Is it a Good Idea to Lift a Honda Ridgeline?
The Honda Ridgeline is a compact truck that’s made to be reliable, fuel-efficient, and rugged. And although its unibody construction doesn’t lend itself to be as capable as other trucks in its class, the Ridgeline does have a lot of potential. Whether you own a Honda Ridgeline or are thinking about buying one, you might be wondering if it’s a good idea to lift it, so let’s take a closer look.
You can use spacers to lift a Honda Ridgeline
Lifting a Honda Ridgeline is a lot like lifting a Honda Element as many of the kits consist of spacers and control arms. If you were to ask any serious off-road enthusiast, they might tell you that it’s not the greatest way to lift a vehicle for rock crawling duties. However, the Honda Ridgeline wasn’t exactly meant for that anyway. Instead, anyone lifting a Honda Ridgeline will likely do it for cosmetic reasons with some additional functionality and ground clearance.
The benefits of lifting a Honda Ridgeline
If you do plan on lifting a Honda Ridgeline, despite its unibody construction, it does come with a few benefits including:
- Higher ground clearance
- Better departure and approach angles
- More room for larger tires
- Better visibility while in traffic
- A more rugged overlanding look
- Many of the Ridgeline lift kits are inexpensive ($200 to $300)
- There are 2-inch and 3-inch lift kits available
It’s obvious that lifting a Honda Ridgeline mainly means that you’ll have a higher ride height to traverse some rocky terrain and get over some mild obstacles when going off the beaten path. However, just don’t expect it to be a RAM 1500 TRX competitor with a lift kit, if anything, your Ridgeline will just be at the same ride height.
There are some cons to lifting a Honda Ridgeline
While we can see that there are some benefits to adding some ride height to a Honda Ridgeline, there are some cons as well.
- The lift height is limited due to the available lift kits in the market
- Depending on the size of tire you install on it, they could rub against the fenders
- Altered suspension geometry
- Worse fuel economy
- More road noise
- More cabin noise
While it might look like there are plenty of cons to lifting a Honda Ridgeline, a lot of them come with the territory of lifting any truck. Fortunately, many of the lift kits for the Ridgeline, like the one from Truxxx, also include the necessary hardware to ensure that the truck operates as it did from the factory.
Is lifting a Honda Ridgeline worth all of the effort?
If you’re looking to get more ride height out of your Honda Ridgeline, then it’s worth spending the $200 to $300 on a lift kit. However, just remember that professional installation is recommended and some shop rates can vary widely, which could drive up the cost. Also, larger tires can complete a lifted setup, luckily, there are plenty of larger tires that should fit the stock Ridgeline wheels.
