R32 Gtr And Towbars

[grigor]

Somewhere in the Skyline specs, there will be stated the max. towing capacity.

I know my old VS Commo is 1200kg. That's it, doesn't matter how many axles or brakes the trailer has, I can't tow more than 1.2tonne.

Exactly the same with the guy's Mack . It has a spec. called Gross Combination Mass. So if the GCM on his Mack is 40tonne, he can't hook up to a 60t B double. There may be a 60t GCM model available, and it will have heavy duty brakes, chassis and more HP etc.

So if you want to tow a tandem car trailer (tare weight 600kg) carrying a race car (mass 1200kg), you're definately not doing it legally behind my VS Commo and probably not even some small 4WD's, you need something like a Cruiser or Patrol.

[Tw1st]

Just from my own experience, of fitting towbars for 3years, your GTR would be unable to tow another vehicle on a trailer. Torque and power do come into it, but only in a minor way. The structural strength of the rear of the car plays the biggest part in this decision. In towing, there are 2 weights to take into consideration... Ball weight and towing weight. Towing weight, everyone would be familiar with, it's the actual weight of the entire load being towed... in this cae, a car, and a car trailer - don't forget the weight of the trailer. Ball weight on the other hand is often over looked... it is the weight directly down on the tow ball. This figure can actually restrict some vehicles from even carrying a loaded bike rack.

Skylines, R32 and onwards, were not designed for towing... which is obviously why brands such as Hayman Reece don't make kits to suit, if you were to get one fitted, it would be custom made. Despite being all wheel drive, having good low down torque, great handling, and everything else that everyone has said... the rear end of the car and chassis was not designed to have an extra couple of tonne being pulled along behind it, or another couple of hundred kilos straight down on the rear.

Nissan Patrols and Land Cruisers can tow around 3500kgs with the heavy duty towbar kits... you could buy one of these and tow a GTR and your Datto!

Edited December 28, 2006 by Tw1st

[wonkynutz]

Twist, what would you estimate to be a reasonable gross load for an R32?

I find it difficult to believe it'd be zero. They are a fairly solidly built car.

[Ryanrb25]

i Had a R31 Silhouette with RB25DET, coilovers etc etc....200rwkw. I put a towbar on it to tow a car trailer with a pintara on it and it towed very well. This particular R31 weighed in at 1350 kilo, i assume the car trailer weighed around 600-700kilo and the pintara around 1200 kilo so thats around 2ton of weight behind the thing. THe R31 came out with a towbar but this is obviously too much weight for the Skyline. But what impressed me was how the RB25DET towed this weight. had to kreep up to around 100km/h at one point and went very well. surprisingly infact. Obviously our Jackaroo 4wd towes alot better in the way of stability and braking but for what it was the Rb25det did its job despite it not being part of its job when it was designed. food for thought. however i do agree with the whole downward weight on the rear of a 32. I heard that KIER WILSON tows his 8.84second GTR behind his STREET GTR to events here in adelaide. If anyone knows whats bad for a GTR its kier wilson.

[ebola]

Well, my old magna was fine at towing... car trailer & car... and it was no where near as solidly built as my skyline. I don't know about how strong the R32 gts-t's are, but the gtr would have to be stronger than the magna.

I would suggest that the chassis would be the limiting factor in towing, as you can actually tow quit well with very little power.

hit 100k out past Strathalbyn (SA) with an old toyota brick on the trailer. Just after replacing the rear torsion bar. no problem... but the brakes did warm up pretty quickly.

If a crappy old carby 4cyl manual fwd can tow that weight without a problem, I'd think a gtr would have no problem.

[Blackzedder]

I think Twi1st is spot on. The max a Skyline can tow (in Qld) is either the manufacturer's rating (there isn't one), or up to 1-1/2 times the tow vehicle's weight providing the trailer has brakes.

However, suitability of the vehicle for towing comes into the equation. If the vehicle has not got the structural rigidity to tow this weight, while it OK to fit a tow bar and tow light loads, it would be illegal to tow a tandem trailer and car behind the skyline.

I know a bloke who has a towbar in his Z and it is a great tow car up to about 1.2tonnes. Then it gets a bit nasty. But he gets some good looks at the rubbish tip.

Everything is fine in moderation.

Fit a tow bar but don't tow something that is to dangerous, others use the road too. - Cheers