What kind of Truck & Trailers are you guys using to tow your FDs to the track?
 

I'm interested in what you guys are using. Pictures would be great if you have any.

I drive it to the track. It is a street car afterall. I only notice posers or wanna be racers tow their street cars to the track. I don't understand why one would go through the expense and effort to do that but different strokes and all that...

I do tow my race car (Spec Miata). I use a Ford Excursion. Typically rent a trailer from UHaul. Not sure if the FD would work on that trailer due to ride height and the 99 lip.

Good point Gracer. Just wondering about those who can't smog their FDs and choose to keep their FDs as track only vehicles...

Stick it on the back of any car with a bit of power, FD's are not heavy.

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:dubs:

Was only towing as it was a non-runner - I'd drive it to the track unless it was a session where I needed more than one set of tires.

Excellent thread :)


I recently acquired a new open trailer for towing my FD to the track. I had rented one in the past for a long trip and decided it was something that I needed.

I tow with a 2002 Range Rover. With the FD on the open trailer the Range does excellent, you dont really feel the car back there until you find a hill.... I do wish it had a bit more power, but for my needs it does great.


I used to drive my FD to the track. Having a trailer opens up so many additional possibilities. The biggest is the amount of gear you can bring, you are no longer restricted to the FD's tiny hatch space. However the biggest advantage (personally) that I have found is confidence on track. Previously when I would drive to the track I would always have it in the back of my mind that I needed this car functioning to get me home. That put me in a mental state where I was not able to push the car as hard as I would have liked. I noticed that as soon as I started trailering the car I immediately got faster because I was no longer worried about blowing up, failing turbos, some minor off track excursions, etc.


Here is a shot of me towing Scrub's FD to the Carlisi Meet back in August with Scrub driving my FD behind.

https://www.rx7club.com/attachment.p...1&d=1381403250


Now the real question is how does everyone strap their FD down on the trailer??? I found this to be a pain in the ass, so I spent some time developing tie down hooks for the car. They should make strapping the car down a breeze. The prototypes are being laser cut this week or next, I'll post some pictures when I get them done.


In for more trailer pics! :egrin::icon_tup:

That's a bit extreme to call people who tow their cars posers... When we make the 7 hour trip down to VIR I would MUCH rather be sitting in the comfort of my tow vehicle. Its quiet, comfortable, has great A/C, and nice stereo. My FD has none of those things. Additionally, even for closer tracks its great to unwind in the comfort of the tow vehicle for your trip home after a long day at the track.

^ I agree. Towing IMO is a good idea if something goes wrong, you still have a way to get home with less stress.

Ah, a Range Rover, ideal towing vehicle really :).

For the trip pictured I just ratchet strapped the wheels down to the trailer, plenty good enough to hold it in place over the 220 odd mile trip :icon_tup:

Barely knew the trailer was there when moving - The main key is getting the load balanced on the trailer, thankfully the FD is easy to balance due to its weight distribution.

Your car is looking great btw John :icon_tup:

Thanks!

How was towing with that Golf? I assume it is a TDI? When I was over in Ireland I noticed a large amount of normal passenger cars with tow receiver balls mounted to them. You never see that around here.

Yeah its the GTI TDI 150hp model, but remapped to 210hp & 410nm for fun :lol:. It towed it no problem at all. I was a little worried when I had to stop on a steep hill at some traffic lights, but surprisingly it was fine. That trailer is a pretty heavy one too. Its normally a tri axle, just had one removed at the time. Its taken Land Rovers in the past. Averaged 41mpg over the 220 miles with a full trailer & was comfortable, a/c, heated seats etc, cant complain ;).

Its far more common to see a car towing than a truck over here. I'd imagine due to the fuel cost making trucks impractical.

I'm glad for those who have chimed in so far. Wasn't sure of the reaction I'd get as this is not a normal topic here, but I wanted to hear specifically from FD owners. John what kind of trailer is that and how much did it set you back?

I drove my car to and from the track for about eight years, pulling a trailerette with tires/tools on it, even as far as VIR and WGI (5-6 hours away), and with a few close calls, always drove home.

Ironically, as soon as I started towing the car, I started breaking stuff (but it's really because I was going faster, and stuff was getting older).

I tow with a 2006 Toyota 4Runner. I did a lot of research on what would be the most real world livable/driveable for both me and my wife, and still honestly be robust enough to tow OVER TIME. Lots of stuff WILL do it. Then two-three years later, your transmission is toast and the thing rattles like a bucket of bolts (or whatever). At the same time, I didn't feel like driving a giant ass F350 diesel dually to work every day.

I'm borrowing a trailer for a friend currently (thanks Rich!), awaiting a place to be able to park my own, before I buy one. The trailer is a TANK... it's probably as heavy as the car and really requires a load-leveling hitch to ride well. When I buy I'm hoping to pick up something more compact and lighter to ease the load on the truck.

You guys all using steel trailers? I wonder if a Nissan Titan with a tow package would last. I don't want a big F350 either and I don't want a huge diesel either.

I got an 18ft Sure-trac steel bed trailer. It has 4 wheel brakes, dove tail, winch plate (for future winch), and removable driver side fender. The removable fender is a fantastic feature for our low cars. All said after taxes, registration, inspection, and spare tire, it end up costing $3400 new.

Sure Trac |

Even with the dove tail, my FD is too low to load it with the standard ramps so I made ramp extensions out of wood. The other option is to purchase race ramps extensions.



This is exactly why I bought the Range Rover... more than enough towing capacity so I am not taxing the truck, but it is also my daily driver so I wanted something I could live with every day.

My steel trailer weighs 1950 lbs empty.

I've got to believe the 18' steel trailer I'm using weighs 1950 or so as well. It's a tank. It's for towing trucks and such.

I'd like to spend the $$ for a used aluminum Trailex or something that is not only much lighter (1k lbs or so), but also a lot lower and more compact.... they also have nice attachments for tools and extra wheels. Just need a place to put the thing.

I think the Trailex's are about the same height as most standard open car haulers. However the Trailex trailers don't have dove tails. So it may require even longer extensions to get the car up.

Aluminum trailer is the way to go for sure though if you can afford it!

Those I've parked next to actually have smaller tires, and are definitely lower than what I'm using. The Ramps that come with them are super long, too.

IMO, Towing and the longevity of the equipment has more to do with the driver rather than the equipment doing the towing.

I think people(not you) just need to take it easy when towing and remember the vehicle will not accelerate like it will when empty and to just take it easy when it comes to hills, no excessive overtaking where the trans has to downshift 2 gears... things like that. Little driving style changes make a larger impact to increase longevity rather than the actual vehicle. JMO

I would have no problem towing my FD with a F-150 there is absolutely no need for a 350 diesel to tow a single FD:lol:. (speaking from experience) The newer F-150's drive like cars and ride amazing.

I use my Dodge Ram 3500 diesel dually to tow my FD on a 18' open trailer.

As stated before, even with the dove tail, I still have problems. To get around this, I carry a couple strips of 2x6 to extend the ramps.

No, I don't need to tow my car anywhere, but when I go out in the 90*+ sun for autocross, I pack a tent, four collapsible chairs, a small cooler, and if the breeze is dead, also pack a fan that hooks up to an inverter in the truck.

Is the truck an overkill? Hell yes! But I also use it to tow boats, a 2 car gooseneck trailer, and other random heavy items.

I think the biggest thing I've towed is probably my brother's 38' Fountain. Estimated around 14k lbs with trailer.


Downside to towing the car, packing up and leaving is a lot longer.

Benefits, as everybody else stated, convenience and capability of carrying whatever you want.

As stated above newer F-150s do the job perfectly well. I towed my FD with my roommate's old 2009 F-150 (had the 4.6 in it I think). The truck barely knew it was there aside from the suspension sag. Uhaul trailers do put a lot of weight on the tongue though because the wheel chalks are not adjustable so you cant get the weight of the car over the axles.

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that wouldn't fly in most countries, including most US states.

This is what I use to tow.....pretty much anything

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I used to have an 8x20 enclosed trailer but I sold that one to my dad so he could use it for his construction business, now I have only my wife's 7x16 enclosed which doesn't fit the FD, obviously

Next time I move though (due to military orders) I'm picking up an 8.5x52' enclosed so I can just put everything I own in the back of it and roll out

whenever I see that photo of the golf pulling the FD I immediately think of this video:

^ I remember seeing that a while ago.....I can't imagine how i'd feel if that happened to me towing my FD