Honda Odyssey 2004 (a.k.a Barney)

[ryan]

Managed to get some photos up after recieving and installing the kit yesterday. Imported the Mugen bodykit from Imperial Concepts in July, just recieved it because Mugen Japan did a recall on their defective kits and had to re-do them, thus the long delay.

One thing to note, this is NOT my car. This is my parent's car. I don't really drive it alot, so please do not quote it being MY car. Argh. If you see it on the roads and a pretty old guy driving it, it's my dad, not me! Okay, here goes!

My personal take on it.

Car is very large and spacious. Can fit 7 full-grown adults very easily. Rear seats can seat 2. Leg space is okay, but going into the rear is like going into a coupe, so not recommended for old folks.

Performance wise, it is good for low-mid end torque, pretty spunky when driven hard and "steptronic" function is nifty when trying to optimise acceleration. Car is really quiet unless floored. Driver and passengers sit pretty high up (lower than RX300 tho). Roofline is lower than the older odyssey models and thus looks a bit more "sporty". This is of course..relative. Being a MPV, it still has quite a bit of body roll when taking corners, albeit much better than the older models with a better suspension setup and it's lower CG. Managed to do a run down Cameron highlands without losing out to the other BMWs, so cornering-wise, pretty stable and sharp.

This car does not float at high speed (i have tried civics before to 160km/hr, after that balls decided to hide). Have taken the car up to 210km and sustained that during the recent trip to Cameron highlands, however, car is screaming around 5.5K RPM and the max RPM for this car is 7.5k. Gearing still loses out to European autobann blasters. 2400cc is all geared for low-mid end torque to ferry 7 people around town so cannot compare to Welbo's 2.4 Audi cab. Even tho both cars weigh 1.6 tonnes. Audi cab is almost 1.7 if i'm not wrong.

0-100 feels like 10-11 seconds, so it's quite acceptable. There is a JDM spec Odyssey Absolute which has 200bhp compared to 160bhp SG versions.

Interior is a love-hate thing with it's front dashboard. Otherwise, build quality and plastics are really good! Plenty of places to put bottles/cans of drinks. I'm comparing with the previous E46 3 series i used to drive. The car has full leather seats and sun roof(pretty small tho). Automatic Xenon lights and front/rear PDCs. I found it quite easy to park this car. Length of the car is just a tad bit longer than the E60 5 series. However, reaching for the ERP-cashcard thingamajig is like trying to do your sit-and-reach for IPPT. It's extremely far and if you have a tummy you're going to find it quite uncomfortable.

Usability - Rear seats can all fold down flat and you can pretty much put a bed there for 2 people. Can put bikes in easily (need to take out front wheel tho). The last row is automatic. Press and hold a button and it can fold away automatically with nifty use of nifty engines located somewhere in the seats. Make sure there's no elderly folk unless you enjoy old pancake. If you want to see it in action, ask me at the next meetup!

Exterior looks are pretty nice. I love the how the rear looks. Way much better than older models. Dad and i agreed that we both hated the front silver grill, thus the Mugen Kit. The car is lower than the older models as well, dad has no plans to change the rims or lower the car. I have no other plans other than to probably paint the silver side trims and maybe the door handles to colour-code the whole car. Might paint the honda logo black as well. And that's pretty much it.

Car is running on stock 16"s and is V-kool'ed.

Again, this is NOT my car. So don't suggest any mods to me please. I only suggest small minor mods for my old man.

Here are some stock pictures. Taken from the Honda.com.sg website.

2004 Honda Odyssey (Silver)




Some interior shots.. It's really that big!


Stock specifications (Copied from honda.com.sg website)


So here's Barney at last.. (Mauvish (Purple?)color), after going through the kit. Mugen. Parts were all sprayed in Japan itself so the paintwork is perfectly matched. 5 Pieces altogether.

Shot of the front.





Shot of the side.



Shot of the rear





Rear shot of the addon kit.. need bigger exhaust pipes!




And of course, a huge ass GT-wing when you need the downforce. However, need to strap things down tight, including the dogs.




Sun roof



Some interior pics.


Front passenger door. Good quality stuff.


Ugly Radio setup (IMO)




Rear seats.



Speedo startup sequence.

Car off


Car on


Closer look at speedo.


Cruise control features



Some engine shots.


Closer look..


Right side of engine compartment..


That's all for now. If anyone has any photo requests or questions, i'd be most willing to answer them! Please do not quote this post as it's really long!

For now...*ahbeng voice* MUGEN POWER! *end ahbeng voice*

[Whisky_Tango]

Very nice and the front looks more aggressive now.

Way to go! Wats next?....

[Puny]

Power......
The kit changes the look, from night to day!....

[ryan]

Originally Posted by Whisky_Tango

Very nice and the front looks more aggressive now.

Way to go! Wats next?....

Tomei engine lor. ahhaah no lah, got nothing much to do to it already

Puny,
Yeah! Quite a lot of difference. I love how it looks right now.

[MRacer77]

Damn Ryan... the car is looking good man...

Hey man.. you need at least 17 inch Volk Racing TE37s lah... comfort still there but yet very much fiercer... hehe... as for the ride, coilovers perhaps?

[Racebred]

actually there's a cheap and nice effect mod you can do, cost like half tank of petrol only.

go to fong kim and put on some chrome tips, extend them out a bit. chio!

[MRacer77]

Thats true too! Go do it man Ryan...

[Shaun]

Very cool car ryan. good for putting out strong signal to gf that you're ready to continue the chua family bloodline...

18 sons, 6 daughters, 50 grandchildren, 112 great-grandchildren!

[BorisRS]

Ryan,

Is the car a PI or Kah car? i.e. which gearbox does it have? CVT or conventional auto

[jaskin]

I think I might have seen your barney around East Coast.