >

 

[plex]

Oh... you mean like the 'real' professional ones on CNN and MSNBC. >

No those are communist propagandists, we were talking about reporters >

 

[birchman17]

Nice video. Loved the dual cameras. I might be wrong, but i think you may have been in 3rd gear for the majority of the climb, and then briefly downshifted into 2nd near the end. I just noticed that in your descent video (in D4), your rpm's were roughly 3500 around 65mph. In this video, your rpm's were closer to 5000 around 65mph. I might be wrong. I'm not sure if automatics behave the same way as manuals.

I wonder if you could have put it in LOW to force it to downshift, if you wanted to accelerate, or reach a higher speed. I'm still unsure of what LOW does exactly. The manual does say something about it using gears 1-5. I can see it being similar to a "sport mode" where it raises each shift-point to a higher rpm. I don't blame anyone for not wanting to experiment with it with their new $40k+ vehicle. I'm sure it has safety measures built in (to not shift into 1st at 60mph, or something), but you never know. My guess is that it would downshift to the lowest gear below the redline. Who wants to be the guinea pig? ; ) I'll probably have to wait until i buy my g2 to find out. (After the break-in period, of course) : )

 

[Shineaholic]

Nice!

My '06 Outback ....

I can't wait to get rid of it and get into the Ridgeline.

I think your dog is looking forward to it also!

 

[Shineaholic]

I am thinking about contacting the TFL guy to let them use my Ridgeline to do their test. It may be months till honda can get them one.

Wow, that would be awesome! Make sure they mention ROC!!! And make them say "G2 rules" at least 5 times during the test :grin::grin:

 

[rjsaenz]

I wonder if you could have put it in LOW to force it to downshift, if you wanted to accelerate, or reach a higher speed. I'm still unsure of what LOW does exactly. )

I have tested the low, It seems to be only gears 1-3. I may be wrong. Try it out. Jump in your G2 Put in low and see how many shifts, I only count 3 no mater how high you rev. Now put in D at 40mph drop it to low and see what the down shift does it will slow you down hard. Has to be 1-3 only. Some one else please verify.

 

[bxhowell1]

Your posted time blows away the Tacoma, Frontier, and Colorado. Of course they were towing a little over 6k, but if I remember correctly, all three were damn near redline the whole way up. Great video!

1. From past experience towing uphill it almost immediately goes to 4th. I didnt bother to hit the D4 because im sure thats where it was already. I really like the way this truck is geared compared to the old G1 !! Huge improvement !!!!

2. There was only a slight 5-10mph breeze from the north. We were heading east bound.

3. Ridgeline had cargo of me 190lb my wife and dog combined 200lb dog kennel. A trunk full of junk. Trailer tire and Canopy. I now from weighing before without the wife and dog the Truck weighed 5000 on the nose with me and same cargo, so with wife and dog 5200lbs.

Question for you. Do you tow with a WDH with sway control ?


I am thinking about contacting the TFL guy to let them use my Ridgeline to do their test. It may be months till honda can get them one.

 

[rjsaenz]

Your posted time blows away the Tacoma, Frontier, and Colorado. Of course they were towing a little over 6k, but if I remember correctly, all three were damn near redline the whole way up. Great video!

I think they were towing 5600 for GMC Canyon and Tacoma. I think the G2 Ridgeline would do very well towing the max limit of 5000lbs up the IKE Gauntlet.