Good Tow Cars?

[handbrake]

Plenty of patrol lovers back through the pages. Fineline (Noel) is a big fan of the 4.8L patrol!

[boxheadmr]

managed 14.7ltrs per 100klms in the falcon G6e turbo over the 2200klms trip down to Phillip island with a detour through Melbourne city and driving around town. This was with a full tank of gas in the car being towed as well as full set of spares (basically the car was full) and 3 blokes in the falcon with luggage and my big tool box.

Was using 91oct fuel for half the trip then realised i could get better fuel econ on the 95 so switched on the way back. Towed at the speed limit very well and could easily overtake when needed although we took it easy.

[CMS Drifter]

I've got a petrol 8o series landcruiser to tow my race car (R33 gtst)

It has 4" lift, 35" mud tyres, winch, compressor and a shiteload of recovery gear and tools.

I have turbo'd the std 4.5 petrol and its currently making 350rwhp on 8psi.

With injected gas I average 320km/90l towing a rental car trailer (heavy POS) and the racecar.

As it has been said many time before in this thread- ball weight is critical to be comfortable towing.

[gregor]

managed 14.7ltrs per 100klms in the falcon G6e turbo over the 2200klms trip down to Phillip island with a detour through Melbourne city and driving around town. This was with a full tank of gas in the car being towed as well as full set of spares (basically the car was full) and 3 blokes in the falcon with luggage and my big tool box.

Was using 91oct fuel for half the trip then realised i could get better fuel econ on the 95 so switched on the way back. Towed at the speed limit very well and could easily overtake when needed although we took it easy.

+1 for the falcons. After reading this thread i was a bit worried about towing my rx7 with my BF xr6t to Wakefield but it did it beautifully.

[boxheadmr]

i think with the non-turbo 6 you can probally get better fuel economy though.

[gregor]

maybe but im happy to pay the price. The turbo 6 did it so easily, i would think the NA would struggle a little more. Even if not then you're stuck with an NA thats not as fun when you arent towing.

[vesh]

Opinions please

I am considering getting a manual ssv wagon for a tow car, thoughts??

[benm]

Been using my ssv ute for 18mths with no problems, at times I only remember im towing something when I look in my rearview mirror and get a shock that a car is up my ass only to realise its my car on the trailer

[samstain]

apart from the fact that a manual cant legally tow more than 1600kg, it would probably do quite a good job.... good luck with your insurance though if anything goes wrong - unless you have a very light race car and trailer?

Edited June 6, 2011 by samstain

[vesh]

Been using my ssv ute for 18mths with no problems, at times I only remember im towing something when I look in my rearview mirror and get a shock that a car is up my ass only to realise its my car on the trailer

is your ute manual or auto?

[evil_weevil]

LOL - Ben - your car weighs as much as Ando and I together hahaha

[benm]

is your ute manual or auto?

6sp auto with a duspeed otr + tune (about 245rwkw).

The vehicle will comfortably tow, more power and torque than pretty much anything listed in this thread with decent fuel mileage, the downside is they have a low tow rating and the factory suspension and brake pads are rubbish.

LOL - Ben - your car weighs as much as Ando and I together hahaha

Not quite, but very close to it!

[Deano 1]

6sp auto with a duspeed otr + tune (about 245rwkw).

The vehicle will comfortably tow, more power and torque than pretty much anything listed in this thread with decent fuel mileage, the downside is they have a low tow rating and the factory suspension and brake pads are rubbish.

Not quite, but very close to it!

put a 1.5T gtr on the back of it and some tools and tyres and im sure your fuel eco would go so far out the window you could watch the fuel gauge go down fast than the speedo gose up. : D i had a D40 Navara 200kw V6 6 speed.... loved to drink when towing my silvia, i never got to see how bad it was with my gtr

[Marlin]

put a 1.5T gtr on the back of it and some tools and tyres and im sure your fuel eco would go so far out the window you could watch the fuel gauge go down fast than the speedo gose up. : D i had a D40 Navara 200kw V6 6 speed.... loved to drink when towing my silvia, i never got to see how bad it was with my gtr

Indeed! A mate has a D40 V6 Navara, and it's quite a bit worse than my Hemi V8 powered Jeep towing a similar load, and has a LOT less power/torque.

[vesh]

apart from the fact that a manual cant legally tow more than 1600kg, it would probably do quite a good job.... good luck with your insurance though if anything goes wrong - unless you have a very light race car and trailer?

Just like the other 95% of cars that tow there cars to the track. The most popular tow car at Sandown for improved production car the other week was a Nissan X-Trail . . .

[hrd-hr30]

6sp auto with a duspeed otr + tune (about 245rwkw).

The vehicle will comfortably tow, more power and torque than pretty much anything listed in this thread with decent fuel mileage, the downside is they have a low tow rating and the factory suspension and brake pads are rubbish.

ability of the chassis to safely haul the weight is FAR more important to a good tow car than power or torque. I've been in a V8 Commodore towing a car, and the chassis dynamics were fkn horrible! I'd take my underpowered 4.2 diesel Patrol anyday of the week for towing. But the Commo owner thought it towed great - heaps of grunt to pull it along. Nevermind that the thing was dragging its nuts on the ground with the rear end squatted right down, or that the steering was light and vague (even before you hit any serious bumps on the highway!) or that you could feel with every bump in the road the trailer would pull the rear of the car around... nah, it towed great - feel the grunt!

And that was just towing an 850kg IPRA spec Datto and 540kg trailer - ie within its towing capacity! In contrast, I've towed my old full weight R32 GTR to Bathurst (from Brisbane) with a non turbo 4.2 deisel Patrol and apart from being a bit slower than normal, you wouldn't even know there was a trailer on the back. Seperate chassis 4WD's are far and away the best option for towing cars.

Just like the other 95% of cars that tow there cars to the track. The most popular tow car at Sandown for improved production car the other week was a Nissan X-Trail . . .

lol X-Trail towing capacity is 2000kg. Most IP cars are turbo 4's or rotary and would easily be under 2000kg incl trailer, tools, spares and fuel.

A fair bit different to towing an R33 GTR behind something with 1600kg tow capacity....

Edited June 8, 2011 by hrd-hr30

[vesh]

ability of the chassis to safely haul the weight is FAR more important to a good tow car than power or torque. I've been in a V8 Commodore towing a car, and the chassis dynamics were fkn horrible! I'd take my underpowered 4.2 diesel Patrol anyday of the week for towing. But the Commo owner thought it towed great - heaps of grunt to pull it along. Nevermind that the thing was dragging its nuts on the ground with the rear end squatted right down, or that the steering was light and vague (even before you hit any serious bumps on the highway!) or that you could feel with every bump in the road the trailer would pull the rear of the car around... nah, it towed great - feel the grunt!

And that was just towing an 850kg IPRA spec Datto and 540kg trailer - ie within its towing capacity! In contrast, I've towed my old full weight R32 GTR to Bathurst (from Brisbane) with a non turbo 4.2 deisel Patrol and apart from being a bit slower than normal, you wouldn't even know there was a trailer on the back. Seperate chassis 4WD's are far and away the best option for towing cars.

lol X-Trail towing capacity is 2000kg. Most IP cars are turbo 4's or rotary and would easily be under 2000kg incl trailer, tools, spares and fuel.

A fair bit different to towing an R33 GTR behind something with 1600kg tow capacity....

where does it say that I am towing a R33 GTR?

[hrd-hr30]

I went off the best information available

But since you're selling a track only R32 GTR that "has not yet seen a track " and...

I have a R33 GTR which I use for track days...

...it seems to be a reasonable assumption in the absence of any better information. Certainly no worse than your assumption about X-Trails at any rate, eh?

but anyway, even if its not an R33 GTR, it's a pretty safe bet that it fits somewhere in between that and the lightweight car and trailer example I also mentioned...

Edited June 8, 2011 by hrd-hr30

[evil_weevil]

LOL Harry!!!!

I want a new Colorado diesel ute.

wife wont let me...yet

[PHaT MR30]

lol X-Trail towing capacity is 2000kg. Most IP cars are turbo 4's or rotary and would easily be under 2000kg incl trailer, tools, spares and fuel.

I wonder how on earth an X-trail is rated to 2000kg??

Ive only driven the pusser CVT petrol model and it was so gutless, i wouldn't expect it/let alone consider it to be able to haul 2 tonne behind it.