Payload Limit on FL5 for Long Road Trip

[Cyano_Hibiki]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here on the forum. This place has been fantastic with a lot of information that helped me in various ways over the 2.5 months of ownership of my FL5. I thank everyone in advance for your help.

Context: I am going on a long road trip with a friend from Central Texas To SoCal and back in my FL5. (This is my only car right now.) On the way back, I am also going to be having two extra passengers (my parents) who wants to visit us for a couple weeks.

The doorjamb sticker states that the payload limit is only 680 lbs. As far as I know this is likely a conservative number by Honda for regulation or liability purposes. Realistically I assume the car is able to carry more than that (which seems to be the consensus in a CivicX forum thread I found).

Now the question is, would it be OK to travel that long of a distance in the FL5 while loaded up with:
- 4 passengers (myself 225 lbs, my friend ~170 lbs (small boi), my parents both under 170 lbs),
- 2-3 carry-on sized suit cases ( < 20 lbs each),
- 1-2 backpacks (< 10 lbs each),
- one Modern Spare tire w/ toolkit (have not weighed, but approximation is 40 lbs?)
- 30 qt cooler with some ice packs and cold drinks (20 lbs?)
Everything coming together to be approximately 875 lbs if being conservative. The weight numbers are estimated to my best capabilities, but is likely the worst case scenario. I can happily ditch a suitcase or two and bring less clothing if needed.

The route I am taking back home would be I-40, from CA through AZ and NM to TX, if that matters.

A bit more detail in case it helps:
- The FL5 is the first manual car I own. I have driven manuals before, but those belong to my dad or my friends.
- The car is bone stock, never changed suspension, wheels, or tires (car is 2.5 months old). [I ordered a rear motor mount (won't arrive it in time), and plan to get 18 inch wheels and thicker rubber once I have the budget.]
- I don't drive very aggressively often, and will never attempt to do so with passengers.
- The trip will mostly be on the interstate and in bigger cities for stops, but we do plan to swing by Petrified Forest NP for a brief detour. The NP is paved according to available information and the hope is the road condition will be good enough considering the payload on the car.

Any insight, similar experiences, or suggestions will be greatly appreciated!

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[thatonedaveguy]

You'll be fine. 4 people with a normal amount of luggage is just fine. The weight guidance stuff is for if you're at home depot loading pallets or bags of cement.

 

[Superhatch]

It likely wont be an issue but you will be exceeding the GVWR by about 30%. Make sure to try and balance your added weight, and you might want to think about being in sport suspension while on the highway? My only thoughts about effects would be suspension responsiveness in comfort mode if you had to make any emergency actions.

Edit: You'll also want to plan for longer braking distances, and avoidance distances. You will feel that extra weight in the car.

Again, probably no issues just thinking about worst case scenarios.

 

[Superhatch]

You'll be fine. 4 people with a normal amount of luggage is just fine. The weight guidance stuff is for if you're at home depot loading pallets or bags of cement.

Pretty sure 1lb = 1lb no matter what it's made of.

 

[AZCWTypeR]

We did Petrified Forest NP last fall. Road surfaces in that region were course and noisy FYI. Definitely worth a visit, as is nearby Meteor Crater (private attraction).

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