Jump to content
SAU Community

Recommended Posts

Nice essay in the interests column :)

Ideally I'd like to rent someone's 4wd and trailer when I need it 4-6 times a year. I'm in brisbane and am happy to pay.

Seems silly to buy another car and trailer when I only need it that much.

Throwing trade plates on and driving to the track is getting too risky

So whats the best bang for buck tow car. Old patrol or landcruiser?

JEEP cheap to buy wg/wj tows 3500kg in diesel spec and can be had pretty cheap mercedes driveline and autobox

Impossible to sell on but cheap and reasonably reliable even the petrol v8 is rated to tow like 2950kg and they can be had dirt cheap not so reliable or cheap to run but still reasonable for a big 4WD

Nice essay in the interests column :)

Ideally I'd like to rent someone's 4wd and trailer when I need it 4-6 times a year. I'm in brisbane and am happy to pay.

Seems silly to buy another car and trailer when I only need it that much.

Throwing trade plates on and driving to the track is getting too risky

Yeh, I had that dream too :)

I have been thinking of getting a VX II SS holden.

Cheap ($9 - 12k), ride well, got all the creature comforts (leather, sunroof, power everything, cruise), sounds good, and being a V8 they tow really well. Just wont have the economy of a small turbo diesel (3ltr 4cyl), but will have ALOT more torque.





Edited by Tonba

I have been thinking of getting a VX II SS holden.

Cheap ($9 - 12k), ride well, got all the creature comforts (leather, sunroof, power everything, cruise), sounds good, and being a V8 they tow really well. Just wont have the economy of a small turbo diesel (3ltr 4cyl), but will have ALOT more torque.

Towing really well has very little to do with the engine. It is more about what the chassis/platform is capable of. Much like the example of a Commodore on the last page, a VX SS is rated to:

Commodore VX / VY, SS / SV8, V6 / V8 Auto (excl Ute & VY Factory LPG Wagon)

Vehicle Manufacturers Maximum Legal Towing Mass 2100kg #

#1 Load level hitch req'd over 750kg

#8 Max 80km/h over 1600kg

#9 Owner's handbook MUST be referred to for additional vehicle fittings req'd for towing

Commodore VX / VY, SS / SV8 V8 Man (excl Ute)

Vehicle Manufacturers Maximum Legal Towing Mass 1600kg #

#1 Load level hitch req'd over 750kg

#9 Owner's handbook MUST be referred to for additional vehicle fittings req'd for towing

The auto is the only one that can legally tow a useful amount to start with. And a good tow car wouldn't limit you to 80km/h or require a load levelling hitch for anything over 750kg. They are marginal tow cars, at best.

Edited by hrd-hr30

Just putting some more thought into it. As a reasonably priced car that can tow, that you can also drive everyday in comfort and have a 'squirt', not to mention make long trips in... I still think a holden or something would make a good tow car.
Sure, if your towing EVERYDAY I wouldn't get one, but for up to 12 trackdays a year, for sure. That's only like 3-5% of your driving per year. Im not sure If I want a noisy 4x4 for the other 95% of my driving...
Just some more food for thought.


  • 3 weeks later...

Not sure if this has come up before but pretty good read and might be useful for a few people.

http://www.candm.com.au/review/tow-vehicle/which-will-be-crowned-best-tow-vehicle

Not a bad read.

Bit strange about the older Fairmont though. Comments like "‘bottoming out’ on undulating surfaces", "It was not as happy towing as the other cars", and "The van wasn’t pushing the car, but it was rocking back and forth", and rated one of the worst for towing stability, don't really align with it being ranked 4th overall for Best Tow vehicle! Can't understand that...

Edited by hrd-hr30

I did read the whole thing. That's what confued me!

Here's just a few more blatantly confusing examples:

-In the body of the article Pajero is No1 Tow Car and then in the list below, Landcruiser becomes No1 tow car.

-They raved about the Pajero in the body of the article "is more of a driver’s car and was so punchy. The Pajero was fun to drive and it was a lot more responsive. We were so impressed with this vehicle, the way it handled, its towing capabilities, and the comfort. The whole package was such a delight to drive..." but then it only rates 3rd in the list (well, actually 4th) for "Drive cars with occassional towing".

- Fairmont is behind 2 4WDs as a "Shopping Car". With no explanation whatsoever. I can't imagine how a Prado or Pajero are better for runing to the shops than a Falcon.

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now



  • Similar Content

  • Latest Posts

    • If as it's stalling, the fuel pressure rises, it's saying there's less vacuum in the intake manifold. This is pretty typical of an engine that is slowing down.   While typically is agree it sounds fuel related, it really sounds fuel/air mixture related. Since the whole system has been refurbished, including injectors, pump, etc, it's likely we've altered how well the system is delivering fuel. If someone before you has messed with the IACV because it needed fiddling with as the fuel system was dieing out, we need to readjust it back. Getting things back to factory spec everywhere, is what's going to help the entire system. So if it idles at 400rpm with no IACV, that needs raising. Getting factory air flow back to normal will help us get everything back in spec, and likely help chase down any other issues. Back on IACV, if the base idle (no IACV plugged in) is too far out, it's a lot harder for the ECU to control idle. The IACV duty cycle causes non linear variations in reality. When I've tuned the idle valves in the past, you need to keep it in a relatively narrow window on aftermarket ecus to stop them doing wild dances. It also means if your base idle is too low, the valve needs to open too much, and then the smallest % change ends up being a huge variation.
    • I guess one thing that might be wrong is the manifold pressure.  It is a constant -5.9 and never moves even under 100% throttle and load.  I would expect it to atleast go to 0 correct?  It's doing this with the OEM MAP as well as the ECU vacuum sensor. When trying to tune the base map under load the crosshairs only climb vertically with RPM, but always in the -5.9 column.
    • AHHHH gotchaa, I'll do that once I am home again. I tried doing the harness with the multimeter but it seems the car needed a jump, there was no power when it was in the "ON" position. Not sure if I should use car battery jump starter or if its because the stuff that has been disconnect the car just does send power.
    • As far as I can tell I have everything properly set in the Haltech software for engine size, injector data, all sensors seem to be reporting proper numbers.  If I change any injector details it doesnt run right.    Changing the base map is having the biggest change in response, im not sure how people are saying it doesnt really matter.  I'm guessing under normal conditions the ECU is able to self adjust and keep everything smooth.   Right now my best performance is happening by lowering the base map just enough to where the ECU us doing short term cut of about 45% to reach the target Lambda of 14.7.  That way when I start putting load on it still has high enough fuel map to not be so lean.  After 2500 rpm I raised the base map to what would be really rich at no load, but still helps with the lean spots on load.  I figure I don't have much reason to be above 2500rpm with no load.  When watching other videos it seems their target is reached much faster than mine.  Mine takes forever to adjust and reach the target. My next few days will be spent making sure timing is good, it was running fine before doing the ECU and DBW swap, but want to verify.  I'll also probably swap in the new injectors I bought as well as a walbro 255 pump.  
    • It would be different if the sealant hadn't started to peel up with gaps in the glue about ~6cm and bigger in some areas. I would much prefer not having to do the work take them off the car . However, the filler the owner put in the roof rack mount cavities has shrunk and begun to crack on the rail delete panels. I cant trust that to hold off moisture ingress especially where I live. Not only that but I have faded paint on as well as on either side of these panels, so they would need to come off to give the roofline a proper respray. My goal is to get in there and put a healthy amount of epoxy instead of panel filler/bog and potentially skin with carbon fiber. I have 2 spare rolls from an old motorcycle fairing project from a few years back and I think it'd be a nice touch on a black stag.  I've seen some threads where people replace their roof rack delete with a welded in sheet metal part. But has anyone re-worked the roof rails themselves? It seems like there is a lot of volume there to add in some threads and maybe a keyway for a quick(er) release roof rack system. Not afraid to mill something out if I have to. It would be cool to have a cross bar only setup. That way I can keep the sleek roofline that would accept a couple bolts to gain back that extra utility  3D print some snazzy covers to hide the threaded section to be thorough and keep things covered when not using the rack. 
×
×
  • Create New...