Honda Automobiles: 2017 Honda Ridgeline Press Kit

The 2017 Ridgeline is built on Honda’s Global Light Truck platform. Unlike traditional truck offerings which utilize body-on-frame construction, the 2017 Ridgeline’s unitized body construction provides for vastly superior torsional body rigidity with lower weight, which directly benefits driving performance, fuel efficiency and efficient interior packaging.

Combined with its sophisticated chassis, featuring fully independent front and rear suspension systems, the Ridgeline’s ultra-rigid body thus provides the foundation for a high level of driving refinement that no traditional body-on-frame competitor can match, while also providing for a high level of pickup truck hauling and towing capability, including a class-leading maximum payload capacity of up to 1,584 pounds (718.5 kg) and up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) towing (RT AWD). 

The 2017 Ridgeline also features Honda’s next-generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure, which provides a high degree of occupant protection in frontal collisions and is anticipated to help the Ridgeline receive the highest available collision safety ratings, including a 5-star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, when equipped with available Honda Sensing technology.

The Ridgeline’s modern, rugged and aerodynamic body likewise uses a broad array of advanced materials, including ultra-high-strength hot-stamped steel, aluminum and magnesium to further minimize weight while also enhancing rigidity and collision safety performance. Moreover, its advanced aerodynamic body design aids fuel efficiency and refined and quiet driving performance.

Key Body Features

  • Advanced aerodynamics
  • Next-Generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering™ (ACE™) Body Structure*
  • “3-Bone” front floor structure*
  • Optimized material grades
  • Noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) enhancements
  • Acoustic windshield* (RTL and above)
  • 19.5-gallon (73.8 liters) fuel tank

* First for Ridgeline

Exterior Dimensions
Compared to the previous Ridgeline, the new 2017 Ridgeline’s wheelbase is 3.2 inches longer and overall vehicle length is up 2.8 inches. A slightly longer front overhang helps to improve crash safety performance, while the longer wheelbase improve passenger and cargo (bed) space. Compared to the previous generation Ridgeline, the new Ridgeline has a 5mm longer front overhang and a 10mm shorter rear overhang.

Advanced Aerodynamics
Starting with the overall body dimensions and shape, continuing with exterior features such as the sculptured side mirrors and body side, and extending to numerous under-body details such as air strakes and covers, the new 2017 Ridgeline is the most aerodynamically efficient Ridgeline yet.

Airflow around the vehicle body and through the engine compartment has been thoroughly optimized using sophisticated Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) modeling and extensive testing and tuning in the 40-percent-scale wind tunnel at the Raymond, Ohio vehicle development center of Honda RD Americas, Inc.

Overall, the new Ridgeline’s comprehensive aero-overhaul pays dividends in virtually every part of the driving experience, from fuel efficiency gains (and lower emissions) to dynamic stability on the highway, and reduced interior noise levels that directly contribute to a calmer and more enjoyable ride.

Compared to the previous Ridgeline model, the coefficient of drag x area (CdA) is reduced 15 percent, as determined by CFD simulations.

In front, a full-width air dam sweeps air around the vehicle sides, while additional guides direct air through the bumper and grille openings to the air-conditioning condenser and engine radiator, reducing air recirculation and drag. Inside the engine compartment, the airflow is then channeled to merge smoothly with air flowing under the Ridgeline. While beneath the vehicle a full-width front undercover, an aluminum engine undercover, and a mid-floor cover further aid in reducing turbulence and smoothing airflow in these areas. Strakes located ahead of the rear tires likewise redirect airflow around the tires for additional efficiency gains.

Next-Generation Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) Body Structure
The 2017 Ridgeline’s enhanced Advanced Compatibility Engineering (ACE) body structure is the second generation of Honda’s proprietary ACE structural design. ACE is an exclusive body design that enhances occupant protection and crash compatibility in frontal crashes. It uses a network of connected structural elements to distribute crash energy more evenly throughout the front of the vehicle, helping to reduce the forces transferred to the passenger compartment. It can help to more evenly disperse the forces transferred to other vehicles in a crash as well. ACE also helps reduce the chances that one vehicle will override or underride another, improving crash compatibility of vehicles that differ in size. ACE goes further by offering additional strength and protection in small overlap frontal collisions, which are among the most severe. Multiple material grades, including ultra-high-strength steel, are used in the Ridgeline’s body construction to help optimize safety performance.

Body Construction
Utilizing Honda’s Global Light Truck Platform structure, the 2017 Ridgeline’s curb weight is reduced by as much as 73 pounds (33.1 kg) compared to the previous model. Even so, it has 28-percent greater torsional rigidity and is more tightly sealed than before, helping to provide class-leading dynamic performance along with a new level of comfort and quietness befitting its status as a premium midsize pickup. These improvements benefit safety as well, helping the new Ridgeline target the highest possible crash ratings, including a 5-Star Overall Vehicle Score from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) and a TOP SAFETY PICK+ rating from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS). See the Safety and Driver Assistance section for further information.

“3-Bone” Front Floor Structure
Located under the front floor of the Ridgeline is a “3-Bone” structure that improves impact load management, directing energy around the passenger cabin in the event of a frontal collision. The structure creates three different load pathways, or “backbones,” that channel collision energy. One channels collision forces from the front of the vehicle directly underneath the passenger cabin; the other two channel collision forces under the vehicle’s left and right side frames. The result is an improved capability to safely channel energy during a frontal crash.

Optimized Material Grades
Multiple material grades are used in the Ridgeline’s body construction to achieve excellent overall vehicle dynamics, optimize safety performance, and lower NVH. Materials range from six different grades of steel, including premium high-strength and ultra-high-strength steel used in the unit-body; an aluminum hood and front bumper-reinforcement beam; and a cast-magnesium steering hanger beam. All were chosen to achieve the best combination of strength, rigidity, dynamic performance and light weight. Fully 58.1 percent of the body structure is composed of advanced materials, including the application of ultra-high-strength steel to 19.3 percent of the body.

Body Materials

Key Engineering Features
The 2017 Ridgeline features several unique advancements in body design and materials that significantly improve overall rigidity, while reducing weight. This directly helps improve overall vehicle dynamics, crash safety performance, interior quietness, and long-term durability.

Ultra-High-Strength Door Rings
The new Ridgeline has 1300-megapascals (MPa) ultra-high-strength steel door reinforcement beams and ultra-high-strength front door outer stiffener rings made of 1500-MPa hot-stamped steel. Laser welded and significantly stronger than ordinary steel, the ultra-high-strength steel reinforcements are designed to help better protect occupants in a frontal or side impact. Their increased strength allows the components to be made lighter, which also reduces overall vehicle weight for improved efficiency and dynamic performance.

Optimized Truss-Style Rear Inner Construction
The rear frame structure of the 2017 Ridgeline is vitally important to the overall structural rigidity of the body, to collision safety performance and to the Ridgeline’s hauling and towing capability. Utilizing fully boxed frame members for the body sides and rear tailgate frame, the truss-style rear inner construction contributes to the new Ridgeline’s more conventional three-box design profile—allowing for the elimination of the buttress-style body structure in the forward portion of the upper bed on the previous model—while contributing to a 28-percent gain in torsional rigidity versus the previous model. Also, the U-shaped rear frame member serves as a highly rigid mounting structure for the rear tailgate, allowing for a highly precise tailgate fit.

Structural Foam
Ridgeline body stiffness and therefore collision safety performance and cabin quietness are further enhanced through the use of structural foam inserts in key locations. These include the left and right B-pillar stiffeners, the inside of a bracket that connects the left and right side center frames under the front floor, and the joint between the C-pillar, upper bed rail and the back of the cabin.

Cast Magnesium Steering Hanger Beam
Located inside the instrument panel, the Ridgeline’s cast magnesium steering hanger beam replaces the multi-part steel unit in the previous Ridgeline. It serves as a structural attachment point for the steering column, pedals and instrument panel, as well as a structural element that helps the passenger cabin retain its shape in certain collisions.

The cast magnesium steering hanger beam offers several advantages compared to the previous steel unit:

  • Simpler construction – Created from a single casting instead of multiple different extrusions and stampings, the new magnesium steering hanger beam offers more precise construction.
  • Lighter weight – The magnesium steering hanger beam saves 7.5 pounds compared to a comparable steel component, contributing to improved ride and handling, fuel efficiency and lower emissions.
  • Better fit and finish – The exacting tolerances of the magnesium steering hanger beam allow for more precise location of the instrument panel for improved fit and finish.

Composite Materials
The Ridgeline body structure utilizes composite materials to further reduce weight while enhancing rigidity and noise dampening. One example is inside the hollow B-pillars, where composite stiffeners, together with structural foam, help improve body rigidity while reducing weight. Another example is the base that supports the Ridgeline’s battery: Created from a single composite casting, it holds the battery securely while adding minimal weight to the overall body structure, saving 4.6 pounds (2.1 kg) compared to a conventional steel battery base.

Aluminum Front Bumper Beam
The aluminum front bumper beam saves 2.2 pounds (1 kg) while enhancing structural integrity.

Visibility
Outward visibility is improved courtesy of narrower A- and B-pillars, increasing total outward visibility for the driver from 263.6 degrees on the previous model to 268.2 degrees on the 2017 Ridgeline, a gain of 1.8-percent (with all headrests up). Vertical sight lines are also up 5.5-percent in front and 13.4-percent to the rear (again with all headrests up). And with the available power sliding rear window, a reshaped window frame also improves rearward visibility. The driver’s situational awareness is further enhanced by features such as the  Multi-Angle Rearview Camera, and available Honda LaneWatch™ display, blind spot information system (BSI) and Rear Cross Traffic Monitor. See Safety and Driver Assistance section for more details.

Noise, Vibration and Harshness (NVH) Countermeasures
The new Ridgeline has a refined, multiple-tier insulation package that takes noise, vibration and harshness (NVH) countermeasures to the next level, positioning it at the top of its competitive set.

All Ridgeline trims feature multiple strategically placed body sealants, while the RTL and above trims add internal foam front and rear door acoustic barriers, and the RTL-E and Black Edition add a high-density barrier layer beneath the floor carpeting for additional sound attenuation. Additional NVH enhancements on all models include acoustic separators applied to the lower front portion of the doorframe, upper inside and upper outside portions of the A-pillar, the lower portion of the B-pillar, the rear portion of the rear doorframe, and the upper portion of the C-pillar.

Triple door seals replace the double seals on the previous generation Ridgeline. Thicker, sound-insulating acoustic glass (see below) further aids overall cabin quietness. Engineers even took steps to stop noise from entering where the lower rear cabin wall and truck bed meet. Here, special exterior and interior bed panel insulators reduce incoming noise. Altogether, the improvements reduce uncontrolled body leak area by 75 percent compared to the previous generation Ridgeline. See Exterior section for more information.

Acoustic Windshield
Special acoustic laminated glass is used for the first time on the Ridgeline RTL and above trims to help reduce noise entering the cabin. Tuned specifically to attenuate wind-noise frequencies, the windshield glass uses an outer layer of 2.0 mm safety glass, a 0.7 mm thick middle layer of acoustic polyvinyl butyral (PVB) and a 1.8 mm inner glass layer for a total thickness of 4.5 mm. This helps the Ridgeline place at the top of its class in wind-noise performance. The windshield also incorporates UV light-absorbing technology. The RT, RTS and Sport trims utilize 4.7 mm thick laminated glass with 2.0 mm outer and inner layers and a 0.7 mm regular PVB middle layer.

Increased Window Thickness
Significantly thicker side window glass adds to the 2017 Ridgeline’s gains in attenuating wind, road and mechanical noise before it reaches the cabin. The tempered glass front and rear side windows are 5mm thick, 1.5 mm or 43-percent thicker than on the previous Ridgeline. The new Ridgeline also has 4.0mm thick rear glass, which is 0.9 mm thicker than that of the previous model.

Fuel Tank
The 19.5-gallon (78.3 liter) fuel tank is molded of high-density polyethylene for low weight, freedom from corrosion and for impact resistance. It is positioned ahead of the rear wheels (and over the three-piece propeller shaft in AWD models) to help guard against collision damage. The shape of the tank is designed to diminish the likelihood of sloshing-fuel noise. The polyethylene filler pipe and fuel lines are lightweight, and resistant to corrosion and fuel vapor losses. A high-efficiency fuel pump is housed inside the fuel tank, and the fuel filter is a lifetime design that never needs replacement.

Key Body Features

* First for Ridgeline