Towing a motorcycle with a WRX
04-16-2009, 05:11 PM
#1
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Towing a motorcycle with a WRX
Is there any reason why this would be a bad idea? I did quick google search and came across something that said its bad for the turbo. Is that true?
According to the owners manual, the WRX can tow up to 1,000 lbs if the trailer has no brakes. I want to rent a single motorcycle trailer from U-haul. The trailer weighs 550 lbs and my bike weighs 416 lbs dry according to the manufacturer's website. So, it will weigh just about 1k lbs. Seems like it should be fine to me.
According to the owners manual, the WRX can tow up to 1,000 lbs if the trailer has no brakes. I want to rent a single motorcycle trailer from U-haul. The trailer weighs 550 lbs and my bike weighs 416 lbs dry according to the manufacturer's website. So, it will weigh just about 1k lbs. Seems like it should be fine to me.
04-19-2009, 10:45 PM
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I wanna know the same, just in case I ever need to go to a trackday without any friends. I think i saw some chart somewhere that said its a no-go for the turbo version, If so thats a bummer cuz I saw a S2000 pulling a track bike.
Last edited by sammae01; 04-19-2009 at 10:48 PM.
04-19-2009, 10:55 PM
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So wherever you guys are seeing this information that it's bad for the turbo, do they say WHY? I'm always skeptical of opinions like that when there is no supporting information. It seems like a 3rd hand story where "it could be bad for the turbo if blah blah blah" but the "if blah blah blah" part got cut short.
04-19-2009, 11:21 PM
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So wherever you guys are seeing this information that it's bad for the turbo, do they say WHY? I'm always skeptical of opinions like that when there is no supporting information. It seems like a 3rd hand story where "it could be bad for the turbo if blah blah blah" but the "if blah blah blah" part got cut short.
I didn't see any supporting info, I just saw a chart for all imprezas in my year auto and manual of each version and how much tow capacity it had but in the square for all the turbo versions read "not recommended"
So I dunno, I'm pretty sure there's something in the Owners Manual right?
04-20-2009, 02:58 AM
#9
hm maybe the lack of torque from a stand still puts extra strain on the engine? iono I know it barely has enough torque to keep the car going with the clutch without a lil input of gas
04-20-2009, 07:51 AM
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So wherever you guys are seeing this information that it's bad for the turbo, do they say WHY? I'm always skeptical of opinions like that when there is no supporting information. It seems like a 3rd hand story where "it could be bad for the turbo if blah blah blah" but the "if blah blah blah" part got cut short.
04-24-2009, 07:39 AM
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Is it better to tow something with a manual transmission or an automatic transmission? I have been reading many references to issues with auto trans and adding trans coolers but does that apply to a manual?
07-13-2009, 10:19 PM
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I just saw this thread so I thought I'd contribute.
I tow my race car on a tow dolly behind my 'rex. It has a combined weight of 2300 lbs. I read the owners manual (1k w/o brakes, 2k with) and decided to make up my own mind. I figured that I needed to take their advice/warning and use it as a guideline. The car tows this load just fine, but prudence is required. The brakes and clutch are two things to be concerned about/careful with. Unlike towing with a large automatic vehicle, you need to be careful to avoid stopping (and then starting) going up a steep hill. You need to allow extra stopping distance. I only tow (more than short distances) with my racing brakes installed so that overheating the stock brakes is not an issue. You will certainly find that you get into ABS activation sooner than stock, but stopping distances and control are still decent.
Would I do this in all weather? No way. Do I keep the speeds down? Yup. 55 mph max generally, 60 when it's really open. After towing our race car in a 25' enclosed trailer behind a 40' motorhome, I realized that I had muuuch larger stopping distances and less control with that ~40,000 lb rig than with my 5k lb WRX + race car. :-) I don't tow on routes that will have large mountain passes. I'll leave that to bigger vehicles.
YMMV
I tow my race car on a tow dolly behind my 'rex. It has a combined weight of 2300 lbs. I read the owners manual (1k w/o brakes, 2k with) and decided to make up my own mind. I figured that I needed to take their advice/warning and use it as a guideline. The car tows this load just fine, but prudence is required. The brakes and clutch are two things to be concerned about/careful with. Unlike towing with a large automatic vehicle, you need to be careful to avoid stopping (and then starting) going up a steep hill. You need to allow extra stopping distance. I only tow (more than short distances) with my racing brakes installed so that overheating the stock brakes is not an issue. You will certainly find that you get into ABS activation sooner than stock, but stopping distances and control are still decent.
Would I do this in all weather? No way. Do I keep the speeds down? Yup. 55 mph max generally, 60 when it's really open. After towing our race car in a 25' enclosed trailer behind a 40' motorhome, I realized that I had muuuch larger stopping distances and less control with that ~40,000 lb rig than with my 5k lb WRX + race car. :-) I don't tow on routes that will have large mountain passes. I'll leave that to bigger vehicles.
YMMV