[iggibar]

Now I have a 2011 Honda Crosstour EXL 4WD along with a 2011 Honda Pilot EX 4WD. I'm Happy. I mainly got it because I need the 3rd row, towing, and easy bike hauling. Got it in Polished Metal Metallic with black interior.

going for a drive

 

[Army Dad]

Congrats, now a generator and lawn mower and you will be Honda man! LOL

 

[DraEagWol]

Don't forget the boat, motorcycle and airplane!

 

[iggibar]

Screw the boat, mower, and bike! I'm saving up for the plane On a serious note, it feels kind of good to have 2 new pricey hondas in my driveway

 

[Army Dad]

You Da Man!

 

[rusty]

the pilot is nice i had 3 before the MDX enjoy the ride !

 

[Dat_dude75]

Hey iggibar,

My wife and I are looking at a 2011 Pilot too. How do you like it? We were worried about mpg but have heard some good things about. We also want/need it for the 3rd row

 

[iggibar]

Hey iggibar,

My wife and I are looking at a 2011 Pilot too. How do you like it? We were worried about mpg but have heard some good things about. We also want/need it for the 3rd row

I'm sorry I didn't resound to this earlier, didn't even know about your post until today.

As for my Pilot, I'm LOVING it! I've added some step-bars, made a custom *****-mounted 4-bike carrier, and added some interior goodies. I've been averaging about 18.8 highway/city driving. I have to say, I had a 2007 Passat 2.0T that averaged 21mpg h/c, so the MPG on this is not that far off. For what I'm driving, the gas doesn't put me off one bit.

As for the interior, we've used this for many trips within the ~5 months we've had it. It's a very comfortable family tripper/cruiser.

The 2nd row seat recline and slide forwards and backwards for when you need a little more space in the 3rd row, which is actually very decent for its exterior size! We took a trips to Toronto last month and it fit 7 adults perfectly fine.

I love this beast, and I plan on keeping it till the wheels fall off!

2 side notes: First, It started snowing really good a few days ago, and it bought me in a situation where I had to drive up a very high hill. There were cars going left and right everywhere, and one minivan was zigzagging on the road even though it would make it 1 foot forward. I thought I was either going to get stuck, or someone was going to hit me. Without even hesitating, I put the shifter in 2, and turned on the rear torque locker. I hit the gas and drove past everyone. It didn't even hesitate moving up. That's when you get that fuzzy feeling inside when you know you really like your car.

Second: Driving this car on the highway is like driving a brick...you will notice mediocre/high winds, especially if it's coming from either direction in front of you.

Since this is my thread, I'll probably post some pics of my Pilot soon.

 

[iggibar]

I'm going to start off with some images of when our Crosstour was involved in an accident:

This is the traffic my dad caused I'm driving my Pilot:

Note: For some reason, the sky was bright when we left to go to the accident, was dark when we got there, and was bright again when we left. Weird.

Lady in front of my dad was pregnant and slammed on the brakes. My dad did the same thing, but gently tapped her rear bumper. No real damage was done at this time. Then comes a lady who was talking on the phone, and slams into my dad, lifting up the rear of the CT, and pushing him forward into the minivan(which is why you see damage on the upper grill when the minivan's bumper sits much lower).

You can see in this pic that the woman who was on the phone stayed on the phone the WHOLE time, and got angry because I was taking pics of the scene. What is it with women? They are ALWAYS on the phone when driving! This one lied on the police report about being on the phone, but the records showed that she was using the phone during the accident, and started that conversation 14 minutes prior to it! Sad to see a nice, new Honda get messed up because of a stupid toyota.

The rear tire on the CT took the majority of the trauma to the rear, as evident by the lack of hard damage on the CT, but the total FUBA(partial)R-ing of the Toyota:

In these pics, it looks like the hood is open, but it isn't. The front of the car got ~3 inches wider, which you can see by the gap between each fender and hood side. The fender also pushed the passenger door back and jammed it closed. All the mounting brackets and weld points mounting the front bumper/fender either got bent down(if metal) or snapped(bumper's plastic), which is what makes the hood look like it's open. The light mounts snapped, and pushed into the corner of the fender, causing it to warp. They could not happier that away, and had to order new fenders.

It was a weird accident that cost $6400(!) in repairs. Luckily, we have a good family lawyer.
We took it to get repaired at a friends shop at John Lance Ford...you can't even tell the difference now.

All this did was assure us that we were not going to buy it after the lease ends. Sad

 

[iggibar]

Now, for she joyful stuff, m Pilot

This is an old pic of when I went biking:

I started working on the interior. Installed new interior accent lighting, and Honda Music Link, and a navigation(which I upgraded to a TomTom 4.3"). I hard wired them all, and ran the Music Link's iPod connection into the center console storage area.
Here are the pics in chronological order as they happened:

Fished the wires for the GPS underneath the airbag:

Took the interior apart:

Cut an opening to the led ambient light to let more light through:

Temporarily spliced and connected wire for testing:

Blew a fuse. Ran the wires again hoping that the last fuse wouldn't blow. Rebuilt the GPS car charger:

Took out extra acc. plug and fitted it with a switch for the ambient lighting, and installed led strips:

Tested and mounted the Music Link:

Now, for the finished product! I didn't want the led lights to look TOO noticeable, but wanted to give the rider a feel of presence without giving it that ricer civic look. I grounded the lights to reduce the power going in, and this is they look like. I love the way it turned out! Note: the iPhone doesn't take the best pics at night, so it doesn't look anywhere near as nice as in person.

 

[iggibar]

I also went to town on the step bars. The mounting bracket was a cheap piece of turd for the amount of weight it was designed to handle. I welded some support brackets, extended one t-mount, and utilized an existing threaded-hole from the Pilots chassis as support. It can now hold a giant with ease! Here's the end result: Red= old bracket, Blue=modified bracket:

ahhh...the way it's suppose to look

 

[iggibar]

And now, for my favorite build of this past summer, The Terminator Bike Rack

These pics are pretty self explanatory:

Slightly modified the length.

Paint prep/Priming/Painting:

Applied industrial foam for protection, and ready to go:

As you can see, there are 4 bike screw brackets that hold on to the bike, on each side. Each side also has a lock for security. You lock the bikes, then tighten the brackets. The bikes don't move at all, and I can feel safe knowing that if someone is real that desperate to steal my bikes, they will probably have second thoughts. All the screws and moving brackets are stainless-steel. The main posts are hardened steel, and the upper swing arms are hardened steel with a steel support brace.

I get asked about it EVERY day when I use it. They always get disappointed when I tell them we made it. I've had a couple occasions when people would stop at a red light saying they'll pay for it, or pay for me to build them a new one. I enjoy the time I have...I don't need a few hundred.

It's a tank, and I wouldn't switch to anything you could possibly buy

PS: This is my baby:

Cleaned it up for winter

 

[RyansQuick6]

Couldn't see it, but I hope you put a lock on the hitch too! lol

It's obvious someone spent too much money on a welder and to prove to the wife that it was worth it lol

 

[iggibar]

Couldn't see it, but I hope you put a lock on the hitch too! lol

It's obvious someone spent too much money on a welder and to prove to the wife that it was worth it lol

LOL. Actually, at the time when I took those pics, the locking hitch pin hadn't come in yet. I got one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/CURT-5-8-Trailer-Hitch-Lock-7-8-Span-Coupler-Lock-/140459707941?pt=Motors_Car_Truck_Parts_Accessories&vxp=mtr&hash=item20b40d0e25#ht_2192wt_1144

Very happy with it.

 

[Army Dad]

Nice write up iggibar, glad your Dad wasn't hurt and that the CT is repaired. Nice mods to the Pilot, nice to see a family enjoying life.

 

[iggibar]

Nice write up iggibar, glad your Dad wasn't hurt and that the CT is repaired. Nice mods to the Pilot, nice to see a family enjoying life.

Thanks a lot man! We're fortunate that my parents have a good job, and I can keep on paying these expensive school bills, as well as my car, through my own job. It's not easy, that's for sure.