Hi all Am looking more to make my car dedicated for the track and therefore going to look at trailering. What cars are people using to tow ? Is something like a 320d tourer going to be suitable.
A current 320d has a braked towing weight of 1800kg so essentially should be able to cope with the weight of a mk2 sized car on a trailer. Note older ones may have lower towing weights. You will probably end up with a trailer that weights around 500kg, that leaves you 1300kg of car and spares (wheels etc) to load. Should be ok for a Mk2, but if you ever want to move anything much heavier you are going to be close to the limit. However anyone who regularly tows would recommend your car always weighs at least same as your trailer and it's load, or preferably the trailer weighing 85% of the cars weight. This is down to wanting to keep the car in control and be the heavier object in the train. The 320d however will be about 1600kg with a driver... All in all, If you are in the position to get a 525d or 530d it would probably be the better option for towing duties, both of them have higher rated towing weights and are heavier cars to start with. Although the 320d or 520d could do it legally they will be at their limits and not making for the safest of tow cars.
Mk4 4-motions have a tow weight of 1600kg's and won 'tow car of the year' back in the day. A bit thirsty but a decent sound track and a spare car for some laps should your tow car through a wobbly.
I prefer a 4 x 4 for towing: - Greater visibility - Traction on off-road parking areas - Positive weight distribution to loaded trailer Get the best trailer that you can, I used a 4 wheel Brian James Clubman for ten years = a superb unit
I use a Mk4 110cv TDI Golf, and i have to say that it turned to be a very safe towing car. Good torque, still good mileage and braking performance while towing, it brought me and my track car from Rome to Nurburgring and back many times. So a 320d should be just perfect, but you need to know what kind of trailer you are going to use, like axes, age and brakes conditions. The lower are these specs the higher should be the car ones.
2012 Amarok. All the stuff that needs to be secured goes on the back seat, wheels, tent and chairs go in the back. Great tow car, you don't even feel the trailer back there. Previously I was towing with my 2002 4 motion Bora, but it was a bit too light and I wasn't comfortable towing right on the limit of the car's towing capacity.
Thanks for all the advice. I dont have the tow vehicle yet reason for something like 320d instead of 325 is the car will also be my daily so looking for fairly good mpg. Already have twin axle brain james. Will have to investigate the towing weights.
How about a Jetta Sport TDI (140ps) like mine or a 170ps version if able to find one! I race karts so regularly tow a big 1000kg trailer (never had it weighted so bit of a guess - not light trailer to start with) and with the 85% rule as described before it about right. What your are pulling is a bit different/heavier! agree BMW 520/520/530 the a choice and bargain money nowadays over a 320. How about a VW Tigaun 170ps too. When first got involved with kart racing had and towed with my beloved/much missed W-reg Polo GTI which was very close to the limits and not the best set-up, so sadly went to make way for my Jetta but still do the yearly VW (VW Driver magazine) Castle Combe track days in the Jetta so can still have some fun!
I use an Octavia TDi estate (105BHP) to tow my Scirocco GT2 track car on a twin axle 13 foot Ifor Williams trailer. Trailer weighs 500kgs Rocco is about 900kgs which puts it just about 100kgs inside towing limit. Providing you get the nose weight right and don't expect to drive at 90mph whilst towing (legal limit is 60 when towing), and drive for the conditions at the time its absolutely fine. Just don't drive onto wet grass at the venue with the trailer loaded or you will get stuck. Ultimately its about torque in a tow car.
Am researching this, currently reading up why the Mondeo ST220 estate can't tow - not homologated. The lesser cars, 2.2D estates look good value and can tow 1800Kg braked. A Yeti would be great in 170bhp 4x4 form, can tow 2000Kg. Too pricey at the mo.
One thing to be aware of and it`s something that isn`t well publicised is the rear axle load. I was stopped when towing and was told I was probably over the rear axle weight limit of the towcar. The trailer was within the car towing capacity, the noseweight etc was all good, but the load in the boot of the car, 4 passengers AND trailer meant the weight on the rear axle was over the allowed weight. It was something that I struggled to find details on, but eventually managed it. When I took the car to an axle by axle weighbridge, the rear axle load did indeed exceed the capacity. It`s something manufacturers don`t advertise all that well. An empty towcar with a trailer / load under the towcar capacity will be fine. Once you start putting stuff in the towcar boot, you could be in trouble. The only type car I found capable of carrying the load I wanted AND towing was a 4x4, they have a much higher rear axle limit than normal cars or 4x4 variants of cars (eg passat 4x4), which is why I ended up with an X5 and have never looked back. I occasionally tow with my Passat, which tow`s fine, but I`m very aware of the limited load I can carry in the towcar to keep that axle limit within spec.
Spares, PPE, fuel, water, tools and extra wheels/tyres: Add this lot up and you can add 30% to your race cars weight. Virtually everybody who rallies uses a van, 10 y.o. sprinter is about 2K. REIS do a motorsport support vehicle ins policy with 3000 mile a year. AND you do not have to unload at 10pm on a sunday evening.......... Jon
I insure my `daily` BMW Alpina Touring (E39) `tow car` as a Motorsport Support Vehicle with Competition Car Insurance, with an agreed annual mileage.
Is there a way of getting the rear axle weight down I you could change the hitch height/angle at all? I guess it's not a simple modification..
I tried that, didn`t really help as the load was the passengers and heavy items in the boot, the trailer just added to that. I had a go at moving the car further back on the trailer to lessen the noseweight, but that just caused the inevitable snaking and unpleasantness to tow.
Nige: Been there too. All you can do is put spares, fuel, wheels/tyres in the comp car. The good thing is that most cars rear springs are relatively soft so you can get a measure of thee nose weight by taking measurements with/without someone standing on the hitch. Cars are much quieter, comfortable and more relaxing to tow with. An issue when you get >> 100 miles. Even my 1.6TD Passat pulls ok, but forget using 6th gear.... Jon
I run a MGZTT CDTI (Diesel Rover 75 estate), same engine, box and some of the running gear the BMW 320d, chipped to 170bhp, 50mpg, beer money to buy! Ok bits can fall off but it's a nice motorway and towing barge, better than you'd think. That said I normally use a Renault Master van as I agree with Jon, chuck everything in the back, including a mattress, and and your sorted. .
