| bucsfan |
Living in Florida, our biggest concern is heavy rain and flooding. For that reason; I've always had a 4 Wheel Drive (Land Rover Discovery) Vehicles. I'm finding out that 4WD Pilots are hard to find in Florida.
My question w/ the traction control in the 2006; how does the 2WD drive in the rain?
Thanks.
James |
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| andyschneider |
quote:
Originally posted by bucsfan
Living in Florida, our biggest concern is heavy rain and flooding. For that reason; I've always had a 4 Wheel Drive (Land Rover Discovery) Vehicles. I'm finding out that 4WD Pilots are hard to find in Florida.
My question w/ the traction control in the 2006; how does the 2WD drive in the rain?
Thanks.
James
I'd wager a guess that the tires are more important than the AWD in the rain down where you live. I've rarely had the VSA kick in on my 4WD here in NH while driving in the rain (while I've gotten it to kick in quite often during the winter). ON the other hand, I had a miserable time with the Factory GY Integrity tires in the rain, and opted for Michelin LTX M/S during the first week of ownership of our '04. My '06 has the factory Bridgestone Dueler's and they're certainly better than the GY's were in the rain, but they're wearing pretty fast.....
andy |
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| Tupperware |
The following is my response to a similar question on a different forum:
After 13,000 miles I just traded my 2006 2wd for a new 4wd EX-L navi. No regrets here. With barely 2,000 miles on the new one real-world mileage is so close as to be statistically insignificant.
IMO, the Pilot was designed as a 4wd vehicle and "decontenting" it into a 2wd model does not work well. The Pilot, at around 4,500 pounds has far too much mass for fwd, by itself, to move. This is especially evident in rain or snow. Honda's poor choice of tires certainly is a factor but, still, traction with my 2wd was poor in all conditions with traction control kicking in regularly. My 2wd also had LOTS of torque-steer on full-throttle acceleration. With the 4wd it's not an issue.
Finally, VCM, ANC and the special vibration-cancelling engine mount did not give me a warm feeling. Ask yourself why ANC and a special engine mount is required on 2wd. Could it be a good thing that resonant frequencies and vibrations are introduced that have to be "cancelled" out? |
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| eluwak |
| I'm in Florida too... 2wd is fine. |
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| andyschneider |
Just a note about torque steer. After I've broken in my '06 4WD Pilot and gotten on the throttle a bit more than before, I notice that at higher speeds I can get more torque steer out of it than my wife's '04 4WD. I know that the gearing forces lower downshifts and holds the gear longer, especially on brisk throttle, but I was amazed at how much the wheel will jump when I really get on the gas. Passing on a 2-lane road is where I see it the most. So, I contend the issue of torque steer is there with either variant.
andy |
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| Tupperware |
quote:
Originally posted by andyschneider
Just a note about torque steer. After I've broken in my '06 4WD Pilot and gotten on the throttle a bit more than before, I notice that at higher speeds I can get more torque steer out of it than my wife's '04 4WD. I know that the gearing forces lower downshifts and holds the gear longer, especially on brisk throttle, but I was amazed at how much the wheel will jump when I really get on the gas. Passing on a 2-lane road is where I see it the most. So, I contend the issue of torque steer is there with either variant.
andy
It may be present in both variants but is far more of an issue with the 2wd models. Try a "back to back" comparison with 2wd, then post your findings. |
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| Tupperware |
quote:
Originally posted by Tupperware
It may be present in both variants but is far more of an issue with the 2wd models. Try a "back to back" comparison with 2wd, then post your findings.
I just spent some time thrashing my Pilot and simply don't feel there is any appreciable torque-steer in this vehicle. The roads were dry for the first part of my "experiment" and wet for the second. No difference in either condition.
If anybody wants to thrash my olld 2wd Pilot CarMax has it on the lot at their Baltimore location :D |
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| BillG |
quote:
Originally posted by Tupperware
Finally, VCM, ANC and the special vibration-cancelling engine mount did not give me a warm feeling. Ask yourself why ANC and a special engine mount is required on 2wd. Could it be a good thing that resonant frequencies and vibrations are introduced that have to be "cancelled" out?
The ANC / engine mount is linked with the cylinder deactivation technology in Honda's i-VTEC system.
Odysseys are all FWD and only the EX-L and above trim levels get i-VTEC, which also includes ANC and the special engine mounts.
I think the difference in rated fuel efficiency between the 2WD and 4WD Pilots is based mostly on i-VTEC.
I agee that the difference is largely insignificant in real world driving conditions. Depending on your own driving habits and type of driving you do, you may or may not see any benefit. |
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| andyschneider |
quote:
Originally posted by Tupperware
I just spent some time thrashing my Pilot and simply don't feel there is any appreciable torque-steer in this vehicle. The roads were dry for the first part of my "experiment" and wet for the second. No difference in either condition.
If anybody wants to thrash my olld 2wd Pilot CarMax has it on the lot at their Baltimore location :D
The torque steer in my '06 4WD only started to get noticible recently as the motor and drivetrain has broken in. My mileage is increasing (finally!!), it's getting more pep, and as such I'm feeling more torque steer than before. I just turned over 9k miles last night.....
andy |
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| RGZ Custom |
quote:
Originally posted by bucsfan
Living in Florida, our biggest concern is heavy rain and flooding. For that reason; I've always had a 4 Wheel Drive (Land Rover Discovery) Vehicles. I'm finding out that 4WD Pilots are hard to find in Florida.
My question w/ the traction control in the 2006; how does the 2WD drive in the rain?
Thanks.
James
We have a 2WD EXL with the Michelin XTerrains and it performed admirably during our 7000 mile round trip vacation this past summer. We hit some monster rainstorms up in Wyoming and South Dakota and although we slowed our speed somewhat for safety purposes we were still passing most other vehicles. The Pilot never felt like it was hydro-planing and was very stable. Living in the South I would choose the 2WD all over again. |
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