[jon316]

I took the Pilot out on the beaches of the Outer Banks. I recognize it's more car than truck, so don't chastise about that. The "VTM-4 Lock" setting is a hoss. I lowered the air pressure to 18 psig and I never felt like I was about to bog down in in the sand, but the ride is simply softer than I would like for softroading, and the clearance is small. (Yes, I know the tires were low; I'm the one who did it.) I did bounce the front off ruts a few times, but I was driving very slow, so none of the plastic stayed behind. I think it could be a different story in deep snow with cold plastic. But all things considered, the vehicle performed adequately in the sand. (Just gotta go sooo slow.)

The shocks aren't broken or leaking. The springs aren't broken or crushed. The first modification I made, last summer, was adding the MDX rear braces.

I think Rocky hit the control problem right with the GY's sidewalls. I fixed the control problem with 36 psig in the tires on the highway. And, of course, there's no control problem at 10 mph in the sand with low tires.

One thing I am going to rig is a spider assembly with which I can inflate four tires simultaneously to equal pressures. The Pilot is very sensitive to unequal pressures on the GY tires and dancing around in the hot sand inflating and deflating tires is less fun than it used to be.

Another positive was I got nearly 20 mpg on a 600-mile trip that included softroading, cruising at 70 mph and the arduous Hampton Roads Sunday traffic in the air-conditioned comfort of a very heavily loaded vehicle. But, the receiver rack is permanently stowed until I modify the spring rates and shocks, as well as rid myself of the GY tires.

And, the Weathertech floor mats performed swimmingly. I had two teenage boys and four adults with all manner of surf fishing gear and beach paraphernalia and all it took to remove most of the sand was carefully removing the mats (not spilling the sand) and hosing them off. There is some sand in the carpet, but it's from big-footed teenage boys.

Tim, if you're out there; do you have any fixes for the marshmallow ride of the Pilot?