Squizz

Hi Guys and Gals,

My wife will be racing next year, and it's likely we'll have to get a different car to use as a tow vehicle.

Our MY99 Impreza has been lowered and probably isn't best suited. So I was thinking of a Forester Turbo or Legacy 2.5 Estate instead?

I don't think I could put up with a diesel, and it's only going to be infrequently that it'll be used for towing, so 99% of the time it'll just be an everyday commuting car.

Now let's not be daft about this - We're not made of money. We'll be forking out loads on the racing car and costs, so cheap is good!

Something with character??

Cheers,
Squizz

Senior_AP

Define "cheap"?

Gutmann pug

What weight of car are you looking to tow? thats an important question too.


Gary

Senior_AP

....we wait with baited breath....

Squizz

Sorry, was pressed for time and neglected to add some pertinent information...

Race-car is currently likely to be either a MK1 MR2 or a MK1 MX5. (Dunno the kerb weights of standard cars).

I'd prefer 4WD, as I feel much safer when driving normally on the road and no doubt it'd prove useful when driving over less than perfect surfaces at venues.

*cough* Ok, ya got me. I might get £7-8K for our Impreza given the current market, so anything around that mark up to about £10K I guess for peace of mind on the right car...

Jonathan Davies

Hilux Surf? Heavy enough to tow whatever, different, loads of imports at various prices.

No good if you want a petrol car, admittedly. A6 estate? Skoda Superb - value secondhand... T5 volvo might do you too.

Gutmann pug

I think you will find its important to know the full weight of goods you wish to transport if your going for something marginal. Remember you will be carrying tools, wheels, spares etc.

Mind you as I know nothing on the subject I cant really comment. Just that when I was considering towing the pug around our new A3 wasn't man enough for the task


Gary

Senior_AP

So far, Audi A4 2.5 TDi.

Powerful, not embarrassing like some *other* diesels.

I think they rock.

jbryant

One of these?
http://www.verandatapes.com/images/S...llet%20gif.GIF

Should cope with the weight of an MX5
Joolz

Robbie T

iTrader: (8)

I part ex'd my E39 shape BMW 528i with a guy who wanted to use it to tow his race cars, a mk2 escort and a nova (not at the same time!) and as far as i'm aware it has worked very nicely for him. Very comfortable as a daily runner as well, thats how i ended up with my scoob woo hoo!

Squizz

Hmmm... Not exactly practical for the shopping run to Tesco.

Audi A4 2.5 TDi - Available as a Quattro?

Skoda Octavia 4x4 Estate - Probably a bit pricey for us...

Volvo T5? You're havin' a larf.

Bimmer? She'd divorce me. LOL! Not exactly held in high regard.

Ok, I'll investigate towed vehicle weights and go from there. Thanks for the ideas guys. Looks like I'm destined for motoring obscurity.

stevem2k

I'm with the Team ICE guys for a tow car ....

TopBanana

Try to keep the total towing weight <80% of your tow vehicles weight

Senior_AP

Yes, it's available in Quattro.

Excellent car (classic line mode) "my mate has one"

GC8

You need to know the combined weight of the car, all stowed kit and the trailer. You cant exceed the curb weight of the towing vehivle and youd be extremely foolish to go over 75%-80%... The only vehicles that can legally tow over their curb weight are 'dual purpose' vehicles, Land Rover 110 for example. The majority of cars that you see towing competition cars on trailers are breaking the law.

Simon

Squizz

Ooooooooh cheers. That's interesting/disturbing.

We are NOT having a Range/Land Rover for towing, or a bl00dy Transit van!

Are petrol turbocharged cars suitable, or will it be on boost permanently and thus gulping fuel?? Is diesel the only answer?

Senior_AP

Drive an Audi 2.5tdi - you won't be putting any more faces next to this diesel anymore!!!

logiclee

Police have a wide range of laws to cover cars and trailers and they do take a dim view if the trailer is heavier than the car but it is only against the law if you passed your test during or after 1997. You have to be pretty stupid to do it though.

A car transporter has better aerodynamics than a caravan so it isn't as critical to stay below 85% but I certainly wouldn't go more than 95%.

I can't undestand the anti-diesel comments though, modern TDi's are well upto the job of providing a decent drive when solo and you need one hell of a petrol engine to match a TDi for towing.
Just one example, take something like a Mondeo TDCi, it will give 240lbft of torque and this is produced at around 60mph in top gear which is ideal for towing. The Mondy is around 1500kg kerb weight as well so as long as your MX5 and trailer falls within aound 1350kg you'll be fine.
If it must be 4X4 and petrol then the Skoda Octavia 4X4 Estate did win tow car of the year but you will need to stay below 1300kg.

You also need to consider nose weight as car transporters tend to be nose heavy when loaded.


Cheers
Lee

DavidBrown

Do it properly and get a Land Rover Discovery.

You can buy one in your budget (it'll just boil down to age/miles).

Lots of space to lug your stuff around in the back too

SAM850T5R

What can I say................................


Volvo

You know it makes sense !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

http://memimage.cardomain.net/member...3_125_full.jpg


Character in boat loads, with the capability of blowing loads to the curb with a trailor on the back

MarkCSC

Have a look here

http://www.ukcar.com/carspecs/towcar.htm

It gives the towing capacity of loads of cars

logiclee

It's worth double checking online database and magazine figures. Manufactures quote towing limits for different inclines.

As an example......

Ford quote the Mondeo TDCi at 1800kg limit while the new Octavia is quoted at 1400kg by Skoda.

Both cars are similar kerbside weight but it looks at first glance that the Mondeo will be a better towcar as it has a higher towing limit.

The reason the Mondeo has the higher limit is that Ford quote the maximum weight the Mondeo will pull on a 8% incline while Skoda quote the Octavia's ability to pull away on a 10% incline.

It's a simila story with nose weight, some manufacturers quote a good nose weight figure then will add in the small print "With boot empty" or "With no rear seat passengers."

It's a bit of a minefield. You need to know the weight and nose weight of what you are pulling then do thorough reseach on your short list of cars.

Cheers
Lee

Squizz

It's all a bit bloody technical this, innit!

My old mans a copper, and he's got experience of towing, anyway. I'll see what he has to say.

I'm not really anti-diesel, but didn't see the point if most of the time it wouldn't be used for towing...

I'll investigate that link, cheers.

darren f

Sorry Squizz, I'm going to add to the technicals! The two big issues as already said will be towing capacity and nose weight. The requirements for the former are covered in detail already and you just need to make sure you stay within the advisory limits.

The BIG factor to consider though is nose weight. If you have your race car and trailer I’d suggest you load it up in position as you would normally, including all associated gear etc and then measure the weight at the tow hitch (I use a piece of timber at the ball hitch down onto a set of bathroom scales). You will find this will be in the region of 50-150kg. Be aware that most saloons (Mondeo etc) quote a maximum of 75kg. You will need to go to a 4x4 to get anything over 100kg.

You can run heavier than the suggested limit but you tow cars handling will be different (nose high, light steering) and long term wear on the rear suspension will be higher. Also have a think about ‘load levelling’ suspension (standard on the Forester), which can dial-out some of these problems.

I tow a Caterham on a lightweight trailer (with front tyre rack) behind a Passat estate- setting the car on the trailer to achieve the 75kg nose weight limit puts the car too far back on the trailer which make the handling very tricky at higher speeds- I’ve had the trailer fish-tail on me quite a few times. Putting the Seven a foot or so further forward helps, but the nose weight is then 100-120kg which really needs something like a Shogun, Trooper or similar type 4x4.

Thus I'd say you could go for a saloon or estate but be aware it could mean you will be running a high nose weight (with associated wear and tear and handling issues) or if you keep the weight down you may have to take it steady to maintain stability. Whereas towing with a big heavy 4x4 will be stress-free and effortless (there are stories of Discos towing Sevens with complete stability at 80mph+...........!)

Hope this helps.

Squizz

Thanks for the info Darren

Trouble is the race-car is likely to be twice the weight of a decent Caterham/Westfield! Sounds like we're going to have to investigate this whole idea a lot more thoroughly, and so I'm glad I asked about it now.

Thanks everyone for the advice so far.

MarkCSC

Could always buy a Mitsubishi Pajero 3.5 Evo. 280BHP and petrol